Trompe L'oeil Murals Using Stencils by Melanie Royals

With the advent of laser-cut plastic stencils, home decorators and hobbyists can now find hundreds of inexpensive and easy-to-use stencils for creating stunning illusions on walls, floors and ceilings. This guide provides the instruction they need to use these stencils with skill and confidence. Step-by-step, it covers the necessary skills, tools and techniques required to create realistic visual effects in a matter of hours.

After learning to combine stencils, shields and tape with simple paint techniques, readers are guided through a series of preliminary tryouts and small scale projects. Readers will learn how to: select projects to match specific rooms, buy the proper equipment; prepare surfaces, manipulate stencils, and apply paint. The final section provides more advanced instruction on layout, planning and perspective for large-scale projects.