The Dead King Lives Again... As A Walking Work Of Undead Art!

You might remember makeup and prosthetics effects artist Josef Rarach from my past feature on his steampunk-esque undead creation, the clockwork-covered Zombie King. Last time, Rarach rocked the streets of Prague in a previous ZombieWalk, a huge convention and parade for talented undead cosplay, makeup and prosthetic artists.

Well, now he's back, showing more deathly designs at ZombieWalk Venice 2016 this past January. There he collaborated with fellow PragueSFX studio designer and artist Vlad Taupesh, and they unveiled a new creation, sequel to their last installment of undead art - The Dead King II.

Horror movies always seem to take place in the dark, but this is one creation that's just as stunning and eerie in broad daylight. His re-animated corpse skin is decomposing but has a metallic gold quality, as do the bones he's decked out in. He's dead, and clearly for a while, but still a king. It just looks like the Dead King has taken the steampunk down a notch, gotten back to basics with some equally dead friends, and gone a little... golder.

The attention to detail here is kind of incredible. There are tiny animal skeletons catching a ride on his head and shoulders, and I'm sure that if the Dead King ever had his own movie, they'd be animated (re-animated?) and brought to life as well.

I like the gold tone not only his dead skin but the the bones and skeletal armor (a practical exo-skeleton?) take on in the sun – a dimension we never would have gotten in an indoor shoot, or one that used the horror convention of nighttime or shadows.

Check out even the eye contacts and prosthetic teeth. (And the cheek... bones.)

I'm still seeing more details I haven't caught (like the tiny gold chain on Rarach's collarbone above). It's really amazing, frankly, and definitely lives up to the past work I've seen from them. I'm sure I'll have an opportunity again in the future (I hear they've got a hand in an upcoming film...)

Lastly, as always, thank you so much for reading, and please keep all commentary respectful. Remember that (despite how it may look) these dedicated artists are human like you, and they do it all on their own time, for the love of the craft and the characters. Rock on, and see you again real soon!