Akira Wall Mural - 200 hours work

In 2020 the UK went into lockdown thanks to Covid 19. Our tattoo shop (Studio 81 Preston), was forced to close. We took it as an opportunity to redecorate inside and out. I personally had the chance to create my own individual tattoo room, with a giant wall I decided to paint on.

For inspiration I had to choose Akira - the first anime I saw as a kid. It opened my mind to whole other possibilities in regards to art, animation and culture, and has impacted me years later.

My original design featured a host of other of my favourite anime and manga. Berserk, Blade of the Immortal, Fist of the North Star, and Neon Genesis Evangelion. As I refined and iterated each design, I came up with the final image.

I transferred the design to the wall via the tried-and-true grid method. Wanting a consistent, flat look (like a comic book), I'd decided to spray paint the mural. I masked off each individual area with tape and paper then coloured with Montana 12 spray paint.

This was both my first mural and first experience using spray paints in such a way. I entirely underestimated the amount of time it would take. It would take approximately 2-4 hours to mask an area. About 5 minutes to spray. An hour or two to let it dry, an hour to peel off the mask slowly, then a day to let it dry completely. The process would then start again for each individual element and colour.

It would eventually take around 200 hours to complete. I also filled 12 full bin-liner/trash bags full of used paper and masking tape.

However, it was worth the effort. I hope you enjoy.

Neon Genesis Evangelion art by Yoshiyuki Sadamoto.
Akira art by Katsuhiro Otomo.
Soundtrack - Escape from Underground Fortress - Akira OST - Geinoh Yamashirogumi (used without permission sorry, but I own the actual CD)

#art #akira #anime #manga #howto #wallmural #neongenesis #fanartproject