What are some ways to create a faux castle stone wall for a movie set?

Question

It's for a Harry Potter fan film I'm making and I'm on a budget. I'm considering concrete or grout on top of foam boards. Any other clever suggestions?

Answer 1

I've made large stone-brick walls for an outdoor castle at my house by "stamping" a very-huge cardboard box with a large sponge usually used for washing a car... can't remember what type of paint I used on the sponge, just something that would be okay outside.

I first painted the whole background of the wall a sorta dark gray.
Then I trimmed the sponge a bit so it would have less smooth edges and slightly different shape, and dipped it into a lighter gray paint on a plate, then stamped each brick/stone onto the background leaving gaps between (as the "mortar). You could use any combo of colors though.
To age and "dirty" the castle walls, I used some flat black spray paint to lightly swipe here and there over the stamped stones in a random way. Could also do that with some greenish colors for moss, etc., or perhaps some brown too.

If you needed even more "texture" in your individual stones, you could use a slightly darker color (of "stone"), then pounce the color here and there on the stone using a wadded up bit of plastic wrap.

If you wanted a more irregular set of stones, you could use several large sponges cut to different shapes.

You could also make larger stones by using some kind of flat foam rubber to make the basic shape of the stamps, then glue (permanent white glue) them to a board or plywood shape as large at least as large to make them into pressable stamps.

I did mine the way I did because it was really quick and cheap, but my son has used a huge stencil at his high school theater dept., then spray painted or sponged or brush-painted inside each "stone" opening. So you could also make yourself a stencil or two for each stone, or each few stones ...or perhaps you could borrow something similar from a high school with a good drama dept or from a community theater, etc.

( I think the concrete/grout/plaster/etc., would be much more trouble and also heavier and likely to crack. . .some of that spray foam insulation might be a possibility though???, then paint over it.)

As for backgrounds, it might be best to go with large insulation board from Home Depot etc., so not too heavy. But you could also do the same thing on a king-size sheet, then hang it from a board.

Good luck!

Diane B

Answer 2

Use the Styrofoam brick idea, but make each brick look like cut stone by sculpting them with an exacto knife. Mix up some grey paint with a touch of brown, then apply the paint. When dry, lightly brush on a bit of black, lighter grey, and then some brown.
The result should be a reasonably credible stone wall in appearance.

Answer 3

I have used latex based paints one base paints and two minor paints bright paint and several ocean sponges. used you base paint as the main coverdabbed with a sponge can lighten the paint if you want and then two colorsover base dabbed in random pattern. Now use the light colored piant with a long flight feather randomly twisting and rotating and dragging the feather across the painted surface. This is not a perfection thing if you ever have noticed marble has flaws and comes in many colors so have fun practicing. Look at some different marbles and use those colors.

Answer 4

http://www.StumpsParty.com has 4'x25' corrugated paper imprinted with a stone wall design.I think it is about $20. It is also available in a flat paper that is 4'x50' for about the same cost.

Answer 5

Paint some Styrofoam "bricks"

Answer 6

i think that you could take a peice of paper and make it a rounded rectangleand trace it on cardboard or on foam and then paint it grey or whatever precise color you desire. i had to paint a backdrop for my odessy of the mind skit and that's what my team did! we just painted it. and outlined it in black to make it stand out however you could outline it in a darker color of the one you paint it! you don't have to do it but hope it helps!!!!!! Good luck and hope it turns out AWESOME!!!!! P.S. i love Harry Potter!!!!!! : ) and if it goes on you tube tell me please!

Answer 7

you could take some brown paper sacks and crumple them up , maybe spray a few to make them gray, etc. you could attach them to something simple...like plywood. Good luck

Answer 8

paper mache