SFX makeup help/ideas.

Feb 14, 2013

Brittany A.

My friend is the organizer of a game at our local college called Humans vs Zombies. For next months game he wants to make some changes and bring a little more realisticness to the game and add pieces of zombie flesh and asked me my ideas on how to make them. I told him I could only think of making a mold and using liquid or foam latex but that I would do some research and ask around. Anyone have any suggestions? Here is exactly what he said to me, and please keep in mind, he is a college student, so if you can stay on the cheaper end that would be preferred.

"I'm looking for a way I can make some sort of prop 'skin.' I know you can use liquid latex and whatnot to make zombie effects on human skin, but what I'm looking for is something that can stand alone...a sort of prop 'skin sample.' Ideally it'd look a little decayed as well. Do you know of anything that might work for that? It's for HvZ. One of the missions is going to be collecting skin samples from zombies. I COULD just write 'skin sample' on an index card with my signature, but I'm trying to find the way to preserve the sort of look and feel of collecting an actual skin sample."

Feb 14, 2013

Marilyn O.

Liquid latex I would think.. My dad makes that kind of stuff. He does masks and whatnot.

Feb 14, 2013

Emily W.

Liquid latex can be painted on the skin and then picked apart to create wounds (like the ones in my photos). You can also use toilet paper and elmers glue, but its a little more time consuming.

Feb 14, 2013

Brittany A.

Emily, yeah, that is how I usually do it for them, but he wants a more sturdy prosthetic.

Marilyn, how exactly would you suggest making them with the liquid latex? I know the way Emily said but like I responded, he wants something more sturdy which is why I had mentioned to him making a mold and filling it with liquid latex or foam and letting that form. Is that what you would suggest or is there a different way?

Thanks ladies

Feb 14, 2013

Janet M.

The toliet paper works wonders. I've used it and its a lot cheaper.

Feb 14, 2013

Caitlin M.

If you have the money silicone is good because its translucent so it gives a better skinlike appearance. The kind you would get is platsil gel 10. It can be used directly on the skin so you can do a buildup like you would with latex. I would go to Monster Makers' website and see if they have a trial kit that includes some tints so you can add color to it. Silicone can be kind of tricky to tint though. A little too much and it won't cure properly. So that may be something to look for more for in the future. Its also hard to paint because almost anything won't stick to it. Its something I would look into but maybe not for the moment. Latex is probably quickest and easiest.

Feb 14, 2013

Caitlin M.

If you get mask latex its a bit thicker so it will be more sturdy. That's why they use it for making masks. But be careful applying it on skin. It has a higher content of ammonia so it can be even more irritating than liquid latex. Mask latex is good for putting in molds though.

Feb 14, 2013

Brittany A.

Thanks Caitlin, I will definitely mention those to him. I don't believe that he will be applying them directly to the skin as he makes them but rather making them ahead of time so the mask latex and molds could work. It is a month away so if he wanted to go the silicone route he would probably have the time to practice.

Feb 14, 2013

Caitlin M.

I definitely recommend looking up some YouTube tutorials for silicone. I know the basics but they only briefly touched on it at the school I went to. I'm sure there are some good ones out there with some techniques and products I'm not aware of.

But no problem and good luck :)