Trading tips for dark displays and prop production.
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By mesmark
#55762
Thanks. The foam is really nice. I made a plan, collected pieces, cut them up, sculpted them and painted in 2 hours. It took about 30 minutes to glue it all together and add some accents.

I also poked and glued some wires in the back to hang it like a picture frame. Or you can use thread to suspend it if you don't want to make holes in your walls.
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By keifferone
#55791
Do you have any video tutorials online? Like Youtube? I would love to really learn how to do this and you seem like the person to learn from.
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By mesmark
#55848
I don't have any video tutorials. I didn't think that far in advance and seems like it would take a lot of video editing time, but I did take a lot of process shots and thought those would work like a photo tutorial of sorts. Also, I posted more of a "how to" with additional pictures on my blog. See the different posts below:

Here are the blog tutorials:

how to make spooky fence posts

how to make a spooky Halloween tree

How to make a PVC pipe rot iron fence

How to make haunted house scene setter: old wood looking backdrop and doorway

Since a lot of people on the forums are making their own stuff, I figure just posting a few pictures of the process is enough. From there, you can branch out and try other things. Anyway, the blog posts have more information for each step, and there are some tips for where to be careful or what to watch out for.

Give it a shot! It's really easy and since it's Halloween stuff, you can't really mess up. Real stuff is messed up :D

Also, take a look at some of the tombstone threads. Other people are more intricate and detailed. They break the boards and have cracks and such. I'm a little anal and like my old things "nice" :P
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By scully
#55895
Just wanted to say that the amount of work you to is to be commended and that I love coming to this thread to see if you added new pictures. I get so many ideas here from seeing everyone's creations!

Julie
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By mesmark
#56212
Julie - Thanks! I appreciate it. I've wondered if I post too many photos and bother everyone with all of the small steps. Maybe there are a few people who are thinking "Enough already! Just post the final shots!" :lol:

However, for me it's nice to share the photos here and discuss all of this with the ZP members. It's kind of a way to share a lot of mini-goals that lead up the the full display. Since we generally keep everything a secret until the party starts, there's no one here to share the process with. So, again, I appreciate you posting. It's very encouraging.

I have to admit that when I shaded the backdrop and finished the window, I was pretty pumped. Everything I wanted to do got done. I've been riding the high for 2 days now. I actually need to get back to work ... it's almost time to start baking cookies.

I hope it all looks better together than solo and the final display doesn't let anyone down. It's always just an idea and then on the day I do the first and final test. We'll see ... :D
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By keifferone
#56214
Thats what we are all here for is to feed off of each others creativity. That sounds weird I know but it is true for me anyways. Having a place to go filled with the amount of creative geniuses this wedsite has is amazing. Thank you for posting these pix and I look forward to every post. Keep them coming.
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By CorpseBride
#56267
WOW! I love the doorway and the window!! I might have to snag these ideas for next year. Way too cool mesmark! You are doing such an amazing job. The finished product is going to blow everyone out of the water I'm sure.
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By mesmark
#57662
Well, we set up this evening. We're not finished but for the most part everything is up. I just need to go through and add small details, some pumpkins, some tombstones, hide some things, etc.

Making the structure for the inside of the haunted house:
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To make walls, we just used black plastic wrap. It's a farming sheet used quite a bit around here:
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Add the doorway:
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And a curtain ,,,
And there you have it
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There are more details to add and I didn't take a picture of the actual picture taking spot. You can see that the fence toppers haven't been put on. And a few other small details. Hopefully I'll have better final pictures for later in the week.

Here's a full view:
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And everyone that helped get the place set up. Not a one-man show
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By nosferatu
#57750
OMG!

That is absolutely incredible. I absolutely love it. Are you planning on renting it out a holiday accommodation? The amount of effort is unbelievable. Well done Mark, an unbelievable achievement.
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By mesmark
#57803
thanks! but hang on guys, here are the final shots. Not much different, but a little better lighting, some color added with vines and pumpkins. Also, I add some candles on the doorway torches:


Here is a picture I took after we had finished setting up. I turned off all of the lights in the room, except the lights you see in the picture. It looked great, but I hadn't turned on the candles ...
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This is a little bit closer. I like this one, because you can't see the light source and we had some party decorations just above which are hidden here:
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I took pictures of each side of the display:
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And here we are in front of the haunted house
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All in all, I'm super pleased with how it turned out. I always have a bigger, better image in my head, but this certainly surprised and "wow"ed a lot of people at the party.

And now, time to clean up :(
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By keifferone
#57857
looks amazing. Well done.