How long does it take to paint a mural?

Our average indoor mural installation time (140sq/ft) takes about three days to complete. This estimate, of course, depends on your design’s size and complexity. We’ll usually paint our murals over a single weekend, but if your artwork is a larger scale, we’ll work with you to develop a complete schedule. Since projects come in all shapes and sizes, it’s difficult to generalize our exact time and process because these factors change with each commission. Depending on your project’s size and complexity, conceptualization, and final artwork production–the mural completion time may range from two to 15 days (or more). Contact us for an estimate.

What do you charge for a mural?

Projects come in all shapes and sizes, so it’s difficult for us to generalize our pricing. On average, the indoor mural commission price is $40.00 (CAD) per square foot unit rate, with a minimum of 100 square feet. Our unit rate may decrease in cost if the mural area is more extensive than 200 sq/ft in size or if we as artists have lots of creative freedom in the artwork’s outcome. Our unit rate may increase in cost if we take on smaller wall sizes or if we need to work within a difficult-to-access area that requires additional personal protection equipment (PPE), aerial/boom or scaffolding rentals, anti-graffiti protection spray (we highly recommend this for all outdoor murals), or specific insurance. If you or your project team need more than three art iterations, we will charge on a cost-per-hour basis.

Are there other mural painting costs and considerations I should consider?

Our cost includes both our artistic fee and all paint material costs. You will be responsible for any necessary wall or surface preparation (cleaning and priming), aerial/boom or scaffolding rental fees, anti-graffiti protection spray (we highly recommend this for all outdoor murals), or specific insurance. We live just north of Nanaimo in Lantzville, Vancouver Island, British Columbia in Canada. If we need to be on-site physically, we may need to charge travel fees if your project is outside of the area.

How much is a custom illustration or packaging design?

Commercial illustration graphics are difficult to price because they are dependent on many factors, including usage rights, distribution, schedules, and more. Please contact us for a better estimate.

Can you tell me more about the process of working with you?

With every project we take on, our goal is to make the process as easy as possible for you. First, we’ll exchange project information with you over email or the phone. Please have the exact dimensions of your space ready so that we can put together a comprehensive quote estimate for you. If the price fits within your budget, we’ll arrange to meet in-person so that we can take detailed measurements of the space. To commit us and book our time, we will issue you an invoice for a non-refundable deposit of 50% of the full project cost and ask that you sign a contract. Once we receive your deposit, we’ll begin conceptualizing and sketching initial ideas and composite them into your space for feedback. We include up to three sketch revisions in our initial fee (we’ll charge for additional revisions on a cost-per-hour basis). When we all agree on the art’s final direction, we’ll move into the final digital production phase so that we can use this as a pattern to meticulously hand-paint the artwork onto your wall. We can also provide digital art files (for a fee), which you can use to complement your marketing campaigns, brochures, business cards, swag, or tradeshow booth graphics. When the mural is complete, you’ll receive a final invoice for the remaining 50% of the project fee and any accrued expenses–due Net 30 from the project’s completion date.

Why are commercial, corporate, or office murals great for my business?

Commercial murals can have an incredible impact on any corporate or business environment’s cultural dynamic, so we’re glad they’re gaining both traction and popularity. We believe visual arts play an essential role in society as a whole. Not only do murals help build tighter communities, but they also put smiles on the people’s faces who live within them. Our past clients have witnessed first-hand the power of adding murals to their spaces. We’ve heard that they help increase creativity, elevate productivity, reduce stress, broaden employee appreciation, and enhance overall morale. And sure, we’ve also heard that staff have to haggle over scheduling boardrooms with beautiful murals in them! They sure make for incredible backdrops on video messaging and Zoom calls, as well as memorable backdrops for magazine covers, headshots, and press/media photoshoots.

What forms of payment do you accept?

We accept Interac e-Transfers from all major Canadian banking institutions, Certified or corporate cheques, or International Wire Transfers. To commit us and book our time, we will issue you an invoice for a non-refundable deposit of 50% of the full project cost and ask that you sign a contract. When the mural is complete, you’ll receive a final invoice for the remaining 50% of the project fee and any accrued expenses–due Net 30 from the project’s completion date. If you need additional work completed after signing the initial contract, we will treat this work as a new request and issue a separate invoice and contract.

Who owns the intellectual property of Pellvetica artwork?

Unless agreed upon otherwise, we always retain full rights to the intellectual property (IP) of all Pellvetica artwork. That said, we will never (ever!) sell your custom, commissioned artwork to someone else without speaking to you first. Your artwork was designed for you and will remain exclusive to you. Past teams we’ve worked with have required us to sell them the IP rights due to non-disclosure agreements (NDAs). We are happy to sign NDAs and unique usage-rights and distribution package agreements. As an option, you can purchase full IP rights for custom-produced artwork for an additional fee. Please speak with us about this, and we’ll find a solution that best suits your needs.

Do you take on pro-bono or volunteer projects?

We love to help our community and support the people who live within it. From time to time, we’ll consider taking on pro bono or volunteer projects (professional work undertaken voluntarily and without payment); however, we must invoice you for all material expenses required, including paint, any necessary wall or surface preparation (cleaning and priming), aerial/boom or scaffolding rental fees, anti-graffiti protection spray (we highly recommend this for all outdoor murals), specific insurance, or any other unforeseen expenses. Pro bono projects are more attractive to us if (1) you give us plenty of creative freedom and (2) if the project benefits a cause that we as artists wholeheartedly support. We’ll often use pro bono or volunteer projects as an opportunity for us to explore a new technique or style because this helps us all mutually benefit from the experience.

Are you open to speaking at our event?

Depending on our schedules, we’ll always consider helping our community by engaging in public events and taking on speaking opportunities where we share our creative process, techniques and tips, key learnings, and best practices. Recently, we partnered with Adobe Live to produce a two-part live/on-demand webinar series designed to help inspire creatives to use the Adobe Creative Suite as part of their mural-making process (Part 1 of 2 and 2 of 2). We’ve also teamed up with the Kitchener-Waterloo Art Gallery’s Youth Council and Youth Resilience Project to inspire young artists as they develop their creative practices. Last year, we gave a keynote presentation as part of the global movement, Fuckup Nights–Kitchener Waterloo, where we shared vulnerable stories about our artistic fails and key learnings. We’ve also spoken with the Art$Pay team of the Waterloo Region.

Where are you located? Vancouver Island, British Columbia 🇨🇦