'Walking Dead': Behind-the-Scenes at the EW Cover Photo Shoot

Norman Reedus getting prepped for his close?up. We ended up adding more blood to his body because he felt his rough-and-tumble character Daryl Dixon looked too clean.

Norman gets some blood on his arm from his makeup artist. Her makeup kit is full of bottles marked zombie blood.

I have a cool job.

Who knew ''blood'' came in so many colors and varieties?

Norman checks his cell phone. Will this moment become another flash of Instagram-ready brilliance?

Daryl's crossbow and wipes used on Norman. [Ed. note: Steady your pulses, ladies.]

Pro tip: Actors—including Andrew Lincoln, who worked incredibly hard in the 100-degree Atlanta heat—achieve a splatter effect by beating up a sponge soaked in prop blood.

Photographer Dylan Coulter set up a glass screen so his camera wouldn't get zombie blood on it during Andy's set-up.

I wondered where one orders a gallon of zombie blood. I was asked if I wanted to use zombie blood or human blood. The difference? Human blood is lighter in color.

If Lady Macbeth were a makeup artist, this would be her job on the set of The Walking Dead.

Steven Yeun and Lauren Cohan are locked and loaded for their cover shoot.

The artists known as Maggie and Glenn went through the motions for their shot about 10 times while The Black Keys' Turn Blue played.

Steve really got into it, practicing his scream before each click. It was fascinating to watch these actors concentrating on their direction. They all gave 1,000 percent that day.

We got to borrow zombies for 10 minutes to set up this shot for the magazine opener. They look like a band that would open for Gwar.

Prop table with Daryl's arrows, Rick's watch, a knife, etc. Love that it was all just lying there.

More tools of the trade.

Every artist has his or her medium: this makeup kit looks like a paintbox—only the colors are blood and guts and dirt and gore.

Walking Dead fans all the way from Montana wait at the gates of the Terminus set, which is actually in an old railway station in Atlanta.

Stand?ins for Glenn and Michonne hang out the day before the shoot (or ''prelight'' in industry terms).

The shoot producer marked safety cones with directions for EW. While I took this snapshot a security officer told me to watch out for copperhead snakes. [Ed. note: Guess walkers aren't the only dangers lurking at Terminus!]