Graffiti Wall

While walking around the city one day, I passed by the same graffiti wall I'd passed about a million times before. This wall was a favorite picture spot for many people, and it really brightened up the area with its lively colors. I myself had taken pictures in front of the wall several times before, and they always made for a great story to tell.

While thinking about the wall and all of its exciting contributions to the city, I suddenly came up with an idea. What if I could take this bright (although accidental) graffiti wall and recreate it inside the comforts of my own house? I had a game room that could definitely use some lively colors in it, and I'd much rather fill it with a work of art that some boring shade of teal. So I got to work.

I had worked with spray paint before, but never to this extent, so I looked towards the experts: street artists. As I was doing some research on graffiti and collecting ideas for my own work of art, I came across the paint contest. I thought to myself, where better to share my project than on Instructables? So I documented my pursuit as I went through the process, and I'm very pleased with the result.

The graffiti wall started in an effort to take an ordinary room and add something unique. It's become an attraction for friends/family, a creative story to tell, and overall an interesting addition. As a one-of-a-kind extension to a normal wall in my house, the graffiti wall definitely does its job.

Supplies

• Spray Paint
• Newspaper
• Painter's Tape
• Masks
• Drop Cloth
• Fans
• Gloves
• Ladder (Optional)

Step 1: Preparing the Workspace

Before you get started with the painting, you need to tape newspaper to the walls in all of the places that you don't want the paint to touch.

To do this, start by taking the painter's tape and lining each outer-edge of the wall with tape. Try to place the tape as close to the edge as possible without going over it. Make sure to cover absolutely everything that you don't want painted, including the edges of the ceiling and the floor. You can use a ladder to reach the edge of the ceiling if you necessary.

When you finish lining the edges, you need to add newspaper because spray paint can travel far. Add newspaper to the edges of the walls, floor, and ceiling; Be sure to overlap the newspaper with your original tape so that each edge of the wall is completely covered in newspaper and tape. Also be sure to tape up any vents/openings. If you have an open wall with nothing to cover it, you can hang newspaper from the ceiling and tape it in place so that the open side is covered as well.

It's important to have proper ventilation before you start this project, so take your fans and set them up around the works area. I recommend having several large fans as well as opening doors and windows so that the gas has a place to escape to.

Finally, lay down a drop cloth or an old sheet so that the spray paint can't get on the floor. Again, make sure to overlap the drop cloth with the newspaper so that the entire bottom edge and the ground are covered.

Step 2: Painting

Now that you've prepped the workspace, you're almost ready to start painting!

Recruit some friends or family members and get suited up. Put on gloves to keep the paint from getting on your hands, and wear a mask to help prevent you from breathing in the gas.

Then grab as many colors as you'd like and go crazy. You can paint realistic scenes like space and planets, or you can paint abstract things and cover the wall with color. Feel free to use techniques, stencils, or premade designs to create the look that you'd like.

Need some help coming up with ideas? Here are some of ours:

• Flower
• Tree
• Planet
• Space
• Rainbow
• Emoji
• Cloud
• Heart
• Fairy
• Lips
• Skull
• Alien
• Boombox
• Eyes
• Fish
• Building
• Cartoon

The list goes on and on, and you can't go wrong. So have fun and paint away!

Step 3: Remove the Prep Tools

After waiting at least 24 hours for the paint to dry, it's time to remove the newspaper and tape.

Simply go around the wall and pick up all of the newspaper, then peel off all of the tape. Again, you can use a ladder to get to those hard-to-reach places. Once all of the newspaper/tape has been removed, your very own graffiti wall is done!

Step 4: Admire Your Work

Congrats! You've created your very own graffiti wall, so take a step back and admire your work!

If you liked this project, please vote for me in the Instructables Paint Contest!