SFX for beginners: three wounds, one kit.

Real SFX artists build wounds in layers: texture first, color second, shine last. That's the entire secret. These three effects teach one layer each, and stacked together they cover zombies, crash victims, fight-club survivors and 'mysterious past' pirates alike.

The kit: a cream makeup wheel (red, maroon, blue, yellow — sold as 'bruise wheel' in costume aisles), translucent powder, petroleum jelly, a makeup sponge, one stiff brush, and unflavored gelatin from the baking aisle. Everything comes off with soap, warm water and patience.

The three builds

The scrape (color practice) — 15 min — Stipple maroon with the sponge's torn edge in one direction only — scrapes have direction. Tap red over the center, yellow at the edges. Powder it. Dab a little petroleum jelly on just the center: fresh scrapes shine, old ones don't. That shine choice alone sells the age of the wound.

The bruise (blending practice) — 15 min — Bruises are round-ish and layered like weather maps: blue-purple core, red-maroon middle, sickly yellow rim, each blended into the next with a clean sponge corner. Press — don't wipe — the colors on. Fresh bruise: skip the yellow. Week-old: mostly yellow. Powder to kill the shine.

The healed scar (texture practice) — 20 min — Bloom a teaspoon of gelatin in a tablespoon of warm water, microwave 10 seconds, TEST THE TEMPERATURE on your wrist, then lay a thin line on skin and pinch a ridge into it as it sets. Once firm, cover with your skin-tone makeup, then drag the faintest maroon along the ridge line. Peels off painlessly later.

When you're ready for a whole face

Halloween Makeup Tutorial: Skull — The classic full-face skull, built from the same layer logic. The guide

Skull Face Painting for Kids — The gentle version — same bones, zero nightmares. The guide

Creepy-Cute 'Baby Boo' — Proof the kit does adorable as easily as awful. The guide