Concept to Reality: The Estate Sign

The Greywood Manor estate sign, pictured below, was one of the main projects I took on for the 2010 season. Although Greywood Manor was the name of the haunt starting all the way back in late 2008, there really was no prominent sign that told the audience they were visiting the house of the Greywood family.

Greywood Manor Estate Sign - 2010, in action!

This, however, was an idea that has it's roots all the way back, three years earlier, in 2008. Through the concept images I'm about to display, you'll get an idea of how an project grows from concept to reality.

In early 2008, one of the concept pieces I drew of the exterior of the mansion shows a Gracy Manor estate sign. Notice the design, as it is just a simple plywood board attached to a stake. "Gracy Manor" was also the name I was throwing around before I decided upon the name "Greywood." The name "Gracy" is of course a tribute to the Haunted Mansion. Master Gracey (with an "e") is the supposed owner of Disney's haunt.

This rendering is the first time that my estate sign was visualized on paper.

Estate Sign Concept: Early 2008

So the idea sat, and didn't progress at all that year. Then, in 2009, I thought it was about time to start construction on this project. I refined the look of the sign, and drew up a dimensional sketch for reference while constructing the piece. Unfortunately, I ran out of time in 2009 to actually finish. The idea did not die, however, as I just delayed construction until 2010.

Estate Sign Dimensions, 2009

Construction then began in 2010. To finalize what I wanted the piece to look like, I drew one more concept - an image of what I wanted the completed project to look like.

Estate Sign Concept, 2010

Construction then began with me choosing between some stain colors. I created test patches on a few wooden shims, and then began to stain, and paint my pieces. Note that the hanging sign portion of the prop is stained, while the letters are painted a metallic gold, and outlined with a flat black paint to create the illusion of depth on the flat surface.

So many choices...

Finally, I needed an ornate, iron piece to display on the top, horizontal bar of the sign. I went online, and found this neat door topper piece from Heavy Hitter Ind. Inc. I used one of the side pieces, painted it the same metallic gold as the letters on the sign, and finally finished this project.

Just a bit of paint, and it's perfect!

For 2011, am I going to improve upon this estate sign? Possibly. I'm throwing the idea around for adding some LED lights into the mix so the sign will light up at night, but so far, that's still Blue Sky. If not this year, possibly just the next.

Props Part 1

This week, we continue to look at props found both in the attic, as well as in the cemetery.

First off is a 13-hour clock - custom made, and it actually works!

I replaced the face with a print out version of a '13' Hour Clock - a tribute to Disney's Haunted Mansion attraction. I painted the clock hands a blood red, so they would stand out against the mostly black and white face. The hands were originally black. The iron body was then painted and aged as well. It was originally a dark green, but we painted it gold and aged it using a dull brown.

This next prop is a birdcage that I found at a thrift store. It was not meant to really house a bird, as it has no door. Just the creepiness of an empty bird cage, with it's swing slowly swaying in the breeze is all this prop needs to bring a chill to the attic. 

Finally, this lantern, which really works, is housed in the cemetery. Although not oil burning, this lantern was made to look like one. It was already pre-aged, as it was bought online on a Halloween prop website.

Greywood Manor 2007 & 2008

In my first main post, Greywood Manor 2010,

I displayed a video of this past year's 2010 haunt.

Today, I'd like to showcase a collage of how it looked years back, in 2007 and 2008.

2007 was the first year I created the attic scene.

2008 followed, with slight changes.

As 2009 was my freshman year in college, I did not know how much work to expect. Thusly, the attic scene was not set up that year. The only decor set up was the graveyard - a constant since before 2007.

And as we've seen, 2010 brought the attic's triumphant return, again with slight changes.

2011 is looking to be an iconic year as well - not with a resurrection - but with the addition of the "holiday overlay" props that have been worked into the back-story but that have never actually been displayed before. Stay tuned to this blog, as I have some fascinating posts in the works!