Making a Monster
My boyfriend volunteered us to help some guys in his unit with their annual haunted house and finally, after much procrastination, we went in search of costumes on Thursday night. Now I haven't bought a costume in years and while I was aware that most women's costumes have become tiny and unimaginative, never would I have thought that there would be no scary costumes for women anywhere in two giant costume stores. So that's what it has come to, eh? We've chosen Hustler over haunting, sexy over spooky. Ah well, store bought is rarely the best anyhow, I just figured I could save myself sometime if I got something ready made.
So, instead of coming home with a neatly packaged costume I came home with a white bathrobe, some slippers, and an idea. With just Friday morning and early afternoon to pull this together, I woke up early and got to work. I began by "zombifying" the bathrobe by using paint to simulate dirt and blood. I used a cheap set of watercolors and a wide brush to get that look of material dragged through the mud. After doing the same to the slippers, I moved on to "zombifying" myself.
 |
| painting the robe |
I know it sounds rather strange but I love making wounds with make up, they are just so easy yet so impressive once finished. So I decided that I would be a fresh dead zombie complete with bleeding sores and oozing wounds. To make a wound I begin with liquid latex, applying it in thin layers where I want the wound to be. Once I have multiple layers of the latex built up and the latex has dried, I peel the latex off my skin, stretch it and re-attach with more latex it so it is bumpy and scab like. I then blend it with the rest of my skin and using the Cinema Secrets wound stack add proper colors to the ridges of the scab. Finally I fill the scab with gel blood and add liquid blood to make the wound appear to be bleeding.
 |
| All you need to make a zombie The best part about using liquid latex is the fact that you can peel your creation off and save it for later, which is quite convenient if you are like me and have two nights of a haunted house you have to perform in. |
 |
| Wounds ready for another round of terrifying children and adults. After the wounds are complete I apply the rest of the make up, including a foundation that makes me appear dead, aptly called "Dead Guy Grey" I do believe, and then I move on to hollowing out my cheeks and eyes with some of the darker colors in my Cinema Secrets stacks. |
For this zombie, essentially a house coat wearing house wife, I've made the decision to make my hair large, frizzy and relatively disgusting. To save myself a ton of backcombing, I set my hair to make it frizz. I take and strand of hair and twist it until it wants to curl in on itself at which point I roll the twisted hair into a pin curl and pin it. The extra tension on the hair makes for tight curls, think poodle, and a large amount of frizz when combed out. Add some white colored hair spray and tease a bit for shape and, voila- zombie hair. For this zombie I also added a few curlers, figured they went well with my robe and slippers.
So, this is what I ended up with.
Unfortunately the camera really washed me out but I think you'll get the idea.
 |
| Freshly risen from the grave |
Happy Halloween!
