HOW TO PAINT A MURAL
THE BASICS

THE STEPS

When painting a mural, there are many steps. A lot of times, these steps are written in complex ways that are hard to understand. This website is a way to learn how to paint a mural in a simplified way. Your first step is to make sure your surface is clean. If your wall is a dark color, you might need primer. Primer can be found at your local paint store, Home Depot, Walmart, or any local hardware store. If your wall is white or a lighter color you should just wipe it down and make sure the surface is clean. Once you do that, have all your paint colors and materials ready. You are going to need your paints, paint mixers, possibly some cups to mix colors, painters tape and obviously, paint brushes.

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Once your wall is primed and you have all your materials, make sure your area is protected. You are going to want to cover the floor with a big plastic mat, or just ripped/opened up garbage bags. If you are painting near the edge of a wall, the bottom of the wall or next to a door, you should put tape on the molding. In the video you can see I was painting against my closet door, so I had painters tape on it. Once you have everything protected, you are going to sketch out your design. I recommend using pencil and just lightly drawing it on. If you are painting an abstract mural or just coming up with your idea on the spot, you can skip this step.

Then you are going to open your paints and make sure to mix them well. Use your mixing sticks and stir the paints thoroughly until all the parts are mixed. Then, you are going to use your paint brush and dip into your first color. Don't get too much paint, or it will drip. You are going to brush it onto your wall until the desired area is covered. If you are going to use multiple brushes, make sure they get cleaned right after use so that they don't get stiff and the paint doesn't dry. Since I was doing a color gradient, I was using the same brush all throughout my mural. If you mix paints, keep your mixing cup or bowl right next to the paint bucket and either pour the colors in or use the mixing sticks to kind of scoop it in. You are going to continue painting until all of your main sections and the basic design is done. Remember: when you apply the paint, the color always looks darker when its wet. Don't change it if you think its too dark, because it might end up being too light. 

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When you have the basic design painted, you are going to start adding details. Get your colors. which in my case were black and white, and make sure they're mixed and ready to use. I didn't have black paint specifically for walls, so I just used acrylic paint instead. You could paint the whole mural with acrylics if you have enough. With your details, if they're small highlights or shadows use either the edge of a big brush or a small brush.  This is so you can get precise. In my mural I added highlights to my flower petals and the middle part, and I added black lines where the flower would be creased, creating some shadows. Once you've finished everything, finished paints and move them aside. make sure the paint on your wall isn't dripping, (it shouldn't be) and then clean up your area. Take the tape off of the wall and remove the floor covering.

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If the mural was inside of any closed door room, especially a bedroom, make sure the door is open for a few nights. This is to make sure none of the fumes get trapped in the space. They can be harmful and you want fresh air flowing. After a few days once you don't smell paint whenever you walk into the room, the mural is all set and your ready to show it off! I hope this helps!