This year for Campus Movie Fest, my friend Andrew decided to make a zombie film. For most of his films that I’ve seen or helped with, there hasn’t been any need for any extensive make-up use or creation of costumes so this was something entirely new. Despite our doubts, the zombie make-up used for this film turned out superb and as ‘tis the season, it could be the perfect asset to anyone’s Halloween costume.
There are many ways you can do zombie make-up, but basically all you need is a typical Halloween make-up kit (you know, like those ones you see almost everywhere around Halloween with the white, black, and green make-up, perfect for any zombie or vampire), fake blood, toilet paper, liquid latex, and perhaps black eye shadow if you want it.
First, your zombie is going to want to wash his or her face. Once this has been done, sponge the entire face with liquid latex and let it dry for about 5 to 10 minutes. Next, take your toilet paper and use small pieces on various areas of the face and sponge the liquid latex over it. The toilet paper will be used to make gashes in the face if you want to. On the areas you want to use as cashes, use a very light amount of liquid latex so gashes are easily torn out. Allow this to dry.
For your gashes, grab something small and kind of sharp, like a nail file, and cut out pieces of the toilet paper. Right now, what it will look like will be a small groove in the face. Once you have cut out all your gashes, paint the entire face with white make-up. Allow for the make-up to dry. Also blend green and black make-up on the face to create the darker areas of the zombie face. Use black paint or eye shadow to create the dark circles under your zombie’s eyes. Finally use the fake blood on the face in various places and also put the blood in your hand-made gashes.
For a real zombie look, blend the white and green along the neck of your zombie. If you want to go all out, do this on the arms too.
To finish your zombie look, add some ripped and blood stained clothes, and you’re ready to head out to any party, or if you’re still into it, trick-or-treat!
For any questions, comments, or to send pictures of your own “zombieness,” e-mail me at fbreisbl@asu.edu
