Help and Advice on murals

[T]

Anyone who can offer and tips, help or advice of any kind relating to the planning, and creation of a murals would be appreciated.
I have been asked to brighten up a couple of external walls at a local school with some animal and sports scenes.
I have ideas for the drawings but I am struggling in terms of the scaling up and planning of such work. ........put it this way I have never done a Mural before.

Help

T

[Draw4You]

Hi T

Hey my wife and I have done some murals as well as back drops for plays etc... and their a lot of fun and rewarding. I already know you can draw but you are asking about 'struggling in terms of the scaling up'.

We inked out on paper different parts, caricatures on 8.5 X 11, then copied them right on to transparencies. Which then we used an overhead projector on to the walls. Then you pencil it all in and you have your scaling for you to begin your painting.

This make the project a little less fearful, and it is still all your own work.

Mike

[tooned]

I have done a couple.had no idea what i was doing,but it worked.I just painted onto the wall with no real planning.i had a rough sketch that i worked from.
But what you can do is use an overhead projector to put your sketch on the wall.I know a guy who does it that way.seems to work.
Cannot wait to see what you come up with

[tooned]

Sorry Mike a posted my reply about the projector,did not realize you had already mentioned it. ;D

[Draw4You]

Hey I was a minute faster

Ya!

[corky]

i have used the overhead projector method for murals (painted on my wall). it makes your work go much faster and easier. as for paint, buy acrylic and invest in some good brushes. if you use really cheap ones, then you get the hairs mixed up in the paint and it's very messy to remove.
also, buy a butcher's tray to carry the paints in. it's a tray about 12 inches long, with raised sides. very handy, holds lots of dabs of paint so you can have several colours on hand, and the raised sides make it easy to carry and clean. get yourself a spray bottle and once in a while, spray the paint to keep it moist. (these are tips i used when painting, a friend of mine taught them to me). my friend also taught me that when mixing colours, don't use black or white if you want to make the colour darker or lighter. it looks better if you use dark umber or dark purple, and ivory if you're making a lighter tint.

[T]

Guys thanks for the useful advice.
Many people have suggested a projector. but it is not something I can invest in for a one off project.
Grant, your modus operandi sounds favourite at the moment. Unless I can source and loan a projector for a try out.
As for the images I intend to go big, bold, bright and even exaggerate where I can. I hope to come up with images that won't date.
I'll try and keep you posted of progress. Though the start date is not until July.

Thanks again

T