Zombie Skin Advice Needed

In the past I have steered clear of most scary things, especially zombies. I am such a fraidy cat! I have never done zombie anything but this year I decided to try my hand at a local Zombie walk. So of course I've been researching this like mad, and I want to know what is best for a PPF event zombie walk. Oh, and the organizers have me positioned in a children's area. Not sure how I will achieve a good balance of being awesomely scary without scaring off some customers.

I am thinking I want to do some designs that are less scary for the littler children, and learn some fantastic stuff for adults. Anyone ever use Zombie Skin from SF? Any advice how to speed up such a complicated application as a zombie face? Thanks!

my first post

would Frankenstein qualify as a zombie - friendly green with loads of stitches?

Bumping this post because I'd like to see a review on this Zombie skin stuff.

I do a simple zombie for kids and a more intense zombie for adults. I know there are several threads on zombies throughout the forum. You could do a zombie photo chart on several different versions for a variety to pick from

kiddy zombie with no blood
kiddy zombie with blood or scars/stitches
kiddy zombie cute girl or rag doll

You could then do these as adults, too

Interested in hearing about the SF zombie skin as well...is it just a thinned latex/similar? How fast does it dry once you apply it?

In teaching FX classes and doing lots of zombie walks I'd not use a product like zombie skin or silicone or 3-D Gel at a PPF event. I would use it other places. But I'd keep it simple in the case you've stated. I'd add in simple, faster, cheaper and pre-made products. Remember faster is what makes you money and when a product has to dry and fix it takes too much time for a PPF line. I just posted about Kryolan's Fresh Scratch, this like Fix Blood and such is great for PPF events.

I just spoke to the owner oF Zombie Skin - he says it dries in 3 to 4 min.
I have some being sent to me - so I'll try it out. That is pretty fast so maybe it could work in a PPF environment.

I tried the Zombie Skin on my own face to see how long it would take. A very very thin layer took 4 minutes to fully dry. I tried a bumpy texture and it was nearly 10 minutes. I have to add that I did it at home on a rather hot and humid day, which most likely added to the time.

On a side note, it HURT when I took it off! That stuff stuck so well and I bet if you needed to perform with it, you would have no problem with it falling off.

A MUA friend of mine says you need a hair dryer if you want to speed things up. I agree with Loretta, I need to find a simpler solution. Also, I'm thinking to gear my children offerings towards a spooky scooby do theme and steer clear of the zombie stuff until later in the night.

I have played around with the Zombie Skin. As an FX product I do like it.
However I would not use it in PPF events based on the fact that it is latex.

I advise folks to not use latex in PPF events. One reason we use ProsAdie or Mehron AdGem glues is they contain no latex. These days one has to be careful and when dealing with the public at large latex on the skin is a concern.

Very true Loretta. I watched a great YouTube video yesterday. The artist made a gel with glycerine. She used it to make custom prosthetic pieces as well as to apply directly to the skin. The end product was awesome and it just peeled off in one piece. Amazing!

I agree with you about the PPF aspect. These applications will take a minimum of 30 minutes to look great. Lots of drying time, blending, and shading.

I know that method, not one I trust for long, durable or professional wear. I good trick for home haunters and short time wear. In my basic FX class I show some fun tricks with kitchen items, but overall I use and trust makeup products. They save so much time and in the long run money.

For PPF events it's easy to premake wounds out of Wolfe Silicone then just apply them with silicone or body glue. They paint over easy or you can pre color them. We use the flesh colors w/o much makeup, but some will def need coverage.

My paint only airbrush zombie face takes like 5 minutes, I am sure it could be done sponge and brush in about the same amount of time.

I am not clear on your comment LL. We all can paint a zombie and many of us can airbrush too. The thread here is that sometimes you want more. That more can be full blown FX or just a touch to get an effect. People really like having a bit of FX products added, it makes the makeup seem more Halloween-like.

Just what Flopsie wants, for people to get excited. They are getting cool zombie walk face effects, and will pay extra. Zombie walkers and Haunters want FX gore products. For example one can paint / airbrush some good blood effects but FX blood...... well that's just better.

The are a lot of cool fast products one can add to a 3, 5, 10 or 20+ minute face art that give the painting some pow. Blood products like Kryolan Fresh Scratch or Fix Blood, Mehron Coagulated Blood or Stage Blood are a good first choice for fast added impact. Even Kryolan Blood or Foaming Capsules. I mean how cool to paint a zombie or skull face add a bit of blood effect then let the person foam at the mouth. Easy and added profit with way more fun factor.

I like Zombie Skin and will be using it this season. It paints and airbrushes over easy and accepts blood products well. And there are tricks too to get latex products off with out the "hurt", as latex loves pull every tiny hair during removal. But for fast work I pass on silicone, 3-D gel, latex and homemade concoctions and opt for simple blood products.

Take a look at the easy zombie in my gallery. Simple face paint with some added pop from blood products.

Thanks Loretta! That's exactly what I was getting at.

I took a workshop with Pam Trent at the NJFABA Guild meeting this month. She blew my mind! She was amazingly talented and made me feel like I could do some of what she taught us.

I made a list of FX supplies I'd like to get, but each time I find a couple things at one supplier, they are sold out of the rest. I'm trying to make just one order to save on shipping.

Do most people show up already made up for zombie walks or will people want to get done up there? I'm wondering how to make this the most awesome event ever!