TipoDeemin's Tombstone Entry

[TipoDeemin]

Finally, I have finished!

http://members.aol.com:/SomethingVVicked/MaryStoneThumb.jpg (http://members.aol.com:/SomethingVVicked/MaryStone.jpg)
(Click the picture for a larger view)

This (http://www.fotosearch.com/DGT163/ceu0093/) stone, the one in the front on the right, was the inspiration.

Materials Used
1" thick pink insulation foam = $5 (very generously prorated for the size of the stone)
1 can rejected latex indoor/outdoor paint (brown) = $1
Scrap wood for base = free, taken from discarded pallets
Stone fleck spray paint = 2 cans at $4 a can
Triple expanding spray foam = $3, generic brand
Antique White craft paint = $.79
Clear spray-on sealant = $1.97

Total cost = $19.76

With the materials listed above, I made a total of 3 stones and touched up a couple of last year's. Everything but the latex paint, I already had laying around the house. Figured I'd list the prices, anyway, though. ;)

I've found that the Great Stuff style foam (I use the generic brand because it's half the cost and works just as well for my purposes) holds my tombstones onto their bases better than anything else I've tried, especially with as windy as it can get here in October. I don't recommend settling for the 1" foam like I did unless you're planning on building a stone this small, for pretty much the same reason--doesn't hold up well when it's gusty out.

[GreenCapt]

Very, very nice! :)

[DeathTouch]

Hey, that really does look like a tombstone! Good Job!

[Sinister]

Good entry, Tip! And DT is absolutely correct. It looks like something you would buy anywhere to put on someone's grave to mark their resting place. Are you going to make more for your haunt this year or go with different designs?

[Hellrazor]

I really really like this one. Its "real" looking. I like how you took the pic low too so it looks like its been in the ground a while.....

Tough decisions, very tough decisions

[krough]

Awesome Epitaph.

[Sickie Ickie]

Nice job. It's amazing how tombstones look different, yet they all look good!

[Otaku]

Very realistic. It does look like it's been in the ground for years. Well done, Tipodeemin! How did you do the epitaph?

[Dr Morbius]

Tipo!!!! That is one helluva stone.....Great carving on that rose...simply brilliant!

[ScareFX]

Great stone TipoDeemin. Looks real. :)

[Frighteners Entertainment]

Another great entry!

[Fangs]

Sweet Job! Looks so real! Love your epitaph! :)

[HalloweenRick]

Nice Tipo!

[Hella]

beautifully done Tipo!

[TipoDeemin]

Thanks, all! Getting all this positive feedback really encourages me to start cranking out the props. ;)

I really really like this one. Its "real" looking. I like how you took the pic low too so it looks like its been in the ground a while.....


Confession: I took the pic low because the stone is mounted to a big flat piece of scrap wood with holes through it so I can nail it into the ground. I didn't have all the autumn leaves I use around Halloween to cover up the base, so I stuck it behind some tall-ish grass and took the pic at such a height that the base was covered. :ninja:

Very realistic. It does look like it's been in the ground for years. Well done, Tipodeemin! How did you do the epitaph?

I printed the epitaph out on my computer in the font I wanted, tacked it to the face of the stone with push pins (the paint fills in the holes, no problem!), and then used an exacto knife to cut the letters out. If you tilt the knife in towards the center of the letter as you cut, you get that nice angled look. If you goof up cutting out letters, they just look like they've been chipped or eroded by the weather once the stone is done. I also like to let the paint fill them partially in random places throughout the lettering, for the same reason--it makes the stone look more weather-worn. Unfortunately, the exacto knife thing isn't my clever idea; it's one I yoinked from a great tutorial on the 'net. Were I less lazy, I'd look it up and link it here...

[ScareFX]

...Unfortunately, the exacto knife thing isn't my clever idea; it's one I yoinked from a great tutorial on the 'net. Were I less lazy, I'd look it up and link it here...

Borrowing techniques is what we all do! I used the exacto knife technique on my first stone. I found it on a fav site of mine, The Moonlit Project.

http://www.horrorseek.com/halloween/juggernaut/stnd7.html

http://www.horrorseek.com/halloween/juggernaut/

[TipoDeemin]

That's the tutorial that inspired me, Woody. :)

Oh, and Sin, I can't believe I didn't see your comment yesterday! To answer your question, I'm planning on doing a couple more in this style to pad my graveyard out, but I don't want them all standardized; I want a wide variety of stones. So only a couple more like this, and then I'm finished.

[Sinister]

Can't wait to see them Tip! You'll definitely have to share them with us. :)

[heresjohnny]

Very nice, I think this is the most realistic stone I have seen yet!