Step By Step - And Tips on What to Draw

Zombie Self-Portrait Contest! Could it possible be more fun? I don't think so. @kommienezuspadt is currently hosting such a challenge --> here.

I have problems with my stomach sometimes so the inspiration wasn't far away. This is my:

@jnart Has Eaten To Much Diary Products

And the obligatory photo:

But besides drinking milk I also did a lot of research before I dived into making my zombie. I will now share what I learned making my first zombie portrait:

First add some details to make it end up in the zombie category. Use some or many of the characteristics I listed:

• Posture: Tilt the pelvis forward, bend knees inwards and have them bent, bent arms, broken bones, bent fingers.
• Face: Skin that rotten and loosen, lots of dribble, claws or cracked nails, partially blind, see the brain, upward nose, big nostrils, iris in upper region of eye, warts, big tongue, visual gums and gloss between the pointy teeth, veins, stripy hair, scars, white-ish iris, angry or blank, dark round the eyes.
• Other: Rotten flesh, tenants, dirty and ragged clothes, blood, primitive weapons, holes in the body.
• Behaviour: Bites, uses fists, infects.
• Background: Add scary background like distorted trees, snakes, insects, flies, rats, graveyard, cracked stones and so on.

Then add your own ideas - there are no rules, only the risk of making something that maybe others wouldn't call a zombie.

This is how I made mine: Fist gathered ideas - see list above. Then took a photo of myself and made a first stretch.

Rendered first with 2H pencil to be able to erase. Then adding detail with a propelling pencil.

And adding some more detail trying to get values correct and to make it possible for the viewer to read all the different details.

End result!