• 60 designs

Parking Spot Painting Ideas for Senior Year, With Taping Notes

Three senior parking space designs at a time, each with the colours to buy and how much taping it takes.

Parking Spot Painting Ideas for Senior Year, With Taping Notes

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  1. Licence plate with your nameWhite, navy, red. Light tape: the space is already plate shaped; four bolt circles, SENIOR along the head end.
  2. Koi pond seen from aboveTeal, orange, white, green. No tape: three koi curve round the middle; lily pads fill the corners the car leaves clear.
  3. Red octagon with your own four lettersRed, white. Light tape: octagon as wide as the space, white border, DONE or NAPS in block capitals.

Next step Try an easy canvas firstPractise block lettering on paper

All 60 designs

Easy 23

  • Battery icon at one percent White, black, red. Light tape: battery outline along the length, one thin red bar left at the aisle end.
  • Checkerboard across the whole space Two colours. Heavy tape: six squares across, grid snapped with a chalk line; roll the lighter colour first.
  • Checkered finish line at the aisle end Black, white, base colour. Heavy tape: three rows of checks across the aisle end only, one solid colour behind.
  • Colour-block quarters with one initial Four colours, white. Light tape: halve the space both ways; one white initial in an aisle-side quarter.
  • Cow print on a white base White, black, pink. No tape: big uneven black patches, none touching the stall lines, a pink nose-sized one.
  • Daisy field on green Green, white, yellow. No tape: lid-sized yellow centres first, then eight fat white petals round each one.
  • Giant class-year numerals Base colour, white. Light tape: two numerals fill the space, each half its length; tape every straight side.
  • Giant polka dots on a solid base Base colour, white. No tape: trace a bucket lid in chalk for every dot, fill with a small roller.
  • Hello-my-name-is sticker Red, white, black. Light tape: red bands at the head and aisle ends, white middle, your name in brush script.
  • Name stacked one letter per row Two colours. Light tape: divide the length into equal rows, one capital in each, letter feet toward the aisle.
  • Plain base with a one-foot contrast border Two colours. Light tape: a border one foot wide just inside the lines; it still shows with the car parked.
  • Rainbow arcs from one aisle corner Six brights. No tape: pin a string-and-chalk compass at the corner, one roller width to each band.
  • Red octagon with your own four letters Red, white. Light tape: octagon as wide as the space, white border, DONE or NAPS in block capitals.
  • Reserved-for stencil lettering Bare asphalt, white or yellow. No tape: cut card stencils with bridges in each letter; dab paint with a sponge.
  • Senior-year loading bar at 99 percent Black, white, green. Light tape: one rounded bar across the width, almost full, 'Loading' lettered above it.
  • Shoreline seen from above Sand, white, turquoise, navy. No tape: one wavy diagonal foam line; sand on one side, water deepening on the other.
  • Smiley face as wide as the space Yellow, black. No tape: string-compass circle nearer the aisle end, two tall oval eyes, one arc for the mouth.
  • Speed limit sign showing your class year White, black. Light tape: white base, black border a hand wide, 'Senior limit' over two giant numerals.
  • Sticky note with a to-do list Yellow, deeper yellow, black. No tape: one aisle corner curled in deeper yellow; three items, two ticked off.
  • Sunburst rays from the aisle edge Yellow, orange, white. Light tape: rays fan out from the middle of the aisle edge; alternate two colours.
  • Two-colour split down the diagonal Any two colours. Light tape: snap one chalk line corner to corner, tape along it, roll each half.
  • Wide racing stripes up the middle Base colour, white, black. Light tape: two stripes from aisle to head end, a roller wide, thin black edges.
  • Yellow warning diamond: senior crossing Yellow, black. Light tape: a diamond point to point across the width, black inner border, two words in capitals.

Signs and games 9

  • Board-game property square with your street White, one bright, black. Light tape: colour band at the head end, your name as the street, a joke price below.
  • Green exit sign to graduation Green, white. Light tape: white border with rounded corners, 'Graduation next exit', an arrow to the head end.
  • Hopscotch court up the length Base colour, white, brights. Light tape: ten numbered squares from the aisle end, singles and pairs by turns.
  • Letter tiles spelling your name Cream, tan, black. Heavy tape: one square tile per letter down the length, a small point value in each corner.
  • Licence plate with your name White, navy, red. Light tape: the space is already plate shaped; four bolt circles, SENIOR along the head end.
  • Orange work-zone diamond: senior at work Orange, black. Light tape: diamond across the width, a stick figure asleep at a desk in the middle.
  • Playing card: the ace of your initial White, red or black. Light tape: white base, initial and suit in two opposite corners, one big suit in the centre.
  • Scoreboard stuck on your class year Black, amber, white. Heavy tape: HOME and GUESTS boxes, every digit built from taped seven-bar segments.
  • Tennis court seen from above Blue, green, white. Heavy tape: lay every court line in tape over white, paint, then peel; green surround.

Screens and paper 8

  • Calendar page with graduation ringed White, red, black. Heavy tape: red header band with the month, a five-row grid, one date ringed by hand.
  • Composition notebook cover Black, white. Light tape: sponge white blotches over black; a white label box with your name, subject: leaving.
  • Instant-photo frame with a caption White, sky blue, black. Light tape: white border, deepest at the aisle end; the caption there shows when parked.
  • Lined paper with a red margin White, light blue, red. Heavy tape: blue rules a foot apart across the width, one red margin down a long side.
  • Now-playing screen with you as the artist Charcoal, white, one bright. Heavy tape: square cover at the head end, two title lines, progress bar, three buttons.
  • Postage stamp with a scalloped edge White, two colours. No tape: scallops all round from a traced lid, one simple picture, class year as the price.
  • Search bar asking how to graduate White, grey, black. Light tape: a rounded bar across the width, a magnifier circle, your question in plain capitals.
  • Two message bubbles and three dots White, grey, one bright. No tape: a grey bubble from the left, your bright reply from the right, typing dots last.

Sunsets and scenes 11

  • Desert dusk with saguaro silhouettes Orange, magenta, black. No tape: blended sky, a low black horizon at the aisle end, two saguaros and a wire fence.
  • Hot-air balloons drifting up the length Sky blue, white, four brights. No tape: biggest balloon near the aisle, smaller toward the head; sponge clouds.
  • Koi pond seen from above Teal, orange, white, green. No tape: three koi curve round the middle; lily pads fill the corners the car leaves clear.
  • Mountain layers paling toward the head end Navy, three lighter blues, white. No tape: jagged ridges across the width, darkest at the aisle, palest far off.
  • Night sky with one real constellation Navy, white, pale yellow. No tape: dot the stars from a chart, join them with thin lines, spatter the rest.
  • Road running to a vanishing point Grey, yellow, green, sky blue. Light tape: road edges close in toward the head end; centre dashes shrink as they go.
  • Skyline at dusk along the aisle end Orange, pink, black, yellow. Light tape: sponge-blend the sky, tape block buildings across the aisle end, dot windows.
  • Sunflowers growing in from both long sides Sky blue, yellow, brown, green. No tape: stems lean in from each long side, so the heads show beside the car.
  • Sunset stripes with palm silhouettes Purple, pink, orange, yellow, black. Heavy tape: four taped sky bands, half sun at the aisle end, palms up the sides.
  • Swimming pool with a float ring Aqua, white, navy, pink. Light tape: one navy lane line up the middle, a pink ring, loose white ripple squiggles.
  • Wildflower border round all four sides Base colour, two greens, five flower colours. No tape: a foot-deep frame of stems and blooms round the parked car.

Name and quote 9

  • Jersey back with your own number One main colour, white. Light tape: shoulders at the head end, surname arched above a big squad number; no crest.
  • Marquee sign with bulb dots Red, cream, yellow. Light tape: cream panel, name in red capitals, a border of lid-traced yellow dots as bulbs.
  • Monogram in a circle Base colour, white, gold. No tape: string-compass circle at the centre, three initials, the surname letter largest.
  • Name in block capitals read from the aisle Base colour, white, black. Heavy tape: letters built from tape-edged bars, a hand-wide drop shadow to one side.
  • Nickname in bubble letters with a shine Base colour, two brights, white. No tape: fat overlapping letters, a white shine on each, a dark outline last.
  • Quote running round the border Base colour, white. Light tape: tape a one-foot track inside the lines and letter it clockwise, to read round the car.
  • Ribbon banner across the aisle end Base colour, red, white. No tape: a banner with folded, notched tails across the width, name in capitals.
  • Three-line quote with one huge word Dark base, white, one accent. Light tape: small line, giant key word, small line; snap each baseline in chalk.
  • Your signature, enlarged by grid Base colour, white. No tape: grid a paper signature one square to the foot, redraw it in chalk, paint over it.

How it works

A parking space is a canvas you read from one end, at a slant, with a car parked on most of it. These 60 parking spot painting ideas for a senior space each give the colours, how much taping the design takes and which end it faces. Your school's rules come first.

Read the full guide

A tall rectangle with a car on it

US spaces are usually 8.5 to 9 feet wide and most run 16 to 20 feet deep, close to two to one. Licence plate with your name fits because plates were fixed at 6 by 12 inches in 1956, the same proportion. Your car hides the middle, so six designs are planned round it, such as Quote running round the border.

School rules, then chalk, tape and rollers

Senior parking spot painting ideas start with questions for the office: which paint, which day, whether a sketch needs approval, whether the white stall lines stay untouched. Then sweep, sketch in pavement chalk and snap a chalk line for long edges. Of the 60, 21 need no tape, 29 light tape and 10 heavy.

  • Pick one roller and no tape for a first go: Giant polka dots on a solid base and Reserved-for stencil lettering are two of 23 easy parking spot painting ideas.
  • To scale a sketch, rule it into squares, one per foot, chalk the same grid on the asphalt and copy square by square, as Your signature, enlarged by grid does.
  • Roll the lightest colour first and tape over it once dry. Water-based acrylic turns water-resistant as it dries, so lift drips while wet.

Questions and answers

What paint do I use on a parking spot?

Whatever your school names, because it owns the asphalt. Exterior acrylics are made to resist water and ultraviolet light better than indoor paint, but we do not test paints, so how long yours lasts under tyres is a question for its label.

Can I paint a logo or a lyric?

None of the 60 uses one, or any app's screen: a school can refuse them. Now-playing screen with you as the artist uses only shapes every player shares: a cover square, a progress bar, three buttons. The road signs are parodies: the octagon has meant stop since 1922 and turned red in 1954, so yours says DONE.

Where should the lettering go so people can read it?

Face it to the aisle, where people walk past. Name stacked one letter per row points each letter's feet toward the aisle, Instant-photo frame with a caption keeps its caption at the aisle end, the strip that shows when the car is parked, and Quote running round the border reads clockwise round the car.

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