Creating cut-out murals is a lot of fun and a good idea for schools that like the mobility of being able to move them around if need be. Below is the process I used to create three cut outs for the new Custer SD Elementary school on the West end of the State
Talking with Principal Hiltunen we decided on three cut outs that would help her and the students. They would each be directional in pointing out sections of the building and we also needed to design a brand new Wildcat to match their school colors of purple and gold. Up to this point the school did not have a permanent mascot image they were comfortable with. I did some searching online through several clipart companies and discovered several images that may work. I chose two and purchased them for models that I wanted to use. Actually one was a tiger, but it had the right look for what was required. The price of clipart varies. This project was very affordable for clipart models, only $12.00.
Step one is to sit down at the drawing board and design what is needed according to the clients needs. After a couple of simple changes and modifications with the artwork we came up with three designs everyone liked and wanted on the wall.
Step two is to buy the wood. MFI 3/4 inch wood is the best (I think) for mural cut-outs. It is a bit heavy - but strong and no grain. Excellent to cut and paint on. I prime the 4x8 sheets with two coats of white primer.
Step three is to transfer the design on paper to the larger 4x8 sheet of plywood. I go as large as I can.
Step four is the fun part - cutting it all out. This takes time and patience. I have in time really come to enjoy this part of the creating process. At first it was tricky getting all the little cuts down. But I am getting better all the time.
Step five is to begin painting all three cut-outs accordingly. As you can see I use my garage when the weather is nice. I try to paint them all in tandem using the same layering process of paint - two coats for each color.
The final product is done and ready to be shipped to the school and mounted onto the walls.
