This article was taken from the October issue of Wired magazine. Be the first to read Wired's articles in print before they're posted online, and get your hands on loads of additional content by subscribing online
Last October you ruined some high-thread-count bedding with a last-minute ghost outfit. No excuses this year: it's possible to create effects worthy of a Hollywood horror film, all with materials you can find for under a tenner. Special-effects make-up artists Candy Alderson and Colleen Jones (who also runs the Blood'n'Gore Facebook group) reveal how.
**ZOMBIE
You need:** grey, dull purple, dull blue and red grease paint; fake blood (see recipe, below)
"This is the easiest look to do effectively," says Alderson. "Cover your face and areas of flesh that you'll be showing (like hands) in grey greasepaint. Concentrate the purple under the eyes and into the sockets, around the nostrils, at the corners of the mouth and inside the ears. On your hands, apply it between the knuckles and blend. Apply the dull blue and deep red anywhere you'd like to have a bruised effect, then go crazy with the fake blood -- having it oozing out of every orifice always works a treat."
VAMPIREYou need: sponge; white and grey greasepaint; dental/face wax; paintbrush; liquid latex; plastic fangs; fake blood "With a wet sponge, apply the white grease-paint to your face and neck -- you don't want to look like a clown, so go easy on it," says Jones."Next, apply grey make-up lightly under the eyes and on the lids, and use it to hollow your cheekbones.
To create a bite mark, take a 5p-size piece of the wax and flatten it out to make a disc. Stick this on the side of your neck, taking care not to tear it. Next, insert the end of a paintbrush in the middle of the wax for that bite-wound effect. Apply latex to the wax to seal it in. After the latex dries, apply white greasepaint to blend in the wound, plus a touch of fake blood for that 'freshly bitten' look. Put the fangs in and add blood to the corners of your mouth."Add a slick of eyeliner and make sure you have a denture adhesive, such as Fixodent, on hand to keep your fangs in place throughout the night.
**EDIBLE FAKE BLOOD
You need:** corn syrup; glycerine; red and blue food colouring; cocoa powder
Mix together one part corn syrup to one part glycerine. Add two parts red to one part blue food colouring and stir until it looks bloody. Add a bit of cocoa powder to thicken and stir until smooth.
You can use the blood on your skin or, as Jones suggests, "sip some and let it drip from your mouth and down your neck, to create the impression you have just devoured your victim."
**PEELING SKIN
You need:** sponge; liquid latex; hairdryer; talcum powder; tweezers "This can be very effective and it's so easy," says Alderson. "Decide what area of the skin you wish to flake. Make sure it's clean and free of any oil, then use the sponge to apply a thin layer of latex and dry with a hairdryer. Repeat until the latex is four layers thick, then powder with the talc. Use tweezers to carefully pick a hole in the latex. This can then be ripped and it will appear that the skin has split and is flaking away."
**WOUNDS & SCABS
You need:** cotton wool; liquid latex; hairdryer; red greasepaint; flesh-tone foundation "Decide on the size of wound and roll out two strips of cotton wool, one for either side," says Alderson. "Wet one with the liquid latex (but not so much that it's dripping). Place on the skin and mould into a banana shape. Repeat this with the other strip, joining the ends together -- the space in the middle is the wound.
Dry with a hairdryer. Paint the gash with red greasepaint, then make the latex look more skin-like with foundation."
Jones says, "Applying cornflakes with latex or glue makes for neat scabs, and you can use grains of rice in a wound to create a great maggoty look."
This article was originally published by WIRED UK
