"The Walking Dead" wouldn't be anything if it wasn't for Greg Nicotero, the show's executive producer and special FX makeup designer, and his team making the zombies look like, well, walking dead people. Recently, Nicotero chatted about what season five has in store in terms of deadly effects.

"I have many new tricks and a very long sleeve. ... We've taken the makeup one step further," he said in an interview on the AMC blog. "While on set, even some of the actors were looking at the makeup and had noticed that we refined and modified our technique even further. ... When they still have that level of excitement, it means we're keeping it fresh. That's what's most important to me."

Surviving all the way up to season five means that the zombies will look a bit more decrepit this time around.

"These walkers have been around for what we estimate to be a year and a half, so there's a lot more exposed bone and skin falling off," Nicotero said. "We've got a whole new look on some of these featured walkers."

Don't expect to see zombie children anytime soon, however. Nicotero said that making a "zombie baby thing" is "tricky."

"I think kids and babies would be the first ones to be eaten because they're more vulnerable and defenseless," he said. "It's a little harder to imagine that they would have survived long enough to become a walker."

In addition to giving the zombies' their killer look, Nicotero directed episode one of season five.

"[The episode] was the most challenging in terms of the scope, the amount of work and the story we told -- we literally made an entire movie within nine days," Nicotero said. "I still don't know how I survived it. It was a true testament to every person's ability. Dealing with makeup effects is a much more confined work area. It's a bit more manageable, but I love them equally."

Season five of "The Walking Dead" starts in October on AMC.
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Follow Scharon Harding on Twitter: @ScharHar.

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