Fake blood

[TransformerRobot]

Can anyone here tell me what ingredients and/or combinations I'll need to make fake blood? I wanna try making fake blood or slime like in movies and TV, but I only know how to do slime rather than blood.

[Phi for All]

It depends on your need. Is this for a trick that's going to last a few minutes, like pretending to sever an artery, or is it for a costume look that needs to look bloody for a few hours, like a zombie after a messy kill?

[TransformerRobot]

It depends on your need. Is this for a trick that's going to last a few minutes, like pretending to sever an artery, or is it for a costume look that needs to look bloody for a few hours, like a zombie after a messy kill?

 

Well I found some deer bones up in the woods near my house after coyotes had eaten the deer, but they might not be there by now after decomposing. If they were there I was hoping to splatter fake blood all over them to make it look more gruesome.

 

If I can't do that, maybe I could put fake blood on my driveway or lawn, adding rawhide dog bones to make it look like someone was eaten by a monster.

[Phi for All]

Well I found some deer bones up in the woods near my house after coyotes had eaten the deer, but they might not be there by now after decomposing. If they were there I was hoping to splatter fake blood all over them to make it look more gruesome.

 

If I can't do that, maybe I could put fake blood on my driveway or lawn, adding rawhide dog bones to make it look like someone was eaten by a monster.

OK, you need a non-toxic recipe since it's going to be accessible to animals and such. Take 1 part water and mix it with 3 parts corn syrup in a non-porous bowl. Then start adding drops of red food coloring (don't get those crappy little 4-color packs from the grocery, go someplace that will sell you a good-size bottle of just red, Costco or Sam's Club maybe?). Add the coloring gradually, you can always add more but you can't remove any once you've overdone it. Add some chocolate syrup (again, a bit at a time) to give it more of a dark, opaque color, since real blood isn't going to maintain that bright red color out in the open. This will also help to thicken the blood to the right consistency, not too runny and not too thick. When the color looks right, let it sit for about fifteen minutes at room temperature (or a bit warmer).

 

You can use a bit of corn starch or regular flour if your mix is too transparent or runny. Add small amounts and mix thoroughly. Blue food coloring can be added sparingly to darken the blood instead of chocolate syrup, but avoid going purple.

 

Don't get any on your driveway, though, since it'll stain it. Same with clothing you want to keep, especially if it's white.

 

Clear plastic tubing is great for simulating spatter; just suck some up from your bowl into the tube and then blow it out for realistic droplet patterns. Apply the blood to bones or rawhide with a stick or a Q-tip, don't just dribble or blow it on, that's not realistic. Remember, less is more when it comes to the bones. If you want them to look chewed on, then too much blood on them will look fake. Most of the blood should be around the area, with a nice big pool directly underneath.

[TransformerRobot]

OK, you need a non-toxic recipe since it's going to be accessible to animals and such. Take 1 part water and mix it with 3 parts corn syrup in a non-porous bowl. Then start adding drops of red food coloring (don't get those crappy little 4-color packs from the grocery, go someplace that will sell you a good-size bottle of just red, Costco or Sam's Club maybe?). Add the coloring gradually, you can always add more but you can't remove any once you've overdone it. Add some chocolate syrup (again, a bit at a time) to give it more of a dark, opaque color, since real blood isn't going to maintain that bright red color out in the open. This will also help to thicken the blood to the right consistency, not too runny and not too thick. When the color looks right, let it sit for about fifteen minutes at room temperature (or a bit warmer).

 

You can use a bit of corn starch or regular flour if your mix is too transparent or runny. Add small amounts and mix thoroughly. Blue food coloring can be added sparingly to darken the blood instead of chocolate syrup, but avoid going purple.

 

Don't get any on your driveway, though, since it'll stain it. Same with clothing you want to keep, especially if it's white.

 

Clear plastic tubing is great for simulating spatter; just suck some up from your bowl into the tube and then blow it out for realistic droplet patterns. Apply the blood to bones or rawhide with a stick or a Q-tip, don't just dribble or blow it on, that's not realistic. Remember, less is more when it comes to the bones. If you want them to look chewed on, then too much blood on them will look fake. Most of the blood should be around the area, with a nice big pool directly underneath.

 

Would it be safe to put that mixture on grass? Or would it be toxic for the grass?

[Phi for All]

Would it be safe to put that mixture on grass? Or would it be toxic for the grass?

It's fine on the grass. It's just going to stain anything porous, like your concrete. You could even eat this version.

[mississippichem]

As a kid making bad super-8 war movies I used to use 50:50 (volume) whole milk and decarbonated coca-cola with red food coloring added as needed.

 

The whole milk gave it a nice thick texture and the cola added the dark color to the bright red food coloring.

 

I seem to remember that it looked quite realistic.

[TransformerRobot]

As a kid making bad super-8 war movies I used to use 50:50 (volume) whole milk and decarbonated coca-cola with red food coloring added as needed.

 

The whole milk gave it a nice thick texture and the cola added the dark color to the bright red food coloring.

 

I seem to remember that it looked quite realistic.

 

Then I'd like to see a picture of your recipe so we can compare it with a shot of real blood.

[Phi for All]

As a kid making bad super-8 war movies I used to use 50:50 (volume) whole milk and decarbonated coca-cola with red food coloring added as needed.

 

The whole milk gave it a nice thick texture and the cola added the dark color to the bright red food coloring.

 

I seem to remember that it looked quite realistic.

I'd add some powdered milk to that recipe to thicken it a bit more, or maybe some cheap maple syrup instead of the cola. For quick shots in movies, fake blood can be a bit runnier, but for a staged scene like TransformerRobot wants to set up, you need more... coagulation.

[TransformerRobot]

You guys sure I can't just use red food coloring I can get at the grocery store?

[Phi for All]

If they sell the bottles separately, I'd get red and blue, or just red. I'd stay away from the little 4-color-pack, since you won't use half of it, and may not have enough red to do what you want.