DIY Disney Villain Tombstone

Halloween is the perfect opportunity for Disney villains to get in the spotlight! Let’s make some of our favorites the stars of our Halloween display with a DIY Disney Villain Tombstones.  

Here’s a step by step guide to how I made these Disney Villains tombstones.

Every year part of my front lawn becomes a spooky graveyard for Halloween. And every Halloween graveyard needs tombstones.

  In the beginning, I used mostly the store-bought Styrofoam tombstones, but it’s so windy in our neighborhood that they would end up getting blown down the street or ripped apart. Over the years I’ve been slowly upgrading to heavier, sturdier decorations.  Heavy store-bought tombstones are pricey, so I started making my own.   Being a Disney nut, I drew inspiration for the first set from Disney’s Haunted Mansion. But then the idea hit me to create another section just for Disney Villains. And that’s how, the Disney Villains graveyard was born.

Here’s how I made them:

Step 1: Choose Your Disney Villain

I made a list of Villains I could make gravestones for, and first up was Gaston, from Beauty and the Beast. He, like many Disney Villains, falls to his death at the end of the movie.

Step 2: Cut Tombstone Shapes

I chose to cut these tombstones out of plywood like I did with my Haunted Mansion tombstones. In fact, I already had cut out and painted a few generic tombstone shapes, so I saved time by using one of them for Gaston.

In hindsight, this was a missed opportunity. If I ever remake this tombstone, I think I might have some fun with it and give it a more unique shape.

Step 3: Paint Your Tombstone

When you paint may depend on how you are going to add your details. If they are also being painted on, you’ll want to at the very least apply a base coat of dark colored paint. DryLok is a good choice to protect your tombstone from moisture. A gallon of white is very affordable and you can tint it by adding black to make a grey color.

If you are etching in the details, then waiting until after that step might be better. As it turned out, my tombstone was already painted with a base coat of grey paint, plus a touch of stone texture spray paint before I even thought about the rest.

Step 4: Gaston’s Portrait

If I was an artist, I might have tried to just draw on his picture. But I know my limits. So I decided to do the next best thing and trace it.

I found an image I liked online, and used GIMP to make an outline of it.

  I printed out the template, then taped it to the tombstone so I could etch it into the wood.  

I used a dremel to trace the lines of the picture, etching them into the wood.

  After tracing the entire picture, I went over the lines with black Sharpie marker.  The result was pretty good. There was some chipping of the paint, but I can touch that up later.  

I used some black acrylic paint to fill in Gaston’s hair and eyebrows.

Step 5: The Epitaph

  I used the same technique to etch in the epitaph underneath, as well as the RIP over his head. This was another opportunity to get creative. I used Gaston’s song from the movie as my inspiration.  

Step 6: Add Fun Details

Since Gaston used antlers in all of his decorating, I thought he should have some on his gravestone as well. It’s fun touches like this that complete the tombstone.

The Finished Product:

It came out pretty good.  This gives me hope that I can complete a few more and have an entire section of Disney Villains residing in my Halloween graveyard this year and for years to come!

Now, Whose do you think I should make next?  And who has ideas for a good Villain epitaph?

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