walltattoo
just saw this over at apartment therapy and i'm loving it. a design team in vienna created these gorgeous wall applications to add color and design to walls in need of a little help. from what i can tell, they're painted on- most likely by using a projected image on a wall- seems like a very one of a kind thing. availability is confusing, so i'm checking on it. just wanted to post it before i forgot. so pretty.
i'm wondering how easy it would be to design something similar and project it on our own walls? i'd love something like this in my own home, but i'm not much of an illustrator myself. what do you guys think- easy to diy or not worth taking on? all i can think of is trying to get a design onto transparency or film to put up there- costly? cheap?
Labels: windows and walls
posted by design*sponge @ 7.3.06
20 Comments:
It is super cheap to have a design put onto a transparency. $1 or less at your local copy center. All you would have to do is get ahold of an overhead projector to flash it up onto the wall. Depending on how close or far you position the projector will determine the size. Trace the image in light pencil. Then it will just take a steady hand to fill it in with paint.
I do this all the time for visual merchandising.
first..don't project. print out the image in pieces and tape together.
then take blue tape and cover strip by strip the area you want to paint. Yes...larger sheets of tacky material is available, but this is so easy with tape.
then tack or spray mount (spray image only) the image to the tape and x-acto away to create a stencil through the tape!!!(removing the positive space)
then all you do if roll on your paint, then peel away.
the down side is that you may leave a razor line in the wall if you cut too deep.
and I know it sounds like alot to do...but you can do it with household items, and a computer with a printer. and it really only takes a few hours. if that.
as an illustrator, i've done my fair share of projection. as long as you have good painting technique, it's no problem.
another idea, if the design is clean and on the computer, you could have it inkjet printed on adhesive backed vinyl (lots of digital printers will do this). then cut it out with an exacto, peel, and stick.
I think it's a great idea and should be very cheap. From my memory, Kinko's can make a transparency for you from your own drawing. My mother did it once on her basement wall from a picture the grandkids drew. It worked quite well. As long as you can trace and paint within the lines it should be fantastically easy and cheap.
Sincerely,
RDD
hm, I tried posting before but I guess it didn't go through, sorry if this is a double post.
first, I love your blog it's really cool. As far as the wall tattos it would be pretty easy to do if you get a vector shape illustration from somewhere ( they can be bought for very very cheap at istockphoto.com) and just have a printer
print it on a supper large sheet of paper which would carefully cut out all the positive space so that you can use it as a stencil of sorts. hope this help.
Cool stuff! Though as a lifetime New Yorker, I admittedly disturbed by the presence of giant roachy-looking graphics on the wall of an eating establishment. Ugh. Otherwise--nice!
I have done something similar w/ projecting the image and paining w/o tracing. Its easy to get a trancparency made, and you can get a projector for relatively inexpensive that will get the job done. Dick Blick has a lot of options, but this is a good basic, less pricey version:
http://www.dickblick.com/zz530/14/
What's wrong with actually buying something ?
I'm all for DIY if you've got the skill to make it look really good, but at some point aren't we going to DIY these small businesses OUT of business. And then, who's going to do all the creative thinking for you?
all great suggestions! whatever the case - these are wonderful - and i'm loving all your postings grace - everything your posting here is really great!
All of you are nuts.
Don't get an overhead projector, don't print out a massive image, don't buy a vinyl decal.
Buy or borrow an opaque projector (link to dick blick above, Pearl on Canal also carries them) often called a tracer if it's too costly split the price with a friend or two, or rent it out to d*s readers who get hooked after we see what you do with it!!...
This will allow you to project anything-not just a transparency. It can be a photograph, a newspaper clipping, and print out, hell even an object as long as it's relatively flat.
Dark room, porject, trace, paint, enjoy!
Also try adhesive shelf liner. You can usually find it in a number of colors, and can be easily cut with a pair of scissors. I recommend tiling your image on computer paper, taping the assembled graphic over your shelf liner on a cutting surface, and following the line with a razorblade or exacto.
Be even more trendy and replace the vinyl shelf liner adhesive-backed cork shelf liner. Mix and match your brands for different colors or thicknesses.
Then it's as simple as peel and stick!
Need help blowing up your graphic without photoshop? - there's a handy online tool called The Rasterbator. Terrible name, but handy when blowing up images.
*note to d*s - I'm not associated with the rasterbator site, just a fan.*
oops, a typo in my post -
"replace the vinyl shelf liner *WITH* adhesive backed cork shelf liner..."
cheers!
Easy, EASY diy. Get a projector, and trace it with pencil on the wall - paint carefull, and voila!
I have art friends who used this method all the time to trace images onto large canvas.
debra franses bean's interior couture (couturious) does these in london. pretty neat.
www.interiorcouture.co.uk
i'm not affiliated at all with her, just saw some of her work and liked the images.
yes, get a projector. under 40 bucks at dick blick. project the image onto the wall, trace with pencil, turn off the projector and paint it. :) EASY!
hi,
first, the site is great and no longer booting me out of safari every time i come here.
second, it's worth it, go for it! My mom (who is an artist) used to do the walls of my room like that wherever we lived, and i loved it. if you are unsure of your own artistic ability, get a friend to do a simple drawing and get an overhead projecter, then just outline in pencil and get painting.
-jena
Why don't you just make a big xerox printout (you can do poster sizes at Kinko's), cutout the shape with an xacto knife, and then put it just a little light bit of spray adhesive on it and stick it on the wall, tape and then do stencil painting. The problem with transparencies that people are failing to mention is that you don't get that sharp, clean line that you will if you use a stencil, at least that is if you have the artistic ability to cut a good stencil in the first place. But you're a printmaker, you should have good production skills Grace.
MP
Oh, and I don't think it's wrong to do your own stencil/wall designs, sometimes you can find what you want in a store or in a box.
I saw these and I thought to myself how I could do it. I plan on buying a large canvas and painting it the same color as my wall, and using my Tracer machine (does anyone else have one of those?, I got it a while back at a craft store, you can put any image underneath it and it projects on the wall/canvas). projecting something on the canvas and trace in with a pencil and fill it in. That way if it doesn't turn out, I don't need to repaint my wall, but just throw out the canvas
Can't believe no one mentioned that vinyl graphics are relitively cheap and super quick to apply. You can get them done in any size and every city has dozens of stores that make vinyl graphics. You can also peel it off when your sick of it. Skip all the work and pay an extra hundred bucks to have it look professional.
true. Vinyl Graphics isnt that expensive.
u just have to learn how.
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kifaru says.
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