Faux Stone Painting Techniques

Zombie-F said:

Since I plan on making my own tombstones this year as well as building a mausoleum, I need to learn some techniques for giving these items a faux stone paint job. Does anyone who checks these forums have any tips or links to good how-tos for this sort of thing?

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I made a mausoleum this year and found a great way to get the look and texture of granite that's fairly cheap and easy....I used asphalt patch (for large holes from home depot)(there is also one for small patch jobs but it is waaay thicker and harder to use!)....after making the walls (4' wide X 5' high) and Dremeling out the outlines of the 'blocks' of stone and giving it a coat of latex, I troweled on the asphalt patch- fairly thin overall, but different thicknesses on different 'stones'- using plastic spreaders that I cut out of a Tupperware like box-kinda like trowels and putty knives, but they were pretty flexible which helped alot... some rounded, pointed and square and used them to give different textures to the 'stones'...I let it dry for 3 days and painted the walls with gray latex....when that was dry each stone was colored with different washes - latex & water mixed- with a variety of stone colors....then aged with spray paint/ water spray...the result was incredible!!!! Looked like REAL granite blocks...used the winged gargoyles that Hunted Props has (on sale now for a helluva lot less than I paid for them in August!) on each side of the door in front...check 'em out- they are really cool!:xbones:

The suggestions were still good though, my comment was more to make you realize that there probably wouldn't be a reply from the person who originated this thread.

The multilevel/faceted surfaces definitely help, especially on the surfaces or areas that will be close to the viewer. Often times, you can get great effects by using the 3-D effects near to the viewer and go to more 2-D for stuff in the distance. Once the 3-D aspect is established, people take it for granted that it's all 3-D.

You can get an easy stippled effect using whisk brooms, and or brushes, and a couple of different colors of paint. Laying down a base layer, a light gray/grey in a solid coat over the surface, then, when that layer's dry, use a different color paint, and just dip the tips of the bristles of your whisk broom or brush in to it, then fan the bristles so that they fling the paint onto your object. The more colors/colours you use, the better the effect, but don't kill yourself trying to use a ton of colors, in dim light, much of the color/colour values disappear. A suggestion, start on the back sides of tombstones, crypts, etc. This lets you perfect your new skill on an area that probably won't be seen. Also, try using an old hair comb to fan the bristles on your brush or whisk broom, the individual teeth on the comb make it easier to get a more even stipple.

You can go back with a fine brush and add veins, cracks and fissures.
Getting a book of good reference images for the desired stone(s) can be a major help too. If you want to sculpt using paint, get really good with fan brushes, and or airbrushes. The latter make that kind of work a snap.