What is it about reanimated corpses that captures our fascination? Aside from the “ew” factor, there’s a degree of horror that exists in zombies that vampires, even the non-sparkly ones, Frankenstein’s Monster or mummies just don’t quite capture (even if they are, technically, also animated corpses).

I’ve been thinking about zombies a lot, which has made my sleeping time quite…interesting, let me tell you. The prospect of Friends and family turned into shuffling, mindless strangers is one that sends shivers down my spine.  But what I realized, even in just a quick perusal of resources online, is that I’d need a lot more than just a blog post to even begin parsing through all of the various zombie lore and incarnations, as well as their cultural significance. From Haitian zombie potions to humorous sendups (Shaun of the Dead, Zombieland), to biological weapons of mass destruction (28 Days Later), the topic has been covered in a variety of ways, and by those far more capable than me.

Shaun and Ed being menaced by zombies

Simon Pegg (Shaun in Shaun of the Dead, pictured wearing the red tie), wrote rather eloquently in The Guardian about why the zombie strikes more fear and dread than their undead cousins.

As monsters from the id, zombies win out over vampires and werewolves when it comes to the title of Most Potent Metaphorical Monster. Where their pointy-toothed cousins are all about sex and bestial savagery, the zombie trumps all by personifying our deepest fear: death. Zombies are our destiny writ large. Slow and steady in their approach, weak, clumsy, often absurd, the zombie relentlessly closes in, unstoppable, intractable.

Simply and rather clumsily, zombies are death, the ever-creeping, impossible-to-escape fate that awaits us all. What’s more terrifying than that?

Zombies beware! (Zombieland)

Well, maybe Woody Harrelson.

In any case, I don’t see our zombie love going away anytime soon. So if you’re going to host a Walking Dead marathon, why not do it in style? You can get great zombie makeup tips from Extreme Face Painting by Brian and Nick Wolfe. If you like zombie poetry, check out Zombie Haiku and Dawn of Zombie Haiku, published by our sister imprint, HOW Books. And David Okum gives some tutorials on zombies and the zombie lord in his book, Manga Monster Madness or check out Jim Pavelec’s Hell Beasts.

It’s been a great year at IMPACT Books and we’d like to share some of our highlights with you! Learn how to draw some of our most popular subjects with the help of these free tutorials and then gift someone with your artwork–and a copy of one of the books they come from, too! When learning a new skill is this fun, everyone benefits!

Check out Supittha Bunyapen’s tips for Cloud Do’s and Don’ts, then go in-depth with a skin color tutorial using Copic Markers. You can pick up a copy of her book, Shojo Wonder Manga Art School for more great lessons.

Like Unicorns? Want to learn how to draw one? You can with this great tutorial from Denise Vasquez and Randy Martinez’s Sketch Card Mania.  You can follow that up with Emily Fiegenschuh’s tutorial on how to draw a flying fish from The Explorer’s Guide to Drawing Fantasy Creatures.

If graffiti is more your style, check out Scape Martinez’s demonstration on how to create your own abstract letters. Scape Martinez shares his vast graff knowledge with you in Graff and Graff2.

Extreme Face Painting went wild this Halloween, but makeup special effects can be used for all kinds of reasons and seasons. If you have your own Miss Piggy, why not show up to a screening of The Muppets in fine style?

With Halloween just around the corner, the ebook versions of Extreme Face Painting by Brian and Nick Wolfe are getting a lot of attention online. Check out what these bloggers have to say about Extreme Face Painting: 25 FIENDISH Step-by-Step Demos (Enhanced Edition) and Extreme Face Painting: 25 FRIENDLY Step-by-Step Demos (Enhanced Edition):

http://dadofdivas-reviews.blogspot.com/2011/10/book-review-extreme-face-painting.html

http://www.momecentric.com/2011/reviews-2011/extreme-face-painting

http://www.faithfullyfrugal-and-free.com/2011/10/extreme-face-painting-50-step-by-step-demos.html

http://momtinilounge.com/mom-fun/holidays/halloween-safety-tips-easy-costume-ideas

http://www.astheygrowup.com/2011/10/create-amazing-face-paintings-with.html

You can also watch a preview of the demonstration video (included in both print and ebook editions) here:

Still looking for ideas on what to go as this Halloween? Grandma’s Briefs blog shares some awesome Halloween face-painting tips from two new eBooks by award-winning special effects artists and IMPACT authors Brian and Nick Wolfe. Check it out right here…

For more friendly face-painting ideas, purchase the eBook at iTunes or B&N.

If fiendish ghouls and goblins are more your style, there’s an eBook for that too, also available at iTunes and B&N.

And if you more of a traditional, book-in-hand type of person, you can also purchase a copy of Extreme Face Painting in the NL Shop.

The Convention season continues apace, with a series of comic-cons coming up, including New York Comic Con, this weekend. If you’re going (lucky you!), be sure and stop by Buddy Scalera’s table in Artist Alley and meet some of his models in person! Get him to sign a copy of Colossal Collection of Action Poses or check out one of his panels.

See Ridada at NYCC

Can’t get to New York this weekend? Mid-Ohio Comic con is the 22nd and 23rd in Columbus, Ohio.  I’m looking forward to scoping out some awesome loot and check out some panels, myself.

And if you were at the Anime Convention in Atlanta last weekend or any of the conventions this summer and fall, we’d love to hear about your experiences! Author Annie Bunyapen was there, and it sounds like it was a blast!

Annie Bunyapen gets into character

Check out Annie Bunyapen’s art and how to create gorgeous manga with her book Shojo Wonder Manga Art School.

by Supittha "Annie" Bunyapen

Related posts:

• IMPACT’S Emily Fiegenschuh wins first place at Gen-Con
• Extreme Face Painting author Wins First-Place
• GenCon Success (including a picture containing yours truly)

For more information and to purchase the IMPACT titles contained here:

• The Explorer’s Guide to Drawing Fantasy Creatures Emily Fiegenschuh
• Extreme Face Painting Brian and Nick Wolfe

This weekend ArtistsNetwork.tv is offering a free trial subscription. ArtistsNetwork.tv offers over 150 art workshop videos, including a fantasy and comics section with world-renowned artists  like J “NeonDragon” Peffer, Brian and Nick Wolfe, Brian Miller and more. Just enter the code ATV4FREE when you subscribe. Your credit card will not be charged until the end of your free trial period. So, if you cancel during your free trial, you won’t pay a thing. Click here to learn more about ArtistsNetwork.tv and the free trial weekend.

Have a great weekend!

Mary

IMPACT author Brian Wolfe won first place in the face painting category at this year’s World Bodypainting Festival in Lake Worthersee, Austria. The festival took place in early July, and you can see pics of the winning entries in the face painting and bodypainting categories here.

If you want to make your own friendly or fiendish faces, check out Extreme Face Painting by Brian and Nick Wolfe.

Have a great weekend!

Mary

Nick and Brian Wolfe, authors of Extreme Face Painting, are on the move. Their full schedule of face art gigs, classes and conventions is listed below. If you have a chance to see them in person or take a class, do!

Have a great weekend!

Mary

Feb 27th – Mar 3rd: F.P.B.A.C. Harrah’s Las Vegas, NV. Karen Owens. (636)734-7769.
March 3rd – 6th: North American Body art awards Dallas, Texas Lisa Richarson (214)507-8204
March 10th – 13th: Tranworld’s HCP America’s Center St. Louis, Mo, www.hcpshow.com
March 17th – 18th: Face and body art workshops Ottawa, Ontario; Lynne Ethier
lynneart@yahoo.ca
March 20th – 22nd: Face art workshops Toronto, Canada Shelly Summers
shelley@dotsytheclown.com, +1 519 281 4356
March 25th – 27th: Megacon Orlando, Fl Orange County Convention Center http://www.megaconvention.com/
Netherlands tour Richard Nijboer grimeshop.nl
April 1 – 3: Almere
April 6th Oss
April 7th Zwolle
April 9th Born
April 10th Cadier en Keer
April 12th Delft
April 13th Dongen
April 14th Vlissingen Richard Nijboer Mister Amsterdam grimeshop.nl
April 16th Earthday Birthday Tinker field Orlando Fl; http://earthdaybirthday17.com/main.html;
www.wjrr.com
April 21st – 22nd Face and body art workshops Denver, Colorado; Eydie Cady (303)579-9998
boulderbodyart@gmail.com
April 27th – May 2nd Hauntcon Louisville, KY Crown Plaza; hauntcon.com
May 7th Free comic book day Pop City Comics Winterpark, Fl;
popcitycomics.wordpress.com
May 13th – 15th West Coast Haunt Con Salem Oregon; Ed Roberts (503)884-7925
westcoasthauntersconvention.com
May 25th – 29th F.A.B.A.I.C. 10TH Anniversary! Face and Body Art International Convention
Orlando Fl, (954)473-0603, fabaic.com
June 3rd – 5th Midwest Haunters con Columbus, Ohio barry@midwesthaunters.com; (614)361-
1466
June 9th – 11th Face Art workshops Salt Lake City, Utah; joanward@gmail.com
June 20th – 21st Face Art workshops Chicago,Il; Randi Naccarato 5259 South Major Ave
(312)493-6554
June 27th – July 3rd World Bodypainting Festival Portschach, Austria ;Alex B; bodypaintingfestival.
com
July 22nd – 24th Fright Night Film Festival Louisville, Ky; Dean Martin (502)432-7660;
frightnightfilmfest.com
August 26th – 27th Face and body art workshops Madison, Ct Z 860-964-6969
Sept. 16th – 17th Face and body art workshops Long Island, New York, Michelle W (516)807-
0930 artfullinc@gmail.com

Nice review of Brian and Nick Wolf’s Extreme Face Painting for the December issue of the School Library Journal:

This is a guide for experienced artists ready to take their craft to the next level, instead of painting pictures on a face, like colors on a flat canvas. These instructions show how to use shading and highlights to shape a variety of frightening and whimsical forms. The authors open the book with basic information about materials, colors, and techniques. Then they demonstrate different projects, with the “friendly” faces first, and the “fiendish” ones in the back. Each entry has a full-page color photograph of the final product and smaller photos of each step in the painting process. Clearly written instructions appear below each photo. The book contains the standard faces, such as a butterfly mask, animal faces, and a clown face, as well as some unusual projects. Some of the fiendish visages are quite frightening. The book comes with an informative DVD where the authors demonstrate two of the face paintings from the book. As one brother does the painting, the other gives a running commentary of what he is doing and why. This is a great resource, especially for older children, teens, and adults.

–Donna Cardon, Provo City Library, UT