# Painting of stones and columns



## Sblanck (Sep 13, 2007)

Greetings,

I have gone through a number of other how-tos on cemetery stones and columns. The one thing everyone seems to gloss over is painting and weathering. How to cut, carve and whatever you would ever want to do to foam is covered in detail.

I have columns and head stones out of wood. My stones are done using Hollywood haunters method of plywood and 2x lumber.
My artsy factor is greatly lacking so some detailed help on how to paint realistically would really great.

Thanks


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## MichaelMyers666 (Nov 5, 2016)

I've been doing a lot of painting lately for my graveyard. Mostly columns for the cemetery fence, but I did repaint a few head stones.

I spray it (or you could brush/roll it) with a dark grey paint. The one is use is from Hobby Lobby, Krylon "Anvil Grey" (very dark grey).

They I get a few of the lighter grey acrylic tubes. About a buck each. Brand is americana (search for americana acrylic paint)


And get a few of the cheap paintbrushes "chip brushes"


You want to put the brush in the paint, then brush a piece or scrap (cardboard, etc...) until almost all of the paint is gone. The remaining paint will then be lightly brushed on the stones. This method is called "dry brushing" and gives you some good looking faded application.


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## Haunted Spider (Sep 6, 2010)

I suggest you look for reference pictures. Most people paint stone and they are all one color and look bad. Most stones will have a base color but 3 or more colors mixed in, either dry brushed, or put on and sprayed down with some water for streaks. There are many techniques to do it but getting the color variation is what sells the piece. As well, the grout lines are almost never if ever black or darker than the stone itself. Usually they are the similar color or lighter. 

Good luck.


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## Plant 175 (Jan 11, 2017)

I have used latex paint for lettering can you use acrylic paint for lettering and will that run if it gets wet ?


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## RoxyBlue (Oct 6, 2008)

I second what HS said about using three or more colors. I always start with a flat base coat (usually gray, because we seem to have that in oops paint abundance), then spatter or stipple on at least three more colors. Here's one I did recently - colors are gray, black, brown, and white:

http://www.hauntforum.com/showthread.php?t=43971

This is a good video for demonstrating a spattering technique that even those who are not artistic can master






There are many faux stone painting videos on YouTube that will be helpful to browse through for ideas.


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## hfed (Oct 13, 2015)

It was A LOT of work 

I sprayed them with a base coat of some random gray I picked out at home depot that looked like slate-ish to me. It's easier to make it darker, harder to make lighter. So I erred on the light side.

Then I went with a detail airbrush, and sprayed ALL of the "grout" joints with pure black.

After that, we dry brushed some of the basecoat, with some black added to darken it up.
Then we dry brushed with white as a final coat to lighten everything up.

Dry brushing is your friend. Go light...easier to add color then remove color.

After we finished the dry brushing, I took heavy line of black across the very top and sprayed with water to create the drip effects.

Base coat









Finished (sorry not in between)


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## Sblanck (Sep 13, 2007)

Fantastic! Thanks everyone!

I will start on this as soon as I get my turn at the fuel pump.


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## fontgeek (Jul 24, 2006)

Keep in mind a couple of things;
First, if it's supposed to look like stacked stone, it would have minimal, and uneven seams/gaps between stones, mortar would actually be minimal or almost non-existent.
Second, if you are painting in the details, like shadows and highlights, keep the shadows and highlights consistent with where they would be with any ac dual light sources around your prop, in it's final resting place. (no pun intended). The intensity of the light would determine the intensity of the shadows and highlights.
Third, in the dark, or dim lighting, we lose color values, so trying to tweak a color to be pink, or whatever, is pretty much wasted for the majority of the props. Our eyes and brains take everything in values of gray/grey.


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## EyeballsStudio (Sep 17, 2013)

For my new set of tombstones (and other props that will need a stone texture) I'm using a mixture called scenic dope. It's a mixture of paint, acrylic caulk and joint compound (I think the ratio is 1 liter of paint, 3 to 5 tubes of caulk and 0,5 liter of joint compound). To create a rough stone texture, I mixed in some fine sand.
It's a bit tricky to paint with because it's so thick (a large round brush and a dabbing motion works best), but the result is quite good. I have used it for the base color on my tombstones, I think when I have done some washes and drybrushing it will look great.


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## fontgeek (Jul 24, 2006)

Sounds a bit like "Monstermud", but I'm curious to see the results and to hear you iw lasts through the weather.


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