How to Look Like a Zombie.

by mrtentaclenun

93K11327

Intro: How to Look Like a Zombie.

For those of you partaking in a zombie crawl, going trick or treating, attending a Halloween party, or just plain feel like a zombie. All you need is some make-up, time, and BRAAAAAINS.

STEP 1: Supplies

I used the following tools/make-up to get my final result. Feel free to use make-up other than the Wolfe Brothers, since the only place I found it was online and it wasn't too cheap!

DISCLAIMER:  As with any products that are to be applied to the skin, there is a possibility of an allergic reaction.  I am not responsible for any such reactions to any of the items used.  Do a test patch to make sure there is no itching, redness, or swelling when using these products.  In the event that you do swell up to epic proportions...maybe you can go as a bloated, water-logged zombie.

Here is a list of what I used:

Ben Nye Nose & Scar Wax
Spirit Gum
Spirit Gum Remover
Liquid Latex
Scissors
Clay Sculpting tool (optional)
Generic make-up cream from a Halloween store
Wolfe Brothers Theatrical Make-up (easily traded for any other red and brown make-up)
Paint brush
Stipple sponge thing
Shirt you don't mind destroying
Pants you don't mind destroying (optional)
Zombie Contact Lenses (optional)*
Fake Blood

*note: I found my contact lenses ridiculously cheap compared to other 

online sites here.




STEP 2: Destroy Your Clothes!


I found an American Red Cross shirt from the Goodwill for a dollar.  I figured it would be perfect in an ironic way seeing as it advertised donating blood.  I cut some slits in the shirt, as well as cut off the collar and parts of the sleeves.   I then took scissors and cut little slits to make the edges of the collar and sleeves look ragged.  If you have any 80's metal fans, chances are they have a shirt already prepared in their closet that you can possibly borrow.  Lastly, I took some fake blood and splattered it onto the shirt and pants, and threw in some hand prints.  Other ideas are to roll around in the dirt, hose it down, or lend it to your friend who never showers. 

STEP 3: Destroy Your Face!

Don't actually destroy your face!  It might seem like a good idea, but you don't really want to have that zombie look the other 364 days of the year.  First of all, start with a clean, dry face and determine where you want the wounds to go.  If you go around your eye like I did, take some spirit gum and line it around your eyebrow.  When it gets tacky, take some of the wax and smear it over your brow, trying to make it as smooth as possible.  When done, take more spirit gum and create the outline on your face of wherever the wounds will be.  Again, when tacky add the wax.    I find it easiest to roll the wax into little snakes between my fingers before sticking them onto my face.

STEP 4: Smoothing Out the Edges

Next, I took my clay tool and smoothed out the outer edge of the wax, making it look like the edge is flush with my face while the inner edge is raised / torn.  After doing this, I applied liquid latex on the way and a bit onto my skin to seal it and create more of a skin tone color.  I also applied some liquid latex to my neck (and later my chest) and toilet paper.  * **

*  Note  This is the first time I have tried this toilet paper technique.  I had some issues with it and was not 100% pleased with the results.  Please follow other Instructables showing how to do this correctly since I obviously did not!

** Toilet paper should be unused.

STEP 5: Let's Add Some Muscle!

Using the Wolfe Brother's make-up and a paint brush, I began layering the red in different opacity to resemble what the muscles do under the skin. If you would like, you can look at a reference online as to how the muscles specifically go, I did not do this. To add a bit more depth I used very little brown. I also stippled the brown around the edges of all the wounds with the sponge.

I also used the red generic make-up cream to color the toilet paper since the Wolfe Brother's make-up would not cover it. I was not too pleased with how this came out. Perhaps some of you can master it with some experimentation!

I used the white make-up cream around the rest of my face/neck/chest and used a tiny bit of green to add some splotches on my skin (the camera didn't pick it up too well). Lastly, I used some of the black under my other eye just to create a dark circle.

STEP 6: Guess I Should Have Done This Earlier!

It was at this point that I realized, "gosh, I forgot to put in the contacts!" I then spent an hour fussing to get them in (I'm not good at it) while trying to do as little damage as possible to what I had done already. I ended up having to re-touch up around my "wounded" eye as my fingers wiped some of it off.

I also touched up around my neck/chest wounds by lining the edges with liquid latex and stippling some of the brown around it to tie it in with the other wounds.

I then took a comb and teased my hair and covered it in hairspray to make it look as messy/crazy as possible. Feel free to have a Nick Nolte mug-shot on hand for inspiration

STEP 7: Add Some Blood and You're Done!

I bought some fake blood from the Halloween store for most of the blood I used. It advised not to put it in your mouth (I advise the same) so I made some edible blood with Karo Light Syrup and lots of red food coloring, blue food coloring, and a bit of flour.


I hope this was clear enough, as it was my first Instructable. Any comments, criticism, or concerns, please let me know! If you try my method, post pictures as well, I would love to see!

Also, Please vote for me for the Halloween contest! Thank you!

28 Comments

hardcoded 12 years ago

This came out awesome - thanks! I did a dry run last night just to see how it would turn out. Tomorrow night I will be doing it again except I will use more scar putty and I will have my contacts in.

UndeadAngie 12 years ago

Found this a few weeks ago and decided to try it. I'm dressing up as a zombie on Friday, but wanted to test it out before that. Gotta say, it turned out awesome! I'm going to do more than this on Friday, but here's what I did so far. Thank you soooo much for putting this up.

everyneverisnow 13 years ago

How much were those awesome contacts and where did you pick them up?

hhewitt1 12 years ago

they are online just type marylin manson contact lenses into Google and loads of sites with them will pop up the cheapest i could find was £11 http://www.beautifeye.co.uk/ this website has lots of them but look for the marylin manson ones if u prefer them ones and the promotional code is deal that changes them from £12 to £11

mhill quinones 12 years ago

I am going go be a zombie nurse for halloween and this will be the perfect make up. Thanks for posting the pics and step by step instructions. Fabulous make up! I bought the stuff last night and tested the latex on my arm, I"m allergic. I got some stuff called fake flesh from the halloween store, it's liquid like the latex so I"m going to do a test run this weekend for all of it to see how it looks!

dirtybirdie 12 years ago

This will come in incredibly helpful for zombie prom this year... THANK YOU!

jwystup 13 years ago




This instructable was awesome. The minute I saw it, I knew what I wanted to be this year (and that was a week ago). I couldn't get the nose & scar wax at our local party store but they had a ben nye laceration kit that came with flesh, scar, and blood gels that you had to heat in water. It was weird but it worked and they stayed on great! (with the exception of the one near my mouth - too much movement I guess). Besides my face, I also had gashes on my chest, arm, and leg. I also wore 1 earring and put a tiny "rip" like the other had been ripped out. It freaked my sister out so I guess it was good! I didn't want any drippy blood but that gel stuff was awesome and looked really cool (it was a bit sticky though). Oh and I found out I'm allergic to liquid latex :\

WallaceTheSane 14 years ago

Wow, really awesome! I've done some zombie walks in my time. A neat trick for the just-killed-someone look: suck some fake blood into a straw or flexible tube and have someone puff it out quickly like a spitball. It works every time.

mrtentaclenun 14 years ago

That's a really good idea! I was struggling to get the splattered blood look. Thank you for the idea!

killersquirel11 13 years ago

2 words: fertilizer sprayer

okay that one might have been overkill but the results looked awesome on camera (blood spraying from the body for around a minute..)

jg210ao 13 years ago

Awesome....just awesome

darkclaw42 14 years ago

 Very cool! Well done. A very nice instructable indeed. I was supprised this was your first actually. You took ample ammount of pictures, and what it was based on was amazing!

Great Halloween costume, even though im two months late. ;)

phoenix124 14 years ago

very nice! i'm totally regretting not doing this this year :) haha is it weird that i think you look hella hot for a zombie? hehe ;) love the contacts

luigiguru 14 years ago

Thank you for this instructable, i had a lot of fun doing it.
Everybody love it!
Luigi.

mrtentaclenun 14 years ago

Yours came out so good! Glad I could inspire.

SureShot 14 years ago

Very cool, thanks for the all the new ideas!

Da Nugesta 14 years ago

god thats really scary great 'ible 5/5
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