Zombies

Zombie: Halloween (2012) MUA: Caitlyn Worland
Model: Sammy Van Moolenbrook

Zombies.  A word I am sure we have all grown accustomed to hearing, especially over the last year or so.  Although the concept and idea of Zombies, or the living dead, has existed as a standard post-apocalyptic creature for quite some time it seems that the height of their reign in popular culture has truly been over the last few years. 

We’ve seen shows such as The Walking Dead and Zombieland sweep across screens in countries across the globe.  More and more people are participating in Zombie Walk’s worldwide, with World Records for participation being broken, and Zombie costumes and makeup improving out of sight each year.  Even the realm of literature has been swarmed by brain-eating, decaying and death defying Zombies with the release of several Zombie Survival Guides and novels.

Zombie Walk (2012)
MUA: Caitlyn Worland

This suggests that society appreciates and enjoys the thought of Zombies and all that can be associated with them, including the breakdown of society as we know it, but what does all this mean to a makeup artist?  It means that makeup artists worldwide are having more of an opportunity to practice and master the art of Zombie special effects makeup. 

Given that today’s audience are yearning for more realistic and often grotesque special effects, makeup artists are learning and discovering more and more ways to make their Zombie creations more revolting, confronting and realistically terrifying.  If a Zombie Apocalypse is what the world wants, than I say, makeup artists worldwide should give it to them.

Personally, I have always had a passion for Zombies and I don’t discriminate, I love all Zombie ‘types’ equally.  When it comes to my appreciation for Zombie special effects makeup, I do tend to favour the Zombies that have chunks of the face or jaw missing, or are decayed and rotted to the bone to the point that you can see the inner workings of what once was a human. 

"Zombie Bride" MUA: Caitlyn Worland
Model: Atalanta Ehrenreich

Traditionally I don’t think drenching a Zombie in blood alone can create a ‘living dead’ character.  The very idea of a Zombie is that they may have been walking the world as a decaying corpse for quite some time so fresh blood as opposed to rotting flesh, missing limbs or maggot infestation just wouldn’t make as much sense.  There is one place on a Zombie that certainly requires fresh blood, and that is around the mouth.  We all know a successful and well fed Zombie will have had a few live meals of recent and wouldn’t have been very neat and tidy about it – hence why their mouth, chin and even neckline of their clothing can and should be drenched in blood.

Zombie Walk (2012) 
MUA: Caitlyn Worland

When it comes to the Zombies we see on TV series such as The Walking Dead, the average person likely doesn’t realise the amount of preparation and effort that goes into each one of the Zombies present on those shows.  Zombies that have the bottom half of their jaw missing, bones and teeth protruding from the side of their cheeks and caved in heads and faces would all be created using prosthetics that would be hand sculpted and manufactured. The process of making such complex prosthetics is a lengthy one and would require a post all of its’ own; so we’ll leave that one for now. 

Alternatively, a more basic Zombie created with latex, silicone, tissue and other standard special effects makeup can be ‘brought to life’ fairly easily in approximately 30-60 minutes.  With events such as the Brisbane Zombie Walk,   "The Walking Dead" themed Fright Night at Movie World on the Gold Coast, and Halloween all recently taking place, I've had my fair share of quick Zombie makeups.

Fresh Zombie attack
Zombie Walk (2012)
MUA: Caitlyn Worland

I found the most important part of creating a quick yet effective Zombie was the highlighting and contouring in the cranial work.  I made sure to create flesh tones that resembled rotting and dying flesh with the occasional mottled effect thrown in.  I also created quick and easy scabs, wounds, and torn and decaying flesh using tissue and latex that I then further developed with standard SPFX makeup products and effects.  Some Zombies may have more dramatic and grotesque wounds and that's where I bring in pre-made latex scumbles which can easily be applied and combined with tissue and latex to create flappy, oozing wounds.  The final addition for my quick and easy Zombie makeup effects is blood; which I tried to not get too carried away with...

To be honest though, the key to pulling off a spectacular Zombie really comes down to the model or actor.  You can create the most breathtaking Zombie with all their bits and bobs falling off but if the actor or model can't pull off that mind numbing, brain hungry, empty eyed look and groan then you're back to square one...

Yours in Blood & Gore,


Caity