How to Make a Huge Spider-man MDF Cut Out

I came across this drawing of spider-man and immediately knew I wanted to make a larger MDF version. This is one of those drawings that looks like its in motion even when its completely still. This is as iconic as it gets when it comes to Spider-man. I was lucky enough to find the original artist, PatC-14, of this image on Deviantart.com (check out PatC-14's other work, http://patc-14.deviantart.com/ ) so I reached out to ask him if I could replicate it and he very kindly agreed. I've done this type of project before several times and always enjoy them. As someone who can not draw I get a tremendous feeling of accomplishment when I make these. I really do think anyone can replicate my process to make their own versions of wall art. And the best part is that you don't need a ton of tools either. Here is how I did it.

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The first thing I did was to make an enlarged print out of the image. I wrote instructions on how to do this in the following Instructable in Step One https://www.instructables.com/id/Spider-Man-Wall-A... its a little bit of a long read but it covers the process fairly well.

Once the sheets were all printed I began by trimming the excess paper so that I can tape together the printouts in the next step. I used my X-acto razor for this but you can use scissors too.

I start by laying out the pieces and matching up the lines of the drawing and then taping them together. I make sure to cover the entire seam with tape. Then once I am done with the front I flip it over and tape the back seams. By doing so I can reuse this template.

With the enlarged image taped together I then cut out the image with my X-acto razor being carful to follow the edge.

After cutting out the template I tape it to a piece of 3/4 inch MDF with small pieces of painter's tape. Then I trace the entire template with a pencil. Once I am done I remove the template from the MDF and fill in any gaps left by the painter's tape.

With the MDF clamped to my work table I use my jigsaw to cut out the shape. I had to be careful with the thinner web portions of the piece so that I wouldn't break them. Also make sure to wear safety gear including a dust mask, MDF creates a ton of dust.

When I am done cutting the piece I sand all the edges using 100 grit sandpaper this removes the saw marks. Then I use wood glue to seal the entire edge. I use a brush to apply the wood glue. I seal the edges with glue so that the paint will have a surface to stick too instead of just being soaked in by the MDF.

Once the glue is dry I spray paint the entire piece black, this is the base coat. After that dries I spray the entire piece blue and let that dry per the instructions on the spray paint can.

I then lay the template on top of the now painted MDF so that I can take notice of wear the costume transitions from blue to red. I apply a piece of painter's tape right where the two colors meet. This will make more sense in the next step.

Here is a better view of what I was referring to. This is the boot portion of the costume, the boot is red and the rest of the leg is blue. The piece of blue tape sits at this divide. I overlay my template on top of the tape and using a ball point pen I trace the top line of the boot. This leaves an impression in the tape that I can then trace with my pen. Then I use my X-acto razor to cut the tape leaving behind a perfectly masked off boot. I repeat this process wherever I need to mask off a red area.

The first picture shows what all the masked off areas look like after the trace and cut technique. I make sure to cover any exposed areas with newspaper and then spray everything with red spray-paint.

I repeated the process for the eyes as well. I lay down some masking tape, trace my template, then trace my "impression" lines and then cut.

I mask off the areas that are not to be painted white and then spray some paint.

Once everything is dry I lay my template back on to the work piece and this time I attach it to the work piece using painter's tape. For this next step it is important to make sure the template is secure and will not move around.

With the template secured to the MDF I then begin tracing all the black lines on the template, again using my ball point pen. This will leave small impression lines in the paint that you can use as a sort of guide. Once I trace all the black lines on my paper template. I remove the template and begin to trace all the "impression" lines with my black paint markers. Do this for the entire piece, if you get confused on an area just double check your template. It also helps to have a reference picture while you do this work.

This is not a fast process but as a person who has no artistic skill I feel it can produce great results. I am very pleased with how this turned out. I hope you found this helpful and thank you for taking the time to look at my Instructable.

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