All murals start with one thing ... a blank wall. And since you can create anything with a hand-painted mural, the opportunities are endless. You may be staring at that empty wall with no ideas. Or you may have too many ideas, and struggle with narrowing them down. Here’s the method we use to design custom, hand-painted murals for our clients:
1. MAKE THE WALL MORE MANAGEABLE
Since looking at a giant wall can be intimidating, start by making it smaller. It will be much easier to work out your design on a sheet of paper or a graphics program, like Photoshop.
First, measure the wall. Then draw the same proportions on your paper or computer. For example, if the wall is 12’ x 8’, draw a rectangle on paper that’s 12” x 8.” Consider how tall you are compared to the wall. If you’re 5.5’, make a small mark on your drawing 5.5” up from the bottom of your rectangle. Noting your proportionate height on your layout will help ensure your mural’s scale will look accurate when standing in front of the finished painting.
2. USE THE ROOM’S DECOR TO GET INSPIRED
This will take some creativity. By definition, a mural is large artwork made for one specific space. Therefore, you’ll certainly want to coordinate the mural with the room's colors, elements and style. If already decorated, it’s best to stand in the room and look around. If the room’s decor is still in progress, try to nail down the basic color scheme and decorating style for the space. It’s ideal to have some fabric samples, furniture selections, and images of other artwork for the room.
Notice the basic elements of design in the room: color, form, space, texture, pattern, line, light and theme.
Consider how one or a few of these elements can be incorporated into your mural design. For example, if the sofa is emerald and the fixtures are gold, find ways to incorporate emerald and gold into the mural (color). If the furniture is modern with straight lines, you might break up the lines using organic strokes in your painting (form). If the room feels small, consider painting a landscape mural to create a sense of depth (space). If the decor is very simple and needs some interest, consider adding texture, movement or irregular strokes to your painting technique (texture). If the pillows have a leaf pattern and the curtains are striped, maybe your design could have a botanical theme with some nice line work (pattern/line). If the room is dark and doesn’t get a lot of natural light, perhaps your mural’s color palette should be light or pastel (light). If other artwork in the room has an international flair, consider a theme or painting style from that country (theme).
As you can see, murals not only add a fresh, artistic element to a room ... they can also solve decorating issues, and help tie a room together.
3. LOOKING FOR MORE INSPIRATION?
If you’re still struggling with ideas, spend some time looking through decorating magazines or Pinterest. Note things you like and don’t like. You may be surprised what elements draw you in. Consider what colors appeal to you, what themes interest you, and what styles go best with your decor. Perhaps you like the peach, pink and burnt orange palette from one image; plus the modern line-work of another image; plus the beach flavor of another picture. Pull those elements together to create something new!
4. PERSONALIZE YOUR MURAL DESIGN
Don’t forget, this is YOUR mural! Since the mural is custom-designed for you and your space, make sure you love it! Choose colors you love, think of places you love to travel, include your favorite flowers or animals. You might even include some “Easter eggs,” or hidden surprises. Consider sneaking a beloved pet in the background, or “carve” your anniversary date on a painted tree. Have fun with it! It’s your artwork, and it should represent you!
5. DRAW QUICK DESIGN SKETCHES
Once you’ve determined some elements you’d like to include, start sketching. This may take a few tries, so don’t feel like the first one has to be perfect. Draw several quick sketches until you have a basic layout you like.
6. FINALIZE YOUR DESIGN USING ART PRINCIPLES
After nailing down a basic layout, develop and refine your design. It’s helpful to analyze your final design using basic art principles: pattern, balance, emphasis, contrast, harmony/unity, variety, movement, proportion and scale.
Does the piece have repeated shapes, colors or values (pattern)? Do the colors, space and elements of the layout feel evenly weighted throughout the piece (balance)? Is there a clear focal point in the design (emphasis)? Does the piece have contrasting colors; areas with high detail and low detail; large elements and small elements; curved lines and straight lines (contrast)? Is there a relationship between the elements in the layout (harmony/unity)? Is there variation in color, shape and texture (variety)? Does the design move your eye around the painting (movement)? Is each subject accurately drawn (proportion)? Are the sizes and relationships of elements pleasing in relation to each other (scale)?
7. IF YOU NEED HELP, HIRE A MURAL COMPANY
Designing a mural can be creative and fun. And, of course, it can take a few revisions before it’s just right. Of course, if you want help with your design, you can schedule a free consultation with us, or your local mural-painting company. We’ll collaborate with you to make sure the design is just right for you and your space. Then sit back and watch our talented team of artists bring your design to life!
8. COLLABOR[ART]
Hattas is a team of professional artists who collaborate with homeowners, interior designers, builders, businesses and more, to create custom murals and artwork that fit each client’s ideas, decor and budget.
Hattas serves Greater Los Angeles, California. We are also happy to travel; and can paint murals on shippable/removable mural canvas to hang just like giant wallpaper. Please contact us for a free consultation. We’ll collaborate with you to create an original design, and paint the perfect mural for your home, business or public space.