8/22/2006 - Carved/routed gravestone: a "how to" of sorts (highlighting and aging process)

Okay, the stone was cut and shaped, carved and routed, then inscribed and painted.  If you want a plain stone that looks brand new, you could stop there.  What's the fun in that?  I want my stones to look 200-300 years old, with dings and chips and weathering and staining.  I'm probably overzealous in this goal, and I spend WAY too much time on detail work.  I like for people to accuse me of stealing the gravestone because it looks so real :)

This is the stone after all the initial painting and a light coat of clear matte sealant.  Why put sealant on BEFORE aging, you ask?  Cuz I said so!  Honestly, if you get carried away with your aging paint, you can wipe it off if the stone is sealed.  Otherwise, the Fleckstone starts to absorb the watery craft paint and you can't get it off.  The watery craft paint I speak of is just super-diluted acrylic craft paint from Walmart or any other crafty-type store.  I don't use straight black, as it's too stark.  On this stone I used charcoal gray, a little tan, and a tiny bit of maroon mixed about 1 part paint to 25+ parts water.  The tiny craft brush in the photo has a point smaller than a pencil lead, and is great for getting the paint into tiny crevices (ie lettering) and for outlining raised or incised elements.  That's where I start on a stone, highlighting or shadowing the elements of the design.

Here's the inscription partway through the first pass.  Notice how the aging paint doesn't settle into all of the letters evenly or coat the inside surface of each letter.  It takes a couple or three passes to get an even dark coat of paint inside each letter.  A small dropper can also be useful in this process, if you have a steady hand.  Just drop the paint into each letter and let it travel through the incised area.  Stir your aging paint up periodically, as the pigment settles over time and you'll notice that there's less and less color to your work!

Here I've started picking out the other details in the stone's design, like the columns and the large oval that contains the inscription.  The aging paint fills the enclosed incised designs and settles into the deepest areas, adding to the suggestion of depth.  Again, a couple of passes may be required to make each detail "pop" the way you'd like.  I outlined each of the raised surfaces (like the oval and the columns) with the paint also, to make them seem to stand out further from the background surface. 

Highlighting the top panel took the longest.  I outlined each raised area, and filled each incised area.  I went over this a few times before I was happy with it.  The thing to consider in deciding what areas to emphasize is this: where would rain pool before it ran off?  Where would water remain the longest before drying off?  Where would wind-blown dirt and dust cling?  THOSE are the areas that you want to darken the most.  Next is the watermarking or weathering stage, where the runoff from decades or centuries of rain is depicted.  I switched to a different brush for that part...

This wider (maybe 3/8") flat-edged brush worked wonders for the vertical streaking that looks like water staining.  I just dipped the edge of the brush in the aging paint, and dragged the whole brushhead down vertically from areas where I thought rainwater would collect and then run down.  I probably made two or three passes on each area to get it as dark as I wanted.  To simulate water running off from the lettering or fine details, I used the brush edge positioned vertically to create a little sliver of shadow instead of a wide swath.  This brush actually would've been handy for outlining my columns and the oval shapes, using just the tips of the bristles and "slicing" along the outlines.  Lesson learned :) 

After you've weathered the face of your stone, don't forget the side edges and the top edges.  You can use a wide brush or a piece of sponge to dab paint in any depressions or inside corners.  Keep a paper towel handy to wipe off any excess.  I often paint faux moss and lichen on my stones with a piece of sea sponge dipped in 3-4 colors (white, grey, shades of green).  Dab the paint around the bottom edge and along the top edges in random patterns and from different directions so there's no obvious pattern to it.  OR you can always get bits of moss (available at many craft stores) and glue them onto the stone for even more realism!

Here's are a couple of pics (non-flash and with flash) of the completed stone.  The true color (pale green with flecks of ivory and a terra cotta shade) is somewhere between the two.  I may add some mossy/licheny paint to it later, but I haven't decided on that yet.  Once you're happy with the watermarking and any moss or lichen that you might decide to put on, put 2-3 light coats of clear matte sealant on the stone.  Be sure to coat the front, back, and all edges, as Fleckstone isn't waterproof and could absorb water and probably start to peel off if not adequately sealed. 

 There are a few more photos of this stone and the other that I did for this year in my Halloween gallery: http://www.halloweengallery.com/thumbnails.php?album=430&page=1  and in my photobucket:  http://s152.photobucket.com/albums/s166/gothikim/Halloween%2006%20display/