It’s Halloween once again and I know everyone out there is trying to get their last minute costume ideas figured out. What happens when you are stumped though and can’t figure out what to do? Why not make something original and mix both zombies and Star Trek? Surely this is a clear winner of an idea. How would you go about doing it though? Well thankfully Stephanie Naboshek wrote a guide on her blog and has given us full permission to post it in it’s entirety. Stephanie is clearly a geek in our style as she’s: “a nearsighted, freckled and celebrated geek. I’ve memorized Pi to the 63rd decimal and like to spend my free time playing games and reading comic books. You can read more about me here.” That and she made this guide which every zombie lover will enjoy!

It’s time for my Halloween costume post!!!

For those of you who might not be trekkies, I’ll let you in on a little secrete. In Star Trek: The Original Series it was hazardous to your health to be a red shirt.

In most cases, it’d be Kirk, Spock and Some Ensign in a red shirt going down to a planet. I bet you can guy which of the 3 never made it back alive. It’s a bit of a joke within the Star Trek community, one that even carried over to the 2009 movie

Inspired by the zombie book, Night of the Living Trekkies, Jeremy and I decided to go as Zombie Red Shirts from TOS this year. Here’s how we did it on the cheap side:

What you’ll need:

• A long sleeved red shirt, V-neck if possible (I cut mine to be one)
• An old black t-shirt
• Gold Fabric Paint
• Black Acrylic/Craft Paint
• a throw-away paint brush & a fine tip paint brush
• Wavy gold ribbon
• Hot Glue & Glue Gun
• Fake Blood
• Scissors/Box Cutter

** You’ll also need some black dress pants and lace-less dress boots to complete your Starfleet Uniform look. If you’re going the zombie route, see my tutorial for zombie make-up.

First things first, finding a shirt that will fit. Jeremy and I got ours in the Men’s department at
Target for around $6 each. You want it to be slim fitting and not too long. However as in the case with mine – you can always cut up the excess to make it fit better. Like I said in my previous post, Zombies aren’t clean.

I drew out with chalk where I wanted to paint the badge and cut the v-neck. I also taped my shirt down to some cardboard to keep the shirt stretched. This helped the fabric paint for the badge go on smoother.

Once you have your shirt, take a piece of chalk or eyeball it to mark where you’ll be painting the Starfleet badge. Since we’re going as a red shirt, we’ll be using the engineering logo. (Engineers wore red). When placing the badge, remember that it always goes over your heart.

1) draw design.
2) apply frabric paint.
3) smooth it out with a crummy brush.
4) Once it has dried, go back over it with a fine-tip paint brush and black craft paint to apply details.

For the sleeves, I used a wavy gold ribbon. The ribbon was too thin to be accurate, so I doubled it up and it ended up being the right size.

I found this specific ribbon in the Christmas Ribbon section at Michael's for around $3 a roll. The 1 roll was enough for both Jeremy and I's shirt.

I used an old wine bottle to help me with this. I placed the bottle inside the sleeve to keep it stretched and from sticking to itself while I hot-glued the ribbon on. I then glued another strand beside it to give me the desired thickness I needed.

I rolled the wrist inside the sleeve. Since it was elastic, it stayed on it's own.

Last but not least, you need the black undershirt. You can use a plain black t-shirt. I cut up one I had lying around in my donate pile. I cut off the excess that wasn’t going to be showing and glued it to the inside of my red shirt collar. I also cut a v-neck into my red shirt to complete the TOS look. This helps the black shirt stand out more.

You now have a TOS style red shirt. You can stop here if you’d like. This is a great way to make a cheap Star Trek costume. If you’re looking to go the zombie route, continue on.

1) Completed Red Shirt!
2) Torn for the zombie look.
3) Apply fake blood, make-up and any prostheses you might want to use.

I used scissors, a box cutter and some elbow grease to get my torn look. For some added effect, I also painted the shirt in the areas that were torn. I added some water to a mixture of red and black craft paint and dabbed it along the torn edges.

And there you have it! You have now completed your Zombie Red Shirt look.

You can take it another step further and tear up your pants or add a tricorder toy or Vulcan ears. A friend of mine also suggested to use black spray paint and apply it lightly to the chest to imitate a “phaser burn”

Live long and prosper.
If not, then BRAAAAAINNNSSSS

<3 Stephanie

Thanks again Stephanie for letting us post this one, it’s great both for a laugh on the concept (we also loved Night of the Living Trekkies) as well as a great tutorial for those looking to be a bit creative for the season!

The Walking Dead’s Greg Nicotero Gives Halloween Makeup Advice

Greg Nicotero clearly has an amazing way of making the living look dead, undead to be specific. If you are one of the many going out this Halloween as a zombie you may want to watch this instructional video on Greg giving pointers on how to make someone look like a walker!

Halloween is now just a week away and you know you want to dress like a zombie from The Walking Dead. So here’s a little help with your makeup: In this instructional video, The Walking Dead’s Emmy-winning Special F/X makeup wizard Greg Nicotero outlines his step-by-step process on how to turn an everyday person into a walker. As to the torn clothes, you’ll have to figure that part out for yourself.

[via: AMC]

Plants Vs Zombies To Infect The New York City Halloween Parade

OK this just isn’t fair. Clearly this should be happening in Chicago as well! Repeat after me- “I am not jealous of New York’s Halloween Parade right now.” Say it 3 times. Didn’t help? Try it another few times! Still didn’t help? Me either. So yes I AM jealous that NYC gets the Plants Vs Zombies crew, zombies, and fellow guest zombies in their parade this year. That sounds like something that is fully picture worthy and I’d love to see first hand. So here’s the press release, if you aren’t in NYC you can be jealous with me, if you are in NYC? Send some pictures?

PopCap Games, the leading developer and publisher of broadly appealing video games, today announced its participation in New York City’s 36th Annual Village Halloween Parade as an In-Parade Sponsor happening Saturday evening, October 31st . The parade kicks off at 7:00 p.m. PopCap will be assembling a throng of plants and zombies to celebrate the massive success of its best-selling title of 2009, Plants vs. Zombies™, and give away themed merchandise to some of the one million plus spectators who’ll watch the parade wind its way through Manhattan. PopCap is inviting all Plants vs. Zombies (PvZ) fans, zombie lovers and macabre gardening types to come out dressed in their favorite PvZ costume and join the celebration on Halloween night.

Halloween revelers who join the PvZ contingent will be eligible for the costume contest which will occur immediately following the parade. PopCap will be digging up some great prizes for best plant and best zombie costumes based on the game. “Plants vs. Zombies seems to inspire people to new heights of zaniness, and we have the photos to prove it,” laughed Garth Chouteau, vice president of public relations at PopCap, “We wanted to give those rabid PvZ fans a fun time and place to gather and celebrate their passion for the game. What better way than marching up 6th Avenue in New York’s historic Halloween parade!” Parade director Jeanne Fleming agrees, “We’re delighted to have PopCap Games as a sponsor. Their decision to open up their Plants vs. Zombies troupe in the parade to all who wish to join in is perfectly aligned with the spirit of the parade, which invites the entire city to participate in this enormous creative collaboration.”

PopCap is extending a special invitation to members of several undead enthusiast organizations including NYC Zombie Crawl and ZombieCon in an effort to make this parade appearance the largest gathering of zombies in parade history. The NYC Village Halloween Parade is featured in the book 100 Things to Do Before You Die and PopCap is creating an opportunity for both the living and the undead to check this off their bucket-head lists.

[via: Popcap Games.]

Zombie Baby Halloween Prop

OK seriously this is just creepy. Just like the baby from the Dawn of the Dead remake I’d just not be cool with this one.

16-inch tall latex prop of a sitting baby with possessed eyes fang look teeth and greyish dead colored zombie skin. this is one ugly little booger.

Available at Halloween Mall

Halfway to Halloween Costume Ball at The Orphanage

This Sunday, 03/29/09, the Annual Halloween Art Exhibit will be hosted at The Orphanage. “For years, this South side gallery gem known as “The Orphanage” has been host to artists of all media and performance, regularly featuring showcases every Sunday in it’s spacious gallery. This March, the Orphanage acknowledges it being halfway to Halloween with this month long tribute to world’s greatest play day. Chicago’s own “Annual Halloween Art Exhibit” will bring the best of its national showcase of Halloween Art to haunt the house and horrify the halls. Well known spooky artists include: Scott Jackson (Megadeth, Rock’n'Roll comics), Chad Savage (Sinister Visions), JoJo Baby (Clive Barker documentary), Eric Pigors (Toxic Toons, Disney), Dan Brereton (Nocturnals) along with top & upcoming talents from all over the country.“