[Raven]

At least the undead have excellent taste in drinks! So are you already planning next years costume?

[Zombie Pumpkins!]

Diet Mountain Dew is the perfect drink for the undead. It provides the caffeine jolt needed to keep you on your feet, but there's no sugar to rot your already rapidly decaying teeth.

I do have 2 or 3 solid ideas for future costumes. Depends on a few factors, but I'm already planning the methods of execution in my head.

[The Captain]

Funnily enough, I hadn't realized you had done anything to your forehead

Thats funny because Ryan's forehead was one of the first things I noticed when looking at these pictures. I thought to myself "Man, I never noticed what a crazy caveman looking forehead Ryan has?!"


Very amazing work on the whole costume from the make-up, to the "Victor" stylized clothing, to my fav the zombie Pumas!

[Zombie Pumpkins!]

...my fav the zombie Pumas!

Hehe. I didn't have the heart to destroy a pair of shoes, but on Halloween I wore more suit appropriate shoes, rather than the sneakers you saw in the first full length photo.

[The Captain]

Even zombies need to be freshed dressed

[ZPjames]

I like the sneakers. I think they add more character to your costume. That along with the Mountain Dew pic make you look like a friendly Zombie. Maybe trying to fit in with the living.

[JMP919]

Mountain Dew.... Brains.... I'm sure it all tastes the same

[Thunderclap]

Awesome costume ryan I bet you scared the crap out of the kids, and perhaps a few of the adults too.

P.S. thank you for running another batch of those shirts for us big guys. I got it and it looks great. people ask me what it is, and i tell them about your site. I am like a walking billboard

[Zombie Pumpkins!]

Glad you like the threads, Thunderclap. I was happy with the design on this year's t-shirt. And I have more ideas for even cooler ones in the future.

As for scaring kids with my costume on Halloween night... yes indeed. A few of the really little kids jumped and let out a whimper, so I quickly backed up and let them get their candy. I don't want to make anyone cry. Well, not the REALLY little innocent ones.

One cute little girl dressed as a witch was standing on the porch as I opened the door to hand her some candy. She just looked at me, with wide eyes. She seemed on the verge of trembling, too stunned to even say "trick or treat." I couldn't figure out of she was scared stiff, or just in awe of my weird eyes and rotting teeth.

I crouched down and said, "Here you go... happy Halloween" in a voice so soft and gentle you wouldn't have expected it to come from the mouth of a zombie. But she still didn't speak back. I hope I haven't scarred her for life.

It's fun to mess with the older kids. Even though I wasn't in a full mask, some people questioned whether or not I was real if I was standing still. When I shuffled towards them, they got a momentary scare, but eventually walked over to give me a high five or pose for a picture.

One particular group of girls was acting very tough, saying "I'm not scared of you! But don't you touch me!" I kept my distance until they turned their back to walk up the street... at which point I started to lurch after them quickly with a loud zombie growl. Their screams were even louder though, as they ran away so fast, this zombie could not keep up.

Another fun trick... some of the older kids would pass me initially on the sidewalk, and either talk tough or ask me to stay away. But the moment they walked up to the porch for candy and turned their back, I would sneak up quietly, and stand facing the porch. They'd turn around to find me just a foot or two behind them, basically trapping them on the porch. Oh, you should have seen them dive past me and go running!

[nosferatu]

The girl in the picture with you certainly gives you a run for your money in the scary stakes!

I bet kids love approaching your house on Halloween because they never know what to expect. I should imagine that your reputation has proceeded you and that they get a real buzz when they see you.

I would think that those who have visited you several years on a row would have been looking forward to this year's visit.

The only bad thing is yo will have to better it next year. Is that possible?

Oh and why aren't you handing out any flyers or do you have Zombie Pumpkins blazing on the side of the house?

[Kittie]

Great costume Ryan! Maybe next year Jamie and I will get creative and make our own.

[CanadianCarver]

Hey Ryan,
Were you pleased with the Scream Team appliance? I was looking at them but didn't buy this year. Was it really easy to blend the edges with the latex? In your finished look, you certainly cannot see the appliance, but I was just wondering how easy it was to do.

I also own a pair of dental distortion teeth, they are great, although the painted yellow on my zombie teeth have washed off once I stored them in water in the off season.....

[Zombie Pumpkins!]

Hey Ryan,
Were you pleased with the Scream Team appliance? Was it really easy to blend the edges with the latex?

I was quite pleased with my Scream Team appliance. It gives you a look you really can't get with makeup alone, or with a full over-the-head mask.

As far as blending the edges, that is one step that can take a bit of patience if you want to do it right. I used liquid latex along the edges to conceal the seam, although the Scream Team appliance is designed to be very thin on the edges already, which helps.

It depends on where you'll be wearing the makeup, for one thing. For a dark party, maybe you don't have to be so precise. Bit if you're planning to be in brighter light or photographed a lot, you'll want to take more time with it.

One benefit of being a zombie is that you can hide any imperfections with more wrinkles, blood, moss, etc. Zombie skin is rotting, so anything goes. If you wanted to use one of these foam latex appliances to be an immortal vampire or something "pretty" you have to be smoother with your work.

I also picked up their instructional DVD, which helped a lot. Each appliance comes with written instructions, but I suspect a lot of people who buy the kit don't take the time to read through the several pages in the booklet. The DVD provides that same info, while actually visually demonstrating all the tips and tricks for applying this sort of makeup.

I also own a pair of dental distortion teeth, they are great, although the painted yellow on my zombie teeth have washed off once I stored them in water in the off season.....

Had you heard that storing them in water is the way to go? I gave mine a good rise, a light brushing with my tooth brush, a thourough drying, and plan to store them dry.

I had to get a little more use out of this costume, so I did a photo shoot in an old cemetery with my new camera. I'm not sure how I'll use these photos exactly, but with over 150 taken, I'll sure have a lot of choices. Here are a couple.





Oh yeah, and I did a bunch of high contrast shots too.



By the way, if you were wondering why I called this costume (and the matching pumpkin pattern) "Undead Ted"... it's because friends at my party said I looked like Ted Danson. What do you think, do you see a resemblance?

[matspud]

By the way, if you were wondering why I called this costume (and the matching pumpkin pattern) "Undead Ted"... it's because friends at my party said I looked like Ted Danson. What do you think, do you see a resemblance?

So that's Ted Danson on the right then

[Raven]

OMG! The cemetery shots are awesome! I have a "thing" for cemeteries and have photo albums full of nothing but cemeteries, headstones and statues. So did you think about just wandering aimlessly through the cemetery for awhile? Can you imagine people seeing you, dressed like that, wandering around a graveyard.

As for Ted Danson, there is a definite resemblance!