Post featured How to Create Zombie-Fiction in Photoshop CS3
This tutorial written by BonnySaintAndrew
True of every piece of work you start – if there isn’t an underlying reason for the work being done that’s clear in your mind before you begin, it will hurt the look of the final image. The devil is always in the details, and when I look at my finished work I know exactly why I added each element to it. If there is something in there that just doesn’t make sense, you can be sure people will notice.
How to Create Zombie-Fiction in Photoshop CS3
Here’s the original image and the finished image. So why did I choose to make the changes I did? Well, in my mind Keira was to be a relatively ‘fresh’ zombie. So her skin has the beginnings of putrefaction and the onset of decomposition, hence the ghastly colour tone and mould. The darker patches on the skin are intended to suggest the blood beginning to settle underneath, with the onset of livor mortis, when blood stops flowing in the veins. On her face, I wanted to suggest the dead skin beginning to crack where it’s moving but no longer flexible – so I added severe wrinkles around the mouth and eyes.
See the white eyes? I’m a big fan of Zombie Fiction, and as far as I’m concerned Max Brook’s WORLD WAR Z is the final word on Physiology of the Undead, so that’s what I followed when making my Zombie. Brooks describes the undead as being unable to blink, so over time the surface of the eye becomes worn away by dust and grit. Little details that not everyone will get, true – but they make your work fun for you, and that little bit more vivid for everyone else – so throw them in when you can!
By way of contrast, take a look at JohnMcConnell’s fantastic PICKING WILSON’S BRAIN entry from the same contest . This Zombie looks older – it’s much more decomposed and worn away. In particular, check out the brilliant work on the facial details – the eyes have fallen back into the skull, and the cheekbones and eyesockets are visible, breaking through where the skin is getting thinner as decomposition speeds up. The softer, more vulnerable features like the nose and lips are almost entirely gone. Again, these are wonderful, necessary details that make sense in the anatomy of the finished work.
ENVIRONMENT
My first step was to get rid of the background and place Keira in more suitable setting. While it’s still fine if you don’t want to go to the trouble of masking out your subject and sourcing an alternative backdrop, it’s another added detail that lends depth to your finished image. This derelict building suited me perfectly, and after some quick Desaturation and colour adjustments to make things even more gloomy, I was ready to mask out Keira and place her in her new home.
