Posted November 21, 2014 by Jonelle Patrick Just another day in Japan

How To Make A Wickedly Scary Gash On Your Arm In Seven Easy Steps!

Looks totally real, doesn’t it? In fact, it’s the artistry of one of the students at the Amazing School JUR’s special effects table at Design Festa! I opted for the ¥500 standard slasher attack, but you could also sign up for the ¥1000 “X-marks-the-psycho” gashes or a gaping wound that looked like the velociraptors got loose in your room last night.

Here’s how he did it!

First, trowel on the 3-D goop that makes the ultra-realistic edges of the wound. This stuff dried into a silicone-like consistency.

Before the goop dried, he carved an irregular line down the middle and sculpted ridges on the edge of the wound.

Then the outside borders of the goop were smoothed down so they blended with my skin.

Next, fake blood was painted into the slash.

After that, "bruising and inflammation" were pounced on with a soft brush around the gash. — After that, “bruising and inflammation” were pounced on with a soft brush around the gash.

Finally, the finishing touches of shiny red to keep it looking like it just happened!

It lasted all day – until I peeled it off before I went to bed – and I accidentally scared a few people because I forgot I had it on!

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If you can’t get your own scary fake wound, the next best thing is reading a novel set in Tokyo

“A genuinely gripping crime thriller which wrong-foots and perplexes the reader throughout, drawing us in emotionally . . . Highly recommended.” –Raven Crime Reads

For nine years, Tokyo Detective Kenji Nakamura thought his mother’s death was an accident. Then he gets a call, and his life begins to unravel. Because if it wasn’t an accident…what was it? *Read more*

Jonelle Patrick View All

Writing mystery books set in Tokyo is mostly what I do, but I also blog about the odd stuff I see every day in Japan. I'm a graduate of Stanford University and the Sendagaya Japanese Institute in Tokyo, and a member of the International Thriller Writers, the Mystery Writers of America, and Sisters In Crime. When I'm not in Tokyo, I live in San Francisco. I also host a travel site called The Tokyo Guide I Wish I'd Had, so if you're headed to Japan and want to check out the places I take my friends when they're in town, take a look!