# Raven Tombstone



## Terra (Sep 23, 2007)

*Cut in Cracks:* Never been happy with the cracks on my old stones. Spent some time examining actual cracks in cement and realized that they are very thin instead of large like I've been making them before. First draw out a shaky line with a Sharpie. Cut over that line with an eXacto knife ever so slightly angled. Make a matching cut on the other side and chip out with the point of the knife. Don't worry about random bits bunching up in the crack - makes it look more realistic.

*Acetone & Scratch:* New technique here to have the acetone step make more authentic-looking erosion spots. After the acetone step, scratch the areas with a thin wire brush or wire pottery tool. If it's a spot erosion area then scratch only the bottom half like it has eroded from dripping rain over the years. Scratch the entire surface of surface abrasions.














*Monster Mud Bones:* Wow, was this step a dilemma. What would one use for the bones of dead birds that met their demise by the curse of the stone? Well, bird bones right - you can get them anywhere. Ah... no. Darn, now I was stuck... until a fellow haunter gave me an AHA! idea. Why not use chicken bones? A raven is a large bird... actually similar in size to a chicken. So, hubby had roasted chicken that night and the next day boiled the heck out of the bones. Next step is to bleach the bones for an hour to sanitize them and let dry overnight.

Place random collections of bones around the base of the tombstone and pile them up in the well you created. You are telling the story that birds die near this stone if they venture by. It has happened so many times that their bones petrify and become part of the stone. Monster mud them in place and monster mud a duck feather to help drive home the point.














*Paint Epitaph & Cracks: *Use thinned black paint instead of the usual dark gray to help the smaller font be easily readable. Also dab in a few very small pin points in some of the faults on the stone to help make the holes look even deeper.

*First set of Tea-staining:* Another big change to the way of doing tombstones: This will be the first of four_ (yep... FOUR)_ rounds of tea-staining. This batch will be two rounds of tea-staining that uses black paint_ (instead of the usual dark gray). _We will do some other steps including dry-brushing and then do the tea-staining again but using a brown-based tea-stain. These multiple and colorful tea-stains make the aging technique advanced and more interesting to the eye. The color variations gives it an ancient, beautiful look. 

While you are tea-staining, concentrate the staining on certain parts to make the stone more variated. This raven stone demanded that the wings be muuuuch darker then the rest of the stone so the tea-staining was focused there.












*Detail Shading*: While the first set of tea-staining is drying, you want to take advantage that you will be able to muddle in a darker color so an obvious demarcation line wouldn't show. This is a watercolor effect and it is very helpful in shading. Make a darker mix of watered down black paint. Use a medium brush and dab into areas that need more definition like the feathers that are underneath other feathers and the feather outlines. Outline the mm'd bones, faults in the stone, the bird star design and the carved bird itself _(especially the background). _You may have to repeat this step several times until you get the color deep enough to stand out from the rest of the tea-staining. This step is critical to help sell the idea that those are feathers in the wings. It also adds much drama.

*Paint Raw Sienna:* Nothing different here except for the fact that this step is being done *before* the dry-brushing step. Also - didn't dull the color down. It's straight out of the can with no gray or white added. Because this is done before the dry-brushing step, you can go a little more bold here so it will peek through after the dry brushing. Pick your spots with this.

*Paint Moss Green:* I've long hated the old green color I was using - looked fake. So, tried a mossy, lime green color and loved the look. This is a mix of cadmium yellow, chromium oxide green and burnt umber _(a brown). _Again, pick your spots with this.












*Drybrush:* This was a bit of a mistake that you may want to replicate or not. The last stone that I did was the Blackbeard stone and loved using straight white on it. Well, did it with this one and didn't like it. It was toooo white - probably because I used a heavy hand on it. So, went back over it using the old way of using the slightly grayed white. In the end - it looked fantastic but scared the hell out of me. You may want to play it safe and stick with the grayer version of the white paint. You can see the big difference compared to the Captain Daniel stone. Also, didn't dry-brush as much on the wings to help keep the dark of the wings intact.
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Tea-stain Two More Times:* Add some burnt umber _(brown)_ and raw sienna to the black tea-stain wash and tea-stain the stone again. Now add some more raw sienna to the remaining mix along with some more water and tea-stain again. These two new colors adds variation to the pollution lines, makes it more realistic and more interesting to the eye. The stone now is starting to look alive as compared to just being the monotone gray.

*Detail Shade Again:* While the last round of tea-staining is drying, make another dark wash using black for the detail shading areas you had done before. Concentrate on areas that got lightened too much during the dry-brushing stage. Especially keep darkening the wings and the feathers under the overlapping feathers. Let all this dry.

*Tea-stain One Final Time:* Make a final tea-staining wash using the black with burnt umber and raw sienna. Let dry.













*Final Detail Color*: Bring out the depth of color more by lightly going over the previous color accenting steps of the moss green and raw sienna. You can also see the subtle tea-staining colors better in this close-up picture.














*White Lichen:* Like the old crack style, I didn't like the white lichen I was using. So, tried a new style and liked the look a lot. Sea sponge some white on a couple of spots on the stone. Go over that with a cream color _(white, black, raw sienna). _Go over that with a darker cream _(more black was added). _Add some dark gray and finally finish with very dark green _(chromium oxide green and black)._ To me, it looks more like real white lichen.














*Finish with Moss:* Glue in some moss and you are done! This picture also helps to show the magic that the detail shading can give you. It adds to the drama of the wings.















Thanks so much for checking out this new tutorial!


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## stick (Apr 2, 2009)

What can I say that has not been said about any tombstone you have made other that it is great. Wonderful job as always.


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## Danielj2705 (Jun 17, 2012)

I'm blown away bu the amazingness of this. I have never seen anything of this quality before!
I would live to win that competition


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## Raven's Hollow Cemetery (Jul 3, 2011)

Welcome to the wonderful world of Terra's Tombstones Daniel!  Well, not just tombstones. Everything the lady put's hands on, turns out magnificently! 


Astounding work, as per usual Terra! Really enjoying that engraver eh? Gorgeous, mind bogglingly gorgeous!


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## Tannasgach (Nov 1, 2009)

oh my, Terra you've outdone yourself. Those feathers are exquisite. Beautiful workmanship.


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## BeaconSamurai (Nov 5, 2009)

Now if I could just figure out how to get that look with my airbrush! Awesome work!


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## obcessedwithit (Jul 13, 2009)

Always awesome, love the feather carvings. thanks for the tut!!!


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## James B. (Oct 8, 2009)

Another amazing tombstone and tutorial Terra. Making me ready to jump in my new workshop and get some things started.


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## LT Scare (May 21, 2008)

Geez Terra, everything you do is so professional looking - details are perfect. Absolutely awesome.


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## Mr.Fright (Aug 5, 2011)

Antoher amazing creation terra... it's creepytastic


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## xxScorpion64xx (Oct 15, 2011)

Flawless work, thanks for the tutorial terra


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## Terra (Sep 23, 2007)

Thank you very much everyone


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## KenVP (Nov 2, 2009)

Can you share any info for the hot knife and the engraver, I need to find both of these items asap. Thanks


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## Terra (Sep 23, 2007)

I got them at Hot Wire Foam Factory: 

Here's the Engraver and use the Pro Power Station (buy individually): http://hotwirefoamfactory.com/-004S-Engraver.html

The Industrial Hot Knife Kit: http://hotwirefoamfactory.com/-035I-KIT-Industrial-Hot-Knife-Kit.html


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## KenVP (Nov 2, 2009)

Terra thanks also is your Drexel set the 200 series? Or the heavier contractor series. Sorry for all the question I'm a contractor by trade with a ton of tools but of course not what I need for tombstones lol so time to stock up the shop to better our props


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## Terra (Sep 23, 2007)

Hey, no prob. Yes, my Dremel is the old one with the low and high speed setting - the 200 series.


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## kevin242 (Aug 30, 2005)

that's nice looking!


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## KenVP (Nov 2, 2009)

Thanks Terra, I see those are priced nicely compaired to the newer ones so a 200 it will most likely be. That leaves more $$$$ for foam LOL


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## CrazyADD-DAD (Sep 5, 2012)

Absolutely breathtaking.....superb work.....looking forward to future designs and carving techniques!


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## PlainfieldDan (Aug 12, 2008)

WOW......every time I think you have perfected your art, you take up another notch. You should be ashamed of yourself. Think of all the people who have no talent because you are hogging at least 10 people's worth. Just not fair. As always your work is only surpassed by your sweetness and beauty.


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## Corn Stalker (Nov 15, 2009)

Awesome! Another project for the "to do" list! Really appreciate that you take the time to make the tuts and share your creativeness Terra!


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## kürbis (Oct 10, 2012)

Wonderful work as everyone else already said. But just on a side note: 'dead raven' is 'toter Rabe' in German, or when the raven is in the process of dying 'sterbender Rabe'.


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## Phantom Blue (Sep 28, 2008)

The only word that comes to mind is AMAZING!


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## scarybella (Aug 4, 2010)

I will hopefully find the time this year to add to our stone collection...they are ok what we have but I want so great looking ones like this and then what we have will do for filling in gaps


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## scarybella (Aug 4, 2010)

very impressive. There is no end to the talent on here


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## Terra (Sep 23, 2007)

Thank you very much everyone.

Kurbis, yes you are right. In the video I talk about dying raven (Sterbender). I had seen in Google translator that 'toter' meant dead but liked 'Sterbender' better. Sounded more like a given name to me.


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