Hello my fellow living dead! Please find below some basic examples to help guide you as you rise to walk amongst the living this April 25th, 2008 in downtown Memphis. Please go to myspace/memphiszombies for more information about the Memphis Zombie Attack.

This tutorial will not show you the step-by-step needed to become a zombie. There are plenty of How-To's on the internet and on You Tube you can "dig up" on the topic. We will even list some for you. The information below is more of an overall guide and a vision of the theme we'd like to have for the 2nd Annual Memphis Zombie Attack. The Tips and Tricks presented are time tested and we hope they will make it easier for your march among the living.

Before we start there is one important question you need to ask yourself. What kind of Zombie do I want to be? To us here at hauntedweb.com we feel Zombies fall into 3 categories: Decayed Dead - Days Dead - Just Dead. Once you decide which one you want to be based on the examples below you can determine how much effort you will need to put into your appearance.                                                                                                                    (all pictures courtesy of the 2007 Toronto Zombie Attack)

Decayed Dead

He's been around the block and under it. It's hard to keep a good head on his shoulders but he is still happy to remove the head from someone else's shoulders. The blood on him is from his victims since he has probably risen from being dead awhile.
  
Days Dead

He's acquired a full taste for brains and is writhe with hunger. Most of his wounds are from falls or victims fighting off her advances. He's vainy and gaunt with bruising from blood coagulation. Exterior blood from wounds and feedings.
Just Dead

This is the newbie of the bunch. Recently departed and kind of aimless. He's not sure what he is doing but is quick to take the lead of other more seasoned zombies. Mostly bloody from the attack causing his own death.
As far as makeup is concerned the degree of difficulty progresses with the age of the zombie. If you are in a hurry and are taking a slap-dash approach, go with Just Dead. If you have time and skill with makeup, go with Days Dead and on to Decayed Dead. There are many How To videos on You Tube showing Zombification technique. A few are embedded below. This Zombie 101 class will focus on some basics with application examples.

REMEMBER - there will be makeup artists at the Memphis Zombie Attack to help with makeup. Come early for full makeup prep or touch ups of what you started at home.

! Caution ! - Overuse of white grease makeup is not recommended. Do you want to look like a Zombie or a clown? Or even worse. . . Bandit from Johnny Quest?

  

White makeup should be used very sparingly to just hide some of that cool tan you've been working on and give your skin that void of blood and life color. If you are fare complected, lucky you! Just use purple, brown or blue makeup to accent the natural creases in your face or give your eyes that rehab, methadone patient on DT's look.

And one more thing! Dress your NECKS! Wounds and sores don't just happen on your face. Put makeup on your neck, put blood on your neck, stick a prosthetic or something on your neck for crying out loud! Okay . . . of the soap box.

Decayed Dead:
For this type of dead you will surely need some time in a makeup chair and we commend you for it! This kind of "deadication" will improve the shock value of the Zombie Attack tenfold. A convincing look can be done with just makeup but more than likely you will need some type of foam or latex prosthetic applied with spirit gum and then covered with makeup.

Tip: When applying prosthetics using spirit gum you must aerate the adhesive. Apply glue to the skin and the piece and blot it on the skin until you feel it start to stick and it becomes hard to pull off. A simple example can be seen here:

How to Apply Basic Latex Prosthetics

It is important apply adhesive to the edges more so than the field of the prosthetic. You can blend the edges by stippling with latex and covering with makeup. Keep in mind that if you have risen from the dead you are dry and typically don't have blood oozing from wounds. Sprinkling yourself with talc adds a good dusty dimension to your appearance.


Days Dead:
This guy has been killed within the past couple of days and is starting to show signs of decay. Broken capillaries and blood settling appear to aid in his grotesque demeanor. This affect can be accomplished with simple makeup and house hold items. Makeup pencils or even crayons can be used to draw in veins. Once they are drawn cover the entire skin with a light layer of white makeup. Blot on some dark purple in some areas for bruising and finish with a blot of green or yellow. I love using brown or purple, red and yellow to make bruising on this type of guy:

Apply the colors in a circular pattern and then blot (don't rub) until you achieve your bruised look you want. Yellow being on top creates a puss layer progressing down to the darker colors to simulate blood settling.

Days Dead can also use a technique for wrinkled skin or open sores by adhering latex and tissue paper to the skin. Check out this video by Indy Mogul to learn how:

Zombies! How-to Special FX on the Cheap
 

This technique is great for making your hands look gnarly too. It's great for lesion holes made with just a pinch and a pull.

 



Just Dead:
Probably the easiest to pull off in a short amount to time and can result in a surprisingly creative Zombie as you can see from the pictures on the right. Create a neck wound using the latex and tissue technique above. Break a CD in half and build up a latex edge on it, then latex or spirit gum it to your forehead and ad blood. Your imagination is the limit. If you can't think of an interesting way to manifest your death visually, just splatter yourself with blood. As Tom Savini says . . . you can never have too much blood.

As we segway into the blood topic, here is a recipe if you want to make a batch at home. First, find a person and kill them. Hang their body upside down over a large bucket or garbage can. Next, slit their throat and let the blood . . . oh . . . wait. Wrong instruction manual. Try these recipes:

Runny Fake Blood
1 c. Karo Syrup | 1 Tbsp Water | 2 Tbsp Red Food Coloring | 1 tsp Yellow or Blue Food Coloring | Mix together in a mixing bowl and you're done. Try adding blue or yellow for a different shade. You could add some evaporated milk as well.

Chocolate Fake Blood
1/2 c. Warm Water | 4 Tbsp Corn Syrup | 1 Tbsp Powdered Cocoa |1 tsp Red Food Coloring | Blend the water and cocoa together and then add the rest of the ingredients. Let the concoction sit for awhile and skim the bubbles off of the top. Add a couple of drops of yellow food coloring if you're not satisfied.

Realistic Blood Recipe
2/3 c. Corn Syrup | 1/3 c. Warm Water | 5 Tbsp Corn Starch | 4 tsp Red food coloring |
1 Tbsp Powdered Cocoa | 2 drops of Green or Yellow food coloring | Mix the corn starch with the water in a large mixing bowl. Stir in the corn syrup. Add the food coloring slowly, checking for color.

Non Toxic Tasty Blood
1 c. creamy Peanut Butter | 1 qt. Corn Syrup | ½ c. Non-suds soap | 1 oz. Red food color | 15 - 17 drops Blue food color | Mix the peanut butter with enough corn syrup to make it runny. Add soap and food colors and mix well. Add remaining corn syrup and shake until a good solution is obtained.

Keep in mind that as your body heats up these and store bought bloods, they tend to run and thin out. So you might want to bring some with you for touch up. We just use a lot of gel blood because it is thick and sticks well without running. You can try adding cooking gelatin to any recipe above as a thickener.




Last Resort or First Resort:
So you want to join in the Zombie Attack but you just don't want to do your own makeup. NO PROBLEMO! Team Duane and Patrick will be setting up a makeup station next to the Plush Club at 5pm on April 25th of you would like us to do your makeup for you. We will have all the supplies and even some foam and gel prosthetics we'd love to stick on you. Since we can't kill you and raise you from the dead for real we can at least make it look like we did.

For Your Viewing Pleasure: