Instructions

• 1). Stroll local cemeteries with a sketchbook, pencils and/or camera in hand. Pay attention to the headstones that are taller than they are wide. Consider the relationships between the top of the monuments and their bases so you understand how weight is distributed to keep the headstone stable.
  
  
• 2). Meet with cemetery officials. Ask for a copy of the graveyard's monument guidelines, including height and width restrictions. Ask also whether there are materials they would recommend for your region, based on their experiences with weathering and deterioration.
  
  
• 3). Begin sketching your upright monument by hand once you decide upon the exact size of your headstone design. Use the photos and sketches obtained on your fact-finding mission as reference. Alternately, access your computer's CAD program. Use a pen, pencil or thin brush tool to outline the shape of your upright monument, then lay in details.
  
  
• 4). Shop for quarried stone to get an idea how marbles, granites, basalt, alabaster and other popular monument materials look and feel. Obtain samples of the materials you feel will best match your upright monument's design.
  
  
• 5). Meet with a professional stonecutter. Bring your sketches or renderings and any stone samples along to be certain the material can be cut to match the upright monument design you've created. Solicit suggestions from the cutter to learn about design directions you may want to consider or modifications that may be necessary.
  
  
• 6). Render the final upright monument. Choose a phrase, epitaph or sentiment appropriate for the headstone, then add the name, dates of birth and death, and embellishments (incised patterns, picture capsules and other engraved extras) that are to appear on the monument before turning it over to the stonecutter to be fabricated.