Harry Potter Room

So right when I got home from Korea, my parents were in the middle of finishing their Lodge by the lake. They asked me to do a mural embodying the world of Harry Potter, under the stairs for the the grand kids to enjoy. More specifically this room:

So This is the entrance to the room, it is small so no adult will mistake it for their room.

 

 The space is just a crawl space under the main staircase, with the ceiling slanting down till it dissappears into the floor.

And my mother had found this really cool light at an estate sale. The light is originally used for ships but it fits perfectly with the room.

 

 

So I got this whole room to paint and with just the mention of the fact that they want the Harry potter castle in it. And I just thought I would also include all the stories that I have grown to love through the years. 

 So, I started painting the sky, making sure to have lots of clouds and I decided to paint the receding side of the room dark as though the area is cursed with night.

 Then, I discovered that chalk is a great medium to use to drawout the areas that I wanted to paint, especially when planning out where I wanted certain parts of the room.

 After plotting out the mountains and castles, I started painting and blocking in the major themes of the room. I tried to keep the background really cool (temperature) so that it will stay in the background, but the half dome turn out looking like an iceberg, so I had to warm it up a little.

 So after the background was finished I added the foreground and that includes paradise falls from Up. Adventure is out there. I also finished the lamp post that was inspired from Narnia. And what is a Harry Potter castle without the enchanted lake in the foreground, that and since we are at our lake place there should likewise be a lake in the mural.

 I also finished the background of the far-wall and along with the foreground elements. The mountain in the background is Mt. Spokane, Then I added the lone tree, it represents the whomping willow even though it is not a willow, and it isn't violent.... sorry.

 The following trip up I finished the entrance to the room, I made it like the kids or whoever enters are leaving the cabin behind and entering the fantasy world. The small wall above represents the real world and that is where I will paint the animals of the 'real' world.

 Then I also had to fill in the dead zone area, this is the land as it falls into the eternal night area. So there will be a lot of dead trees and basic mysterious foggy areas.

 I wanted to finish most of the room for the weekend where my nieces and nephews were coming into town so that I could have something to surprise them and also have them to also leave their hand prints on the wall. Just another way, that the kiddies can claim the area as their own, like a tree house.

And finally, after a few months of work I finished with the background and added the character to have a finished and beautifully inspiring Harry Potter world.

 On the picture above, I added Firekrag the dragon chained to a tree to guard against any baddies coming from the eternal night land. Then also there is a little Tinkerbell flying above and also if you look close, there is a little Totoro playing a flute in the tree.

 This is the main wall and has the most characters as well. In the background is the house from Up, along with the balloons, in the lake there is the little mermaid and the lockness monster. Then on the right side is a unicorn from the Last Unicorn, along with the forest creatures saying goodbye to her as she leaves to find her own kind. And watching over all of the land is the pegasis.

 The castle probably took the longest to paint but it was totally worth the headache trying to get it in the right perspective and lighting. I think it turned out amazing and since it is the main focal point of the whole room I am happy how it turned out. 

Also for all the princesses lovers out there, I included Rapunzel in one of the towers as she waits for someone to come and get her.

 Here is the lamp and entrance and labeled and finished, it looked so great without the plastic, I also included a mouse and mouse hole by the door. Cute little details :)

 Then I painted the moose and eagle, this was to match the theme of the cabin, which was wilderness and rustic forest.

 And finally, For the etarnal light area, I put in my favorite constellations, which are: Orion, the big dipper, draco, the hydra, and casiopia.

Then when everything was painted and finished. I painted stars all over the ceiling in glow-in-the-dark paint so that when the light are off the kids can still enjoy it. With the light on you don't notice anything there, so it is like an awesome surprise.

It was surprisingly fun doing this project and I am really happy at the results. I am eager to see the excitement in everyone's faces as they crawl into the room and enjoy the world of Stories.