Burnt Skin SFX

I’ve been working quite a bit on burns recently. With some colouring, you can create some quite convincing effects!

I also involved my brother and sister by getting them to help make a “costume”. This involved lots of dirt, fake blood, water, and releasing a lot of energy. It was great fun to watch.

 

 

 

After cutting out various holes, ripping material, bashing it with a broom,  rubbing it in the grass and throwing all kinds of hideous things at it, our “costume” was done.

Next, I could start on the burn wounds that would be located  on my face and hand. Gelatine is a very versatile substance; used in many desserts and and sweets, it is also a prime ingredient in Jelly. Gelatine is made from the bone marrow of whichever animal it’s from, along with other parts of the body such as hooves and nails.

I dissolve the gelatine in water, over a warm water-bath. As it dissolves into the water and disappears, it is time to take it off the heat and allow it to cool. I like to add a scent/ food flavouring as the smell of the raw gelatine solution can be a bit much, especially if applied on the face.

I use a knife or whichever kitchen utensil is available, then apply the solution in layers. As the solution cools, it begins to set. This creates the disgusting “blobs” that look like blisters on the skin. Here is the gelatine applied to the face and arm.

As the gelatine dries on the skin, it pulls and looks rather disgusting, creating a pretty awesome looking effect. I must admit, it’s very difficult to do it on your own face. Next time I shall ask someone to model for me and apply it to them and hopefully it’ll turn out slightly better.

It is very important to do research of whatever you’re doing. This will give you the knowledge to make your wound look as realistic as possible. Old wounds will look different to fresh ones. I like to come up with a story about how and when the wound happened and I try to convey that as much as possible in the finished make-up.

Above, for instance, represents an older wound that has recently started to bleed again. I use various colour wheels to colour the skin, including specific burn fx wheels and old age stipples to create differing skin tones. I like to give a charred effect around the edge of the burn wound as well. I then fill some of the crevices with scratch blood.

Above, this time, the burn has happened much more recently and thus, there’s a lot more blood. Although the more recent wound looks more horrific, I do personally prefer the old one more as it requires more skill and technique to colour and feels more satisfying.

Above is the make-up about half way through colouring. I have applied a base coat of redness and am now going around and touching up the colour variations in relation to the “terrain” of the burn.

Almost done! I added a charred effect to the lips and also some scratch blood. The random patches of “normal” skin are where I had to pick bits of the gelatine off and I had to re-colour it. Just a side note, try to avoid pulling it off, it hurts like a bitch, same with latex. Ouch. Luckily though the gelatine dissolves in a nice hot shower. 😀

Finally, in costume, burn wounds finished, posing in my bathroom and being a bit silly. Haha. But there we go, burn wounds. Thank you for taking the time to read. Please ask and comment if you have any questions about this post.

Take care everyone. 🙂