A plywood Halloween silhouette scene is a full yard display cut out of two sheets of plywood with a jigsaw, painted flat black, and lit from behind with orange string lights. It takes 6 to 7 hours spread across a weekend, costs $150 to $250 at full price, and stores flat in the attic for years.
Of all the DIY Halloween decorations I have made, this is the one people stop the car for. It is a multi day project with real steps, but the payoff is worth every hour. The effect after dark is a pitch black scene with a soft orange glow spilling out around the edges, and it makes the whole yard feel like a set. I love everything about this project.
This is a medium level project and you really do want a buddy for the setup. You need a drill, a jigsaw, screws, and black outdoor paint. Cutting out the scene, screwing in the light anchors, standing it all up, it can absolutely be done in a weekend, but it will be a full weekend. The project itself is easy. The detail work on the cuts, and getting the lights wrapped tight on the back, is what takes the time. Make no mistake though, this is a show stopper in front of a garage or against a big flat house wall. It looks incredible at night and people really love how it creates a whole feeling in the yard. If you want smaller projects to go with it, I have a whole list of easy Halloween DIY crafts that anyone can do.
I will also show you how we built ours for about $120, which is well under the full price, mostly because we bought the light strands on clearance.
YouTube tutorial coming soon. Subscribe below so you do not miss it.
This post has all the details so you can nail the design or personalize it into something of your own. I have listed every material, every tool, and a step by step guide below. Keep it open on your phone while you work.
The short version: draw your design, scale it up onto 1/2 inch or 3/4 inch plywood, cut it out with a jigsaw, paint it black, reinforce the tall pieces, screw light anchors into the back, stand it up outside, and string your lights.
- Time: about 6 to 7 hours of work, spread across a weekend
- Cost: $150 to $250 at full price, or about $120 the way we did it
- Skill level: medium
- Materials: 2 sheets of 4 foot x 8 foot plywood sheathing, 2 pine 2x4x8 boards, a couple of 1×2 pine boards, black outdoor paint, 5/8 inch screws, 1-1/4 inch construction screws, 4 strands of 100 count orange string lights
- Tools: drill, #2 Phillips or star bit, jigsaw, jigsaw blades, sawhorses, paint roller and brush
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What tools and materials do you need?
This is a multi step project with only one real material, and that is plywood. Make sure you are looking for plywood sheathing. One note that trips people up at the store: it is sold as 15/32 inch sheathing, which is what everyone calls 1/2 inch, or 23/32 inch sheathing, which is what everyone calls 3/4 inch. If you already own a drill, the only other tool you need is a jigsaw, and a basic corded one is cheap.
One tip before you shop. If you like the look of this outdoor silhouette scene, wait until late October when the lights go on sale, sometimes 50% off. Better yet, go the day after Halloween. On November 1st you can buy light strands for as much as 80% off. That is exactly how we got our four strands for under $30.
Materials
- 2 sheets of 15/32 inch plywood sheathing
- 2 pine 2x4x8 boards
- Black outdoor paint
- 1-1/4 inch construction screws
- 5/8 inch to 3/4 inch screws for the light anchors
- 4 strands of 100 count orange or purple string lights. Get LEDs if you can, and see the mistakes section for why.
- A couple of 1×2 pine furring strips to reinforce any tall, skinny pieces
Tools
- A drill
- A jigsaw, plus a few spare blades
- A #2 Phillips head or star bit
- Sawhorses, or a couple of scrap 2x4s to work on
- Paint roller and brush
That is the whole list. And if you are still building out a kit for bigger projects, here are my go-to beginner DIY tools.
Step 1: Design and draw out your scene
I drew my scene out on graph paper and measured exactly what a 4 foot by 8 foot sheet of plywood could fit. You can pretty easily get two sides of the scene along the 8 foot edge. You just need to watch how the designs overlap near the middle of the sheet. I also used one sheet to make a tall element in the middle, a big triangle shape, and then used the angled offcuts from either side of it to finish out the rest of the scene. Draw everything inside a measured rectangle that matches the ratio of the plywood so you know where each piece will land.
Keep the design simpler than you think you need to. A jigsaw cannot get into tight interior corners, so anything fussy will be tough to get the jigsaw blade in and will probably break off later. Big, bold shapes read better from the street in the dark, which is where your ideal viewer will be anyway.
If you are looking for inspiration search for “Halloween Silhouette Scene”, “Garage Halloween Silhouette Scene”, “Simple Halloween Silhouette Scene”. Grave scenes, hands coming up from the ground, and pumpkin patches are all great starting places.
Full Scene Drawn to Scale and Laid out on graph paper
Both designs shown together on two pieces of plywood
Design drawn out on to fit on one sheet of plywood
Haunted Mansion drawn out to fit on one sheet of plywood
Step 2: Draw the scene on the plywood
Take your design, blow it up, and draw it out on the plywood with a sharpie or a dark pencil. This step takes a little time to get right, but if you planned the design well it should not take longer than 10 to 15 minutes. Remember not to get too intricate here. Holes that are too small are hard for a jigsaw to get into. This is a great moment to look at a shape, see how small it really is, and redraw it in a way that makes it easier to cut out.
Step 3: Cut out your design with a jigsaw
This is where a set of sawhorses helps a lot. Working with the plywood at hip height makes cutting it out easy on your back. You can also just stack up a couple of spare 2x4s on the grass and cut it there.
On the first pass I do a flowing cut, getting as close to the design as I can without spending much time on any precise or intricate interior cuts. That first pass is only about freeing up your big pieces. For me it was separating the two sides of one sheet, then cutting out the tall center element, then pulling the smaller long triangles off that same piece to finish the scene. Once the big shapes are loose, go back and clean up the details.
Step 4: Paint it black
I used the extra porch and patio paint we had left over from painting our patio. I would definitely recommend outdoor paint, but I could also see going the budget route with a few cans of black spray paint. Spray would be cheaper, though I do not think the scene would last as long. Ours has been up three years running and it is still in great shape. Use a roller if you have one. A brush works, but it will take forever. Figure about an hour, less if you only do one coat. Getting the sides of the plywood was hard with a roller as you can see below, but I didn’t find that it detracted from the look at night.
Step 5: Reinforce the scene
You may not need this on every piece, but anything tall and skinny will want a 1×2 pine board screwed to the back to keep it from bending and snapping. I used them on the back of my 8 foot tall haunted mansion (See below) and on the back of my gate hinges and uprights. Use the 1-1/4 inch screws to attach the 1x2s. Learn from me here though: 8 feet was too tall and it is the piece that gave me the most trouble. Keep your tallest element under 6 feet and you will need far less reinforcing.
This is also the moment to screw a 2×4 across the back near the bottom. It adds weight at the base so the scene does not want to tip, and it gives you something solid to screw the separate pieces of the scene to each other. I used one 2×4 across the center element and then cut the other one in half and used the two 4 ft lengths to attach the left and right elements to each other.
Step 6: Screw in the anchors for the lights
Keeping the lights close to the edges, but not too close, is the whole secret to a vibrant glow behind the scene. I took 5/8 inch screws and drove them in as close to the top edge of each piece as I could. Leave them proud enough that you can still wrap a string of lights around them. I used right around 100 of these to keep the strands taut and secure against the back of the plywood. If I did it again I would use 3/4 inch or 1 inch screws instead, just to have more room to wrap the strand.
Step 7: Set the scene in place outside
Set your scene on its stage. We had a nice wide flat side yard on our house, but this also works beautifully in front of a garage. Put all the elements in their rough places first to see how it reads and whether the pieces go together the way you drew them. Step back to the street and see if you want to shift the whole thing left or right before you start screwing anything down.
Step 8: String the lights on the back of the scene
With the scene in place, all that is left is wrapping your lights around the screw anchors on the back and tying the panels together with the 2x4s at the base. Keep your drill and a pile of extra screws next to you here, because you will almost certainly want to add an anchor or move one you already drove in. Remember you want the lights close to the edge but not peeking over it. A bright bulb sticking out past the plywood ruins the soft glow. Finally, run some longer screws through the 2×4 across the bottom so it spans the seams in your scene, then grab a buddy and tip the whole thing up into place.
Close up of screw and lights wound around back of plywood silhouette scene
String lights attached to the back of Halloween Plywood Silhouette Scene
String Lights strung on back of pumpkin patch and jack-o-lantern with cat
String Lights on back of Plywood Haunted Mansion on hill
Mistakes I made so you do not have to
- Get a friend to help you connect the panels with the 2x4s and tip the scene up. I broke pieces that a second set of hands would have saved.
- Use more screws than you think you need for the light anchors, and go 3/4 inch or 1 inch rather than 5/8 inch so you have more room to wrap the strands.
- Do not make a really tall element. My 8 foot mansion was a headache to reinforce, move and stand up. Anything over 6 feet is more trouble than it is worth.
- Keep the design simple. It will still look great, and it will cut twice as fast.
- Buy LEDs if you can. A few of our incandescent bulbs blew and we had to replace them. That does not really happen with LEDs.
How much does the scene cost and how long does it take?
At full price, a two sheet scene runs $150 to $250 depending on how thick you go on the plywood and what you pay for lights. Here is the whole breakdown, plus what ours actually came to.
| Item | Full price | What ours cost |
|---|---|---|
| Plywood sheathing, 2 sheets | $60 for 1/2 inch, $90 for 3/4 inch | $60 |
| Black outdoor paint | $30 | $0, leftover porch paint |
| Orange string lights, 4 strands | $40 to $100 | under $60 on clearance |
| 2x4s, 1x2s and screws | $20 to $30 | $0, scrap from the garage |
| Total | $150 to $250 | about $120 |
Time wise, call it 6 to 7 hours of actual work for a two sheet scene about 20 feet long. That breaks down to roughly an hour of designing and drawing on paper, 2 to 3 hours transferring the design to the plywood and cutting it out, an hour of painting, an hour of reinforcing and screwing in light anchors, and a final hour setting up outside and stringing the lights. The real time suck is the detail work with the jigsaw, so if you keep your shapes simple you will land closer to 6 than 7.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does the plywood hold up outdoors?
Yes. We have had ours for three years and we put it out every Halloween. It lives outside from September through October and then gets stored in the attic. In three seasons we have only had a few small pieces break off. If the season is very wet the plywood does sometimes warp, but we lay it flat in the off season and by the time October rolls around again it is flat.
Do the lights get hot? Will the plywood burn?
No. We used incandescent strands and the bulbs got warm to the touch but never hot, and they sit against painted plywood rather than anything that catches. If it worries you, use LED strands instead. They stay cool and they last longer.
How many string lights do I need for the scene?
Four strands of 100 count lights covers a two sheet scene with room to spare. It is much better to have too many than to stretch them and leave part of the scene dark, so order the fourth strand even if you think three will do it.
I have never used a jigsaw, can I do this project?
Absolutely. A jigsaw is one of the easier tools to pick up and there are plenty of corded options for $50 or less. Wear gloves and eye protection, and keep the design basic. Cutting out square tombstones is very doable for a first time jigsaw user. You got this.
Will the scene survive rain?
Yes. We lived in Florida and ours survived torrential downpours, especially sitting close to the house under the eaves. If you use decent plywood, outdoor paint and outdoor rated string lights, your scene will last for years. Just use an extension cord rated for outdoor use and keep the connections up off wet ground.
Where do I buy the string lights?
Look for 50 or 100 count strands. The search terms that worked best for me were orange string lights or orange Christmas lights. You can find them online, at Lowe’s, at Target, or at craft stores. Expect $10 to $25 a strand, and check whether they are incandescent or LED before you buy.
Where do I buy the plywood sheathing?
Lowe’s or Home Depot are the easiest places to find plywood sheathing. You can buy it online and pick it up in store, but you will need a way to transport it. Remember a basic sheet is 4 feet by 8 feet, so it is not fitting in a sedan.
More easy Halloween projects
If you want to build out the rest of the yard, these are the ones I come back to every year:
- How to build a DIY pallet coffin from free pallets in about 2 hours
- Easy DIY ghost candles for the porch and the mantel
- Vampire candles and a bubbling witches cauldron
- Spooky painted vases and black roses with eyeballs
- 10 easy Halloween DIY crafts you can make this weekend
That is the whole project. If you make the scene, please tag me so I can see it, and tell me in the comments how your neighbors react. This is genuinely one of my favorite things we have ever built. Maybe next time I will do a white one for Christmas.
Mua – Ha – Ha – Ha,
Happy DIY-ing and happy Halloween!
🎃
xoxo,
Selene + Devin
