Once you have the design ready and materials gathered, it’s time to trace the mural. The school should lay down a coat of primer on the space they want to use. The primer ensures the paint stays on the wall and gives you a white canvas to work with.
Our Process
Dave and I used a projector to project our design onto the wall. We propped it up using a tote box and some binders, making sure that everything was perfectly lined up.
Students came out in groups of threes to trace the drawings with pencil.
As a tip – don’t bother making thick lines. The paint won’t hide the pencil marks well, and it’ll show underneath if the colour is light enough. Have students make thin, light lines.
Students did as much tracing as they could. For the higher places and the motto up top, Dave and I did the tracing since they couldn’t reach. But it’s good to have the students involved when it’s possible.
Implementation
Give your students a timeline of when they should complete the tracing. Since Dave and I only had four weeks, we needed to finish within three hours.
Determine which images you’ll trace and which ones you want the students to do. For example, you might want to trace the letters of a motto or shapes with straight angles.
Also take note of what equipment your school has access to. This will determine how you trace. If your school’s lucky enough to have a portable projector, I highly recommend you use that. Otherwise, students may have to draw by hand. If that’s the case, you can make small marks on the wall to indicate where the images need to go and how big they should be.
Drawing by hand won’t be as clean or crisp as tracing, but the imperfections adds to the character of the wall. Remember, a school mural isn’t supposed to be perfect. It’s a reflection of the students and how they view the community. Having their involvement is more important than being perfect.
Elementary Mural 
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