Murals, Installations & Live Art

Brands are increasingly looking to artists to create “wow factor” moments for their customers and employees through experiences and installations. From large-scale murals designed to attract Instagram photos to live hand-painted customization of products to custom in-store displays, artists are really getting up close and personal with consumers.

How It Works

Murals, installations, and live art all require artists to do some on-the-spot creating. For some, this can be trilling, and for others...terrifying. While it’s always important to go into any of these kinds of projects with a plan in mind, creating in front of people in real-time or with a deadline can still be a lot of pressure.

Murals

Muralists typically create large-scale art pieces on walls, both indoors and outdoors. They will create a design and plan for the mural first. Once the design is approved, the artist will transfer the design to the physical space via a method like projection, pouncing, or gridding. Depending on the size of the piece, artists may need to use scaffolding or lift equipment, as well as installation materials such as paints, rollers, tarps, tape, etc. When pricing murals, it’s important for the artist to consider all those extra material costs in addition to time, labor, and marketing value of the art they’re creating.

Live Art

One of the most up-and-coming examples of live art is in-store customization of products. Brands like Coach, Vans, and Away are bringing in artists to paint custom monograms or illustrations on their customers’ purchases. In most cases, artists pre-determine a few style or color options that the customer can choose from so that they have a bit of control in this on-the-spot interaction.

Installations

Installations at company parties, conferences, retail stores, etc… are becoming increasingly popular in the age of social media. Artists work with all sorts of materials to create eye-catching 3D designs, from paper to fabric to wood....or anything else they can imagine and get their clients to sign off on. Artists may be able to assemble some or all of the installation pieces beforehand, but often there’s at least some element of attaching, hanging, or finagling to be done on-site in the final space.

Helpful Articles

Breaking Into Live Event Calligraphy

Sylvia Wong shares how you can break into live event or luxury calligraphy and how lucrative it can be, even as a side hustle.

5 Tips on How To Get Mural Jobs

The business of murals by Ted Hundred. Including tips on concept art, and booking mural jobs.

5 Tips on How to Price Your Murals, Get Paid, & Not Get Screwed

The business of murals Part 2 . Tips on pricing, contracts and making sure your ducks are in a row.

      The Pros
  These are specialized jobs, so you can usually price pretty high
Fun, creative challenges that can get you thinking outside the box
Competition is relatively low
You can expose lots of new people to your work


    

      The Cons
  Potential for mishaps or unplanned roadblocks is high
Can be physiically demanding
Can be very time-consuming
These art forms are more permanent than others and can be difficult to change after completion if needed
 
  

Other Stuff to Note

When it comes to creating art that could result in bodily harm or property damage, you might need liability insurance. Make sure you look into this before you book a big job!

Murals, Installations & Live Art could be right for you if…

• You enjoy the physical aspect of creating
• You aren’t freaked out by the idea of messing up in front of an audience
• You’re good at problem solving on the fly
• You’re confident and have a good and steady hand
• You’re not afraid of heights

How to Get Started

If you’re thinking about getting into murals, installations or live art, start with mock-ups and creating one for yourself!

1. Create a mural in your house – Learn how to use a projector (or freehand) and pull out the paints! Use your own house (or a friends) to test the waters and learn as much as you can.

2. Test, Test, Test – Before you volunteer to customize Gucci bags, start personalizing your own! Plus, they make for great gifts and gives you an opportunity to test materials and your process.