Ok here is an update. The Gallon came in today and I immediately went to the shop and mixed up a whole gallon. It turned out great. So a gallon of this blood is about $18 after the amount of food coloring I had to add to the gallon. But it looks great and I mixed it right in the bottle after pouring one plastic cup's worth out. Go buy a gallon!
there is no sugar in food coloring, but since this video I switched to the so- strong tints from smooth on for coloring my blood. Or the red water seal leather stain from Tandy leather. If you are putting it outside then use a clear drying waterproof glue as opposed to a water soluable glue. I also will thin clear silicone caulk and tint that, when that dries its silicone so it looks great also.
the response two posts below this one is a great mix for costumes, you can also thin clear silicone caulk with Naptha and then tint it. that works great on costumes also.
Great video, love your work. THis is my first year haunting, im just getting starting this month. Videos like these definitely help me speed things up.
Man, thank you for taking the time to experiment with this. As a costumer on a very tight budget, this made my next costume (a wastelander) much more economical.
First, I want to say that I just found your channel (via reddit, no less) and I am pretty impressed. I love Halloween and making cool props and decorations, etc. These are some really good ideas and methods.
I grew up in OK. I do NOT miss those things! I do miss the heat and sunshine, when we're having our 9 months of rain and darkness, lol. Appreciate all your tutorials, Allen. I think I've figured out a use for this glue blood recipe, along the same lines as the stained glass idea. I'll let you know how it works out.
Thanks for sharing your experiments here, Allen. I don't use blood often, but will definitely experiment with the clear glue for other uses. It's almost back to school sale time...
This is great! I have been purchasing "Gallery Glass" made for faux stained glass to use as blood though it works well and it a bit expensive so was limited to smaller projects. I have done nothing but watch your videos all day! TFS
If it is a friend then I prefer mulching, preferably off of a dock into a lake. Grating takes alot of hand strength and a whole person could give you carpal tunnel or "body hiding elbow" which is much like tennis elbow. ;)
@moonwolf2003 you could allow it to sit in a bucket with no lid for a few days (thats what I do in my shop) and it thickens nicely. Or just mix up that blood from elmers glue gel (which has a blue tint) and it starts thicker. Or splatter the plastic while it lays on the floor- allow it to dry then hang it.
you did an amazing job here. I am a perma blood junkie and love you researched a cheaper substitute.I researched a perma blood substitute as well . The best I got was an automotive urethane paint which cost almost as much as the actual perma blood. I was wondering if you thought about adding a drop of yellow. Perma blood gets a yellowish look when dried.
thank you so much for this idea, I work in 1 inch scale miniatures & I am making a Halloween scene & needed blood for a few things & the elmers clear & red & blue dye. It got alittle darker than I wanted but I think if I use not so much red it might work better but for the most part it worked really well :o) thanks so much
depends on how dried you want. On clothes Iodine makes great old blood stains. For generalgunk and gore try drywall joint compound mixed with the blood mix and some coffe grounds.
@ThatJamesKid18 it isint as flexible as human skin, so if you cover your face in it, it will peel or crack. I made it for props mostly because it dries looking wet- but I have used it for make up purposes this year and it worked great. It isint good for dousing someone in blood (Im not into that anyway) but it is great for adding into wounds or a little smear here and there.
so strong tint from smooth on- Red. (and a drop of blue) Mixed in with Bar Kote. You need to mix it then it will set up, but it looks awesome. Any of the A/B clear acrylics will work fine, they sell them at depot and hobby lobby.
Great video, thanks for doing (and sharing) all that research. I tend to avoid adding blue, as it changes the tint of the red. Green just darkens it without shifting it too far. Have you tried other pigments like Ben Nye's blood powder? It runs about $20 for 3oz of the powder. I'm curious to see how many gallons you could get out of one 3oz package using your clear glue base. Thanks again!
Made a batch using the big bottle of McCormick and some blue, looks so amazing! Curious though, do you know if it's safe to use on skin or will the food coloring stain?
Love this! I have a quick question. Does this mixture work well in an outdoor FOREST environment. Just want to make sure the glue masks the sugar coming from the food coloring. Thoughts?
Quick question, if i were to put this recipe (which is genius by the way! Everything calls for something that gets molded after time) in a vial with a cork that is glued.. will it still have the same consistency or will it eventually dry up and not move anymore? Probably a dumb question, but it doesnt hurt to ask! Thanks. Best video out there that ive seen and ive been looking for a lot.
Haven't read through all the comments, but back in the day there was a recipe for blood using cocoa powder...I think it was with corn syrup, but might work with the glue, anyway, it dried nice and dark and the cocoa powder gave it that scabby, crusty finish like real blood. Never tried it on props or surfaces myself, but it worked well on skin or fabric.
Thanks for sharing these tips. How to make the blood stain permanent? I need to apply it on an indoor sculpture. Would PVA glue + food coloring do the trick?
It depends on the surface, I have had it leave a pink area on drywall and on wood it did not stain at all. If you are worried you could spray the area with hairspray or a spray polyurethane for a few coats then the blood should come off of that easy
In my research I found to the best of my knowledge the base for perma blood is clear zinser urethane shellac with red powder tint and a touch of blue. I like your formula its cheap and easy and off the shelf . I Own you a drink next time we meet
Amazing stuff, you've just simplified stage setting for me. This ought to work wonderfully for creapo blood splatters on walls. I do have a question though, how much does it stain the surface it's on if pealed and / or washed. I get that the glue is washable but will the food colouring stain still? Thanks.
Thanks for tut's they do help alot. My question for you is whats is the best way to make cheap but affective blood for outdoor props? Paint to me does not look right or maybe I just cant get the mixture. Mike
I tried a custom variation of this but I added isopropyl alcohol and Axe (tm) hair gel that had a bit of a red tinge to it. I used the alcohol to thin the mixture out because it was a bit thick and hard to stir but in hindsight that was a bad idea because that faded out the colors a bit and made it look kinda pinkish; but the hair gel on the other hand was a nice addition as it made it look like the blood was starting to coagulate and congeal
Wowww great explain about cheap blood... but I want to make a permanent blood. wed you could recommend. If there are bloods ready standing but wanted to make my formula. appreciate
I'm that strange guy who actually sits and examines my own blood when I cut myself while making one project or another. The thing with blood is, it has different colors in different stages of drying. Fresh, it looks quite a bit like the Elmer's blood you made with only the 1 drop of blue/green. I think I'd go with green to make it more brownish and less purple-y. But blood isn't strictly red. It's more of a vermillion i.e. there's a bit of an orange tint to it. The closest thing I've found to the right color is Minwax Clear Tint Base in Spice.
Sorry if I missed this, but I'm wondering how long the mixture lasts once mixed? Does the color stay suspended? Can you store it for another season? Thanks for the great work!
You should try your gelatin mixture with a dark red maroonish color and let it sit in the fridge for like 30 minutes to an hour and pull it out, cut it up, microwave it, then you know dribble it on your surface. P.S. it worked really well for me
I saw a pretty big difference between the green and blue in the one-drop samples. The green gave the blood a mild yellow cast that made it more more "animal" than "chemical". If you're on a quest for a proper substitute for perma blood, have you ever tried clear silicone caulk thinned with water? Would it accept color? Any other obstacles to trying that? Your videos are giving me all kinds of ideas. Subbed!
@dlancaster99 Most of them no, there were two that did start pinkish and changed to a crisper red after drying. the latex food coloring and water mix-#11 , and the white elmers and food coloring-#2.
Have you tried using Modge Podge? That is what a few of my friends use to great effect. It goes on looking like a pastel pinkish, but dries clear, glossy, and is waterproof. If you give it a shot--let me know how you like it!
I tried this and for the most part was fantastic. Only problems were on smooth surfaces and cloth. The slick surfaces got too thin and the cloth faded out quickly. I had a can of polycrylic satin laying around and tried that. It worked fantastic on cloth and slick surfaces. Retained it color nicely. I'm going to try some more with the glossy polycrylic I think that will give it more shine. Have you ever tried the polycrylic?
This is brilliant for sets. I need a formula for actors that stays glossy, doesn't melt off, is safe on skin, doesn't smear once it dries, dries quickly. Do you have a video/instructions?
I know you said it was washable but would it stain bathtubs?? or walls I want to go crazy this year with blood but do not want to leave stains to where I have to repaint again.
+1 on the Wilton's Red Icing Gel. It is the BEST food color for blood whether you're using Corn Syrup or Clear Elmer's glue. Use an entire ounce of red and a tiny tiny dab of black (to darken) per cup of base liquid.
@SOAHCSOAHCSOAHC Color is pretty much a preference, I prefer the deeper darker red and blue. You cant thin silicone caulk with water...I dont think. You need to thin it with a solvent -like naptha-as silicone is not water based. it will accept color very well. For many situations I have found my solution, this is it. I love this stuff It has made gore very easy for my show.
So, here's my question. A couple years ago, I made a Spiderman cake for my son's birthday. I decided to make my own red icing by using white icing with red food coloring. But no matter how much food coloring I added, (2 1 oz bottles!)I couldn't get it darker than a very dark, rosy pink. It was never Spiderman red. I found out later that if you let it set up in the fridge for a couple hours, it will turn a bright red, which it did. So did your blood mixes change after a few hours?
I wonder how it would work with perma-wet instead of glue? It is white but dries clear. But you could use the glue and then seal it for outdoor use with perma-wet. I might try that.
@CarriageHouseCompany I have no real idea from season to season because I only invented this recipe in July. I have had a bucket of it on my work table (different buckets actually Ive gone through several gallons) and it has never seperated, my suspicion is that it will stay mixed and will store just fine..
Im sorry, you cant add to much red, so add a lot to get it dark enough, just be careful when you start adding blue, literally one drop at a time until you like it. This is a formula more than a recipe, you decide what you like best.
@madwaxsculptor Is that shellac flexible? One thing I was thinking was a mix of Minwax Water-Based Polycrylic Finish with Pros-aide (which makes it flexible I believe). Then pigmented with red and a touch of blue. I am thinking this might work similar to Perma-Blood, but I haven't tried it. In the end, it is still expensive.
Hey Guys I have been playing with blood formulas and this is what I found I mIxed media mixer (modge podge) with the red, blue and yellow food coloring . This had the best look dry but 3/4 evaporates leaving a realistic organic stain. Not so good for painting masks or props but good for a dry after effect. I also used smooth on clear casting resin with the same red,blue and yellow coloring. It didn't want to mix at first but did and turned out really good . Thick and bloody!!!
