Zombie Make Up Lesson
Sept 15, 2009
By, Crystal A. Proxmire
The Ferndale Film Festival brought out experts in many areas of film promotion and production, including Special Effects Makeup Artist Keith Faychak. Faychak was one of the wizards behind the film “First Date,” where he flawlessly applied fake tattoos and fake piercings. He is also well-known for his work on Wolfman Mac’s Chiller Drive In, which has just been syndicated through TV20.
For the festival, Faychak taught an audience of adults and children at The Ringwald how to apply a realistic looking wound on a potential zombie’s face. His model Heather sat patiently while Faychak worked and took questions from the audience.
Here are the steps that Faychak went through to create the appearance of a gash:
- Clean the person’s face
- Apply lotion to the skin
- Apply a latex base. Small bottles can be purchased for $3-4 at costume supply stores
- Apply baby powder or talc over the latex.
- Adding cotton to the latex can give it a disgusting texture.
- Apply more latex over your work.
- Use dark yellow, red and black paint or makeup as foundation colors. Apply lighter colors on top as needed.
- Apply fake blood last, using a brush or makeup spatula and being careful not to get it all over
- Have fun being a zombie!
Faychak also recommends keeping as cool as possible when in makeup. Sweat and heat can melt makeup. “If that happens just apply a layer of latex over it,” he says.
Detroit Film Club Member Shannon Lamarche and her daughter Brianna attended the free class. Brianna dressed up as a vampire for Halloween last year and experimented with doing her own face. “I didn’t know how to do wounds,” she said. “Now I can do them more professionally.”
In addition to movie makeup, Faychak can be hired to do Halloween make up and effects for other occasions. See more of his work at www.myspace.com/evildeadbob or contact him at kfaychak@hotmail.com
