FREE! WALL MURAL - Ocean Scene Wall Mural Painting Course

In this lesson we will go through the basic requirements of the location and some of the equipment you’ll need

First of all, you should ensure you plan to use a clean, dry wall

• The wall should be painted with a white, preferably Matt emulsion

• And, you should have good lighting

MY CANVAS

I've chosen a small wall within my small art studio at home. It's actually all inside my car park area. The area is not oblong so I'll have to adjust the ocean layout accordingly.

But more of that later....

THE LAYOUT & PLANNING LESSON

This lesson is very important. We will show you how to plan and layout your mural,

But first, what are dimensions of the diver?

Because, the overall size of the diver image will be dictated by the size of the fire extinguisher that you use.

I nearly forgot this when setting up to do the outline of the diver. The diver wasn't big enough for the extinguisher I was planning to use.....

So, remember, the bigger the fire extinguisher. The bigger the Diver image will need to be....

I'm using a standard fire extinguisher which measures approximately 50cm high by 15cm wide which is about 20 inches by 6 inches

I have created a layout sheet based on these sizes as the quadrant.

You can find this in the supplement section of the course

• The overall length of the diver based on this layout is about 5 quadrants high and about 8 quadrants wide

• That equates, using my extinguisher, to about 250cm high by 120cm wide for the total area of the diver.

• That's about 100 inches high and 48 inches wide

With this in formation I can now start to plan the layout

The diver should be positioned with the centre of the fire extinguisher close to the centre line of the ocean scene

Now. As I said. My canvas area is a little bit misshaped so my centre line will be in the centre of the main area and the side area will just be used for more ocean rocks and plants etc.

However, it’s not a prerequisite that you do actually use a fire extinguisher for your mural.

I think it adds a lot of impact and makes it totally unique

It’s up to you.

I have added other outlines of divers with a regular scuba diving cylinder for you to choose and use

So, without an extinguisher your diver can be any size that you choose to fit onto your wall size

As usual, practice makes perfect.

So, before starting out on the main picture, grab some cardboard and practice your rock layout.

Save this for later to refer to and, you can also use this sheet to practice your rock painting and shading on the same piece of cardboard.

PLANNING THE ROCK LAYOUT.

I use the divers head size on the layout as a guide for my rock sizes

Mark out your rocks with the furthest away last. Mark out the front row first

Then mark out the next area behind them.

At the front I'll mark out my "Zen" pebbles.

It's a favorite rock formation that I use a lot. I just like it that's all....

I must have painted and sold a couple of dozen of this picture...

Welcome to the OCEAN lesson.

In this lesson we will demonstrate how to paint your ocean background.

We will provide a paint technique for you to follow.

And we strongly recommend that you practice your blending technique before attempting the BIG painting

For your wall area

• ensure the area is painted white

• Preferably with a Matt emulsion paint.

• Ensure the area is free of any existing dark marks or blemishes etc. as these may be visible through the ocean paint and distract from the image you're creating.

To create a realistic water effect, you need to blend each colour into its adjacent colour

HERE ARE SOME TIPS

1. Have all of your colours available when you start. It’s almost impossible to blend the colours if you allow them to dry

2. Have at least 2 or 3 paint brushes available

3. Have some water for rinsing your brushes available

4. Protect the floor and any adjacent areas before you start

BLENDING

We are NOT looking for 6 stripes with blended edges.

The entire canvas should be blended from top to bottom with no clear delineation of where one colour ends and the next one starts.

This process is quite simple. But you may want to practice it before you start on the main wall

SOME MORE TIPS

1. I bought very low-cost acrylic paints for this project. And they worked out just fine.

2. Use big brushes

3. Relax. It's the ocean it doesn't have to be perfect

4. No straight lines. Keep your brush moving in a "U" shaped motion and don't be afraid to blend each colour lightly over the next 2 adjacent colours

5. Finally. A very light brush stroke with white or even just a bit of plain water with a damp paint brush over the entire area will enhance the overall effect

PRACTICE BLEND

Before the big wall, I suggest you try out the blending technique on a small canvas or a piece of cardboard.

The overall aim is to get all of your colors onto the canvas as quickly as possible.

Then you can focus more on the actual blending before the colours dry.

Finally, smooth out the entire blending with soft brush strokes of a large damp paint brush. A bit of white paint on the brush can also add a few light streaks for even more realism

Let's watch my practice blend

Well, that worked out ok. So good in fact I decided to finish it off and create a miniature version of the project.

And it will be proudly displayed in my favorites section of my small home gallery.

So, practice your blending as many times as you like until you feel comfortable and confident to have a go on the big picture

THE BIG PAINT

THE COLOURS

For the practice I used. Black. Purple. Dark Blue. Mid Blue. Light blue & white.

Although the dark and mid blue paints do seem quite similar.

But to keep things simple I will stick to those colours for the big wall

Ok let's do this

Remember everything we talked about regarding U shaped brush strokes.

Let’s see how that goes

Whoops. Technical failure. I didn't capture the top of the canvas on the video.

But not much was missed. Just the same as the lower colours.

Here's how it looked when it was finished. A bit darker than I wanted.

But I have noticed that these low-cost acrylic paints do tend to get a bit darker when they dry.

That's my excuse anyway....

I just add a few light beams to give some depth.

I used a white posca pen then lightly brushed over them before it dried

I'm quite pleased with all that.

Let's let it dry then we can start on the diver outline.

Welcome to the lesson. In this lesson we will demonstrate how to mark out and infill the Diver image

We’ll also show how to plan & apply shaded highlights to the diver to create a better, more realistic image

We’ll also add a few more details for more reality

For the Diver, we basically draw out the outline then infill the area with black paint

OUTLINE – You have some options on how to do this.

FREEHAND

Not so easy unless you’re a pretty good artist

You could try marking out the key points following the layout plan that we’ve included. Then joint up the dots. It's not so easy so you may want to practice a few times on paper first and then again on a bigger piece of paper.

VINYL STICKER

You could get a vinyl sticker made. Then either simply stick it on the wall or use it as template to draw around it then paint it in.

PROJECTOR

I used a low-cost projector to project the image onto the wall then marked out the outline.

This worked out great and well worth the effort of trying to acquire, borrow, buy or beg a low-cost projector for 30 minutes.

Let’s see how that goes

OK, so that’s the diver all marked out

PAINTING THE DIVER.

Matt black paint is best. Avoid heavy brush marks and take your time… It’s not easy to correct it if it goes wrong…

OK. All done. Looking good but lacking some detail…

SMALL DETAILS.

These add additional interest and reality.

The divers face, the watch face. The goggles and the pressure gauge.

For the face, I simply drew an outline of the nose in yellow & blended a bit of pink then added a small shadow for the eye and finally lightly shaded white over the entire facemask area with a white posca pen.

HIGHLIGHTS

These are a great way to add some features and definitions to the flat black image.

Remember.

The light is coming from above so the highlights go onto areas that are directly exposed to the upper surface.

Here’s a quick demo and an idea for you practice before the big picture

And, please pay close attention and look out for my deliberate mistake

Here’s the before & after…

Did you spot it?

My deliberate mistake? I had the canvas the wrong way up and painted the diver pointing down instead of up… (Schoolboy error)

Never mind, I carried on regardless. Changed a bit of the shading, added some seawater daises and a few bubbles and Hey presto…

Finnito. And here it is in all its glory. And hanging on the wall too…

Now let's give that a try on the wall.

Well, that looks much more life-like. A lot better....

Well, I think so anyway....

There’s a copy of that photo in the supplements sections for you to use as a reference during your shading & high-lights session

These can look really good or can look like just flat circles or blobs and often look really bad.

So, it's worth taking the time to practice them before you attempt them on the big picture.

Here's what to do. It's quite simple.

Draw the circles. Now add a blended white highlight to the top edge of the circle.

And then a blended shadow in black to the lower part

And finally, add a reflection or two.

For this I like to use a “FLAT-ANGLED” paint brush

I used POSCA PENS.

They are not expensive, easy to find and water based.

You can easily remove your work with water if you mess it up.

But remember, you must seal the work with a spray varnish before you apply any brushed-on lacquer or varnish or they will smudge as you brush over them.

Please do practice your bubbles before trying on the big picture.

It’s great fun. Sometimes I paint nothing but bubbles on a picture…

Practice the different brush strokes with angle of the brush and see how it moves the shading paint in each direction

You don't need to do too many. 4 or 5 is plenty.

If you overlap the bubbles, don't forget to add a small shadow on the area where they overlap.

Here’s a quick demonstration video.

Not sure I like those. I’ve definitely painted better before. So, (and this is why I like Posca pens). Simply wipe it off and try again…

Much better and when it dried and I added a few reflections, even better!

Now, let’s apply that technique to our Fire Diver Mural - Looks good to me guys

PRACTICE

As usual, practice makes perfect. So, before starting out on the main picture, grab your layout plan from the previous lesson and double check your layout.

Then you can also practice your rock painting and shading on the same cardboard.

THE LAYOUT

As a reminder….

1. Use the size of the diver’s head as a guide to your rock sizes

2. Mark out the front row of rocks first

3. Then mark out the next area behind them.

4. Mark out your rocks that are the furthest away last.

Let's watch my practice layout.

ROCK COLOURS

The rocks can all be painted in similar tones and colours.

But do mix them up a bit try to add some texture

Here’s my quick insight into using acrylic paints.

Some colours look great together in a room layout, but don’t always work out too well when used and mixed together in artwork

• Red & Green – Looks great at Christmas

• Purple & Yellow – One of my favorite colour combinations for a room layout

But guess what color you get if you mix them together as paint?

BROWN – In fact if you mix all the colours of the rainbow together, you will get BROWN

Not a good idea to use these colours together in Fluid art where you mix the colours as you pour them onto the canvas

You can use a Colour Wheel to help you if you want

Here it shows you which colours work well together

And here it shows you what happens if you mix the two colours together

A handy tool to have if you decide to do more fluid art painting

But today – BROWN is what we want. So, practice mixing your paints together as you paint your rocks using these colour combinations and you get different tones of brown and some great textures to your painting. There’s no need to completely mix the colours together. Let some of the subtle tones show through.

So, remember. These any of these 2-colour combinations will mix together to make BROWN

• Purple + Yellow = BROWN

• Green + Red = BROWN

• Orange & Blue = BROWN

• 
  

PAINTING THE ROCKS

Here’s the sequence.

1. We mark out the front row of rocks first.

2. But then, we paint the back row of rocks first and the front row last.

Let's watch my practice then we'll apply that process to the big picture.

Now for the big rocks

Ok. All the rocks are painted.

But they do look a bit flat like that.

What to do?

SHADING

This is THE most important part.

Pure flat light only creates flat images. It's the shadows that give objects shape and reality.

The light is coming from above, so again, the upper sections of the rocks will be shaded lighter and the lower parts shaded darker.

Just the same as we did with the bubbles

Also, the stones will project a shadow below and behind them.

I prefer to use a flat, angled brush for my shading.

And this is the 1 occasion when I find a better-quality paint brush does actually prove it's worth.

Again. You may wish to practice this on a canvas or board before attempting the big wall version.

Please do practice your shading. It really does improve the quality of your art if you can get it right.

Here's a quick video of my rock shading practice.

Now, let's see how the shading goes and see what a massive impact it has on the illusion of shape and reality.

PLEASE, be bold with your shading. Apply a small amount of black or white paint for the highlights and lowlights.

Then with a damp brush gently blend the paint back into the main colour.

Stand back often to see your work. Check if it looks rights.

Remember, If you’re using posca pens for your shading and it goes wrong, you can rub it off with a “Wet-Wipes” tissue before it completely dries out and try again.

THE SEABED LESSON

This can be all a similar colour but remember to add some texture

After you finish it, you can add some shadows from the stones onto the sand

You can paint many types of sea plants.

There's lots to choose from.

There's a whole library of reference pictures in the supplementary section for you to consider.

My advice is to keep them simple. There's enough going on in this piece.

And to simplify it for you I use only 3 colours for this project.

• Dark green

• Yellow

• and a tiny bit of black.

Again, I suggest that you practice painting your plants on some cardboard before going onto the main picture.

Here's my plant painting practice session.

Once your happy with your plant-painting technique, consult your layout plan and decide where best to paint your plants

Some of you may not want to show fish.

But if you do, here are some options on how you can create the fish.

FREEHAND

Ok if you're a pretty good artist. Check out the internet for pictures of fish that are easy to draw & paint. Again, there's a few samples in the course supplements section.

PRINT & STICK

You could simply print them out onto vinyl and glue them in place.

ACRYLIC SKINS

This is my favorite option.

Great fun and a lot less risk and much easier to control the outcome.

This process involves pouring acrylic paints onto a silicone baking mat, then "swiping" it. Allow it to thoroughly dry then remove it from the baking sheet.

This is known as an acrylic "SKIN"

Then, draw around a template of the fish on a nice area of the skin and cut it out

Then, add a bit of shading and maybe some colour detail.

Again, I've attached a selection of templates in the supplement section for your use.

Here’s a couple of videos of me creating the acrylic skins for the fish used in this project and then adding some shade

I spray the finished pieces with Matt varnish to lock in the shading before I glue them to the wall

SEE THE FULL "SKINS" LESSON

I've attached a supplementary lesson how to create acrylic skins from my "Fluid Art" painting course.

Do watch this before attempting to create your own acrylic Skins...

ATTACHING THE FISH

I used simple PVA glue. But do try out the location before applying the glue

A SECRET

Attaching the fish is a great "Get out of Jail". We all make mistakes and mess up a bit.

Paint the hand wrong. A bit of paint is missing or peels off.

Want to know how to hide it?

STICK A FISH OVER IT.

I noticed a few blemishes in the ocean blend and also a couple of blemishes in rock paint.

All are now concealed under a fish and NEVER TO BE SEEN AGAIN. WINK!

Also, I like to place quite a few of the fish over the plants.

Then repaint a few of the leaves of the plant so that it appears as if the fish is swimming between the plants...

This gives more depth to image and stops the fish from looking like simple flat stickers

FINAL SHADING

This is your time to stand back and look at what you've created.

Here’s your chance to add any finishing touches to your mural

Add a small dark shadow below each of the fish, each of the plants and wherever the rocks join onto the sandy area.

I created some more acrylic skins with left-over paints from another project and used them to create a few more fish and a couple of turtles. They look great. But that’s only my opinion

Well, that's all the artwork finished.

Please, make any changes now if you want to.

It may not be so easy after the next step.

SEALANT & VARNISH

I prefer water-based brush on varnish.

If you also plan to use brush on varnish, and, you've used POSCA pens for shading etc. don't forget to give that area of shading a quick coat with spray Matt varnish before you apply the brush-on varnish otherwise you may smudge all your posca pen work with your brush strokes...

Use Matt finish varnish if you can.

I know some people like the impact of a shiny surface but it will also highlight any heavy brush strokes or blemishes on the surface.

Particularly if you view the image from a side angle

MOUNT THE CENTRE PIECE

How's that?

STAND BACK & ADMIRE

THATS IT. All done.

The entire project took me about 3 full days to paint. Although, a lot of that time was drying time.

But that did not include the work carried out preparing the acrylic skins and making the fish etc. The skins take ages to dry out because they’re on a silicone sheet so drying process from below.

Don't rush things, eh? Allow the skins and paints you've applied to dry before applying shading etc.

I really do hope you've enjoyed this short course and also hope you can now go ahead and create your very own wall mural masterpiece. Have fun.

BUT REMEMBER.....

If it doesn't work out the first time, do what I did.

Paint over it all and have even more fun when you try again.....

And. For even more fun and creativity, check out my Fluid Art training course for beginners right here on Udemy....

Acrylic skins can be used in a variety of ways

Embellishments of other pours

• Coasters

• Jewelry

• Book Markers

Acrylic paint can be poured onto any non-absorbent surface that allows the paint to be peeled off after it has dried.

Plastic sheet – Silicone baking mats etc.

The paint that is peeled off is referred to as a “SKIN”

You can apply any pour onto the surface in the same way as you would if using a canvas

Avoid using your normal “Household” paint as a basecoat

Preferably, you should use a low-cost “CRAFT” acrylic paint

After pouring always ensure that the pour is perfectly level and is allowed to dry slowly

When fully dry, wash off with soapy water and rinse to remove any residual silicone or any other additives used in the pour

MIXING YOUR PAINTS

While you are learning and focusing on the basics there is no real need to indulge and spend money on lots of expensive paint

Purchase some low-cost “Hobby” or ‘Craft” paints in limited colours

You will also need some PVA glue to create your own POURING MEDIUM

OUR POURING MEDIUM RECIPE

We recommend this recipe

60% PVA Glue & 40% Water

MIXING FOR BASIC POURS

For the basic pours that we will be demonstrating in this section we recommend a “MEDIUM” consistency

Not too thick – Not too thin

Mix your paint and Pouring Medium in equal parts – 50-50

This then equates to 50% Paint – 30% PVA Glue and 20% Water

Add extra water in SMALL amounts to further thin the consistency as required

DIP & DRIP

When dipping your stirring stick into the paint and allowing it run back down into the paint

A small mound should appear in the paint and then sink back into the paint with 1 second

If the mound is visible for more than 1 second

Your paint is too thick

If no mound appears and dripping paint, simply disappears into the pot

Your paint is too thin

TOO THICK IS EASY

It’s much easier to make your paint thinner than it is to make it thicker

If you are adding water to thin your paint – TAKE IT EASY

Add a few drops at a time and stir

You need to add quite a bit of paint to thicken up your mix

Most times you will then have too much paint for your intended pour

If you do need to thicken up your mixture

Pour half of your existing mixture into another cup

Thicken up the remaining half

The swipe technique can be used alone or combined with other pouring techniques

Premix your colours individually with your pouring medium and silicone

Select a “SWIPE” colour and add extra silicone to that cup

We’ll call this colour your CELL ACTIVATOR

Titanium White acrylic paint is an excellent choice as the Cell Activator

THE POUR

Apply a basecoat to the entire canvas

Pour your paints onto the canvas in any pattern desired (But not the CELL ACTIVATOR)

Pour the CELL ACTIVATOR along 1 edge of the canvas

Place the edge of a sheet of acrylic or damp tissue into the CELL ACTIVATOR

Drag the sheet across the surface of the canvas slowly & gently

Wait for the cells to appear

BIG CELLS – SMALL CELLS

For smaller cells you add the cell activator again and swipe a 2nd time

Apply a heat torch to the surface to create even more cells

For bigger cells

Torch the canvas before tilting

The cells will stretch and enlarge as you tilt

SILICONE IN ONLY 1 COLOUR

Another option is not to add any silicone to your pour paints but only to your cell activator colour for swiping

Both works well – try them both to see which you prefer