When you're a popular musician, the point of a makeup session is usually to make you look better. Unless you're Prof, the mischievous Minneapolis rapper who will perform in front of hordes of the undead at Saturday's Zombie Pub Crawl.
To help give brain-eating pub crawlers a cheat sheet on proper zombification, we asked makeup artist Brett Dorrian to make over Prof as a bloody, flesh-rotting dead guy. Dorrian is the woman (brains?) behind the monster makeup at the Soap Factory's Haunted Basement.
"How often do you get to make people uglier?" Prof asked Dorrian, who's usually making brides beautiful.
"Not that often," she said. "You know the makeup is really good when you can't look at it anymore."
Thousands of zombies will lurch across Minneapolis this weekend. Use this easy 10-step process to make sure you're as scary as zombie Prof.
Instructions
1. Use a sponge to dab a layer of liquid latex in the area where you want to have ripped flesh. It can be on your face, arms or elsewhere. The more ripped flesh, the better, a good zombie would say.
2. Pull a tissue apart so it's one-ply instead of two-ply and lay the ripped pieces on top of the latex.
3. Let it dry until it's clear. You can speed up the process with a blow dryer on a cold setting.
4. Add another layer of latex and tissue. Repeat for a total of 3-5 layers. Quality zombification takes patience.
5. After building layers of latex and tissue, paint the area with cream foundation to look like flesh, then set with translucent powder.
6. Use a tweezers to pick up the top layer of painted tissue/latex. With your fingers and tweezers, gently start creating rips and cuts in the latex to create the illusion of torn flesh.
7. Once the "flesh" is ripped open, add fake thick blood with a Popsicle stick, and liquid blood to your liking.
8. Use cosmetic dirt or ash powder to add layers of shading to cheekbones, bruises and sunken eye sockets. Remember, zombies are in rough shape.
9. Add "blood" eye drops, mouth capsules and foaming mouth capsules to produce the perfect finishing touches. A proper zombie doesn't just splatter himself.
10. Don't forget the rest of your costume. Think about where you've been shambling. Have you been walking through the woods or swamp? Or are you an urban zombie?
Notes: Remove makeup and latex with soap and a hot shower. This technique cannot be used on anyone with a latex allergy.
Recipe for a basic zombie infection
Supplies
1 bottle of liquid latex
Translucent face powder
Fake liquid blood
Fake thick blood
Cosmetic dirt or ash powder if you want your zombie to look dirty
1 to 3 bottles of cream-based foundation (prices vary; you can vary your colors, but black, green, white and/or skin tone are recommended)
Sponges
Facial tissue (from your bathroom)
Tweezers
Popsicle sticks
Blood eye drops, mouth capsules and foaming mouth capsules (prices vary at specialty makeup supply stores)