Halloween is an exciting time of the year. Trick-or-treating for the kiddos or hanging out with your friends at a costume party, one is definitely bound to get into mayhem on the mischievous October day.
However, despite the loads of fun and sweet savory treats, let’s face it folks–Halloween is expensive.
Candy, decorations, it all adds up.
A costume can cost between $40 and $70, and even if you are doing a DIY look, you are bound to pay a pretty penny.
For this Halloween, The Rider asked UTRGV theatre performance juniors Abigail Alvarez and Bri Ramirez to show an efficient and fun way to create creatures of the night on a budget.
The artists fashioned two different zombie makeup looks to try.
Alvarez made an ’80s horror-movie zombie, while Ramirez chose to do a pop art take.
Using Ben Nye, a professional brand of theater makeup products, to produce their looks, Ramirez said, “It can also be done easily with makeup you can buy at the Halloween store.”
If you want to get your thriller on this All Hallows’ Eve, simply follow the instructions here on how to create one of the two looks.
For your pop art zombie, you will need yellow, red and black cream paint, along with one big-sized brush for application and a small brush for details.
Step 1: Apply a yellow base on your face and neck.
Step 2: You’re going to make some dramatic fake teeth! To do so, outline the teeth on your lips and cheeks with black paint.
Step 3: Using a smaller brush, apply a white paint to your created teeth.
Step 4: Add a second coat of white paint to your teeth to make sure they are extra white.
Step 5: Using red paint, make small blotches around the desired parts of your face. This will appear as visible bloody flesh.
Step 6: After you are finished with your red blots, outline them with your black paint.
Step 7: Next, apply the black paint on your nose, creating a skeleton nose. To make it easier, paint a V-shape at the end of your nose, and then fill in the rest of it below the shape.
Step 8: To finish off the look, outline your cheeks, chin and eyebrows with the black paint to define the look. As Ramirez said, “We’re dead, but we still want to look good!”
The ’80s zombie is going to be a little more complex but equally terrifying. Materials needed are white, black, red, yellow and green cream paint, a big brush for application and a small brush for detail, latex burns or cuts (or, you may use sheets of napkins), and finally, some fake blood.
Step 1: Apply a white base on face and neck.
Step 2: Blend the black and white paint to make gray in order to contour the face.
Step 3: Go under the eyelids with your gray paint to create a tired and baggy look. Your zombie is definitely not getting his beauty sleep!
Step 4: Add a color of red under the eyes as well to add dimension, creating an undead appearance, and don’t forget to blend it in with the bags (it should look purple).
Step 5: Using latex cuts or burns, or paper napkins with Elmer’s glue, construct the infectious skin layers on your skin.
Step 6: If using paper napkins, apply the glue to the desired parts of your face with a paintbrush.
Step 7: Next, lay the napkin on the applied glue layer. Make sure it sticks well!
Step 8: Using the glue, lay down the edges of the napkin.
Step 9: When your new skin is nice and dry, use the sponge or brush used to contour your face, with its gray paint still on there, to blend in the edges of your cuts with your face. After this, you will use your reds, yellows and blacks to make the cut look infected.
Step 10: Go in with your black sponge or brush to define your face. To make this easier, scrunch up your face and draw the lines your face makes.
Step 11: Lastly, you want to add the finishing touches by adding more shadow to your cheek, and dabbing fake blood to your mouth, neck and any white spots on your infection that weren’t covered with paint.
Ramirez said the key to getting it right is to blend as much as possible to make sure everything is in sync.
And, if all else fails, follow Alvarez’s advice–“Even if the makeup looks horrible, remember, he’s dead!”
