# Nursery mural - how to paint even black lines?



## sirwired (Jun 22, 2007)

Hmmm... maybe try to find a wide-tip Rapidograph pen from an art or drafting supply? Although I'm not sure artists ink would adhere to paint. A sharpie is not going to provide enough hide.


SirWired


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## DangerMouse (Jul 17, 2008)

i'd use permanent black W-I-D-E tipped 'sharpie' brand markers. it'll give you a FAT half-inch line to work with. (very cartoony) i used them to do a huge spiderman on a friend's wall. it's still there and looks awesome 10+ years later.
buy a few, you'll use them fast using the entire fat edge. if it leaves it too flat or too shiny, just spray clear gloss or clear satin to blend.
(not too thick or it'll run the ink.)
i would not try to use india ink, it'd dry and flake off paint.....
(nice Doctor Suess style there.... where's Horton going to be?)

DM


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## Prangley (May 18, 2009)

Nice, good ideas! :thumbsup:

I like the sounds of the sharpie! But I don't see anything called 'wide'.. the largest on the website appears to be the Sharpie Magnum Permanent Marker and it doesn't say how big the tip is? I guess I will have to hunt some down to see for myself.

And no Horton on this wall.. although, I have Cat In The Hat knobs on the closet and a Green Eggs and Ham light switch cover. Before long I plan to customize a white cieling fan to replace that aweful light fixture as well.

Not even born and spoiled already.


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## DangerMouse (Jul 17, 2008)

http://www.dickblick.com/products/copic-wide-markers/

DM


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## newbpainter (Mar 25, 2009)

I don't think it would look as nice as it does now if you outlined it in black.


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## DangerMouse (Jul 17, 2008)

the outlining would make a big difference. look in any Dr. Suess book! to me it looks unfinished.

DM


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## Prangley (May 18, 2009)

I am with you DM. I want it to look like the book.
I do see Newb's point, it will be more in your face and less subtle then it is now once the black is in. I think my wife feels the same way, but she will get used to it if I change it and add the black. 

Have you used the Copic markers on a wall before DM?

It's been a long day, I will put this off yet again.


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## DangerMouse (Jul 17, 2008)

DangerMouse said:


> i used them to do a huge spiderman on a friend's wall. it's still there and looks awesome 10+ years later.


yup, covered blue and red just fine. except i could have swore sharpie made them, but it was a while ago too......

DM


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## nap (Dec 4, 2007)

you mean these markers?

I couldn't find a dimension on the Sharpie site but a little looking around I found one place that said 1/2 inch. I have had a few of these and I believe they are bigger than 1/2 inch. 

this site says 5/8"

http://shopping.msn.com/specs/sanfo...-chisel-tip-0-625-black-non-refillable-1-each

I would have sworn I had a marker (sanford/sharpie) that was near 1 inch wide.

Art stores, used for making posters.


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## nap (Dec 4, 2007)

I was thinking about this all day long and I came to the conclusion a brush may be the better instrument. A felt tip marker is quite unforgiving for when you wiggle a bit where a brush will help the line flow smoothly since the tip is following the base and the length of the bristles will help eliminate a jerky line.

If you feel you cannot maintain a consistent pressure and will end up with a varied width line, maybe consider a flat brush that the width would be altered less by a difference in either pressure or angle.

one thing that would be good to do before you touch the wall with marker or brush;


practice on something you can clean or dispose of.


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## gma2rjc (Nov 21, 2008)

In the Dr. Seuss books, the black outlining isn't perfect. It looks like it is done freehand. The thickness of the lines varies.


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## nap (Dec 4, 2007)

gma2rjc said:


> In the Dr. Seuss books, the black outlining isn't perfect. It looks like it is done freehand. The thickness of the lines varies.


that's cool but I just thought the marker would make the variations too distinct or sharp while the brush would tend to smooth the variations a bit.


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## gma2rjc (Nov 21, 2008)

> that's cool but I just thought the marker would make the variations too distinct or sharp while the brush would tend to smooth the variations a bit.


That's true, and with a brush the lines would be tapered nicely at the ends as they are in the Dr. S books. But with a paint brush you'd have to stop to re-load it. A marker would be one consistant line. 

If you decide to go with a wide marker, you might be able to find one at a store that sells educational or teacher supplies.

Here's something else to consider. Any mistake you make with a permanent marker can be erased with rubbing alcohol on a rag. Removing paint mistakes would be a little more difficult once the paint is dry.

Nap made a good suggestion. Practice on something. Test the paint brush and the marker. 

Good luck, you're doing a great job so far.


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## Prangley (May 18, 2009)

I have tried a brush and plan to move on to the marker. I will make lines come to a point and vary the width using a marker.. I totally agree about having to reload a small paintbrush. The stop and go on top of the fact that I am not steady enough to begin with with a brush is a bad combo.


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## DangerMouse (Jul 17, 2008)

exactly why i used markers on spidey. the blue and red and other colors were paint.

DM


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## johnnyboy (Oct 8, 2007)

What about acrylic paint pens?


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## Prangley (May 18, 2009)

Wicked deck Johnnyboy.
Did you spray paint it first?


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## Prangley (May 18, 2009)

I purchased the big Magnum Sharpie and some smaller ones as well.

It is not as easy as I would have liked to believe it to be. The marker seems to produce worse lines the lower it gets. See attached file for example. I have a lot of touching up, filling in and darkening to get a complete line.

I just wanted to mention this for anyone else interested in trying this technique.

















G'night!


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## Gary in WA (Mar 11, 2009)

For anyone interested, when you mention specific books and titles, and show it on the web, isn't that plagiarism or using copyrighted material punishable by $2500--$25,000?

http://www.rbs2.com/copyr.htm

Just trying to keep everyone safe here. I may be wrong.......... Be safe, G


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## nap (Dec 4, 2007)

read about the doctrine of fair use. That will take care of some of your concerns.

http://www.copyright.gov/fls/fl102.html

As to what is happening on this particular thread; is the image an exact copy of some of the artwork? If so, then yes, it could be construed as a copyright infringement but since the poster is not using it for a commercial purpose and not for commercial display, chances are there would be no action sought against them. They may even fall under the doctrine of fair use even if it were exact. It is a grey area and the only place it ever really gets decided is in a court room. I do not think the OP has anything to worry about here.

Now, if they were painting these as a business; most definitely a problem.


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## DangerMouse (Jul 17, 2008)

prangley: what type paint did you use? i used high gloss enamel for spiderman and had very little touching up like you seem to have to do. 
is that flat or semi-gloss?

DM


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## Prangley (May 18, 2009)

As was mentioned before, it's for personal enjoyment in my own home and not for profit in any way. So I am not concerned.

I used Para Ultra acrylic latex semi gloss.

I suspect I am also running into this problem because of the shaddy nylon brushes I used where the different colours meet.


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## nap (Dec 4, 2007)

Prangley said:


> As was mentioned before, it's for personal enjoyment in my own home and not for profit in any way. So I am not concerned.
> 
> I used Para Ultra acrylic latex semi gloss.
> 
> I suspect I am also running into this problem because of the shaddy nylon brushes I used where the different colours meet.


I do not believe you have anything to worry about but the other poster is correct in his thoughts. This is a good forum and I believe he was just trying to remind folks about remaining legal.

be sure to post a pic when you are done.

One thing I was thinking was a perfect line would look, well, perfect. Since the style is obviously intended to be imprecise, precision would be out of place.

I still think a round brush would be the way to go. A bit of practice and you would be Picasso redux.:thumbsup:


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## artistic april (Oct 5, 2009)

I've been researching the web for awhile now preparing to do our dr seuss nursery and I came across 2 people who suggested using these...

http://www.dickblick.com/products/decocolor-paint-markers/


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## user1007 (Sep 23, 2009)

You might try a pinstriping brush for this. It will take a little practice but painting lines is what the things are made for. 

They also make little pinstriping rollers set-ups that will do either single or parallel lines. Try an art supply store or check with an auto finish supply company.


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