question about gelatin burn effect

[Damien Warwick]

Greetings! I've finally grown tired of spending 20 bucks an application to buy Woochies burn kit which is essentially just gelatin. I get the basic consept of how to make it, but my question is about the liquid latex coating that you do over the gelatin. Does it matter if the liquid latex has a flesh tone tint to it? do I need to get a special liquid latex? Any advice would be appreciated!

ALSO: anyone who's done this before, does anyone know how much water to add, proportion wise? Thanks so much for any help guys!

[jakprintsHAUNT]

Here's a short/long bit of info for you from my personal experiences:

There are several methods of doing gelatin burns. I've experimented different ways and done as much as 3/4 of my body in it before. The classic method is to smear the gelatin on the skin, coat/seal appropriately, then color from there. I will often do a textured latex underbase colored, then powder heavily and apply slightly thinner gelatin over top of that (then seal appropriately from there or do another textured latex layer over). Sometimes you get some nice separations where you can rip the flesh off through the acting night.

First mixing the gelatin:

Do 1:1 Gelatin to hot water (hot as you can stand on your skin and will not burn yourself) and coloring (coloring included in water, you can use food coloring, acrylic paint, liquid makeup, etc...) I usually tint it red or pink to simulate the under raw flesh look. Depends if you want fresh or healed burn effect. I have used liquid foundation mixed in for a decent flesh color. Some people dislike the smell of gelatin. One thing you can do to mask that is mixing in just a little bit of baby powder into the mix. It will give it a slight cloudiness so if you want it 100% clear I dont recommend it.

Work fast as it can set up pretty quickly!

Once you have applied it everywhere you want you can then coat it in either latex or castor oil (this is much cheaper from the drug store found near laxatives, but sold by makeup manufacturers for much more) Do not coat anything in latex that is going over your hair (including facial hair) there is a good chance it will not come out without losing some. However gelatin is safe to put in your hair (including facial hair) as long as you seal it with castor oil. A nice hot shower or dunk in a basin sink will melt it right out (just make sure to catch the clumps before they go down the drain. Make sure you coat it right away though as it will continue to dry otherwise and get very crunchy to the point where it could cut you...had it happen the first time I tried it on my own.

I have found if doing a crispy burn makeup, reds, yellows, pinks, and maybe some flesh and gray greaspaints lightly dusted then lightly brushed with black poweder turns out very nice.

If you want the more fleshy look color the gelatin and/or use flesh latex over and accent you ridges and pits in the gelatin texture to accentuate.

Then if you want to do the method I spoke of, do your latex texture with cotton or TP underneath, color with greasepaints, powder with baby or translucent powder, then apply a little thinner mixture of gelatin (maybe slightly tinted) over top of with a spatula or some kind of soft spreading tool.

Hope this info helps...Ive done a LOT of gelatin makeup jobs...so if you have any other questions feel free to ask!


Mike "Pogo" Hach

[BruiseMuse]

Mike pretty much covered everything. You can also use vaseline to seal the gelatin instead of latex (which I use for people that have a latex allergy).

Another product similar to gelatin that gives a great burn effect is Mehron's 3D effects Gel. You place the bottle in hot water and the gel liquifies and you quickly apply it (similar to gelatin). It comes in flesh, clear, and "blood" colors and is a nice alternative (it doesn't need to be sealed, doesn't have the gelatin smell, and you don't have to worry about mixing the right proportions).

[Tater]

For Burns I use Latex...really easy and makes nasty burns quick. Also for quick scabbing use some Sawdust...Here are some pictures

[Damien Warwick]

Thank you so much for your help guys! It's really appreciated! I had a couple more specific questions, so I'ved dropped Jak a PM. Thanks a lot guys! I normally just buy the kits from Woochie, but I'm tired of dropping 20 a pop for some tinted gelatin and latex...I'm trying to add a slightly pinky flesh tone under the reds, blacks, yellow, etc...do you guys recommend mixing that pink in with the gelatin?

[scrymnstr]

Jak pretty much said it all... the stuff from the grocery store is cheap ... realy cheap ,so don't be afraid to experiment . You may come up with something no one else has yet.
On a side note . I used some geletin to build up half a face of flesh on a foam skull full face prosthetic. I sealed it with latex. It still, 15 years later, looks awsome and is functional.
Good luck and let us know how things work out.
Dave B

[jakprintsHAUNT]

And if you are looking for a higher grade Gelatin and plan to use a lot of it...talk to the people over at Vyse Gelatin, they carry several types including ballistics gelatin, and when you break it down to per ounce cost is definitely cheaper than Knox at the grocery store. It also doesnt have quite as much of the "wet dog" smell as Knox.

Mike "Pogo" Hach

[Damien Warwick]

And if you are looking for a higher grade Gelatin and plan to use a lot of it...talk to the people over at Vyse Gelatin, they carry several types including ballistics gelatin, and when you break it down to per ounce cost is definitely cheaper than Knox at the grocery store. It also doesnt have quite as much of the "wet dog" smell as Knox.

Mike "Pogo" Hach

but the wet dog smell is half the point :P lol One final question guys. My haunt is all UV lit. We use the Wolfe Brothers water based UV makeup. Should I apply that first, let it dry, then do the burn, or should I do a light coating on top of everything once its all sealed?

[jakprintsHAUNT]

if you are using in a UV house, mix some neon/fluorescent acrylic in with the gelatin, then if you want it to pop more, add a little more color on top. I also like to sometimes mix in Mehron glow in the dark liquid makeup with the gelatin, or over top as for the most part it is translucent in light but glows in blacklight or after exposed to light.

Mike "Pogo" Hach

[freak 'n' stein]

BITY. Always a good source:



I know it's not gelatin, but just thought I'd throw it into the mix.