The Green and the Gray.

[SpoKnight]

There seems to be a standard with zombie painting, to have them be mostly green or gray. I would assume gray comes from the B & W roots of the genre. Green might be due mold or putrefaction. My question, what is the likely actual color of a zombie?

Discounting any effects of the Rage or Solanum virus', what would the dead look like? Real corpses get pale and bluish for Caucasians and depending on conditions can get very pale or leathery.

The ambulatory dead might pass the effects of rigor and Livor mortis (Though perhaps in the legs) altogether. While Tardieu spots and Algor mortis are still likely. Purge fluid will escape more readily due to body movement, thus reducing the likelihood of explosive bloat. Internal bacteria run rampant. The abdomen develops a green discoloration after 24–36 hours, usually in the right lower quadrant first.

Now, let's return to the Solanum virus. It inhibits and perhaps prevents rot. Eating of flesh may limit water loss however, not too likely as there is no process for circulating it around the body. So the road to leather skin begins. But what might the virus do to the fluids and tissue within? In the movies, it is often black. If that were the case we return to the grayish color, if not darker.

What are your thoughts?

[mqstout]

I agree with you on the "blood drained pale" to "developing leathery".

[soundguy]

i think green came from the romero movie dawn of the dead.

i usually go a paleish with sometimes a greenish wash tint, with or without blood splotches. maybee an occasional pulple wash

[samuraitrev]

Here's my most recent Zombies
   

I did a Zombie painting guide in the past and there's a few different painting methods there http://www.thezombiegame.com/forums/Thre...ied-Matter

Great idea for a thread

[StayPuft]

Even though dead bodies don't actually turn green, I've always liked the supernatural look of the green, decayed zombie flesh. So, for my zombies (standard zombies anyway) I do about half of them in an undead green flesh color. The other half, I do in more of a normal flesh tone that is just a little pale. Once they are splashed with blood, they look especially zombified.

So far, I've only painted my Zombicide zombies. (I recently started on Toxic zombies that I do with a shade instead of a solid color, and it is sort of a neonish green.) I've yet to paint any of my Last Night On Earth stuff, but I'd probably use the same philosophy of half and half.

I wouldn't mind doing other shades as well, such as the pale bluish others have mentioned, but I've just not yet run into anything else that struck me as a good shade for zombie flesh so far other than the ones I currently use.

[soundguy]

mold could make green?

[SpoKnight]

I will likely try two parts 'Necrotic flesh' and one part blued light Grey. But I haven't tested that yet.

[sgiove]

I use light gray with blueish highlights.

[Achtung Panzer]

(09-09-2014 07:18 PM)sgiove Wrote:  I use light gray with blueish highlights.

I like that - rotten with a hint of putrification

[StayPuft]

(09-09-2014 07:18 PM)sgiove Wrote:  I use light gray with blueish highlights.

I myself like to go for the shaved bald look these days.

....Wait, I'm sorry.... Were we still talking about painting zombies, or was this a hair thing now? :-P