James Thayer
Active member
Has anyone ever created burn wounds? What did you find worked best?
Latex Burn Wound
- Thread starter James Thayer
- Start date
Many years ago for Halloween I made myself up as "The Man Without a Face" (from the 1993 movie) and covered half my face with latex burn scars. I used flesh colored latex, cotton balls (unrolled) and facial tissue, and layered the latex and the cotton and/or tissue. Over this I applied liquid makeup. It was fairly easy, and took about 2 hours. I received compliments, including one from someone who had worked with burn victims in a hospital! Just use some photos as reference, and go at it...
Patricia de la Garza
New member
KMR has a great approach, and it's a technique I have personally used. I found that separating the layers of really cheap tissue (rougher texture and doesn't have lotions to prevent adhesion) and painting latex between them is really effective. You may wish to drip latex over the final layer for a more modeled, melting appearance. The nice thing about this technique is that you can VERY CAREFULLY, lift and cut sections of the latex so the skin appears to be peeling off. You can then use black eyeliner or cream makeup to color the edges of the cut pieces for a charred effect. Consider shoving thick gel blood (used for fake scars) underneath torn sections to create a puffy blood-blister look. If your actor is working in warm weather, the gel blood will melt some, adding to the fresh-blood effect.
CAUTIONARY NOTES:
* There's a big difference between applying special fx makeup to yourself and accepting the risks versus applying it to someone and risking an allergic reaction or injury. Definitely consider hiring a professional.
* Always ask your talent if they have any known allergies to products (allergies to latex are quite common). If they are not sure, you may wish to apply a bit to the inner elbow and wait 24 hours. If they are allergic, there are other liquid materials on the market or you can purchase a pre-made non-latex prosthetic to apply.
* Latex should not come in contact with hair like eyebrows, hairline, eyelashes (or eyes in general). If it's important to have the wound go over part of the eyebrow, then you will need to wax and seal it before applying latex. Likewise, be sure to use disposable brushes/popsicle sticks with latex.
There are some really incredible videos and how-to books available online. You may even be able to find the classic book "Stage Makeup" by Richard Corson in a used bookstore. Materials have come a long way since this book was written, but it's great for getting the basics down for special effects.
I always hit up the specialists at my local costume/makeup store to find out what they would use and then compare approaches.
Links worth checking out:
http://www.instructables.com/id/Burn-Makeup-With-Liquid-Latex/
http://www.hauntyourhome.com/howto/makeup/burns.htm
Hope you find this helpful!
Ha! I didn't know anything about eyebrow wax at the time, but I did think it through enough to cover up my eyebrow with a bandage before painting on the latex. But there was still the hairline at my temple and behind my ear, which did come into contact with the latex. I was still picking out bits of latex all the time I was sitting in church the next morning...