When Air Force Staff Sgt. Devin Perez met his wife two years ago, she was the hottest zombie he'd ever seen.

Dressed to a tantalizing T as a blood-covered femme fatale from the first-person shooter "Half-Life," Perez says it was love at first sight.

She was a cosplayer. And soon, he would be, too.

Stationed at Fairchild Air Force Base, Washington, the intelligence analyst hadn't thought much about cosplay — shorthand for "costume play" — but he says she turned him on to a whole new world of fun.

"At first, I thought it just wasn't for me, but the first time I did it — for a buddy's steampunk-themed wedding — I was like, 'Damn, I look pretty good. This is actually really cool.' "

Indeed, now more than ever, adults are embracing their inner superheroes, comic-book characters and Hollywood badasses at conventions, parties and dance halls around the country.

Of course, now is the time when everyone can slip into some costumed fun.

OFFduty checked in with some cosplay pros, movie makeup magicians and one real-life badass for tips on how to create a killer costume of your own this year.

From HALO's Master Chief and Cortana to Batman's Harley Quinn, cosplay pros say a little creativity goes a long way in creating killer costumes.

Photo Credit: Jon R. Anderson/Staff

Respect the craft

It's hard to miss Master Chief and Cortana as they stroll through the recent PAX Prime gamer convention in Seattle.

Kevin Hickman's reproduction of the "Halo" character is perfect. Courtney Pozzolo's digital bodysuit and black-rimmed blue eyes are spot on.

For both costumes, they say, success came down to some hardcore craftiness.

Packed into his handcrafted armor suit, Hickman has equipped Master Chief with 48 working LEDs, subwoofer-boosted amplified speakers, and a magnetic weapon-mounting system to carry his blaster on his back.

Most people aren't going to spend the $4,000 — and about 1,500 hours — that have gone into building his suit, but you can deploy some of the tricks he used in making it.

"Believe it or not, a lot of the parts are straight out of automotive stores," he says.

The bottom of his boots, for example, are cut from foam car mats "so I'm not clacking around like a horse."

The rubbery pieces that connect the various sections of his boot are made out of toilet plungers. "Not second-hand, for good reason," he clarifies.

The body armor itself is built from "cardstock, papier-machéd into the correct shape, and then fiberglass resin is brushed on, so it gets a little rigid. From there you fiberglass the inside three to five layers, which gets it really hard and strong."

Add some automotive body filler to round off the edges, and then sand, prime and paint. He uses rubber car door trim as a kind of protective frame to keep the pieces from rubbing and chipping against each other.

Pozzolo's Cortana was brought to life, appropriately enough, though a series of online maneuvers. She commissioned GunHeadDesign.com to create a digital design. That she gave to FabricOnDemand.com to print out a big sheet of stretchy Spandex-style fabric, which she then — after a lot of trial and error — figured out how to sew into a body suit. The whole thing cost about $300, she says.

Just the right shade of digital blue contacts — dubbed Vassen Cloud Nine — were found on costume supply retailer PinkyParadise.com for about $25.

Hired by Warner Bros. to appear as the character Road Rage from "Mad Max," David Smith says spray paint is one of his secret weapons in transforming thrift store clothes into awesome costumes.

Photo Credit: Jon R. Anderson/Staff

Do it on the cheap

You don't' have to spend scary amounts of money creating a standout Halloween costume, says David Smith, a "professional cosplayer" who gets hired to appear at special events.

Among his most recent gigs, Warner Bros. booked him to roam NASCAR races and gamer conventions as the character Road Rage from the most recent "Mad Max" installment.

"My advice to anyone trying to make a costume is to apply a bit of elbow grease, a bit of craftsmanship, and a bit of creativity," Smith says.

Your local Goodwill is the best place to start.

"Thrift stores are gold," he says. "And if you're male, don't be afraid to go to the female section for bright blue plants or whatever you might need."

Case in point: For one recent appearance, he needed to create the Heath Ledger version of the Joker.

"I spent $30 on that costume, and only about half of that was on the clothes — including a jacket, vest, tie, shirt and pants."

Spray paint and glue guns

For the Joker's signature purple jacket, Smith bought an old trench coat and cut it into the shape of a tuxedo top.

"Instead of hemming it, I used a hot glue gun. It's quick, simple and cheap."

A few coats of plum purple spray paint completed the transformation.

"Most people don't realize spray paint — whether it be Krylon or Rust-Oleum — actually works well on fabric. I think it even gives it a better quality look."

Green spray paint took care of the vest, "and the rest was just some simple makeup."

Eye-catching zombification "is all about layering," says Hollywood makeup artist Laney Chantal as she transforms actor Richard Riehle on the set of "Range 15."

Photo Credit: Jon R. Anderson/Staff

Zombies have layers

Sometimes the makeup is not so simple. Just ask Hollywood face effects wizard Laney Chantal. She's toured with Marilyn Manson, created all kinds of horrific looks for a variety of movies and other productions, and two years ago was one of the five finalists on SyFy's reality makeup competition series "Face Off."

She's currently working on the set of the upcoming veteran-made post-apocalyptic zombie comedy "Range 15" now filming in Hollywood.

When it comes to the zombie look, "The most important thing to remember is that it's all about layering," she says.

Start with some pale grey flesh tone, dabbing it on with a stippling brush so that it goes on spotted and broken up. Then layer on a different shade or color using the same technique.

"It should look like it's coming through the skin instead of just sitting on top of the skin."

Go with lines of darker shades around the eyes to create a sunken gaunt look.

Drawing in networks of veins with red eyeliner is another nice touch.

Starting thicker around the neck, jawline, and forehead to simulate pooling blood, draw a kind of spider web toward the center of the face, laying thinner and lighter lines as you branch inward.

"The lighter they are, the deeper they're going to appear. The darker they are, the more forward they're going to seem. So, again, you're layering," Chantal says.

"It's just like painting with watercolors. It adds a level of realism, but also a more theatrical effect."

When you're done with the veins, dab on another layer of pale flesh tone to create a sense of depth.

Comfort & durability

If you're headed to a party where there will be a lot of dancing — or anywhere you expect to sweat a lot — consider using alcohol-activated makeup. You just mix in a little 99 percent alcohol and apply. It comes off with a cream or more rubbing alcohol.

It's what the pros use on movie and theater sets so makeup doesn't have to get reapplied every few minutes under hot lights.

Chantal uses a multicolor palette dubbed The Grunge from Skin Illustrator for most of her zombies.

Alternatively, Ben Nye's spray-on Final Seal can help make more standard makeup last longer.

Get bloody

Most people know corn syrup and red food coloring make a good base for fake blood.

Hollywood makeup artists make it better by adding a little dish washing detergent and water.

"Otherwise it will bead and look fake," Chantal says.

Some chocolate syrup is another favorite addition for darker, thicker blood.

To apply it, she says, get creative. "Use a spray bottle, shoot it on with a super-soaker water gun, flick it on with paint brush. Have fun with it."

To get a blood-splattered look on the faces of the zombie-killing heroes on "Range 15," Chantal uses a small painter's brush called a chip brush, but with bristles cut down to within about an inch of the base.

Dab a little fake blood on the tip of the brush, then scratch a finger along the bristles near the face — with eyes closed — to lay down a fine spray of red.

That's exactly the technique she used on former SEAL and "Lone Survivor" author Marcus Luttrell, who's playing a parody of himself in the movie.

The Punisher

Luttrell knows a little about bringing the scary.

While the SEALs use traditional camouflage face paint for reconnaissance missions or anything requiring stealthy movement, he says, for quick-hit raids — particularly those targeting a specific person — it's not uncommon to adopt more, ahem, colorful personas.

"You'd try to paint yourself up as sadistic as humanly possible. It was all about raw shock effect."

When that first SEAL comes crashing through the door, he says, the operators want the enemy to think the very devil himself is coming to lay waste.

"We had some guys who were real artists. They'd pull up the Punisher logo or some sadistic looking skull or whatever, and it would become part of their whole outfit."

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