Zombie Hunter Costume (so Easy a Zombie Could Do It!)

My fiance and I decided we wanted to dress up as Zombie Hunters this year for Halloween. Probably because recently we had a Left for Dead 2 craze. I managed to pull together both our costumes for under $10! I used many things I already had so it kept it cheap. It's pretty basic but its a good start for anyone who may have some of their own ideas to add to as well.

I'll be covering how to make both the weapons and our shirts.

Step 1:

First, the shirts. I did two different shirts. The first one I did was for me using the following items:

- old light coloured t-shirt
- acrylic paint
- large piece of cardboard
- elastic band
- paint brush

1. Take the t-shirt and place the card board inside all the way up to the neck and centered.
2. Tighten to t-shirt onto the cardboard by gathering the shirt in the front so the back is tight against the cardboard. Make sure the back is centered still on the cardboard or the image we're about to paint will be wonky.
3. Paint a red rectangle on the shirt. Dry completely
4. Paint a white box leaving a red cross in the center. Dry completely.
5. Paint on black lines (like in photo), add a white rectangle for label and outline loosely for definition. Dry completely.
6. Finally paint "Med Pk" or "First Aid" on white rectangle label and add gray paint on the black lines to look like zippers.

There you have it! A medi pack on your back like in Left for Dead video games.

Step 2:

Next, take some brown paint. I put a little on my hands and rubbed them together until it was just a little water and rubbed them all over the shirt. Come on, Zombie Hunters aren't going to be clean! I did this all over the shirt once it was dry. Just remove the cardboard and elastic first.

Step 3:

Now for the second shirt.

I used for this one:

- old t-shirt
- acrylic paint
- paint brush

1. Dirty up the shirt with the brown paint like we did to the other shirt.
2. Take some red paint and water it down a little.
3. Lay your shirt out flat on a hard surface. Might want to lay down newspaper, it will get messy.
4. Put your hand in the paint and place your hand on the back of the shirt and smear to look like a zombie touched you.
5. Take your paint brush and dip in the watered down paint and start splattering it on both the front and back of the shirt.

Make sure to do the blood splatter to your other shirt too. Easier to do it at the sametime. I even poured some on to make it look like a huge splatter. Have fun with it. The cool thing is, it drys like blood. Obviously a little brighter than real blood though but you could always darken the paint if you wish.

** The paint will wash off, but may stain. If you want permanent just get some fabric paint instead. **

Step 4:

Weapon time!

I got the axe from Wal-Mart for $2 and the machete from Value Village for $3. Because they're just cheap plastic I wanted to make them look more real.

For this a used:

- acrylic paint
- paint brush

The axe:
1. Take brown paint and paint the 'wooden' handle to add definition and more realism.
2. Make a rust colour and add patches to the blade.
3. Take some dark red and add it to the edge for some gore.

The machete:
1. Take rust colour to the back side of the blade.
2. Add dark red to the edge for gore.

There you go! They look way better!!

** Paint will wash off so be careful. You could always spray it was a finish to make it permanent.**

Step 5:

That's it! All done. Now if you want you can add fake guns and strips of bullet holders. Just down your hair how ever you'd like and same with your make-up. Some cool shades are always a good idea. Just go crazy and have fun with it!