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So, I'm just about to start painting up my Zombie horde, and seeing how the rest of my VC army is painted in cold colours with snowy bases, I wanted to make the zombies look like frozen corpses.
Problem is, I have no idea how to go about and paint these.
So I'm wondering if you have any idea of how to paint frozen corpses / zombies, and/or examples of such being done?

My beta version colourscheme plan would be to spray them white, the use the blue wash to make them look frozen blue... The Ice Blue a little here and where on the details, along with some brown for hair/cloths and red for intestines (though I might mix the red with Ice Blue so the red won't look too vivid...)
But I have no idea if that would work.
So, how would you do it? And if you know of anyone who has done this, please post some pictures, as a little inspiration might help (and I couldn't find it myself).

I'd paint the skin in an incredibly pale blue, and paint the organs in muted colours (ie. a 1:2 mix of Dark Flesh/ Skull White, with more Skull White added each highlight). For the hair and cloth, paint them as though they are soaked with water (Not sure how to do that, as I've never attempted it before). Also, be sure to add a reasonable amount of snow to the models themselves.

for a wet look on hair and cloths or it could look like ice to i guess juse the gloss paint on em

Parts would probably be black from frostbite as well.

Use Space Wolf Grey for the skin tone. Wash with a very thin wash of Asurmen Blue.

Have you ever seen photos of people mummified in snow / ice? That might be a good start if you're wanting a realistic look

Gloss all over might be a bit over the top, but it seems like the best way to make them look icy.

Paint them cold looking and dip them couple time in vallejo clear water.

Use blue, green and wash washes in spots across the body. don't over do it though _

This is a really interesting idea... I looked up Otzi, the Iceman Mummy. But that may not give you the effect you want.

Then, this popped into my mind:



you could do this with liberal application of snow effect!

not to be negative but i don't think that frost bite or the frozen mummy look will reflect well in your army mostly the reason being is that people do not associate things like that in their minds easily, it's like a psychological thing. if you paint black fingers hands and dark brown tones for mummified skin people will just think they were in the mud frolicking about however if you use a commonly associated color form then people will get what you are doing without having to think abotu it.

i would do white with ice blue washes mix of grey blue ish shodows with white highlights and definatelly gloss certain parts of the model (varnish) for a shiny wet look as has already been mentioned. one thing i would like to do is then paint glue on the top of the shoulders a little on the arms n top of the head with glue n lightly put some snowy flock over the model and i think it would look like they were walking around in the snow, i think that would be cool, havn't done it myself yet just n idea.

anyway people will really respond to a white blue grey color scheme for wet n frozen n not the reality of black browns.

Wow, thanks a lot for all the suggestions!
So, there are some different ideas here. Space Wolf grey + Asurmen Blue wash sounds solid, then with dark spots for frostbite.... And then covered in snow! (more or less)¨
There are also a few suggestions to give them a complete Gloss, and I might try that too.
Sadly, I will probably not be able to test until monday - Need to buy the paints I need (Space Wolf, Asurmen, Gloss), as well as some more GF9 snow effect (since I've run out of mine).
But I'll make sure to post pictures of my first tests!

Space Wolf Grey as your flesh tone is a great idea, but Asurmen Blue as a wash is going to be too strong.

Take Shadow Grey, mix it with some dishwashing soap and water and make your own wash. It will add the "cold" hue to the model, without overdoing it.

This is exactly what flesh looks like frozen. now if you are going for a cartoonish style paint then most of the suggestions here are spot on.
Waring Graphic pictures

Great picture, especially for the zombies!

Think I'm gonna stay up tonight...

Icicles:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DsdYNEDOezs&feature=player_embedded

Example of subject (it's only a prop):
http://www.bjwinslow.com/gallery/mutilatedcorpse/frozen_body_62

Crushed glass for modeling frost and basing snow/icicles:
http://www.secretweaponminiatures.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=13&products_id=106&zenid=2uu921oobsbdd4uqpen797oj76

What I imagine would be very pale skin-tones, leaning towards white to blue, but not outright blue. (Talern flesh or bleached bone with azureman blue wash?) followed by frost.

Any blood or gore will be a frosted over fresh red (blood red)(or if dried blood, it would be frosted brown (50/50 red gore/scorched earth? ymmv))

Frosted over clothing, in very muted earthy tones to help contrast the cool colors (i'd stick to browns, greys, blacks, and that color that's halfway between brown and green that reminds me of vomit, imo).

Frosted over wet hair. GS the hair so that it looks like its falling straight down (like it's slicked to the skull, ya know?) Gloss coat it, then frost it over.

<-- zombie fanatic

After doing all this typing, I did an image search of "Ice Zombie." Result number 1:

Yep that is on a great track. That ice zombie is excellent! LOL I did a similar search for "frozen zombie" and got the dead deer, but didn't post. Chickened out I guess.

I think this guy did a great job with his own makeup to try to get a frozen-dead-guy effect (inspired by The Shining, of course):



I think this is a good example of some of the suggestions, here. What is working is the blue lips, the dark purple-ish eye sockets, and very pale skin with purplish to bluish tones. Add the snow effect and snow details / ice / icicles and you should be golden!

Wow, again, thanks for all the input! I will take most of it into consideration and try to apply it to a few different test minis.
The Ice Zombie picture seems like something to aim for, colour wise, and the guy with the purple make-up around eyes and lips is solid. Thanks for the inspiration!

So, I got the colours recommended generally today, and made four zombies differing more or less slightly...
Take not that my minis aren't any great Especially since these are my zombies, so I need to be able to paint a lot of them in short time... So I wasn't too careful while painting these. Just... So you don't get your hopes too high, as frozen zombies seemed to trigger some interest...
But I digress. Now, the pictures:







Also, I forgot to buy more snow effect today *sigh*
So, let's all just PRETEND there's snow on them, okay? Good.

So, what do you think? Which one is the best, or what combination of colours / techniques would you think would be the way to go?
Any advice on changes for improvement?

It might help to label them if you used different techniques/colors and you want feedback.

Kanluwen wrote:It might help to label them if you used different techniques/colors and you want feedback.

Well, I was more hoping for a "The skin tone on that one looked good, but with the frostbite of that one..." If you know what I mean.
And I didn't really use much technique for these, more mixing colours, and what colours I used, in which order etc. The only "technique" as such would be when I painted a black spot, then dried it off a little while later to get a black ring around the area. (see fourth guy from left in first picture)

For simplicity, shall we just call them 1, 2, 3 and 4, as they appear on the first picture?

I like the flesh of far left zombie in image 1, but wounds on center right zombie in image 1.

The red gore on center left image 1 is good, so combine those 3 things, add some frost, a good icy/snowy base, and you're golden.

I very much like the fourth one, far right. Good combo of bluish skin and dark extremities...

Are those Mantic Zombies? I have some in transit to me and can't wait to see them in the (undead) flesh!

Thanks for your comments, and yes, those are indeed the mantic zombies

Alright, so I got hold of some snow, and decided to make a small group of the zombies, to see if I could make them look good, look like each other, how they would look in numbers... And if the snow would look good.

Pictures:




... To me, they feel like a failure. But it might be creator's blindness (you know, you have to leave your work for an hour or so to be able to rate it... If you know what I mean?).
But the snow feels weird... and idk. Might be back to the pondering board.

I don't think the snow really works. And I think the flesh is a little too blue. It should definitely have more of a flesh color.

That said, when I saw this thread I immediately thought of having some of the zombies stuck in ice.

I think you could use water effects to show a leg or foot trapped in ice, or (even better), chop off a foot and have the zombie's leg broken free, leaving the foot in the ice.

biccat wrote:I don't think the snow really works. And I think the flesh is a little too blue. It should definitely have more of a flesh color.

That said, when I saw this thread I immediately thought of having some of the zombies stuck in ice.

I think you could use water effects to show a leg or foot trapped in ice, or (even better), chop off a foot and have the zombie's leg broken free, leaving the foot in the ice.

Cool idea, I'll see if I can incorporate that.
But... How can I make the blue colour more flesh-like? I mean... It's blue, and flesh isn't blue, if you know what I mean?

First thoughts:




Love it.

The movie 'Dead Snow' is a must watch for inspiration.

Thinking about frozen zombies makes me remember this piece: http://www.victorialamb.com/wugs/Fireice/content/bin/images/large/fireice70.jpg