A friend of mine who i went to Graphic design school with shares the same passion for Graffiti art as me, and has this wall in his garden he likes to have painted now and then.

So i came with the suggestion of doing a Venusaur themed mural this time. He agreed so i started sketching and thinking of the placement of this graffiti design, previously i had painted a Mewtwo on this exact wall, so i had to paint over it and say goodbye to one of my old creations.

I really wanted to make sure i were to optimize the space of the wall, because in my opinion too much empty space just doesn’t do a Pokémon like this justice.
I wanted the Venusaur to be intimidating and very ” in your face! ” like.

In the sketch i also made sure the pose was interesting, by making it seem like he is storming towards the viewer, giving it EX / TCG card vibes.

First step of painting Venusaur,

The first step i always do is make sure the surface is quite smooth and clear.
Because the first step is the most important, sketching.
For this i use a white spraycan so i can clearly see the guidelines later on when i will be filling in the larger areas with color.

When the sketch is clear and i have a good idea of placement and shape, i will go on to the next phase, in this stage a lot of redefining and loose lines happen, i am not worrying about it looking clean yet.

Now comes one of my favorite stages, coloring.

I am only focussing on the larger areas at first, as you can see the mint green color is being placed, the Montana spraypaint company calls this color ”Atlantis”.
I also am coloring in the large leaves on it’s back with a more warm tone of green. This is a very basic stage and i do not allow myself to get into detail or shading to really keep it comprehensive and not get lost into detail.

Shading and detailing using Graffiti!

Now that every color is placed i am starting to shade slightly here and there and think about the light source, so i will know where the light will hit the venusaur it’s shapes.
To really give it definition and sell it that ”popping of the wall” effect. This is a stage that requires some thinking and having a grasp of underlying 3d shapes and the effect of light and shadow.

Don’t you just love it when your spraypaint cap clogs like this?, yeah me neither lol!
This is what happens when you forget to shake your can properly i guess 😉

The last stage is the most fun and satisfying stage in my opinion, because now it will really all come together and the expression on Venusaur’s face is really starting to show now.
A slow but rewarding process, you do not want to rush this part, you can either make it or break it in this particular stage!

The last thing i added where the glowing kind of background colors, this is really fun and free to do, it’s a more abstract kind of thing and is only able to show through using the spraypaint medium,
they are called ”flares” in graffiti terms.

The neigbours around had some very positive reactions, and the weather was great. So the experience itself was fun and welcoming. My friend was really excited to see the result and is very happy with his new outside view.
Next time he wakes up and get’s a coffee he will be welcomed by this enormous Venusaur!

Painting Murals are definitely the most rewarding when it comes to this job, and i can’t wait to show you guys what comes next!

If you liked this article, make sure to check out these too! :

How to draw Pokémon Scizor !
How to draw Pokémon Swampert !
Canvas Painting of Pokémon Charizard !

Thank you for reading and have a nice day,

Sjaak Leeflang,

Reskdstroy