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What are the Steps to Painting a Mural in my Home?

Shannon Kietzman
Shannon Kietzman

Painting a mural in your home is easier than you might think. The first step in painting a mural is to plan out the design. The best way to do this is to measure the space for the mural you will be painting. Then, draw the space on a piece of paper on which you can map out the mural.

Be sure to keep the space to scale. For example, you might want every foot of the space where you will be painting a mural to be equal to one inch on your paper. If you are using the metric system, you may choose to have every meter be equivalent to one decimeter. After you have created a scale drawing of the mural on a piece of paper, it is time to start planning out the mural design. It may be helpful for you to use graph paper for your drawing, then draw to-scale graph lines lightly on the wall where you will be painting a mural.

Changing a mural design is easier when starting to paint rather than after.
Changing a mural design is easier when starting to paint rather than after.

The next step in painting a mural is to draw the design on your paper. Plan out the colors you will use as well. You do not need to color in every part of the mural you have drawn on the paper. Simply coding it with the first letter of the color you plan to use is enough.

Now that your design is drawn out on paper, it is time to transfer your design onto the wall. Keep in mind, when painting a mural, that adding color is a multi-step process. Therefore, you must draw the design on the wall first and check it for accuracy, and then begin painting a mural one color at a time. After the first color dries, you can apply the next color, repeating the process until all colors have been added.

Most people find paint-by-number murals much easier than making a freehand design on the wall, unless one has very strong artistic ability.
Most people find paint-by-number murals much easier than making a freehand design on the wall, unless one has very strong artistic ability.

When painting a mural, it is important to ensure that the design you have drawn on the wall is accurate before you begin painting. Changing the mural lay-out or design after the painting has started is much more difficult than changing it in the earlier stages of the process.

Discussion Comments

anon4588

What kind of paints are suitable to paint on walls, so that they last for a long time?

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    • Changing a mural design is easier when starting to paint rather than after.
      By: branex
      Changing a mural design is easier when starting to paint rather than after.
    • Most people find paint-by-number murals much easier than making a freehand design on the wall, unless one has very strong artistic ability.
      By: mrallen
      Most people find paint-by-number murals much easier than making a freehand design on the wall, unless one has very strong artistic ability.