Thread: Broken Tombstone Finished

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I just finished a new tombstone I've been working on. I had the idea for it and laid it out on the foam last year but never got it finished before Halloween.

For this one I wanted something a bit out of the ordinary. I remember when I visited some old cemeteries that there are always a few tombstones lying broken on the ground - victims of time & neglect or vandalism. I thought a tombstone that had fallen over and cracked into pieces would be an unusual addition to Blackstone Cemetery for 2009.

First I designed the tombstone as had originally appeared. I came up with an engraving based on some actual historical designs but substituted Ann Blackstone as the name. The epitaph was transferred to the foam and carved using a wood-burner tool. I then planned out where it would be broken so that the lettering was still readable but looked natural. I cut the foam into five pieces and added cracks. A scrap piece of plywood served as the base and I arranged the broken pieces in a way to look like it had toppled backwards and shattered on impact.

The next step was to build up the thickness of the foam and cut them on angles so that it looked like it was lying on the ground in a natural manner and also so it wasn't just flat where it might not be seen. To do this I took scrap pieces of foam and cut them out in the shape of the tombstone fragments but cut the backs on angle so that each pieces would sit at different heights and angles. Some spackling was used to smooth out any seams between the boards to make it look like one solid piece but I didn't worry about making it too smooth since it's supposed to be old and broken.

I painted it in the same manner as my other tombstones by applying a medium to dark grey base coat over everything, taking special care to get it into all the cracks & lettering. Once dry use a natural sea sponge to dab on a lighter grey. This really brings out the lettering and texture. A bit of dry-brushing with a light brown finished the painting. For final detailing I hot-glued down some fake grass in and around the broken pieces to make it look old and overgrown.

I'm looking forward to setting this one out to really capture the look of an old and forgotten cemetery.

now thats a great idea, i dont remember seing that done , great looking tombstone, you did a great job

Very nice effect. I like the high grass and weeds growing up between the broken pieces.

That looks great! Is it permanently all one piece?

Now that's what I call a unique take on the old tombstone prop, I've never seen anyone do that for thier cemetary. Great job!

Uruk-Hi.....absolutely amazing idea! Right there in front of my face and never thought of this. I love the way you brought it together and can see this being a "stolen" idea for my cemetery this year. With the shattered pieces it almost looks like a more recent fall then one that has been on the ground for a longer period of thim as your facings of the rough break have the lighter coloring (like you would expect of untouched stone). I'm just going to have to build this this year. Thanks for sharing the details on how you acheived the look!

Very original! Looks great.Have to say I've never seen anything quite like it before either,good job!

WOW!!!! That is a great twist on tombstones that I have not seen before. I hope you don't mind if I steal the idea too!!!

Ok, that is cool!

That is a wonderful and very creative take on this prop. This is another fine example of how detail can add movement to a piece. I really appreciate the time and effort that goes into detail work......Beautiful!