Ceiling Painting Tutorial - How to Paint a Ceiling Mural

In this video, I’m share my process for painting a ceiling mural. After measuring the space and doing a test section, I created a grid on the ceiling with blue tape and flagging tape. I liked using flagging tape because it has a bit of give and is non-adhesive, which made it easy to get under and connect my drawing. Blue tape, string, or drawing a line on the ceiling would have worked fine too. I used graphite transfer paper to transfer my sketch onto the ceiling rather than freehand sketch within the grids. It took a little prep time off-site to print out the different sections to fit into the grids but doing that saved me a ton of time (and neck pain) on-site. This method also ensured that the sketch on the ceiling accurately matched my original sketch. I went over the lines with a white charcoal pencil to make them more visible. Marks from these pencils can be wiped off with a wet cloth or paper towel. A ladder offered a better painting angle for the side walls while scaffolding made it easier to paint the ceiling.
Unique product links for supplies mentioned are below:
- 3M blue tape: amzn.to/3sioGry
- Flagging tape: amzn.to/3yA4eqf
- No 2 pencils: bit.ly/no-2-pe...
- White charcoal pencils: amzn.to/38aVmwf
- Coffee cups with lids: amzn.to/3LXfxMR
- Scaffolding: amzn.to/390Lcys
- Werner 7 ft ladder: amzn.to/3vOFY1y
- Saral transfer paper: bit.ly/saral-t...
- Stanley 35 ft tape measure: amzn.to/3kNnSXq
Feel free to ask any questions!
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#paintingaceiling
#ceilingpainting
#ceilingmural

[@NikitaCoulombe]

Timestamps:
0:09 - Make sure you are painting your image in the desired direction
0:23 - Create a grid on the ceiling that corresponds with your image
0:56 - Print out sections of your image to fit inside the corresponding sections of the ceiling grid
1:20 - Affix ceiling sections with tape and then use carbon transfer paper to trace the image onto the ceiling
1:50 - Ladders vs scaffolding
2:01 - Coffee cups with lids are great for keeping paint fresh and not taking up much space
2:25 - Ceiling finished

[@shoeboxofangels]

Wow! This looks like a challenging project! End results look very rewarding! Beautiful! Lots of energy goes into something like that! Keep up the awesome job! Love you're channel! Subbed 💯🎨🎶

[@NikitaCoulombe]

Thank you so much!

[@douglaschandler199]

That’s really impressive! The grid work was genius! Another great idea was the scaffolding.

[@NikitaCoulombe]

Thank you!

[@thomaskiser3886]

Michelangelo did this with a very famous ceiling mural he painted at the Sistine chapel in 1508

[@NikitaCoulombe]

Interesting, thank you for sharing, I didn’t know that he also used a grid. It makes sense, especially with so many awkward angles.

[@thomaskiser3886]

@@NikitaCoulombe oh I mean laying down on scaffolding!I think he pounced the image actually haha

[@irfanfarooq99]

This is so beautiful and mind blowing!! Fantastic! Not at all easy...I guess besides artistic talent u also have superb fitness! :)

[@NikitaCoulombe]

Thank you, Irfan! It definitely wasn't easy but the scaffolding helped a lot. If you spread out like a starfish it can actually be kind of comfortable :)

[@WildWatch]

Great job!

[@NikitaCoulombe]

Thank you, Adam!

[@jakovj.m.5322]

Thanks for videos like this, I wouldn't sound rude but I'm interested (if it's possible) how you set the price for murals like this, roughly, it doesn't have to be anything concrete, I know every work has a specific value, just to have some information, thanks, you're great 🙂🙏

[@NikitaCoulombe]

Hi Jakov, that's not rude at all. My artist friends and I discuss these things all of the time! One of my friends, for example, charges roughly $35 per sq ft for murals and her work is usually somewhat complex and geometric but with flat colors or gradients. I did not charge this much. While some areas had no paint on them at all, there was a fair amount of prep time off-site and on-site, which involved all of the ceiling. I based the price on how long it has taken me to do other line paintings but estimated it would take 50% longer due to the nature of painting on a ceiling. I also increased my rate because painting on a ceiling is more difficult and taxing on the body. So I'd say first, keep track of how long it takes you on average to paint per sq ft in each style that you do so you will be able to accurately estimate if/when you paint a mural. It's also good to know how much supplies cost you per sq ft.

[@ricanryker6441]

A projector would've been way more convenient & quicker

[@NikitaCoulombe]

For some walls/ceilings a projector could be faster. For this ceiling, which measured 33 feet, I don't see how that would have been feasible.