Hal asked me to share the steps I took to create my newest Halloween decoration. (Hey, it’s never too soon!) So, here goes:
That Thing I Did
This is what happens when you start a project, never finish it, but hold on to pieces of it just in case. The aforementioned project was a Day of the Dead gourd I was planning. It was supposed to have a kneeling skeleton and a bunch of other things I never got around to making. The upshot of this is that I was left with a partial skeleton that I refused to throw out. I mean, tiny skeletons be needing a home. I thought a miniature graveyard to put my skeleton in sounded just right, and I could display it on Halloween — bonus!
When starting a project, I often fly by the seat of my pants. There’s a lot of trial and error.
For this project, I began with a 12” round wooden plaque that I covered with clay (any time I refer to clay, it will be Sculpey clay). Sculpey clay is great. I prefer using the medium gray clay for most projects, which is harder than the white and holds detail well. You can bake it in your oven (I use a toaster oven I bought expressly for this reason.) The grave portion of the graveyard was bulked up with tin foil before adding more clay. I textured the clay with the pointy end of the tweezers so it resembled freshly dug dirt. I also made small cuts in the area surrounding the grave to mimic the look of grass. Then I used a textured roller to make the stone path. Textured rollers are great. You can create many realistic effects, from feathers to tilework.
That Thing I Did
This is what happens when you start a project, never finish it, but hold on to pieces of it just in case. The aforementioned project was a Day of the Dead gourd I was planning. It was supposed to have a kneeling skeleton and a bunch of other things I never got around to making. The upshot of this is that I was left with a partial skeleton that I refused to throw out. I mean, tiny skeletons be needing a home. I thought a miniature graveyard to put my skeleton in sounded just right, and I could display it on Halloween — bonus!
When starting a project, I often fly by the seat of my pants. There’s a lot of trial and error.
For this project, I began with a 12” round wooden plaque that I covered with clay (any time I refer to clay, it will be Sculpey clay). Sculpey clay is great. I prefer using the medium gray clay for most projects, which is harder than the white and holds detail well. You can bake it in your oven (I use a toaster oven I bought expressly for this reason.) The grave portion of the graveyard was bulked up with tin foil before adding more clay. I textured the clay with the pointy end of the tweezers so it resembled freshly dug dirt. I also made small cuts in the area surrounding the grave to mimic the look of grass. Then I used a textured roller to make the stone path. Textured rollers are great. You can create many realistic effects, from feathers to tilework.
I sculpted a few clay items to add to the base. These were the gravestone, grass blades and some extra bones. For really thin items like grass blades, a clay roller (think pasta roller, but for clay) is invaluable. After baking these items in the oven, I pushed them into the still-soft clay of the base. By baking the smaller items first, you can move them around without damaging them. I took pictures to record their location and then removed them from the base. I then baked the base.
Now I had to tackle the fence. I used a clay extruder to create the fence posts and crosspieces. What the heck is a clay extruder, you ask? It’s a little like the Play-Doh Fun Factory. But instead of pushing the clay through, you turn a crank. The extruders also come with a variety of stencil plates for making various kinds of shapes. It’s way easier to create a consistent thickness by using an extruder. I highly recommend it. Anyway, a lot of extruding later, I created 5 fence panels. These I baked. The stone pillars were made from a cardboard center, covered in clay, and rolled with another texture roller. Then I carefully placed the stone pillars around the base and pushed the fence panels into them. This made rectangular holes I could slide the fence panels into later once the stone pillars were baked. Okay, this is going on and on. The upshot is – bake all the stuff first that needs to be slotted into other stuff. That way you can stick it in and remove it without damage.
The gargoyles, eyeballs, and various other pieces were made separately and then glued on afterward. The pieces I stuck in the base and removed earlier were glued on after the base was baked and painted. The flames in the bowls are made from those plastic pockets you use in notebooks. I looked up on YouTube how to make a spiderweb on the wall with yarn and then scaled it way down and used sewing thread, glue and sealer to stiffen the thread. The ‘spirit’ is gauze covered with a 50/50 glue and water mix. It’s draped over a small ball covered in plastic wrap and allowed to dry. I also found the instructions to do this on YouTube.
Now I had to tackle the fence. I used a clay extruder to create the fence posts and crosspieces. What the heck is a clay extruder, you ask? It’s a little like the Play-Doh Fun Factory. But instead of pushing the clay through, you turn a crank. The extruders also come with a variety of stencil plates for making various kinds of shapes. It’s way easier to create a consistent thickness by using an extruder. I highly recommend it. Anyway, a lot of extruding later, I created 5 fence panels. These I baked. The stone pillars were made from a cardboard center, covered in clay, and rolled with another texture roller. Then I carefully placed the stone pillars around the base and pushed the fence panels into them. This made rectangular holes I could slide the fence panels into later once the stone pillars were baked. Okay, this is going on and on. The upshot is – bake all the stuff first that needs to be slotted into other stuff. That way you can stick it in and remove it without damage.
The gargoyles, eyeballs, and various other pieces were made separately and then glued on afterward. The pieces I stuck in the base and removed earlier were glued on after the base was baked and painted. The flames in the bowls are made from those plastic pockets you use in notebooks. I looked up on YouTube how to make a spiderweb on the wall with yarn and then scaled it way down and used sewing thread, glue and sealer to stiffen the thread. The ‘spirit’ is gauze covered with a 50/50 glue and water mix. It’s draped over a small ball covered in plastic wrap and allowed to dry. I also found the instructions to do this on YouTube.
After everything was baked, it got painted with acrylic paint and then sealed with Varathane Ultimate Polyurethane water-based sealer. Mostly, I used a mix of satin and matte. However, for the eyeballs on the fence posts and the eyes of the gargoyle heads and the rat, I used gloss. Eyeballs should be shiny.
While creating all this, many mistakes and corrections were made. I added parts as I went along and removed others. It’s a very organic process.
Things I Learned
1. Don’t set fencing on a base and expect it to balance for a long time unless the bottom is perfectly flat. It will fall. Parts will break, and you’ll have to make said parts over again. This will really piss you off.
2. If you don’t make sure your stone pillars are flat on the bottom, you will need extra support. You will have to drill holes in the bottom of the pillars after they are already baked. You will have to add wires to the holes. This will be tedious and will really piss you off.
3. It’s hard to make stable fencing out of clay.
4. When things get tough, punt.
Luckily, I enjoy punting.
While creating all this, many mistakes and corrections were made. I added parts as I went along and removed others. It’s a very organic process.
Things I Learned
1. Don’t set fencing on a base and expect it to balance for a long time unless the bottom is perfectly flat. It will fall. Parts will break, and you’ll have to make said parts over again. This will really piss you off.
2. If you don’t make sure your stone pillars are flat on the bottom, you will need extra support. You will have to drill holes in the bottom of the pillars after they are already baked. You will have to add wires to the holes. This will be tedious and will really piss you off.
3. It’s hard to make stable fencing out of clay.
4. When things get tough, punt.
Luckily, I enjoy punting.
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