Mural Placement

As with any other type of painting, the first step is to find the horizon line. I have discovered this is the easiest step to execute simply by looking out a window in the room or an adjacent room and matching the horizon to the one outside.

Now the decision is where to put your vanishing point. This is the point where all objects in the mural would eventually disappear and is on the horizon line. I do not like to make my vanishing point in the exact center of the horizon line, although many mural artists will do this for balance if they are making a trompe l'oeil window or something similar.

Next, you need to decide your point of perspective. This is the location of the eye level of the viewer. Although it is easier to use my eye level, I try to use the combined eye levels of the client(s). This is important for placing object views. Are you looking up or down at something - to the right or left....

Selecting your light source is next. You have the decision of using the natural windows in the room as your light source, and/or the imaginary light source you will be painting in your mural. This is essential for shading and shadows.

Once you have done these things you can begin placement.

String Placement: you can tape a string at your vanishing point to determine the perspective in your mural. Chalking in lines from the vanishing point to each corner helps you to draw objects which are linear and recede into the background, such as floors, columns and lines of trees.

Grid Placement: You can create horizontal and vertical gridlines on your sketch, then draw then on the wall and copy your sketch to the wall, square to square.

Eyeball Placement: You look at your sketch and determine it's placement on the wall, chalk each object in and then block them in with a watered down neutral shade of paint.

Projector Placement: You can project your sketch onto the wall using a projector. These can be purchased online or at art stores.

The perspective drawing in this blog is from http://mathforum.org

This blog was created by Hollie the Mural Girl. Check out my website: http://holliebrooks.com