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This article written by Brie is awesome, but includes some graphic images of horror-themed makeup effects. If you’re prone to uneasiness around gore, read this article with caution.

In any kind of performance, we aim to mimic real life in the most authentic, convincing way possible. As an audience, we love to be tricked into the illusions of theater. Special effects makeup is a large part of this, and in recent years, as more and more advancements have been made in the industry, it has been more widely used for recreation and fun. Realistic makeup effects can even be done easily in one’s own bathroom. Here’s a few examples of how to create some simply gruesome effects!

Bruises

Bruises are interesting and easy because there is no specific way to do them and they come in all kinds of variations. They’re nothing but different colors of face or body paint splotched together. They can be big, small, dark, light, very purple, very green or yellow. They usually start with a light base of red with layers of blue, purple, green and yellow. The more recent a bruise is the more red it tends to be.

Burns

One easy way to create a 3rd degree burn effect is gelatin. This is done by taking a dry package of Jell-O and adding some hot water until it’s of a thick soupy consistency and then scooping it onto the area that you want to look burned. The gelatin creates a realistic look and can vary between smooth melted flesh and a bumpy, charcoal-y crisp.

Torn flesh

This is a bit more difficult on the spectrum but is far from what it seems. The effect of torn flesh can be made, ironically, by cotton balls. Yep. Soft tufts of cotton.

A bullet hole, another form of flesh-tearing, is created by taking a cotton ball and unravelling it, then creating a tiny circle the size that you want the hole and gluing it to the area. After that it’s all about adding bruising around the hole and adding blood. Black is used to convey depth: Wounds will appear deeper the darker they are. Additionally, the age of an injury greatly influences how they look, as real-life bruises change color as they heal, old blood congeals, and, over time, infections may spread.

It takes very little to create a look that is realistic and horrifying. Special effects makeup is a great activity to take up, whether it be for a play, Halloween or to simply scare your friends, and has played a key role in multiple areas of entertainment as a unique art form. With new technologies and techniques being developed everyday, who knows what spectacular developments will continue to amaze and convince us?