How to Use Sketch and Inscription
Add decedent details and sketch your monument design with the customer in Step 4 of the New Quote.
Written By Dennis Rodin
Last updated 16 days ago
The Sketch & Inscription step is where you enter the decedent's information and create a visual sketch of the monument. Think of it as your pen and paper drawing board, but digital. This step only appears for monument orders.
Decedent Information
For each decedent, fill in:
First Name, Middle Name, and Last Name (all optional). If you already entered decedent names in the Cemetery & Logistics step when adding plot information, these fields will be pre-filled automatically. You can leave these blank if you don't have the names yet.
Date of Birth and Date of Death. Both fields accept any text format. Type the date however you want it to appear. Examples that all work:
“April 3rd 2026”
“Mar 25 2026”
“March 25, 2026”
“March 2026”
“2026”
“04/03/2026”
Whatever you type is saved and displayed exactly as you typed it. The system does not change or reformat your text.
You can also click the calendar icon next to the field to pick a date from a calendar. The picker fills in MM/DD/YYYY format. You can edit the text afterward if you want a different style.
Epitaph. Enter any inscription text that goes on the monument.
Multiple decedents
You can Duplicate a decedent to copy all the fields into a second entry, or click Add Another Decedent to add a blank set of fields. You can also Delete a decedent if you no longer need it.
The Sketch Builder
The Sketch Builder is where you create a visual sketch of the monument with your customer. There are two views: Front Side and Back Side. Click the buttons at the top to switch between them.
Sketch Builder tools
The toolbar gives you the following tools:
Monument places a headstone shape on the canvas. When selected, you can choose the Stone Profile: Flat Top, Oval Top, Triangle Top, Serpentine, or Wave Top. You can also toggle on Fill Shapes before adding elements so they appear filled instead of outlined.
Rectangle adds a rectangle shape to the canvas.
Circle adds a circle shape.
Heart adds a heart shape.
Line adds a straight line.
Arrow adds a red arrow pointing to the right. To use it, select it and hold down one of the blue circles with your mouse to stretch the arrow to where you want it to point. This is useful for pointing at specific parts of the monument and combining it with text so your designer knows what to draw. Arrows only appear on the side you add them to. If you add an arrow on the Front Side, it will not show on the Back Side. They behave the same way as text elements.
Text adds a text element. Click it to type your inscription or notes on the sketch.
Image Upload lets you upload a picture directly onto the sketch canvas.
Working with elements
When you select any element on the canvas, you can drag it to reposition it or drag the corners to resize it.
On the right side of the toolbar, you'll see two arrow buttons (up and down). These control the layer order. Press the up arrow to bring an element to the front. Press the down arrow to send it behind other elements. This is useful when you have multiple elements stacked on top of each other.
Note: Text and arrow elements are always on the top layer automatically. They cannot be sent behind other elements.
Fonts and text styling
When you select a text element, you can customize it:
Font lets you choose from Times Roman, Arial, Optima, Trajan, Corporate, Futura, Minion, and Adobe Garamond.
Size can be changed by typing a number into the size field, clicking the arrow buttons next to it, or simply dragging the text element to make it bigger or smaller.
Font Color lets you change the color of the text.
Exporting your sketch
You can export your sketch by clicking the export button. Available formats are PNG, DLT, and DXF.
Sketches on PDFs
When you save the sketch, MonuDesk turns it into a drawing file and attaches it to the order automatically. The drawing file is set to Internal by default so it stays hidden from the customer portal, but it renders on the Contract and Shop Ticket PDFs alongside any drawings you uploaded manually.
If you edit the sketch later, the attached drawing file regenerates. If you delete the sketch, the drawing file is removed.
When you're done, click Next to continue to Billing & Payment.
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