Liquid Latex and Molds

The first major Amazon shipment arrived and there are lots of new toys to play with! I'm working on filling out my fancy new makeup case with plenty of staples and new things to try.

I got some plastic mold trays of wounds that work with liquid latex:

So I did some pouring the night before (it takes awhile for the latex to set) and Beverly brought the wine. Tonight we welcomed Kelly to our group with some wound painting and experimenting with molds. The latex is taking some playing with to get the edges smoothed when applying but we just worked on painting tonight so the ladies were able to get used to working with makeup.

Luckily with wounds its hard to mess up so badly that a little more blending and fake blood can't make it look good. Beverly did some online research and found that wine is definitely needed when looking at photos of blisters. Seriously, its not to be done before dinner. So we ended up with a nice selection of wounds to add to our zombie repertoire:

In the midst of painting Beverly asked about making a bite wound and I decided it would be a good time to try out some of my new supplies. I cut off a slab of my modeling clay and went ahead and sunk my teeth in for some indentations.

Then I used this awesome stuff called Fantastic Plastic to make a mold.

You put these little plastic beads in a bowl of hot water for a short time until they turn clear and using some tongs you pull out the glob and its ready to mold.

So I mashed it into the clay teeth impressions and let it cool and harden, about 5 minutes or so. When I pulled it out it actually turned out a lot better than I thought it would. I slathered on some liquid latex and we'll see if we get some decent bite wounds when it dries.

Elf ears for Megan was next on the list so I took a glob of clay and got an impression of the top of her ear. I used the plastic to fill it and once it cooled I took some more clay and started sculpting ears. Its a lot harder than I thought it would be as I tried to get an organic look to them so here's the work in progress:

It's a start, I'll make a mold of it and get the liquid latex out again to see how it looks. Playing and experimenting is what tonight was all about, you can't learn without making mistakes and sometimes those mistakes can turn into something better. And so we sally forth...

-Kristin

Zombified

The Geek Girls did some zombie practice today! As each lady had a different zombie preference I got the chance to try a few different styles, you can find all the photos here, but I'll post some of the better ones here with a bit of explanation.

I haven't gotten all my fancy supplies yet so zombie practice tonight consisted of Ben Nye makeup, liquid latex, fake blood, fake nails, and plenty of scar wax. First up was Beverly who wants to go with a classic zombie look, think Tammy from Fido (If you haven't seen Fido then you need to flip over to a new tab and stream it. Right now. I'll wait).
I started with a diluted grey base and mixed some red and deep purple for veins along the forehead, eye circles, and lips. It was pretty easy and once she gets the collar and 50's hair going she'll definitely be looking the part. Here is the final product and the inspiration:

Beth wanted some gore and nastiness so we broke out the latex and fake blood to give her a gruesome cheek bite. I mixed the blood with my gelatin veg friendly substitute- instant clear gel- and made some muscle tissue with rolled cotton. I used some spirit gum to glue it to her cheek.

Once I coated it with some castor oil I stuck on a torn single ply of tissue and coated it with liquid latex. After a second layer I blotted on some pink inflammation color:

And then the fun part! I got to tear open the wound and fill it in with more makeup and fake blood:

For a little bit more detail I trimmed some fake nails as teeth and stuck them in with scar wax as gums. 

Next time I think I'll glue the teeth down first and then work the muscle fiber around it before the latex layers. It'll be more stable and less work. Hopefully.

Megan's going for a hot zombie so we decided to show a little collar and cheekbone I trimmed up some fake nails to use as bone and made some basic cuts using scar wax. blending proved to be a bit of a pain, I'm looking forward to using some new materials other than the wax which should last a bit longer.

So once the ladies were zombified we hit up a local place for some pizza and stares. We got a few sideways glances and some compliments and laughs. Beverly's makeup held up the best of course: 

Beth got a bit of a loose flap near her mouth so I think I'll do a split in it next time or carry some extra spirit gum but otherwise it did pretty well through some beer and pizza.

So all in all our zombie practice went well and we're getting good ideas for what we're going to do for Awesome Con next month. I can't wait for my shipment of new supplies so I can try out my airbrush and molds. Stay tuned!!

-Kristin

PS: Pizzeria Paradiso is awesome  for feeding the undead.

It Has Begun!

Not too long ago in a place not too far from DC, several lovely ladies got together with a bottle of wine to bond over their mutual love of all things geeky. In that evening the Geek Girls Guild was born from the twisty and creative minds of 5 women with a shared goal: to get their geek on. They talked cosplay, gaming, SyFy shows, and conventions; shared costume photos, and found relief in knowing that there were a few more freaks in the neighborhood. Ideas were formed and plans were made. Big ones, involving lots of Amazon orders. The Girls' powers and talents would be combined into a creative Guild that would be a force to be reckoned with!! Or at least a really fun outlet for nerdy creativity. Ya know- either/or.

Here is what the makings of the Geek Girls Guild looks like:

Kristin is the makeup and fabrication geek. If you want to look like you were mauled by a bear or have a dead clown buffet she's your girl. Her Halloween parties and costumes are becoming the stuff of local legend.

Beverly is the sewing machine of geeks. Seriously, she can sew anything out of anything. Her specific talents lend themselves well to all the cosplay dreams of the Guild which would otherwise end in piles of material and tears.

Beth and Heather claim to be talentless geeks but are probably lying. Being frakkin awesome IS a talent after all. Their special skills will eventually come to light and the Guild will only become more powerful than you could ever imagine!!!

So there you have it, the makings of a Guild that will share skills and interests to further nurture and encourage who we are: Geek Girls.