Mural of Tentacles
Illustration, Design and Mural Painting by John Potter - Escape Key Graphics
Click on the image above to zoom in
I have gotten a lot of questions about my methods, especially my method of enlarging images for murals. As a result I'm going to explain my workflow for this project.
I first made a diagram of the walls I was going to painting on to ensure it would fit properly. I then drew the illustration with pen and ink.
In this case I used tracing paper but I could have transcribed those measurements onto paper or board.
The next step was enlargement and although there are many methods of enlargement including this is the one I selected.
The method I used was to bring the drawing into Adobe Illustrator and using the print options I tiled the single image into several letter sized pages in a PDF file.
I could also have used a website called rasterbator.
I took that PDF file on a jump drive to my local print shop (i.e. FedEx Office, Staples, etc.) and had them print them out. This is far cheaper than doing it myself.
I took the resulting pages and taped them together on my floor in to create the enlarged image. The next task was to take rolls of sketch paper and trace the image onto them manually with a hard pencil (at least an HB).
Once I have all of the drawing traced I flip over the tracing paper and traced the drawing from the back. I used graphite sticks because of their width and coverage but you could use a softer pencil (I would say at least a 2B).
I then took the resulting rolls of tracing paper and carefully taped them to the wall where I wanted the image. Then I took a fairly hard pencil again and once again traced over the image. This transfers the image to the wall.
Once I was done I removed the tracing paper. I held onto it for a little while just in case but really could have thrown it out then.
In this case I proceeded to paint in acrylic.
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PORTFOLIOS
- Illustration Portfolio: Start here for custom illustration and book covers. You can also browse illustrated maps and architectural rendering.
- Fine Art: I offer original paintings and drawings, including my Custom Halftone Series. You will also find mural work here.
- Graphic Design & Motion: View my graphic design portfolio. After that, explore motion design and animated illustrations.
- Maps by application: I create illustrated maps for boat shows, resorts, marinas, real estate, transportation, transit and parking, towns and cities, parks, and wayfinding.
- Additional project types: I also produce cover illustration, vehicle and vinyl wraps, proposal renderings, and street art.
- Illustration methods: My techniques include vector, isometric and axonometric, painting, black and white, GeoData maps, overhead maps, and custom halftones.
- Software portfolios: I work primarily in Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, SketchUp Pro, and Adobe InDesign. For motion projects, I use Premiere Pro and After Effects. You can watch my demo reel here.