The Making Of.

And so, the end of my journey into zombiehood.  But at least a semi-successful one, given that I was awarded the Best Costume prize at my workplace.  Because I've received a lot of positive comments, combined with a little scepticism about how I proceeded with the makeup, I thought that I should document the process along with the materials involved:  white glue and toilet paper, and a bit of cardboard.  (As usual, just click on the photos for the full-sized picture.)

Friday dawned - actually, it was considerably before dawn when the alarm went off.  I indulged in a peaceful cup of tea, then started on the makeup at 4:00 AM.  (The down side of using white glue is slow drying time.)

Step one:  beard removal.  Not really procedurally interesting, but a very important step, and as always a bit of a shock - it's probably been a decade since I last shaved off my beard.  Fortunately, I was spared the minor irony of cutting myself while shaving, so no real blood was involved in the final effect.  (By the way, a couple of comments about the photography: first, the pictures were all taken in my bathroom mirror - I've flipped them over to match the photos taken at work.  Second, they're not great - it was very early in the morning, and the final post-makeup shots were evaluated without the benefit of glasses, or else I would have kept shooting until I got something that was in focus.)

I started the actual makeup process by creating the piece of visible skull on the left side of my head.  I had a lot of surgery after a childhood accident, and one of the results was a minor dent in my forehead, which I took advantage of to inset the piece of file folder that I used for bone.  Even so, the edges are quite visible in the photo, but it doesn't matter, since I'll be adding torn skin to mask the join.  As part of my testing during the week, I had produced some pieces of white glue "skin" for exactly this purpose.  (By the way, this was a common practise when I was in public school - boys would use white glue to make wrinkly skin on the back of their hands, and then gross out the girls by sticking pins through it and so on.  I very strongly remember a fellow named Carey Cain who was really good at it.  And afterward, the white glue pieces could be peeled off like loose real skin, once again grossing out the girls.)

Next, paint face with glue.  (It's not rocket science, is it.)  The first photo above about half way through the rough coat, with various runs and bubbles and so on.  The bubbles aren't a bad thing, though, because those provide the spots where there can be sores or other areas of damage.  The drips get smoothed out and the edge get blended - the great advantage of white glue is water solubility, so a wet brush evens things up quite easily.

The last two pictures show the dried ready-for-makeup results.  I've added in some toilet paper and glue to create what will be the gaping wound on my nose, and you can see how the area around the skull fragment has been built up.  On the other profile, there are two spots on my cheek which will also end up being open wounds - one of them was the open wound test from earlier in the week, moistened and glued into place.

Sadly, I don't have any in-progress photos of the makeup process, but for a very good reason:  I panicked.  I started to do the white undercoat for the makeup, and it looked horrible.  I blended in some green, filled in the eye sockets, and it still didn't look much better, and I was convinced that I'd screwed up the whole thing, and it wasn't exactly something that I could start over. But, as I kept working away at it, and as I added in more green, edged the wounds with black then added the fake blood, it started to come together.

I finished off with a liberal dusting of waste toner powder from the copiers at work, added a dental appliance that I bought for ten bucks with the rest of the makeup, dressed in my torn and bloodied suit and shirt, and I was done - just in time to head off to work, where fluorescent lighting added the finishing touch for the look of the undead.

Oh, as a sidebar, I also did a disgusting wound on my hand.  There was originally an open slice in my throat as well, but it started to come apart at the edges and I sacrificed it in the interests of getting the job done. 

Over the course of the day at work, the white glue around the mouth area began to break up as I stretched it to remove and replace the dental piece so that I could alternately talk to and horrify people.  This actually added to the effect, making it look like the skin was peeling off, so I just touched up the gaps with more fake blood.  In some cases, it was necessary to glue pieces back into place to to rescue the integrity of the whole thing, but again, this added to the impact:  the fresh glue giving the impression of pus under cracked skin.

Sadly, all good things come to an end, and when I tried to partake of a burger at the annual company Hallowe'en barbecue, the parts around the mouth broke up completely and I surrendered to the inevitable - peeled off the remaining bits, washed off the makeup and powder, and, as one wit suggested, returned to being Clark Kent.  Fortunately the judges had all seen me in full rig, so I wasn't disqualified from the costume contest.

I put the picture at the top of this posting on Facebook, and in addition to a number of compliments on the whole look, I was asked where I had learned how to do the makeup.  I wasn't sure if this was a compliment or an insult - after all, it's just glue, toilet paper and a little imagination.   However, the question that no one has asked is "why a zombie?"  Once again I have to give credit and thanks to my niece Jody, without whose positive influence I would never have thought to become a member of the risen dead.

The biggest surprise in the whole process?  I shaved off my beard, created gaping, necrotic, blood-soaked wounds and the illusion of rotting flesh on my face, added a blackened dental appliance - it would have been nice if someone at work had failed to recognize me...

- Sid

P.S.  Monday morning at the office and the prize for best follow-up comment goes to Joseph Shewfelt:  "Back from the dead, I see."