Purple Silhouette Waterslide

Thought I'd share this silhouette image I've made to fill the blank wall space across from my bed.  The material is black foamcore with the face painted purple.  I like that the image sticks out from the wall and has a very slight dimension and shadow that a decal wouldn't.  It was also quite fun to just make up some twisting shapes.

My process:
- I painted foamcore to the desired color, purple.
- I hung scrap paper over the wall where the image would be (I used some old newsprint and unsticky drafting tape).
- I sketched the desired image onto the paper.  I knew that I wanted the image single colored so I used simple shapes to concoct the image and left slight breaks between sections in order to allow shadow and wall color to permeate through contiguous shapes.  I also sketched it in place on the wall for easier sizing and perspective.
- I labeled each section on the sketch.  In this case, each slide had a different-colored numbering scheme so pieces would not get confused.
- I removed small sections of the sketch off the wall one at a time and tacked them lightly onto the purple foamcore board.  I then cut around each shape with an xacto knife cutting through both sketch and board below.  As each piece became loose, I labeled its back to keep it organized.
- I then tacked the foamcore pieces back onto the wall, trying to fit them back into place and making sure that they lined up with those parts of the paper sketch still hanging on the wall.  For my attachment I used a wall mounting sticky tack.  I did this because I wasn't sure how permanently I'd want the image, but I've kept it almost a year.  I've occasionally had to retack a piece or two that sags out of place, but I think it's held up remarkably well because each section is so small and light.
- I repeated the sketch to foamcore transfer process until the entire image was completed.
- I discarded the cutting scraps and stepped back to admire.

One thing that made this project difficult was that the foamcore curled slightly when painted with latex paint on one side.  I had to bend some of the pieces flat so they would stay on the wall.  It's also cleaner looking when uniformly flat.  I don't know what would get them flat to begin with, but painting the back side  might, or flattening the whole boards under something else flat.  Overall it's not too bad as is, and I'm quite content with it.  It still brightens up my room and makes visiting friends joke that it's a little kid's room.