# Captain Daniel Tombstone



## Terra (Sep 23, 2007)

Note: This is a repost of an old tutorial whose links to pictures were broken with the software update at HF.

Captain Daniel was the theme picked by Chris over at Hauntcast for his tombstone. I made this stone for him as a thank you for bringing Hauntcast back from the grave. This tutorial will show how it's designed at the computer and unique or new techniques used to build it.












There are two videos to watch that will help you see how this build will be like: Designing on the computer...






Building the stone...







Note: Please see the Raven Tutorial for new techniques that were also done for this stone. See Blackbeard's tutorial for a full build tutorial. This tutorial only focuses on what is specific for this stone.


Materials Needed:
Blue or pink 1 1/2" thick foamboard (2/3rds of a board)
21" x 8" plywood
Printer paper
Tape
Latex Drylok (gray or tinted gray)
Foamboard glue (Glidden Gripper and Loctite foamboard glue)
Acetone
Wood filler
Fake seaweed (used Green Weeping Willow greenery): https://www.hobbylobby.com/Floral-W...nery/Green-Weeping-Willow-Hanging-Bush/p/4316
1/2" PVC pipe (two 16" pieces - 32" total)
Paper towels
DAS Clay
Figurehead stand-in: (had used a Disney fairy toy)
Gorilla Glue
Dark gray exterior latex paint - flat
White exterior latex paint - flat
Black acrylic paint - flat
Raw sienna acrylic paint
Burnt umber acrylic paint
Cadmium yellow acrylic paint
Chromium oxide green acrylic paint
Glue sticks
Two 24" rebar rods

Tools Needed:
Jig saw
Mask
Eye protection
Sharpie
Ruler
Photoshop-type program loaded on computer
Rasterbator program loaded on computer
Adobe Reader program loaded on computer
Computer printer
Ruler
Ballpoint pen
Blue painter's tape
Hot Wire Engraver tool
Hot Wire Industrial Knife Kit
Multi-Max Dremel with sander attachment
PVC cutter
Sanding pads
1/4" & 1/2" drill bits
Drill
Paint brushes
Paint scraper
eXacto knife
Wire brush tool
Caulk gun
Hot glue gun
Misc. sized brushes including a 3" and 2" angle brush
Plastic cup
Non-reactive plastic container
Painting tarp
Latex gloves
Sea sponge
Ground stakes
String
Wood planks for leveling (optional)










Insight on the Design: Google is always your friend. Found out that there is a real Captain Daniel. Using the sparse information out there was able to determine that he had a tragic end. Captain Daniel was given a charter to pirate French and Spanish ships only. But, he soon fell ill just after leaving the port of Marblehead, Massachusetts. Within days the Charles' crew mutinied the Captain and made his Lieutenant, John Quelch, the new Captain. It is unknown if Captain Daniel was alive or dead when he was thrown overboard. The Charles then headed south to pirate the more lucrative Portuguese ships.

Mock-up Stone: Though it's a small history, it was enough to write an epitaph. Now with the epitaph decided upon - it's time to design the features of the stone itself. Write down all the things associated with pirates to give you a place to let your mind wander to come up with a design. The traditional pirate logo of the skull and crossed cutlass's were always intriguing. Here two opposite sword outlines were arranged on a piece of paper until they started to look like a pirate's headstone. The way they were arranged also made you think they were sails on a ship. Finish by drawing the outline of a ship's hull and WALLA! you’ve got a design.

Enlarge Design: Determine what size parameters your tombstone would need to be and write them down on some grid paper. This stone's parameters were 29" tall and 23" wide. Use a copy machine to shrink or enlarge the sketch of your stone until it fits nicely on the space allotted for the stone. Scan into the computer and save as a .jpg file.

Photoshop: Load the .jpg file into Photoshop and begin to design the epitaph deciding on what font to use and the size. Bring in a good picture of a skull and bones for the hilt of the cutlasses. Continue to add to your design, clean it up and when you like the design save as a new .jpg file.










Printing Poster-sized: Load that .jpg file into the Rasterbator program so you can print it out actual size of your tombstone. It does this by basically making it into a poster size that you print out in several pages on your computer and then tape back together.










Build Base: Glue all the bases together starting at the bottom. Press in the leftover centers of the bases into the center of the entire base so you will keep that 3" void open for the headstone part of the tombstone. Weigh down and carefully pull back out the centers so they don't glue in place. Allow the base to dry completely.










Top Rough Carve (picture 1): Google Sketch-up is a great program to manipulate a 3D image of a model. Picture 1 shows the top-view of the Black Pearl. Use the outline of the Black Pearl hull to give you a guide on how the top of the base should be carved. Rough carve the base using the top outlines and the shapeable blade on the Industrial Hot Knife.

Side Rough Carve (picture 2): Do the same procedure for the side of the ship. You can make a template for that to make it a little easier. Rough carve the base again using the side outlines.










Finish Carving: Continue to carve the ship using many angles of the Black Pearl as a guide. Constantly turn the hull while carving to see the evolution.










Sand: Use a SureForm Shaver to knock down the rough parts of your carve once you have carved it to your liking. This step helps you to see the carve in a smoother shape. Afterward use the Dremel Multi-Max to sand it smooth.










Detail Lines: Still use those Black Pearl models to draw in detail lines that will help you sell the idea that this is a ship's hull. Draw in the wood planks, windows and cannon hatches with a pen. Use the Engraving Tool to thinly etch those lines.

Plunge Cutting: Plunge cut away the top of the ship to give you an aft and stern deck to the ship using the shapeable blade on the Industrial Hot Wire. Always consider that you must allow rainwater to have a place to drain away when it's in your graveyard.

Stairs: Draw a zig-zag line on the sides of the ship. Use the Industrial Tool again with the shapeable blade to follow that guide so you can make some stairs.










Epitaph & Swords Carving: Use your tombstone template to transfer the epitaph and sword designs onto the headstone and use the Engraving Tool to carve out. Use the edge of the Multi-Max to smooth out the embossing and add an 'edge' to the swords.

Side Sanding: Continue to smooth the edges of the stone.










Figurehead: Try to find a good toy that would work as a figurehead for the ship. Back in 2011 Silvermist was a toy from a movie that was out at the time. The cute little Tinkerbell on the right was used as a figurehead for the ship. The stand she's on pops right off and you'll probably have to pull or cut off her wings. This step may make you sad or laugh like a maniacal serial killer. Either way, place her onto the ship's port and carve away any foam that keeps her from being flush with the hull. Follow the Gorilla Glue's instructions and glue her in place. Hold down with blue tape for 24 hours to allow it to cure.










Acetone & Scratch: Here a good picture to show the new acetone and cracks technique discussed in the Raven tutorial.










Paint Accent Colors: This picture shows the accent colors added prior to the new drybrushing step discussed in the Raven tutorial. See how vivid they look?










Drybrush: Good comparison picture of the different effects you get while drybrushing. The Raven was drybrushed with straight white and then slightly grayed white. Captain Daniel's stone was drybrushed with slightly grayed white only.










Seaweed & Done: Hot glue some fake seaweed onto the stone and you are finished. Notice that barnacles were added onto the stone. The Blackbeard tutorial shows how that was done.











Here's the video Chris made when he received it:






Thanks Chris!


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## Terra (Sep 23, 2007)

*Sand: *Use a SureForm Shaver to knock down the rough parts of your carve once you have carved it to your liking. This step helps you to see the carve in a smoother shape. Afterward use the Dremel Multi-Max to sand it smooth.













*Detail Lines:* Still use those Black Pearl models to draw in detail lines that will help you sell the idea that this is a ship's hull. Draw in the wood planks, windows and cannon hatches with a pen. Use the Engraving Tool to thinly etch those lines.

*Plunge Cutting:* Plunge cut away the top of the ship to give you an aft and stern deck to the ship using the shapeable blade on the Industrial Hot Wire. Always consider that you must allow rainwater to have a place to drain away when it's in your graveyard.

*Stairs:* Draw a zig-zag line on the sides of the ship. Use the Industrial Tool again with the shapeable blade to follow that guide so you can make some stairs.














*Epitaph & Swords Carving:* Use your tombstone template to transfer the epitaph and sword designs onto the headstone and use the Engraving Tool to carve out. Use the edge of the Multi-Max to smooth out the embossing and add an 'edge' to the swords. 

*Side Sanding:* Continue to smooth the edges of the stone.














*Figurehead*: The cute little Tinkerbell on the right was used as a figurehead for the ship. The stand she's on pops right off and you'll probably have to pull or cut off her wings. This step may make you sad or laugh like a maniacal serial killer. Either way, place her onto the ship's port and carve away any foam that keeps her from being flush with the hull. Follow the Gorilla Glue's instructions and glue her in place. Hold down with blue tape for 24 hours to allow it to cure.














*Acetone & Scratch:* Here a good picture to show the new acetone and cracks technique discussed in the Raven tutorial.













*Paint Accent Colors:* This picture shows the accent colors added prior to the new drybrushing step discussed in the Raven tutorial. See how vivid they look?















*Drybrush:* Good comparison picture of the different effects you get while drybrushing. The Raven was drybrushed with straight white and then slightly grayed white. Captain Daniel's stone was drybrushed with slightly grayed white only. 














*Seaweed & Done*: Hot glue some fake seaweed onto the stone and you are finished. Notice that barnacles were added onto the stone. The Blackbeard tutorial shows how that was done. 












Here's the video Chris made when he received it:







Thanks Chris! and thanks for checking out this tutorial everyone.


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## kimcfadd (Oct 6, 2010)

Terra,

Your tombstone buliding skills are AMAZING!!!!!!! Always look forward to seeing your creations!

Happy Haunting!!


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## camsauce (Sep 20, 2008)

Looks awesome as usual! 

At this point, maybe you should consider a part time gig with DOW to get a discount on foam, or at the least, sign up to be a reseller/bulk buyer.


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## -neXus- (Jul 13, 2012)

I am continuously amazed at your tombstone construction abilities. My ghoul and I are going to start our first tombstones in a few weeks and I'm anxious to see what degree of awful they are going to turn out compared to yours! haha


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## nhh (Oct 7, 2008)

Spectacular. Thank you for always sharing your spectacular work but, also for sharing the tutorials.


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## crazy xmas (Dec 30, 2008)

AWESOME Terra you do amazing work!!!


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## Kelloween (Jun 8, 2012)

awesomness! (like every thing else I have saw from Terra!)


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## Terra (Sep 23, 2007)

*kimcfadd, -neXus-, crazy xmas, Kelloween: *Thank you all very much - joy to read your comments 



camsauce said:


> Looks awesome as usual!
> 
> At this point, maybe you should consider a part time gig with DOW to get a discount on foam, or at the least, sign up to be a reseller/bulk buyer.


heheh. Last trip to Home Depot for the foam involved renting their truck...


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## moonwitchkitty (Jul 22, 2012)

WOW that is amazing you have some serious talent


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