Posted By: Signor Vitelli
Make Your Own Blood - 02/14/06 08:03 AM
Virgil Sollozzo said, "Blood is a big expense." Actually, it doesn't have to be.
If you've done any reading about the Godfather films, then you've probably read about makeup artist/genius Dick Smith and what he calls "Karo blood".
What is it? How did it come to be invented? How can everyone out there make some?
Well, here are the answers. First off, let me say that I've been a makeup artist for thirty years (I've also met Dick Smith several times) and I absolutely know what I'm talking about. I've made the blood many times.
"Karo blood" is actually a theatrical blood made with Karo corn syrup as its main ingredient. It was originally invented by Dick Smith in 1965 for his Dick Smith's Monster Makeup Handbook, a one-shot magazine that taught youngsters (and not-so-youngsters) how to use professional materials and techniques to really make their Halloween makeups look professional. The magazine was reprinted several years later as a trade paperback. I bought it as an impressionable ten year old, and my life was never the same.
In its basic form, the "blood" is totally safe - it can even be put in the mouth (like James Caan did for Sonny's assassination scene) - because all the ingredients can be obtained at the local supermarket.
Start with a bottle of clear Karo corn syrup. If you want your blood to be slightly opaque, carefully mix a little flour or Bisquick mix into it, being careful to avoid lumps. You may get better results if you mix a little flour into 3-4 tablespoons of clear syrup before adding it to to the larger amount of syrup. Anyway, the important thing here is to avoid lumps. Do not add so much flour that you have sludge! You only want to make the syrup slightly cloudy. (If it's too thick, add a little water.)
Next, add pure red vegetable food coloring. You may also want to add a drop or two of yellow, and maybe a drop of blue - but this is up to you. But, buy a bottle of the red food coloring, rather than the little vials that dispense the color one drop at a time; you'll need quite a lot of the red color to make your blood look realistic.
Gently stir (do not shake) the mixture, and you have now made Dick Smith's Karo Syrup Blood Formula. And, it's totally safe.
Another technique is to omit the flour/Bisquick altogether. Just add lots of food coloring until the blood color looks right.
Warning! Most theatrical artificial blood recipies (whether store-bought or homemade) may temporarily stain the skin. And, most certainly, the clothes. Do not use theatrical blood mixtures on good clothing! There is a good chance the stains will not come out, even if you launder the garments immediately. In other words, don't take chances.
Note: If you want to use the blood on the skin, you may notice that it has a tendency to bunch up into drops and not "flow" properly over the area it was applied to. To remedy this, take a small artist's brush, dip it in water, and gently work up a little lather on a cake of soap. Paint a clear film of soap wherever you want to apply the blood, allow it to dry and it will look far more realistic when the blood is applied. Professionals use a photographic wetting agent called Kodak Photo-Flo to help the "blood" flow more realistically over skin and into clothing, but this chemical can be dangerous and the soap works just as well. You can also mix some liquid Tincture of Green Soap into the blood mixture, but then you cannot use the blood in the mouth!
Always, whatever you do, think Safety First. Always.
As I said before, this blood formula was used in The Godfather when Sonny was gunned down at the tollbooths, when Don Vito was shot down outside his office, and when the head of Khartoum was discovered by Woltz in his bed. It was used in many other scenes as well, but you get the idea.
So, now you know a little "trick of the trade", and can make your own artificial blood - just like in the Godfather films.
And what do I get from this? Just the pleasure of having passed along a technique that may come in handy next Halloween - or whenever you choose to use it.
Signor V.
If you've done any reading about the Godfather films, then you've probably read about makeup artist/genius Dick Smith and what he calls "Karo blood".
What is it? How did it come to be invented? How can everyone out there make some?
Well, here are the answers. First off, let me say that I've been a makeup artist for thirty years (I've also met Dick Smith several times) and I absolutely know what I'm talking about. I've made the blood many times.
"Karo blood" is actually a theatrical blood made with Karo corn syrup as its main ingredient. It was originally invented by Dick Smith in 1965 for his Dick Smith's Monster Makeup Handbook, a one-shot magazine that taught youngsters (and not-so-youngsters) how to use professional materials and techniques to really make their Halloween makeups look professional. The magazine was reprinted several years later as a trade paperback. I bought it as an impressionable ten year old, and my life was never the same.
In its basic form, the "blood" is totally safe - it can even be put in the mouth (like James Caan did for Sonny's assassination scene) - because all the ingredients can be obtained at the local supermarket.
Start with a bottle of clear Karo corn syrup. If you want your blood to be slightly opaque, carefully mix a little flour or Bisquick mix into it, being careful to avoid lumps. You may get better results if you mix a little flour into 3-4 tablespoons of clear syrup before adding it to to the larger amount of syrup. Anyway, the important thing here is to avoid lumps. Do not add so much flour that you have sludge! You only want to make the syrup slightly cloudy. (If it's too thick, add a little water.)
Next, add pure red vegetable food coloring. You may also want to add a drop or two of yellow, and maybe a drop of blue - but this is up to you. But, buy a bottle of the red food coloring, rather than the little vials that dispense the color one drop at a time; you'll need quite a lot of the red color to make your blood look realistic.
Gently stir (do not shake) the mixture, and you have now made Dick Smith's Karo Syrup Blood Formula. And, it's totally safe.
Another technique is to omit the flour/Bisquick altogether. Just add lots of food coloring until the blood color looks right.
Warning! Most theatrical artificial blood recipies (whether store-bought or homemade) may temporarily stain the skin. And, most certainly, the clothes. Do not use theatrical blood mixtures on good clothing! There is a good chance the stains will not come out, even if you launder the garments immediately. In other words, don't take chances.
Note: If you want to use the blood on the skin, you may notice that it has a tendency to bunch up into drops and not "flow" properly over the area it was applied to. To remedy this, take a small artist's brush, dip it in water, and gently work up a little lather on a cake of soap. Paint a clear film of soap wherever you want to apply the blood, allow it to dry and it will look far more realistic when the blood is applied. Professionals use a photographic wetting agent called Kodak Photo-Flo to help the "blood" flow more realistically over skin and into clothing, but this chemical can be dangerous and the soap works just as well. You can also mix some liquid Tincture of Green Soap into the blood mixture, but then you cannot use the blood in the mouth!
Always, whatever you do, think Safety First. Always.
As I said before, this blood formula was used in The Godfather when Sonny was gunned down at the tollbooths, when Don Vito was shot down outside his office, and when the head of Khartoum was discovered by Woltz in his bed. It was used in many other scenes as well, but you get the idea.
So, now you know a little "trick of the trade", and can make your own artificial blood - just like in the Godfather films.
And what do I get from this? Just the pleasure of having passed along a technique that may come in handy next Halloween - or whenever you choose to use it.
Signor V.