Step 1: Poster Board & EVA Foam Strips
The first step here was cutting out three rectangles from my poster board. The first two plain and then the last had a channel for my yard stick to go through. The yard stick was the same thickness as the poster board so it worked perfectly! Next I cut several EVA foam strips in different lengths. Each width was between 2-2.75in in width. I used different widths to create some depth for the sign. Step 3: Carving
Using a sharpie I designed a rough design of what I wanted the sign to look like and then I cut it out with my jig saw. This part was a lot of just carving until I liked it but I think the final shape is very organic and cool! Step 5: Assemble
I originally was gonna glue the yard stick into place, but it was actually quite difficult to get it in the channel I cut in the middle (honestly perfect fit). So I just didn’t take it back out after my test fit and it works! |
Step 2: Tacky Glue
Tacky glue is a very strong glue that takes a lot of time to dry, but as I later carved this prop with a saw, I needed that strength. I used a silicone makeup applicator to spread the glue evenly on my three boards making sure to sandwich the board with the yardstick channel in the middle. I then carefully aligned the 2mm EVA foam strips so that the same width on the front matched the back and then I glued these down with more tacky glue. I then let this glue for a month before coming back to it, but a week would probably be enough time for it to completely dry even though I used half a bottle very generously on this. Step 4: Painting
I primed the EVA foam like I do everything, with mod podge. At one point I considered using a hot knife to draw wood designs but decided against it and painted them instead. Some dry brushing was added for moss or general dirt. The yardstick was also painted at this time to be a dark brown with some shadows added. The “Beware Ogre” was entirely freehanded and I take it as a complement that my handwriting is reminiscent of Shrek. After everything was done I sealed with mod podge. |