Mermaid Mural

Liven up your home or patio with a hand painted mermaid mural.

You can see this mural in the Children's Realm at KC Renfest!

You will want to plan ahead which colors you will use on your mural. Plan where this mural will be painted.

This particular one was done on a 4 x 8 sheet of plywood so it can be moved if needed.

If going outdoors, use exterior paint and sealant when done.

Acrylic paint will technically work for outdoors if you clear coat it very well with an exterior sealer.

Neon paints really made this scene pop.
Old house paint can also come in handy.

Other helpful tools are :

Masking tape,

Projector,

Pencil and eraser,

Various sized brushes

Old clothes

and some jams to listen to while painting.

Draw out a mermaid scene. You can sketch the scene, then draw the mermaids or find a clipart or line art that you would like to use and arrange those pieces in the scene you will use.
Paint your background with a blue gradient. Add your water and some clouds.
Next, use masking tape to mark guides as to where each person will be and the boat's length. You want to try to keep everything proportionate.

The boat is pretty easy to freehand once you know the positions of all the mermaids.

Use a projector to draw your outlines of your people.

Start painting in the boat first.

I like to start by painting the skin tones first, then hair of the mermaids.

To make this really pop, draw out a water line in pencil,
Paint under the water line a darker shade of blue. Also paint the underneath of the boat a darker shade of brown,

Add darker and lighter shades to the mermaids to add dimension if you want to. A flat color will work too.

Start painting fins also adding lights and darks.

Add highlights and lowlights to hair and speckles of shimmer to tails.

Also paint the pirates clothing adding folds and accessories like a feather in his hat.

If you've chosen to have accessories in your scene, you can add these at any point really.

I painted the eyes and mouths as the last part of the mermaids.

If you're painting anything with a straight edge. It helps to use masking tape. For the boat oar I lined out my edges and just rounded off the handle.

Finally draw a white line over the waterline mark so it looks like a cross section - like you're looking in an aquarium.

Clear coat everything very well with a clear coat spray. Let dry then place your work somewhere to admire.