make~up??? *help*

[Donna de la Muerte]

i'm looking for some good zombie make~up. i want some that will not run when i sweat.
i play roller derby with the 'dead' make~up on, and it's totally dripping off my face when i skate. in fact i just had my head shots taken for this year and i had to re~apply my make~up about 5 or 6 times before i had a single picture taken!

also, does anyone have any tips for waking 'wounds'? i heard you can make some good wounds using liquid latex. anyone have any experiance with it?

Donna de la Muerte~~~
www.ohiorollergirls.com

[DemonicNeko]

Well, I recomend a good theater quality base, like something from Ben Nye. The nice thing about those it's for actors who have to be out underneath bright lights for hours so it doens't sweat off. As for the wounds, what exatckly are you looking for? Scars, boils, gashes? All of the above?

[Gorify]

I'm building a how-to site for horror and zombie FX makeup. There are already 3 tutorials up, and lots of pics to inspire you. We add new demos and zombie pics monthly. I have personally done all these FX, and if you have questions on how to get the same kind of look you can email me at t.fahs@gorify.com

For inspirational zombie pics, feel free to re-create any of our models:
www.gorify.com/treats.html

For step-by-step instructions visit us at:
www.gorify.com/tricks.html

[Mænníng]

I definetley agree with the Ben Nye part. It's a bit pricey, but it's without doubt, probably the best makeup in the world. Or at the very least, it's the only brand I use, and I've been doing this for a while. I'll give you some adivce here. I've been doing this for a LOOONG time (my friends diagnsed me with a zombie fetish yeeeears ago lol). At some point I should probably sit down, and write up a proper guide, but that day isn't today, so in the mean time here's some tips from a veteran.

MAKEUP:
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In addition to your actual make up, make sure you have: A few makeup brushes of varying thickness, and point size, a few makeup sponges and a couple Q-Tips.

Basically, you're going to want a "Monster Wheel" different stores market these as different things, but basically, it's your generic basic Halloween makeup colour wheel. Colours, you're going to need as staples are white (this goes without saying, and I usually buy a seperate bigger thing of just white, as makeup wheels tend to only offer a little bit of every colour, which is fine for the others, but you're gonna need a lot of white) black (getting an eyeliner pencil doesn't hurt either, if you want to trace along bone lines to make them stand out more, but this is completley up to you), grey, red, green, purple, yellow, and dark blue.

If your particular kit doesn't have all these colours, it's not that huge of a deal, you can buy seperate individual colours, if you want, or just 'create' colours by mixing ones you have. As I stated before, I highly reccommend Ben Nye products. They are a bit pricey (the whell I have, I paid $38 for) That is a bit on the pricey side, but they are indestructible. The make up doesn't come off until you want it too (and even then it doesn't. Last year the last walk I went on was Halloween, and it was a good three or four days later, before all the makeup was finally gone). One of the walks I was at last year, no word of a lie, it rained and snowed at the start, and by the end (5 hours later) it was sunny and +25 Celsius (I'm not sure what that is in Fahrenheit, but it's pretty hot) And my makeup didn't run a bit. Sure, you can save money and go to Wal-Mart, or whatever, which is fine. All I'm saying is you do literally get what you pay for. Plus, depending how many walks you do, one wheel could easily last you two-three years.

Also it goes without saying, that you're going to need fake blood and liquid Latex (Ben Nye again, is great, but a little pricey)

Other stuff I love, and you might like, but it's up to you, and you don't really need:

Ben Nye makes this lovley product called Fake Scab, which is basically fake coagulated blood. It's darker than regular fake blood, and has these disgustingly awesome little dark pellets in it. Basicallyt you use this on fake wounds you make, in addition with your regular blood to make scabs, and flesh and what not. The effect is incredibally realistic, and looks a lot better than just blood. Here's a photo. It's the stuff, I have around my mouth, neck, and all over the top of my undershirt.

http://photos-708.ll.facebook.com/photos-ll-sf2p/v142/208/15/731210708/n731210708_584721_485.jpg

Another fun thing they make is this stuff called Tooth Rot, which is basically non-toxic paint for your teeth, to turn them rotted colours. A little of this stuff goes a long way though however, and as you usually kinda have to let it wear off (toothbrushes only go so far), don't go overboard or you'll have a brown-yellow smile for a week

One last thing I sometimes use also is a thing called Zombie Rot. It's basically thicker liquid latex with small pieces of plastic in it, to add that extra dimesnsion of grossness to your fake wounds.

LIQUID LATEX:
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As far as the latex goes, here's some basic tips, I always use.

*TIP* some people are allergic to it, so I'd definetley reccommend putting a small amount on your forearm, or hand first, to see if anything happens, before you go smearing it all over your face and neck.

Also, watch what kinds of makeup you use with it, it's better friends with some than with others, and some makeup it won't stick to very well, and it will peel.

And finally, if you're going to use it on your arm / leg / near your mouth / neck / anywhere you have hair, shave first. It's a lot less painful than the latex pulling the hair out when you take it off.

If you are allergic, don't despair, you can use carpenter's glue (or any generic white glue), it doesn't work quite as well, and it takes longer to dry, but you do what you can.

Now to the fun stuff. A couple ways I use liquid latex are:

Puff out your cheeks like a chipmunk, and put a light layer over each cheek (you can do them one at a time if you'd like) then let it dry. Drying time usually takes about 5 minutes, depending how thick of a latex layer you apply. You can speed the drying time up with a hair dryer, but use the lowest setting, and hold it not to close to your face. Excess heat turns the latex yellow-brown, and might crack it.

When it's dry, the the air out of your cheeks, and viola! The latex, spread over a larger surface area to begin with, now has nowhere to go, and it shrivels. Instant wrinkles / rough skin. Don't forget you can add as many layers as you want. But just be mindful, you can always add on more, but you can't take them off, without taking them all off.

Put a layer on your forhead, and when it's dry, lightly rub your hand back and forth on it, to rip / tear it, to make convincing broken skin. Here's a photo of me from a walk I was at last October:

http://photos-708.ll.facebook.com/photos-ll-sf2p/v142/208/15/731210708/n731210708_584722_687.jpg

I had some on my cheeks also, as you can see.

Put a layer or two on your hands also. A neat thing you can also do, with the latex, is inbetween layers add small pieces of single ply, toilet paper. Fray / distress the edges, then add them in between latex layers. It sounds weird, but the texture seemlessly blends the lines between your skin, and the latex. Do this paringly though, or it will just make big clumps. Though if that's the look you're going for. For a big nasty gash, or an infected wound or somthing, then by all means, give'er. There is no exact science to this. Just do what you think looks right / best for the look you're going for.

Here are two photos of my hand all done up on different nights. The first one is kind of blurry, but you can get the idea:

http://photos-708.ll.facebook.com/photos-ll-sf2p/v142/208/15/731210708/n731210708_584720_286.jpg

http://photos-b.ak.facebook.com/photos-ak-sf2p/v80/208/15/731210708/n731210708_251177_4501.jpg

If you reall want to be adventurous, you can build up a very thick layer of latex, and when you peel it back, put stuff in the "pockets" between it and your skin. ie fake flesh, bones, etc etc.

Well, I think that's about it, if you (or anyone else for that matter) would like some help or tips with anything zombie related, be it make up, appliance help, latex, or walk organizing, or ANYTHING zombie related at all, please feel free to ask. Anything I can do to make your zombie experience that much better, I will :)

To end, here's a few photo's of different zombies I've been over the years:

I really like the scientist in the wrong place, at the wrong time persona :)

http://photos-708.ll.facebook.com/photos-ll-sf2p/v142/208/15/731210708/n731210708_584723_941.jpg
http://photos-708.ll.facebook.com/photos-ll-sf2p/v170/208/15/731210708/n731210708_764166_2204.jpg
http://photos-h.ak.facebook.com/photos-ak-sf2p/v80/208/15/731210708/n731210708_251175_4014.jpg