Halloween Forum - Blogs

Jack Pierce - "The man Behind The Monsters"

JustJimAZ — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 18:16:41 GMT

If you love the classic Universal monsters, you know well the creations of Jack Pierce. A rich vein of genius runs through his work, whether in his lesser known movies like "The Man Who Laughs" or "The Monkey Talks", or in the more famous "The Wolfman", "The Mummy" or "Frankenstein".

In fact, if you have tried to do SFX makeup at all, I challenge you to look closely at the iconic makeup Karloff wore in Frankenstein and not be amazed at the subtlety and detail of the work. Even by 21st century standards, it is makeup of the highest order.

I don't know how anyone can fail to be impressed with what he achieved. When you consider that most of the tools and makeup had to be invented for the task, it is even more impressive. How many movie monsters today look like little more than blood or slime splattered Jell-o compared to this work?

Anyway, in the spirit of bringing videos about great SFX artists to your attention, here are some videos about the master that I hope you enjoy.

http://youtu.be/TMKoA_asjA8

http://youtu.be/-6hc6hh915g

JustJim is a member of AZ Haunters. If you are a haunter or Halloween enthusiast in Arizona, join AZ Haunters TODAY! Regular meetups, make & takes, and lots of Arizonans helping each other put on the best show possible!

YOU can Resurrect HauntCast!

JustJimAZ — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 16:19:51 GMT

Originally Posted by JustJimAZ

Chris Baker, Shellhawk and Revenant have agreed that if they can get 250 people to subscribe to Hauntcast for $100 a year they will bring it back. That's a little over $8 a month.
You can subscribe on the HauntCast website: http://hauntcast.net/subscribe/
I don't work for HauntCast, of course. I am just one of thousands who enjoyed the show.

Many of you were fans of HauntCast, and were sad to see it go. This is a chance for the "hardcore" fanbase to bring it back from the dead. If they can get 250 subscribers by March 8, they will do another year. If they do not reach 250 by then, anyone who subscribed will be refunded.

If you never listened to HauntCast for whatever reason, PLEASE go to the website and at least listen to some of the older shows. http://hauntcast.net/2011/10/hauntca...chs-brew-1031/.

HauntCast kept us current on upcoming events, reviewed movies, covered all aspects of haunt production and prop creation, and of course had interviews with successful home haunters.

The archived shows entertaining, informative, and just good fun. If we really want the haunt community to thrive, we need to support quality productions.

We cannot ask professionals to work for free. I hope Haunters will really step up and make Halloween Forum one of the biggest supporters of the new HauntCast!

C'mon! You KNOW you love HauntCast! Time to step up!

John Chambers - Apeman!

JustJimAZ — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 20:50:12 GMT

As far as haunting goes, SFX makeup is my first love. For decades before I made my first prop, I was experimenting with makeup and prosthetics. I remember well the first time I found a bunch of unopened Imagineering makeup at a yard sale, and the catalogs I subsequently ordered from the address on the box. One of the things I really wanted from Imagineering (but never had the money to buy) was "The Face" - a full faced prosthetic mask that promised to be so thin and flexible it looked alive. One of the options was "The Ape", which looked (in the catalog) just like the makeup from one of my favorite makeup movies ever - The Planet of the Apes! I was stoked to find this video about the man behind those amazing apes. I hope you will be, too!
http://youtu.be/b6jRBDfP2OY

JustJim is a member of AZ Haunters. If you are a haunter or Halloween enthusiast in Arizona, join AZ Haunters TODAY! Regular meetups, make & takes, and lots of Arizonans helping each other put on the best show possible!

Painting Faux Wood Grain: Tutorial

Terra — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 15:07:38 GMT

Ever look at the wood-graining tool in the paint section and wonder how it worked?

Yep, me too. Big surprise it was very easy to use and gives brilliant results:

These were ordinary styrofoam coolers cut in half and given the faux wood-graining treatment. This is a quick tutorial to show how it's done.

First, please watch the video which is a great way to see the process in action:

Materials Needed:
Paint glaze: http://www.behr.com/dsm-ext/v/index....CENTER;view=17
Medium wood tone latex paint
(Optional) flat black latex paint

Tools Needed:
Item to be faux painted
Wood-graining tool: http://www.homedepot.com/Paint-Brush...atalogId=10053
Coarse 1 or 2" brush
Two jars to mix glaze in
Measuring cups
(Optional) thin brush

Paint Base Color: Paint your object a medium wood tone. Wood comes in all types and ages. It helps if you have an example of what wood you are trying to replicate. A piece of very old driftwood was used for these caskets. Overall tone was an extremely dull, lifeless brown. Use a brighter yellow tone if you wanted a fresher look to your wood. Let your prop dry after painting the base color.

Note: This prop was primed with Glidden Gripper prior to painting the wood color. The primer helped to seal up the cut side of the styrofoam (contain those little balls) and smooth up the texture a bit.

Make Glaze: Mix 1 part of your base color with 4 parts of the paint glaze. Then add enough flat black paint to darken the shade so it will be one or two tones darker than the base color.

Paint Striations: Paint an even coat of the glaze onto your prop. Immediately use a coarse brush (or the same brush) and drag it through the paint vertically so you are partially scraping off some of the glaze leaving striations behind. Let dry.

Wood Graining: Now the fun step! Make another glaze but darken it a lot further. Paint an even coat over the prop and use the wood-graining tool to make the wood-graining. Start at the top corner and slowly drag the tool down through the glaze at the same time slowly rocking the tool. Each version of your rocking creates a different wood grain pattern. Occasionally rock it ever so slightly and that will create more straight grains and not show a wood knot. Let dry.

Draw Planks (Optional): Paint lines to separate the wood into planks if you desire. Dip a thin brush into flat black paint and paint a line in between the wood grain patterns.

This technique is versatile. Nearly anything with fairly flat surface can be made to look like wood. Pictured above was a cardboard box. You can also change up the wood tones for different looks. This used a black glaze.

How the caskets looked in the graveyard.

That's it! Don't you love projects this simple?

Build a Ghost Phone!

JustJimAZ — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 16:08:37 GMT

I saw this and I knew someone out there would have a place for it in their haunt! Seems like an interesting make and take idea.

Wouldn't it be cool to have a phone ring and when your guests pick it up they get ghostly voices or creepy sounds? Or something really scary like a recording of Judy Garland?

I was thinking that this obviously need not be limited to a phone - MP3 players inside old radios or picture frames are obvious, and certainly old hat, but the phone provides a unique level of interactivity. What if it was wired to ring and ring whenever the receiver was in the cradle? Better still, what if the ringer was wired to a motion sensor?

Is there some other application I am not thinking of?

JustJim is a member of AZ Haunters. If you are a haunter or Halloween enthusiast in Arizona, join AZ Haunters TODAY! Regular meetups, make & takes, and lots of Arizonans helping each other put on the best show possible!

Reimagine What's Possible With Foam

JustJimAZ — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 13:22:34 GMT

There are some artists doing amazing things with our beloved and humble foam. They are creating sculptures as intricate and beautiful as any carved in marble.

One couple built two life size (20') trees in their new home - complete with roots winding over boulders. I thought you might like to see some of the things being done with this humble yet versatile substance. Foam - it's not just for tombstones anymore!

With foam masters like Terra or Dionicia, there is no shortage of amazing foam in the haunt community either. What is the most amazing thing you have ever seen made out of foam - haunt related or otherwise?

Hey - are you a haunter in AZ? Join AZ Haunters TODAY! Fun, info, and monthly meetups!

More Fire!

JustJimAZ — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 14:53:14 GMT

I've said it before, and I'll say it again - Fire and Halloween make an AWESOME combination! Sure, there are safety concerns. You probably wouldn't want real fire in a pro haunt - or any haunt where it might be in a confined space. Still, for a Halloween party, fire generally makes a cheap and spectacular show.

While investigating novel ways to illuminate my party - and hopefully not my guests - I came across these great looking ideas and thought I'd share.

Fireball shooter using flash paper
http://youtu.be/3TvAjGOj-BE

Fireballs from cotton and lighter fluid
http://youtu.be/GKH-ueuBQ5g

Green fire!
http://youtu.be/xlrhIiu1IWw

Green not good enough?
http://youtu.be/eRNLqTfIjQo

Love to hear your ideas. Have a pyro-riffic 2012!

Faux Steel Haunt Panels: Tutorial

Terra — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 18:10:46 GMT

Problem: Your garage haunt has an opening to the outdoors. Two rather BIG openings. You thought tarps would do it but alas, they look awful. You go to Transworld and gawk at the gorgeous vacuform panels. They are at least $100 a piece, have minimum orders and cost a fortune to ship. What to do... what to do? Why... get the old standby - pink styrofoam, of course.

You'll be transforming pink foamboard into scary industrial steel panels to disguise the happy girly color.

Here's a video tutorial which is a great way to get an overall feel for what this build will be like. Please watch:

Let's get started...

Materials Needed: (for one panel)
Little over one 3/4" thick pink or blue foamboard panel
Three 8' furring strips
Twelve 4" x 1 1/2" pieces of plywood
Four 2 1/2" coarse drywall screws
Twenty-four 1 5/8" coarse drywall screws
Foamboard glue
Super 77 glue
Twenty 3/8" tile spacers: http://www.lowes.com/pd_87754-34587-...tavo&facetInfo
Quart of exterior gray Glidden Gripper paint (exterior)
Silver latex paint (had used Ralph Lauren)
Raw sienna acrylic paint
Rust colored monster mud
Light rust colored monster mud
Flat black acrylic paint
Clear gloss acrylic varnish
Paper towels

Optional Accessories:
4 mini louvers 3" (air vents): http://www.lowes.com/pd_17208-228-50...uver&facetInfo=
1/2" thick pink or blue foamboard panel
PVC drain strainer
Plastic rafter vent: http://www.lowes.com/pd_351-75227-UP...t%2B&facetInfo=
16" x 8" air vent: http://www.lowes.com/ProductDisplay?...llow&cId=PDIO1
16" x 4" air vent: http://www.lowes.com/ProductDisplay?...llow&cId=PDIO1
Hooks and zip ties for mounting to house
Cement block(s)

Tools Needed:
Table saw, jig saw or band saw
Caulk gun
Drill
1/8" drill bit
Carving tool kit
Box cutter
Ruler
Paint roller
Small foam paint roller
3" brush
2" angle brush
1/2" brush
Stanley SureForm Shaver
Paint roller tray
Paper towels or sea sponge

Optional Tools Needed:
Tin snips
Air compressor with blow gun
Scraper
Piece of PVC pipe
Nylon paint stripper brush
Hardware scissors

Make a Frame: Frame out your panel using furring strips. Place two 8' pieces vertically on your workspace and cut two 45" pieces for the horizontal top and bottom. Note: The pink foam you see is not part of the panel. I used a 2" thick one as a workbench. Pre-drill each corner with an 1/8" screw bit and drill into place using 2 1/2" screws.

Place Glue: Lay down foamboard glue on the entire frame. Remove the protective plastic wrap on both sides of the 3/4" thick foam. Line up and place the good side down on the frame.

Clamp in Place: Evenly spread out the plywood pieces around the edges of the foamboard and glue. Secure with two 1 5/8" coarse drywall screws at each end of the plywood pieces.

Cut Edges (picture 1): Cut a 3/4" thick foam panel into 3 1/2" wide strips lengthwise. You will need 3 strips per panel. Use a table saw (easiest), jig saw or make a rigging for a band saw.

Glue Strips (picture 2): Lay down a strip vertically next to the furring frame, mark and cut to fit. Glue in place using Super 77 glue. Do the same for all the edges.

Attach 'Rivets': Randomly place 20 tile spacers on the edges of the panel. Push down to create an impression. Dig out where the impression is to help the tile spacers sit down nicely onto the foam. Glue into place and smooth out the caulk around the edge. They are haphazardly placed so you get the feeling some crude men/monsters built them. They don't use rulers.

Optional - Mini Louvers (picture 1): Cut the back ridge of a mini louver so it will sit down better into the foam using tin snips. Mark where you'd like it and pick out a seam so it will sit down nice and flush. Glue into place. Repeat for the other three corners.

Optional - Drain (picture 2): Cut a large square of 1/2" thick foam out. Be sure to remove the plastic wrap on the foam. Glue at the top right of the panel using Super 77 glue. Dig out a spot in the center for the drain and glue in using foamboard glue. Put the glue heavy around the edge of the drain and smooth in. It will look like metal welding once it's painted.

Optional - Large Steel Plates (picture 3): Cut two very large squares of 1/2" thick foam out (remove the plastic wrap) and glue one above another onto the panel using the Super 77 glue. Cut the rafter vent so you get two good-looking grids. Place them beside each other underneath the foam squares. Glue into place using the same Super 77 glue.

Optional - Air vents (picture 4): Glue the large 8" tall vent near the top and the 4" tall vent underneath. Put the glue heavy around the edges and smooth in to again give you a welded look.

Paint Panels: Roll paint onto the panels on both sides and use the 2" angle brush for areas the roller can't reach. Had used Glidden Gripper primer paint as an experiment and loved it. It's coverage was phenomenal. You may want to consider using this or an exterior latex gray paint. Drylok could also be used giving your panels a more gritty look.

Paint Silver: Paint the panels with the silver paint using an up and down drybrush technique but use a lot more paint so you see obvious up and down strokes. Should give you the impression of brushed metal.

Add Rust: Raw sienna is a great color to add a rust look to your panels. You'll be using a drybrush stroke again here but you can use more random strokes on the wide edges so they will show more rust coloring. The plan here is to make the wide edges look like iron and is a different metal then the sheet metal the panel is made of. Use the 1/2" brush for the inside edges. You still want to put some rust on the sheet metal but use light up and down strokes to keep the illusion of sheet metal.

Optional - Blow on Rust: I go back and forth on whether this was a good effect. You can judge for yourself watching the video. If you like it, here's how it was done: Scrape some rust-colored monster mud onto a scrap PVC pipe and blow it onto the surface using the blow gun attachment from your air compressor. That's it and have fun. Oh... drinking and blowing chunks of monster mud is an excellent past time. I would know.

Optional - Texture on Rust (picture 1): Use the nylon paint stripper brush in alternate directions to give a diamond plate look to a panel.

Sponge on Rust (picture 2): Use a sea sponge or wadded-up paper towels and dabble on the rust-colored monster mud. Change up to a lighter colored monster mud to help give definition and depth to the rust.

Gross Slime (picture 1): Place a large amount of green monster mud in places where slime would ooze out. Start at the top and use the assistance of gravity to give you a realistic look. You'll probably have to help it along with your brush.

Mud Splashes (picture 2): Apply brown monster mud using a small foam paint roller. Concentrate on the bottom of the panels where mud would be splashed up from passing trucks, marching infantry, and/or hordes of zombies.

Bird Droppings (picture 3): Drop white monster mud at the top of a few panels as nesting birds would do.

Black Dry-brushing: Drybrush flat black paint over the entire panel using cross-strokes on the edges and up and down strokes in the center. This is a magic step and adds the final convincing look of metal. It makes it look old and adds great depth.

Rust Stains (picture 1): Water down the raw sienna paint and push onto spots of the panels where years of rain would have rusted and stained the steel. Concentrate on the corners of the air vents and rivets. Let it dry for a bit and then brush it back down to smear it up some. You could also use even more watered-down raw sienna paint in sections on the panel to dull and rust it down. Do the same process using black paint in either the same area or new areas. Let dry.

Gloss Paint (picture 2): Paint gloss over any slime or any spots on the panels to make it look still wet. Dip your brush into the gloss again and fling it onto other areas for a yucky splattered look.

Install on House: Place your first panel on the house. Pre-drill and attach a hook to the top furring strip frame of your panel. Place another hook on the frame of your house. Zip tie in place. Do the same for the other corner of the panel. Place another panel next to the first one and put another hook into the furring strip. You can use the same hook on the house to zip tie the second panel in place. Repeat for all the panels.

Walk inside the garage and at the bottom of the panels place more hooks on the small pieces of plywood so you can zip tie the panels to each other to help add strength and join them up. Go back outside and place a cement block at the bottom to keep them from swaying out too much from wind. Unlike what's pictured though, place the cement block on the edge where an exit is. Kids were so scared they were plowing through the exit so that will help keep the panels in place.

Well, you are done!! Thanks for checking out this new tutorial.

MakerBot

JustJimAZ — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 14:32:09 GMT

The day before Schuyler St. Leger attended "Ignite Phoenix" to talk about home 3-D printing, my son and I entered the HeatSync Labs hackerspace for the first time. We were there in part because it was "3-D Printing night" and in part because I wanted to find out what hackerspaces were all about.

We were honored to see this great presentation in a dress rehearsal.
http://youtu.be/fP2hl6CO-T0

If you have never heard about 3-D printing before, I don't think I could ever explain it better than Schuyler. For about $1,000 you can buy a machine that will literally make your dreams physical - as long as they can be interpreted into a 3-D vector graphic.

Similar technology has been in use at Boeing and other aerospace companies for decades. It is a quick and cheap way to make a prototype. I have read that Jay Leno has one that uses metal rather than plastic and he can recreate special parts for his antique cars.

What if you want to make a particular prop, but you are not sure how all the parts will fit together? What if you want to make haunt themed jewelry or baubles? What would you do with a printer like this?

2012...New Year, New Wish List

Curlgoddess — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 22:09:51 GMT

Is it really this time of year again? Gosh each year seems to be going by faster and faster.
Time for my annual Halloween wish list. I'm really getting excited to head into the leaisurely building/creating/plotting season :) I can smell the paper mache all ready:

1. New Crypt - we had quite a struggle with the old one this past year, as boards for the walls and roof were horribly warped. Thank goodness we were able to mask it with vines/moss. To make sure we get a new crypt, we threw out all of the bad pieces when we tore everything down this season.

2. New Character - With Jack finally completed, I have the itch to create another character. I have one in mind. Not really sure how he fits into my graveyard yet, but images of him keep haunting my thoughts, so he has to come to life. Also, I didn't get to complete a character that I had begun last year, due to time restraints. I want to make her come to life as well.

3. Peppers Ghost - My hubby and I almost had this one licked this year, but once things got rolling, it also didn't make it to the haunt. We have all of the materials, we tested it out and it will be amazing this year.

4. MORE MOVEMENT - There was more movement in our cemetery this year than ever and I really think that it added a lot. i want more movement, but I think that i want it in some different forms. This year we really utilized the "tombstone peeper" rig for all of our movement. Next year I want something more fluid, with different directions then our peeper creations to give diversity.

5. New Entry way - I had been looking at some gothic art and got some amazing ideas for a new entry way. The iron gate/arbor worked, but the 2nd Street Cemetery sign really needs to be updated. I feel like the rest of our haunt has really "matured" to the point that the sign just doesn't fit in any more. So, since that needs to be updated, we figured that we'd go for a more authentic looking entry way.

6. More Attention to Lighting - Lighting this past year was a flop. We normally use large tiki tourches for some natural fire light, amid the blue spot lights and it works out beautifully. This year, we didn't think about the tiki tourches till the last minute and sadly, they had all rusted and couldn't be used. We hadn't realized how important they were till we saw all of the blurry/dark pictures that not having the extra light produced. So, we are toying with the idea of either new tikis or some amber spots added to the blue ones.

7. Monster mud - I really want to give this a shot this year and I think that with the new crypt and new entry way projects, this will be a good year to utilized monster mud. I know it's going to be messy and I'm sure it will take some getting used to, but the results that I have seen in other people's haunts, are worth the mess.

I'm sure that there will be other projects, but for now, I think that this could potentially keep us busy for two or three years, depending how well (or not) we manage our time.

Happy New Haunting year to everyone! Now get to work!!! =)

77 Shadow Street

JustJimAZ — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 13:41:27 GMT

I have said before I like Dean Koontz's novels. here is a new on - just out - that sounds like a haunt! An elegant old building with a horrifying backstory...and it seems the madness never went away...
http://youtu.be/8kKCo7jVO4w" target="_blank">http://
http://youtu.be/8kKCo7jVO4w

The official Blurb:

" You are invited to enter the world of the Pendleton, a Gilded Age palace built in the late 1800s. Almost from the beginning, its grandeur has been scarred by episodes of madness, murder, and whispers of things far worse. Yet since its re-christening in the 1970s as a luxury apartment building, the Pendleton has been at peace, its dark past all but forgotten.

But now, with each passing hour, a terrifying certainty grows: whatever drove the Pendleton�s past occupants to their unspeakable fates is at work again. "

Sounds awesome to me! I'm going to pick up a copy this week. Even if you don't, you have to admit this sounds like a haunt. Maybe it will inspire a new haunt in 2012?

Doc Holliday Tombstone: Tutorial

Terra — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 23:23:20 GMT

Tried a couple of new things with this western-themed tombstone and also discovered a cool new trick: exterior up-lighting! This solves the problem of running separate lighting to your tombstone. New also is the use of an embedded portrait. Many thanks go to Big Nick for his advice on how to make these waterproof. The stone's dimensions are 33 3/8" tall, 29 1/2" wide and 12" deep. This is a medium to large stone.

Please watch this video for to see how your tombstone build will be like:

Quick note: A 'Following Eyes' portrait is a devilishly cool optical trick. The eyes are cut out of the portrait, spacers are put behind the portrait near the eye sockets and the eyes are glued back on. The effect is that the eyes are now slightly recessed back into the portrait so they appear to follow you.

Materials Needed:
1 1/2" pink or blue foam (over half of a sheet)
29 1/2" x 12" plywood
12' red LED rope lighting
Printer paper
Tape
Latex Drylok - gray or tinted gray
Latex caulk
Silicone caulk
Foamboard glue
Plastic wrap
Acetone
Wood filler
Spooky Eyes Portrait: Make your own or go here: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Haunted-Spoo...item5ad41029fe
8 x 10 picture frame
8 x 10 non-reflective glass (optional)
Household twine
Sheet moss
6-7 spent rifle or pistol casings
Hanger wire
1/2" PVC pipe (28" total)
Paper towels
Monster mud
Opaque plastic: http://www.dritz.com/brands/showcase...?ITEM_NUM=3115
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 24" rebar rods

Tools Needed:
Jig saw
Mask
Eye protection
Sharpie
Overhead marker
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
Dremel with multi-purpose cutting bit attachment
Fiberglass-reinforced cutting attachment for Dremel
Multi-Max Dremel with wood cutter attachment
PVC cutter
1/4" & 1/2" drill bits
Drill
Paint brushes
Paint scraper
eXacto knife
Caulk gun
Hot glue gun
Needle nose pliers
Wire cutters
Misc. sculptor's tools (usually comes in a kit): http://www.dickblick.com/products/lo...ll-clay-tools/
Stanley SureForm Shaver
Stanley SureForm replacement blade bits
Misc. sized brushes including a 3" and 2" angle brush
Scissors
Plastic cup
Non-reactive plastic container
Painting tarp
Latex gloves
Q-Tips
Ground stakes
Tying twine (polypropylene)
Wood planks for leveling (optional)

Waterproof Picture Frame: Remove the glass from the picture frame. Place a bead of silicone caulk all around the interior edge. Insert the non-reflective glass. Place the spooky eyes portrait in the frame and place another bead of silicone around the edges. Shut the backing and allow to dry overnight. Turn the frame over and place a bead of latex caulk around the edge of the glass by the edge of the frame. Let dry over night.

Design Tombstone Face & Epitaph (picture 1): Design the tombstone face in a Photoshop-type program. 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 29 1/3" tall and 21" wide. If you'd like the full-size .jpg made here - PM me with your email address and I'll send the file. Note: In the next step, after printing, the image size printed out to be 28 1/2" x 20 1/2". Close enough...

Rasterbator (not pictured): Use the Rasterbator program to make a .pdf file so you can print it out on your printer. The program can be found here: http://homokaasu.org/rasterbator/ 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 2.5 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! Lay out the Rasterized printout moving it up 4 1/2" from the edge of your foam to allow room for the bases of the tombstone (three stacked 1 1/2" pieces = 4 1/2"). Cut it out with a jig saw. Flip the cut piece over and trace out. Cut out. Measure out two bases that are 27 1/2" x 10" and cut those out. In the center of those bases cut out space for the tombstone to slip through (20 1/2" x 3"). Measure out the top base to be 24 1/2" x 7". Cut that out and in the center cut out the tombstone space: 20 1/2" x 3".

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

Trace out Design: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.

Dremel out Pattern: Use the Dremel with the multi-purpose cutting attachment to cut out the depth needed to lay the picture frame in. Do this just as you do for dremeling out channels for PVC. Cut out a bunch of lines vertically and horizontally that are small enough that you can chip the foam out easily. Do not chip out yet. First, Dremel out the epitaph. For very small or detailed fonts, go shallower. If not, the centers of 'e' , 'o' and 'a' would flake off. Next, take off the cutting attachment tool off of the Dremel and cut all the way through for the bullet holes. Finally, chip out the area for the frame.

Channel out Rope Lighting (picture 1): Place the LED rope lighting on the stone so a LED light will shine through a bullet hole starting near the end of the rope lighting. Mark around the rope lighting and channel out picking away at the channel until the lighting sits down into the foam so it is flush. Use one of the looped tools from your sculpting kit to do this. Continue to repeat this process until all the bullet holes have a light shining through. Direct the rope lighting to exit out of the bottom of the stone.

Channel Rope Light Exit (picture 2): Place the back of the stone on top of the front of the stone. Mark a channel tall enough for the light to angle out of the back when the stone would be standing upright. Chip that foam out.

Channel out Base (picture 3): Insert the bottom base onto the stone and mark where the lighting needs to exit out of it. Mark and channel out the space.

Dremel out PVC Channels: Cut two lengths of 14" PVC pipe. Place them both on one opened side of a tombstone face so they are equally distant but not too close the 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 (just under 1/2"). 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.

Fit Portrait (picture 1): Insert picture into the recessed area and shape the foam so you get a good snug and level fit. Remove the portrait for the next step.

Insert Wire Holders (picture 2): Insert two (approx 7") wires into each corner of the recessed area for the frame so they punch right through to the other side but leave enough wire on the front to be able to be bent over and clamped onto the frame. Bend the wire back and into the foam on the inside of the stone so they will hold in place. Back on the front side fold the wires flat for now. Do not install the portrait yet.

Glue Tombstone Face: Glue sides, rope lighting and PVC together using foamboard adhesive. Weight the top while curing.

Mark Plywood (picture 1): Note - These pictures are from another tombstone build. Put the tombstone face back into the foam bases. Center it on the plywood so there is even space in the front and back. Trace a line around the stone with a marker. Remove the tombstone and put on it's side. Apply some paint where the PVC is. Lift up the stone and center it over where those lines are and press down. It will leave a paint impression showing you where holes need to be cut out of the plywood.

Cut Plywood (picture 2): Drill out a pilot hole your jig saw can fit into to cut the circle out. It's hard to drill out a 1/2" hole first so start by using a 1/4" drill bit then switch to the 1/2" drill bit. While you are making these holes, also put two in the far diagonal corners. These holes are later used to tie off your stone to ground stakes. This helps add more wind protection and helps it defend against burglars when out in your graveyard. Use the jig saw to cut out the larger holes for the rebar/PVC hole.

Glue base: Glue the bases and tombstone face to the plywood one by one starting from the bottom. Use the same foamboard glue to 'caulk' any open seams (except for the transition seam from top to middle base) and where rope lighting exits out of the stone. Weight down and allow to dry overnight.

Shape Stone and Make Cracks: Use the Stanley SureForm Shaver to shape the stone and bases. Pay attention to the bases by shaving away the corners until they meet up and have a nice curve to them. Soften the edges of the stone so they look like worn stone.

Mark out 'crack' lines on the stone. Use a pick or a tool that will allow you to cut/pick a thin 'crack' into the stone. If you like you can use a tool from the sculpting tool kit that looks like a beefy eXacto knife.

Apply Acetone: Place some acetone in a non-reactive plastic container and brush it onto the cracks and any blemishes that are already on the stone. This will open them up and amplify damage. The way it eats into the stone looks like what weather would do to stone over the decades of time. Be sure to wear a good mask and eye protection as a precaution.

Fill Seams: Fill any seams and cuts you don't want in the foam. Wear gloves and dab some filler onto a fingertip. Press into the seam and feather away using your gloved finger. It is easier to smooth the wood filler while wet. It's very hard to sand dried wood filler on foam. The sand paper tears up the foam too easily. Let dry overnight. Check the next day to see if there are any raised ridges. Use a smooth metal tool to burnish down. Had used one of the sculpting tools. Also check to see if any filler had shrunk down too much and use more to fill.

Insert Portrait: Open up the wire holders. Place a bead of foamboard glue on the edges of the recessed area. Place some more glue in the inside area. Insert the portrait and press in. Bend the wire holders down over the frame with needle nose pliers and clip to trim. Place a bead of foamboard glue around the perimeter of the frame being careful that it's all sealed up. Let dry.

Barbed Wire: Make barbed wire by tying a short piece of twine onto one of the wire holders. Tie a second piece of twine right over the first. Grab both and cut them so they are the same size. Repeat for all of the other wire holders.

Monster Mud Casings: Dip the rifle casings into monster mud and place on the stone. Use a large brush to press the casings down and smooth away the mud. Have a scraper nearby to help clean the brush of excess mm. Keep doing this until the mm makes the casings have a nice transition to the stone. Dip the brush into some water and carefully and gently wash away some of the casing face so you can see that they were shiny, smooth casings. Also use the brush dipped in water to help smooth away the edges of the monster mud. Let dry overnight.

Cover up Portrait (picture 1): This step will protect the portrait from the next painting steps. Trace a piece of paper over the visible part of the portrait. Cut out. Place on another piece of paper. and trace again. Draw an interior line about an 1/8" from the edge of that new piece. Cut that out. That second piece of paper will be slightly smaller than the visible part of the portrait. Place the smaller paper on a sheet of glass in the center. Tape it over with blue tape. Put the first piece of paper over the tape and trace out. Cut the blue tape with an eXacto knife and remove from the glass.

Place Cover (picture 2): Center the tape assembly over the visible part of the portrait and press on. Also, stuff paper towels and some plastic wrap into the bullet holes to protect the LED lighting from the next painting steps.

Wrap Rope Lighting (picture 3): Coil up the rope lighting and place in a plastic bag. Seal the opening with blue tape.

Caulk and Drylok Bottom Base (not pictured): Turn the stone on it's side and caulk the opening where the PVC pipe meets the foam and plywood so only the interior of the pipe is open. Allow to dry overnight. Paint a layer of Drylok on the bottom of the base and allow that to dry overnight. Next day, do a second coat of Drylok and let dry overnight again.

Coat with Drylok (picture 1): Turn the stone right-side up again. Coat entire stone in Drylok. This step takes longer than you think though. The epitaph gives you some painstaking work. For tiny fonts you will need to press the Drylok in and then scoop the extra away using a tiny brush. It will take repetitive passes. For large fonts it will also take many passes to scoop out the extra Drylok. The font will fill in and disappear because Drylok is so thick if you don't do this step. Also have another stubby brush to help push in the Drylok to be sure any rough areas and pin holes gets coated. To help pass the time - pour a drink first.

Second Coat (picture 2): Paint a second coat of Drylok.

Painting Crevices and Epitaph (not pictured): Using a small brush and dark gray exterior paint, paint the inside of the epitaph. Use a larger brush to paint the crevices but also feather out to the edges. This will help to add depth to those cracks and crevices. No need to allow full drying for the the next step. As long as it's partially dry in spots you can move to the tea-staining step.

Tea-staining: This is a very messy step so put some painting tarps on your workbench. Dip a 2" brush into the dark gray exterior paint and mix into a 1/2 filled glass of water. You are making paint that is like tea. This will let you stain the stone so it looks like it's been out in the dirty air for centuries. Start at the top and roughly drip it down the tombstone and help brush it down in places. Do it over and over again until you like the look. You are trying to make it look like this stone has been in the weather forever. You can take breaks here and there to allow the previous tea-stain to dry a bit. If you do this you will see more definitive lines. If you don't take breaks then the lines will be muddier looking. It's all your preference. For this stone I took very short breaks so you get a bit of both. Muddying and definitive lines. Sop up any excess paint with paper towels. Remove the plastic wrap and paper towels from the bullet holes. Check to see if any tea-staining paint touched the lighting. If so, wipe clean with Q-Tips. Use small items under the the base to prop it up and allow air to flow underneath so it can dry. Dry overnight.

Dry-brushing: A miracle step. Get a dry 3-inch brush and dip it in white exterior flat paint. First brush it dry on a paper towel. Lightly brush the entire tombstone. This will paint only the raised edges of the tombstone and you will be amazed at the transformation. Instantly your tombstone will look like real stone.

Lichen & Moss Color Accents: Raw Sienna is the perfect orangy color to add a rust-colored lichen look. Dip the 2" brush into the paint and brush off excess onto a paper towel. Streak the paint down in some areas of the tombstone. Prepare your brush the same way using the dark green paint. Pick a few places that a spot of moss would look good. Don't streak it down though. Just a quick, short, downward brush stroke.

White Lichen and Bird Droppings: Place some white exterior paint on your pallet. Get a crumpled up rag or paper towel and dip into the paint and dry off a bit on another paper towel. Dab the tombstone a couple of times in the same spot while turning the rag until you get the look you want. Dip a small brush into the white paint on the pallet and brush on some bird droppings.

Black Detail Lines: Paint a very thin line in the center of any cracks on the stone. Use flat black paint for this. Extend the line past the real cracks to make a faux crack on the edges. This adds realism. If the shade of black isn't dark enough it won't be convincing so you may need to go over your line twice.

Fix Dark Areas: Sometimes the tea-staining step will wash away some of the dark crevice paint details. Go back over any areas that needs additional shading with a brush.

Make a Ridge & Paint (Picture 1): Carve a shallow outer ridge on the bullet holes using an eXacto knife. Continue to carve out the ridge using a tool from your sculptor's kit to help flatten that ridge out. This will create a 'shelf' for the opaque plastic to be set into without falling into the center of the stone. Paint with the color of the light. Let dry.

Cut out Plastic (Picture 2): Put a tiny piece of blue painter's tape on a sheet of heavy duty template plastic. The tape will indicate to you what the top of the circle will be. This tip will save you a bit of frustration down the road here. Place over a bullet hole and trace out using an overhead marker. Cut out, test to fit and adjust using scissors. Remove from hole and wipe off the marker residue off the edges. Place off to the side and repeat the process for the other bullet holes.

Silicone in Place (Picture 1): Place a thin bead of silicone on the 'shelf' and push the plastic in. Remove painter's tape. Let dry.

Caulk, Smooth and Paint (Picture 2): Place a final barrier of caulk over the edges and finger smooth to blend in. If you smudged some of the caulk onto the plastic, remove it with a wet Q-Tip.

Apply Moss: Apply some moss to the stone using a hot glue gun.

Drylok & Drybrush Visible Glue: Cover up any visible glue seams with some Drylok. Let dry and drybrush with white to help blend it back into the stone.

Yippee! You are done.

Cut Rebar (not pictured): Cutting rebar is easier than you may think if you have a fiberglass cutting wheel for your Dremel. Cut all around the perimeter of where you need it cut about a 1/4 of the way through. Center the cut area over a corner of your workbench and bend the rebar. It will break in half.

Display in Graveyard: Lay the tombstone on it's side where you want it in your graveyard. Line up the two rebar stakes where the holes are in the center of the tombstone. Pound the rebar 10" in the ground. Lift up the tombstone and slide over the rebar. This will help keep your tombstone upright on windy days. If your yard is sloped, use a plank or two of wood to shim up the bottom so it's level. Lace some string through the holes in the far corners of the tombstone and tie off to ground stakes. In a few days the grass will camouflage the string and it becomes nearly impossible to see. The ground stakes add additional wind resistance and some theft deterrent.

Before leaving, this stone was made for a trade with fellow HF member Andretti. Always wanted a top-end carved pumpkin. Was floored at what he presented me:

WowZer and thanks Andretti!

SF Themed Haunt

JustJimAZ — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 15:55:33 GMT

It seems to me that most haunts, if they have any literary influence at all, use the same books. Frankenstein, Dracula, maybe some Lovecraft.

My son suggested the idea of a Haunt based on HG Wells' stories, and I thought it would be interesting. Then I naturally thought about Jules Verne. I wonder if this has been done? Either is too ambitious for me at the moment, but here are some thoughts I have, for your consideration and comment:

Wells' Books:
The Food of the Gods and How It Came to Earth
Giant rats, chickens, worms, wasps, spiders, even people.
The Invisible Man
The obvious man in bandages, mad scientist in his lab.
The Island of Dr. Moreau
Any number of pseudo-human creatures here
The War of the Worlds
The ships, the aftermath of battle, maybe the aliens themselves
The First Men in the Moon
Especially the insectoid aliens in the caverns
Empire of the Ants
Intelligent ants destroy a South American town
The Crystal Egg
The egg allows people to view mars. Wouldn't that be a cool application of a Pepper's Ghost effect? You could use video on a laptop and even make it interactive.

Verne's books:

Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea

The infamous Captain Nemo and his amazing ship The Nautilus explore any number of weird underwater worlds and encounter any number of creatures! He sank a lot of ships, so underwater zombies are not impossible there!
Master of the world
Basically Captain Nemo in a flying machine. Mad scientist?
Mysterious Island
Nemo again. Not much in the book, but in the movie there were giant beasts
Dr. Ox's Experiment
Giant mutated plants. Maybe they could become man eaters!
Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea
Underwater scenes, sea monsters
From the Earth to the Moon
Again, nothing in the story, but an excuse for an alien planet kind of scene
A Journey to the Center of the Earth
Caves, subterranean creatures, dinosaurs

Let's not forget that Robert Louis Stevenson wrote The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, which is definitely horror sci-fi, much like Frankenstein was. Like the werewolf, I think much of the horror there is in the transformation. Unlike the werewolf, it has the additional element of Mr. Hyde slowly taking over. That would be a pretty cerebral haunt though.

Looking at this, I now see a lot of steampunk themed opportunity that I did not consider when I began writing it. Odd, considering how much Wells and Verne are revered in steampunk circles. The thing is to make it a haunt - a creepy, uncanny place suitable for scaring the fluids out of ToTs!

If you were creating a haunt based on a sci-fi author, who would you pick, and what would you do? What would you do - or like to see done - with Wells and Verne?

How to Feel Miserable as an Artist

JustJimAZ — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 12:49:21 GMT

Borrowed from "The Artist's Survival Kit"

Haunting is definitely an art. Everything from sets and props to costumes and acting is an art unto itself. I thought this might be appreciated here.

Creating New Worlds with Props

JustJimAZ — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 13:08:55 GMT

It seems to me that every haunter, to one degree or another, strives to create a fantasy world. Some are very close to reality with just a few decorations here and there to add eeriness. Others try to fully immerse their visitors in a world of their own creation.

In hopes that you will find it inspiring, I offer these two videos of professionals who literally created entirely new worlds from the props up - Middle Earth and Narnia. You and I may never have the budget or equipment make props of this caliber. Still, I personally love to see masters and their masterpieces. Keeps one humble, knowing how much more there is to achieve.

http://youtu.be/f9uHohsTgpA

http://youtu.be/FJ08ADL3IbU