The idea that zombies may walk the earth, devouring their fellow humans as they go, has its roots in Haitian voodoo culture, where ‘zombi’ means ‘spirit of the dead’.

The zombies of popular culture, however, are all film-based and largely inspired by George Romero’s ‘Night of the Living Dead’.

A typical creature of the type favoured in zombie fancy dress will have partially removed skin, copious amounts of blood and festering sores. While this effect can be partially achieved through the skilled application of make-up, latex masks are far more effective.

With a few ingredients and a little elbow grease wannabe zombies can make their own realistic masks of the undead.

What You’ll Need

• Styrofoam head
• Sculpting stand
• Petroleum jelly
• Oil-based clay
• Water-based clay
• Basic sculpting tool kit
• Mixing bucket
• Brushes
• Ultra Cal 30
• RD-407 mask latex
• Latex paint base
• Liquitex paint

Sculpting

Attach the Styrofoam head to the sculpting stand and coat it with petroleum jelly. Start applying oil-based clay to the head, creating raised areas for sores and valleys for torn-away skin. Make sure the skin is wrinkled and has plenty of texture. Use the sculpting tools to help manipulate the clay.

Moulding

Make a two-piece mould out of Ultra Cal 30 – an industrial gypsum. Create a dividing wall between the front and back of the sculpture using 1”-thick slabs of water-based clay. Mix up the Ultra Cal 30 according to instructions and apply evenly to both halves. When dry, the two halves of the mould can be separated and the dividing clay removed. Rejoin the two halves.

Casting

Now the RD-407 is used to recreate the sculpture in liquid latex. Pour the RD-407 liquid mask latex into the mould and leave it for a few minutes. Tip the mould up and pour the excess latex back into the container. When dry, gently peel the mask from the mould.

Painting

Apply a latex paint base and wait for it to dry. Take the opportunity to look at some existing zombie masks for inspiration. Use Liquitex paint to bring death to the mask. Use darker shades of paint to simulate shadowed areas and lighter shades to highlight raised areas. Use plenty of red for blood, and green and brown for suppurating sores.

Practice

Mask-making can inevitably take some practice. Those without the time to create their own mask in time for 31 October can try the Escapade Halloween fancy dress section or otherwise find an already-infected zombie at the local supermarket.

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