Q.How do I commission a Mural?
Q.How much will it cost?
Q.What’s the deal with the 2 of you working together?
Q.What can you paint on and what with?
Q.How long will it take?
Q.What if I don’t know what I want?
Q.Prior to mural painting what type of preparation is required?
Q.How do I pay you?
Q.Where do you travel to?
Q.Can I commission a canvas painting instead?
Q. How do I commission a Mural?
Simply contact me and we can discuss your ideas and work out a plan of action.
Either myself, or Stacey (Or both of us!) can meet you at the site at which you are planning the mural to discuss your ideas and requirements.
This will also give us chance to meet each other and get a better idea of what you have in mind as well get some photographs and measurements. By involving you as much as possible from the outset ensures you will get a mural that is perfect for you.
You will not be charged for a consultation unless either of us needs to travel out of the Greater Manchester area, in which case we can simply agree a cost to cover petrol.
Stage One.
Depending on how big the job is, and whether it will require both of us, we will go ahead and produce some initial sketches and idea boards based on what we have spoken about to make sure we both have a clearer idea of what the finished design will look like.
For this, a non-refundable deposit of £100 to cover design time and costs will be required. This will be deducted from the final price.
Stage 2
Once you have checked and approved the designs then we are good to go and the fun bit can start!
A further deposit of around 25% of the agreed price will ensure we can get everything ready in preparation of starting your mural. After the wall/walls in question have been fully prepared, your mural will start then start life as hand drawn images on the wall, before being traced over in black paint. 
Stage 3. Any background will be painted over the black lines so the original outline will still show through. This is a much better method than drawing details onto the painted background as it prevents dirty pencil marks and smearing. 
Stage 4. Once the background is dry, the details and characters are then added, which again can often take up to another 2-5 coats! sometimes an extra coat of acrylic matt varnish is applied on top for added protection. 
Stage 5. Once the mural is finished the outstanding balance will need to be paid minus the deposits before we part ways and you can enjoy your unique room for years to come! 
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Q. How much will it cost?
The million-dollar question! Due to the fact that these murals are as individual as the children they are painted for, there are a number of factors to consider that will determine the price of your mural.
Factors to consider are:
- The size of the mural,
- The detail involved,
- The wall quality & texture
- If a ceiling is involved
More complex designs and larger rooms will take a longer so the costs can range from a few hundred pounds for simpler designs, up into the thousands for complex whole room designs. you are guaranteed a unique piece of fantastic art created just for you, in return for your hard earned cash!
As a rough guideline, a mural can start from as low as £150 for a simple design requiring just one of us on the premises for one full day. For 2 of us, the cost will be based around £300 per day. (Bearing in mind larger commissions can then be completed in half the amount of time!). 1 working day is classed as approximately 8 hours work time.
We are currently quoting so competitively as neither of us are full time muralists and take on a lot of design/illustration work as well. We will mostly take bookings in weekend slots, but larger commissions can be accommodated for too as long as they are booked with plenty of notice.
The quote you are given will be the final price you pay and will include materials, as well as any travel and accommodation expenses for commissions further afield. Most fixed budgets can be accommodated for so there are no surprises.
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What’s the deal with the 2 of you working together?
No, we’re not related in any way, but are just great friends with a very similar illustration style and childish sense of humour!
We both studied Illustration and Animation at Bolton Uni (Although my modules were part of the Graphic Design degree), just a year apart. I first met Stacey when I came back to Uni after graduating to give a talk about life ‘on the outside’. Our tutor introduced us after saying how much we reminded him of each other both in personality and illustration style, and the rest is history!
Freelancing can be a lonely job, and after becoming friends we decided to share experiences and break free from ‘rivalry’ by teaming up to become double the trouble! If either of us is overloaded with work, we recommend the other, or join forces where bigger commissions may require a team. It’s great we can bounce ideas from each other as this is a basic flaw of going it alone too. We both liked the idea of painting a mural, so simply went with it and Green Jelly Murals was born!
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Q. What can you paint on and what with?
Depending on the finish you require, we can usually accommodate most surfaces.
Large interior areas are painted using a mixture of white emulsion and acrylic colours, and can require anything from 2-5 coats to create a good quality, vibrant and durable finish. Sometimes an extra coat of acrylic matt varnish is applied on top for added protection.
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Q. How long will it take?
Depending on the size, detail, and difficulty factors. A commission can be completed in anything from a couple of days to weeks or longer.
The room you see shown was completely covered, and took 2 of us approximately 8 days to complete. Please contact me if you would like to chat about availability.
We will do all we can to minimize the time we are with you, but obviously without compromising quality. This usually means working irregular hours if necessary as we both also have full time illustrating/design jobs too! This is also the reason we are currently quoting so competitively. We will mostly take bookings in weekend slots, but larger commissions can be accommodated for too as long as they are booked with plenty of notice.
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Q. What if I don’t know what I want?
If you don't know what you want, both myself and Stacey will put our heads together and think of some spectacular ideas that we’re sure you’ll love!
All of the murals are unique one offs, and no design will be exactly duplicated.
We also encourage you to take advantage of our character design skills and go for something other than famous characters! We will always try to personalize a mural in some way, whether it be with a with a name/business/date of birth or ‘cartoon-cature’ to ensure your mural is something 100% unique.
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Q. Prior to mural painting what type of preparation is required?
In short, preparation is key to a good result!
Ideally the walls should be new plaster, dried thoroughly, and sealed with plaster sealer before adding one coat of thinned white matt emulsion to prime the surface, (paint : water ratio about 80 : 20). Finally, One coat, or 2 quick coats of normal white emulsion will really help the final colours to be as vibrant as possible.
A wall painted with a colour may also be a suitable base, but the darker the background, the less vibrant the finished colours will appear. Old plaster is sometimes okay to paint on but should at least be painted with one/two coats of white matte emulsion.
At the very-very least, all loose material should be removed and any holes should be filled. Good condition lining or wallpaper can be painted over with just one normal coat of white matte emulsion but vinyl wallpapers are unsuitable and should be removed and the walls relined.
We can carry out this stage for you, but this will be charged at normal daily rate so it is generally more beneficial for you to have this organized beforehand.
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Q. How do I pay you?
Bank transfers, cheques and cash are all fine and we can also accept PayPal for a small additional fee (to cover the commission PayPal take for transactions).
Generally, a non refundable deposit of £100 to cover design time and costs will be required after your free consultation, should you choose to go ahead with the project. This will be deducted from the final price.
For larger commissions a further 25% of the agreed fee is to be paid upfront upon acceptal of the design and the remaining balance to be paid upon completion.
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Q. Where do you travel to?
We are both from Bolton, North West England (Born & Bred!) but will be willing to travel just about anywhere if we can come to some agreement additional travel and accommodation costs. (If necessary!)
For a general jist, anywhere out of the Greater Manchester area will be charged at approximately 40p per mile.
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Can I commission a canvas painting instead?
It is possible to supply hand painted canvasses for shipping, but you will need to let me know how big you need it and where it will be delivered to before I can quote accurately. Prices also vary depending on complexity and size, but can be supplied for as little as £50.
A non-refundable deposit of 25% will be is required to cover materials and design time and you will receive regular updates via e-mail on the progress of your canvas. Full payment must clear before your original artwork will be dispatched.
I cannot be held responsible for any damage during transit. Where possible, insurance for this (rare) kind of occurrence will be covered in the postage.
Again, our canvases will also be personalized where possible and make a fantastic keepsake or gift. The Tinkerbell design you see above was painted from a picture supplied from the client. This was 24x24” (60x60cm) and priced at £175.
If you can think of anything else you would like to know, please contact me. Green Jelly Murals look forward to hearing from you!
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