Zombie World Record!

How could anyone pass up a world record zombie gathering attempt?

Or at least, that was my reaction when I read of RED, WHITE AND DEAD, an attempt to set a new world record for zombie gatherings as part of a larger zombie event, which took place on Friday July 3, 2009 in the Fremont neighborhood of Seattle. Add in a Thriller dance, a free outdoor showing of "Shaun of the Dead," a zombie fashion show and you've got one spectacularly, undead night out!

If you're working on your own Zombie Action, this Hub will help with makeup and costuming, plus keep you updated on the latest undead developments!

UPDATE: It's official and we did it! Guinness has certified the World Record and the organizers were presented with their certification at Comic Con in San Diego at the end of July.

How elaborate a zombie you are depends on how time and energy you want to put into the character. It could be a ten-minute zombie makeup routine done with a little paint, or it might be a fancy monster face of rotting flesh and facial damage. While I was waiting in line to be counted at the Seattle Zombie event, I watched two girls make up each other's faces using just some dark grey eye shadow they had with them, and it was amazing how far just a little bit of shading went: they look seriously undead by the time they decided they were done!

• Skin - To make peeling or cracking skin, an easy technique is to daub on liquid latex. Thin layers can be broken or peeled back a bit once dry, or cracked by moving the face. Make inside the peel look bloody or rotten and put some black, dark grey or green on those loose edges.
  

• Shading - For a zombie you could be whitish with bluish lips (for a recently undead look) or you can be bruised and puffy (battered corpse) or you might go for full on rotten (gouges, decay, etc).

1. Eyes are often sunken with dark shading all around
2. Shade along temples, under cheekbones and under and along the jawline. 
3. Don't forget to put makeup on your ears and down onto your neck, or you wind up looking like a lazy zombie who rushed to the party.
   
4. Shadow and bruise the backs of the hands with makeup for a more complete zombie look.
   

When I used to live in San Francisco, I enjoyed street fairs and events that incorporated costuming. A zombie walk is a great event in that you can make your zombie as simple or complex as suits your own tastes and desires.

Costume - Here's a good chance to put old clothes with rips or stains to good use. The more rotten and decayed your zombie character, the rattier the costume. Think about if your costume should be blood-drenched from frenzied feeding. Or is your zombie rotting or damaged? Layers is good for a zombie as are clothes painted to appear blood-stained or gore-drenched. Wear comfortable shoes for shuffling along slowly.

• General blood-splatter - Just about any zombie is going to have blood on them from snacking/eating. It's often best to thrift for some clothes and then mess them up. A little tearing, a little staining, a good amount of blood. Remember to make the costume ahead of time so that any painting/blood you put on it has time to dry. Wet zombie clothes can get mighty uncomfortable....
  
• Medical wear, police, fire fighter - hospital scrubs or a doctor's jacket is a great zombie costume. After all. those trained as first responders (police, fire, doctors) tend to run into people who are zombies or carrying zombie viruses, and thus have a greater-than-average chance of themselves being infected and turning into zombies when compared to the average population.
  
• Bridal/formal wear - nothing says undead and having fun as much as a wedding dress or tuxedo. Take your zombie-ism to a whole new level!
• Strippers - put on your sexiest outfit and go as a zombie stripper! Be prepared for drunk guys to annoy you and for lots of people to want to take pictures.
• Dusty Zombie - If you'd like to be from the crypt, but in a less fetid condition, you just need all-black clothing to be a dusty zombie. Take corn starch and dust over a simple, slightly-loose, dark outfit and you'll be the dry and less-rotten walking dead. Do NOT use baby powder, it turns into a disgusting paste if it gets moistened.