Test Results :: Zombie

1 - Plain, 2 - Plain - reduced, 3 - w/ Silver foil, 4 - w/ Silver foil - reduced & encased, 5 - w/ Khaos frit, 6 - w/ Silver glass frit (Nyx, Gaia, Elektra) - reduced, 7 - w/ Ivory, 9 - w/ Copper Green, 9 - w/ Tuxedo

CiM Zombie (Formerly Tamarind Unique #2) rods are a sort of greyish tan colour and after looking at the rod colour, I don't think I expected great things from it, but it both surprised and delighted me as I put it through its paces this past weekend. I told you (and sent a general plea out into the universe) when I reviewed Tamarind Unique #1 that I wanted more fun browns to play with.

General Impressions
On its own without any special striking, reduction or the addition of silver, Zombie is not too terribly different from CiM Khaki, although it's a little darker and somewhat denser. But, once you start messing with it, it's colour, behaviour and reactions are much different than the ones Khaki exhibits.

This colour is fabulous with silver and silver glass, the surface colour of it can be manipulated, and even on its own it's a neutral colour that lends itself well to organic designs.  Plus, it's reactive, which is always fun.

Reduction
Reducing Zombie darkens the colour slightly. (Bead #2) 

Reducing it with silver or silver glass blushes the Zombie to a darker chocolate brown colour.  (Bead #6, and other 'fun beads' at the end of this post)

Reactions

For lack of a better way to express it, silver unkhakifies Zombie. It takes the grey out. (Bead #3) The effect is more pronounced right at the edge of the silver where the colour is a dark chocolate brown, but the whole surface of the bead warms up a little with the addition of some silver. 

When you reduce the bead with silver on it, that effect becomes more pronounced, and consumes more of the bead surface. (Bead #4)  Encasing it doesn't change that, either.  .

Now, I completely bungle Khaos frit every time I attempt it, so let's not look at the colours in Bead #5.  Instead, let's look at the way the base colour darkened all over the surface of the bead and then popped up in light halos around all of the little fritty bits.  I will get my TerraNova2 frit in the mail this week, and you can bet I'll be trying this again with a frit that loves me more.  My Khaos frit is pretty nearly gone, never to be replaced.  Grrr.

In Bead #6, my silver glass frit sang on the Zombie. And reducing my silver glass frit darkened the Zombie to a milk chocolate colour. 

The reaction with Copper Green is really subtle. (Bead #8) The Copper Green darkened slightly around the edges where it was placed on top of the Tamarind Unique #2, and the Zombie developed a thin shiny outline in places (but not consistently) where it was placed over Copper Green.

Zombie with Tuxedo is just weird. (Bead #9)  Where the Zombie is over Tuxedo, it develops a seriously shiny light outline.  Where the Tuxedo is over the Zombie, it bleeds, separates and creates purple-blue halos around the black dots, and it webs all over the place, sort of like what happens when you get paper wet that's been written on with black ink.

I'm positive that there are lots of other cool discoveries to make with Zombie.  I'm intrigued!

Here are some other 'fun beads' made with Zombie.