# Blackbeard's Tombstone: Tutorial



## Terra

JustWhisper was my Secret Reapee and she had a wonderful 'like' - pirates! Always made a tombstone for my SR's gift and was thrilled to have the challenge of making a pirate tombstone. This is a tutorial of how to make your own. Note: This is a small stone design because it had to be shipped to JustWhisper. You may want to scale this larger for your graveyard. The stone's dimensions are 28" tall, 17" wide and 13" deep.











A great way to dive into the tutorial is to watch the video:







Materials Needed:
1 1/2" pink or blue foam (about a third of a sheet)
17" x 13" plywood
Printer paper
Tape
Latex Drylok - gray or tinted gray
Foamboard glue
Acetone
Wood filler
Blackbeard's sword (Sword of Triton): https://www.buycostumes.com/products/pirates-of-the-caribbean-5-sword-of-triton
Plastic gold coins
Fake seaweed (used Weeping Willow greenery): https://www.hobbylobby.com/Floral-W...nery/Green-Weeping-Willow-Hanging-Bush/p/4316
Hanger wire
1/2" PVC pipe (24" total)
DAS clay
Paper towels
Monster mud
Dark gray exterior latex paint - flat
White exterior latex paint - flat
Red acrylic paint
Black acrylic paint - flat
Raw sienna acrylic paint
Dark green acrylic paint
Glue sticks
Two 22" rebar rods

Tools Needed:
Jig saw
Mask
Eye protection
Sharpie
Ruler
Photoshop-type program loaded on computer
Rasterbator type program loaded on computer
Adobe Reader program loaded on computer
Computer printer
Ruler
Ballpoint pen
Blue painter's tape
Dremel with Multi-purpose cutting bit attachment
Multi-Max dremel with wood cutter attachment
PVC cutter
Sanding pads
1/4" & 1/2" drill bits
Drill
Paint brushes
Paint scraper
eXacto knife
Tray for working clay
Caulk gun
Hot glue gun
Needle nose pliers
Wire cutters
Misc. sculptor's tools (usually comes in a kit): https://www.michaels.com/artminds-clay-tool-set/10356851.html
Stanley SureForm Shaver
Stanley SureForm replacement blade bits
Misc. sized brushes including a 3" and 2" angle brush
Plastic cup
Non-reactive plastic container
Painting tarp
Latex gloves
Q-Tips
Tin Snips
Ground stakes
String
Wood planks for leveling (optional)










Design Tombstone Face & Epitaph (picture 1): Design the tombstone face in a Photoshop-type program. The design uses an image of an opened scroll as background and another image of a map pasted over it. Use text boxes to create and adjust the sizes of the epitaph. What's great about using Photoshop is you can move the layers around and change shapes easily to make your tombstone just as you want. The picture dimensions in Photoshop is 24" tall and 15" wide. Note: In the next step, after printing, the image size printed out to be 23 1/4" x 14 1/2". Close enough...

Rasterbator (not pictured): Rasterbator (stop snickering!) is a free software program that makes huge rasterized (poster-sized) images from any image. You can then print it out on regular printer paper and tape back together. Once the program is open, upload your .jpg image. Change the setting for Standard Paper Size to US Letter. Next, change the setting Define Output Size to 1.5 pages wide. Set Rasterbator Options to a Dot Size of 1mm. Then hit Rasterize. It will make your .jpg into a printable .pdf file. When printing in Adobe Reader, choose Page Scaling: Fit to Paper at the options window that comes up. If you choose horizontal paper alignment, also make sure Auto-Rotate and Center is selected. Now print out and tape back together.

Cut Foam (picture 2 & 3): First off...always wear a mask when cutting/shaping foam. The foam dust floats through the air like crazy. Lay out the Rasterized printout moving it up 3" from the edge of your foam to allow room for the bases of the tombstone (two stacked 1 1/2" pieces=3"). Cut it out with a jig saw. Flip the cut piece over and trace out. Cut out.

Measure out two bases that are 17" x 11" and cut those out. In the center of those bases cut out space for the tombstone to slip through (14 1/2" x 3").











Mock-up: Put all the pieces together to decide how you'd like them on the stone.










Mark Boundaries (not pictured): Mark off the top and bottom boundaries of the scroll while the paper is still on the stone. That way you won't carve those sections away.

Shape 'Map' (picture 1): Use the Stanley SureForm Shaver and bits of the shaver to gouge and shape the face of the stone so it curves like an open scroll map. Be sure that you don't carve too far into the stone. There must be room left for the interior PVC channels. Do the front side only and put back into the base for the next step.

Shape other Side (picture 2): Draw a line for what needs to be carved away on the other side using the carved side as a reference. Remove from the base and carve the other side.










Sand Surface: Very lightly sand the surface to get it to look more like smooth map parchment.










Dremel out PVC Channels: Cut two lengths of 12" PVC pipe. Place them both on one opened side of a tombstone face so they are equally distant but not too close the edge. Keep them as vertical as possible. Move them down 3/8" to allow them to protrude into the plywood base you will be using for the tombstone. Trace the PVC pipes with a marker. Cut the area out using the multi-purpose cutting attachment for the Dremel just halfway deep. You will be doing the same thing on the other side, so the pipes will be in the center of the stone. Place the PVC pipe into the hollowed channel and apply some paint to the top. Grab the other tombstone face, flip over and center over the matching one and press down. This will leave paint markings where you can easily trace out the channels for the other side. Cut that side out also.










Trace out Design (picture 1): Use painter's tape to attach the design to the stone. Trace out a section with a ball point pen, remove one side of the tape and lift the paper. Retrace the impression left with the pen again to make a clearer line. You will have to do this in sections because the impression left by the pen starts to fill back in after a while and becomes hard to see. Remove the paper when all finished.

Fill in (picture 2): Fill in any complicated designs with a marker so you won't lose your place while Dremeling out.

Dremel out Pattern (not pictured): Use the Dremel with the multi-purpose cutting attachment to cut out. For very small or detailed fonts, go shallower. If not, the centers of 'e' , 'o' and 'a' would flake off.

Continued...


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## JustJimAZ

Sweet! Thanks!


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## Dminor

Is it the Drylok that gives it that sandy texture?


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## solgrundy

Amazing - just found this. Thanks for posting!


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## ZombieCupcake

If you still have the photos, could you please update this tutorial? ?


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## Terra

I plan to in the next couple of weeks but in the meantime - here is a link to the album: https://www.halloweenforum.com/media/albums/tutorial-blackbeards-tombstone.6529/


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