Basic Veining

Veining is a basic step that you can add to almost any other Special Effects makeup pieces to make them look even better!

I'm using the word veining to describe the technique I use to create semi-realistic veins. I use this technique when I'm trying to make myself look sick in a SFX (Special Effects) makeup look. ?

-Small brush (You can use a eyeliner brush or use a small lip/eyeshadow brush)
-Any color facepaint, eyeshadow, or lipstick that you think would look good as your "veins"
-A mirror
-Foundation or concealer that's matches the skin tone you want for your look
-Might need to have makeup remover on hand (Vaseline, oil, and saliva are all good ones ?)

Decide where you wants your veins to go. When I'm doing something that I want to look like a zombie for, I usually go for under my eyes, (and I am going to do that for this tutorial) but you could put your veins anywhere you would like!

Now it's time to make the veins! First, make sure you have a base coat of foundation on if you want to maximize coverage of your natural skin. Then, after getting the colored product of your choice on the brush, place the tip of your brush where you want your vein to begin. Baring down the most at the tip and the least near the end, drag your brush in a wiggling shape downwards. The vein should taper off at the end, and be most visible at the top. Ta-Da! Your vein base! Now, do that same process, but to smaller lines coming from that base line. You can have as many base lines as you would like, but make sure they have little lines coming off of them to make them look more realistic.

If your vein is looking too prominent in a spot you don't want it to, you can't press your finger down on it to blot it, or use makeup remover to remove it all together. Then, to give the vein a more realistic look, apply a THIN layer of foundation over top of them. This will create the other the skin look, as your veins are in your body!

Yay! Now you have a really basic skill down that you can pair with other simple SFX pieces to create an extremely gruesome look!