Looking for blood recipes

[Gr8outdrsmn]

I have some ideas for a dark series. For some of the shots I would need some fake blood, or I guess i could use cow's blood...what do you think?

[mathogre]

If you're going to do b/w, Hershey's chocolate syrup works. It worked for Hitchcock in Psycho. :D

[FlyingPhotog]

Karo Syrup and Red food coloring with a touch of Blue as well. IOW, you don't want it "Clown Red" but you want to get a very, very slight Magenta cast.

The older the blood, the darker it should be.

[sfaust]

My makeup artists does traditional makeup, as well as theatrical which includes some special effects makeup. For a couple scenes we needed to make a person look dead, and two others look beaten and bruised. She handled the makeup while our prop person created fake blood using the Karo syrup and food coloring recipe, and it turned out great. I think she used red, blue, and some green in the mix. The consistency was perfect, and in real life it looked like the real thing. A few behind the scenes images from the shoot below.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2304/2341101835_5e142e8111_o.jpg

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2040/2341100021_b479a520c2_o.jpg

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4045/4585309298_038753ab60_o.jpg

[The Evil One]

A friend of mine does special effects for film and he uses Karo Syrup with red and blue food coloring for realistic blood. His blood packs are fun during Halloween, that is for sure. Flying Photog is right about the color. Bright red just does not look real at all!

[MMX]

My friend works as a makeup artist in a theater and he uses real pig blood.

[poorgeorge]

Hey I usually mix red and blue and a little cocoa powder tempura paint with white corn syrup and water.

I typically add the powders to warm water to make dissolving easier. Once I get the color I like, I slowly add the corn syrup for viscosity. I've tried food coloring in the past, but felt the tempura didn't stain as bad. Hope this helps

[MichFisher]

We've usually use pre-made fake blood (aka Zesty Mint Blood) so far in our vampire and horror shoots, since we've not needed a floor-drenching amount. It should be pretty readily available online or in good costume/FX shops (if you're in or near Hollywood, there is a great one with really friendly, knowledgeable staff right on H'wood Blvd).

If you need a LOT, here is a good and reliable recipe by a friend who writes/produces indie horror movies: Nos' fake blood recipe (http://www.lip-service.com/webzine/tag/how-to-make-fake-blood/)