Character Makeup - Theatre assessment

This week in Character class we were using the time to catch up on assessments that we had missed, so I decided to do my Straight Theatre assessment. I found the Theatre makeup more difficult to do than the TV makeup because you have to enchance the features to a greater extreme, as people are looking at the actor from a greater distance. But you have to be careful not to take it too far. The first time I tried this the skin was too orange, and my model looked like she'd been Tango'd!
With practise though, I managed to get the hang of it - even the intricate and fiddly eyeliner on the top and bottom lashlines. Here is the finished result, on Melissa:

 I'm happy with how the look turned out, now all I have to do is the Straight TV and Theater looks on a male model. But that will have to wait til another catch up day!

Gill :) x

Character Makeup - Halloween assessment!

This week I passed my Halloween character assessment! I decided to do the ventriloquist dummy, because I felt it was more adaptable than the witch. Also, I felt that the witch went pretty perfectly, whereas the dummy needed some improvement, so I gave it a go and it worked out really well:

I feel like I captured the same effect as last time, but overall it's just more refined - last week the eyelashes, eyebrows and the lines down the chin were a bit wobbly and messy, but I managed to keep a steady hand and do them better this time. Also, I tidied up the shading down the nose, and I made the lips narrower and lined them with the same shade that I used on the nose, to create more definition. Overall I'm really happy with how it turned out, I was quite nervous so I'm glad I managed to pass the assessment!

Gill :) x

Character Makeup - Halloween!

This week we moved on from Straight TV makeup to focus on Halloween - there was a great atmosphere in the class, everyone was really getting into the spooky spirit! At one point there were 2 witches, a zombie and a cat in the hallway, it was an odd sight!

For my research, I wanted to find really unusual characters to create. It's difficult to be original when your choices are skulls, zombies, witches, etc, but I found a few really good pictures for inspiration!

I really liked the interesing mix of characters, and felt like I could create something a bit different with them. When researching for Halloween, I made sure to take note of the facial structures - I specifically chose characters that had a degree of highlighting and shading on the face. For our demo, Bella explained that the main skill we're learning to perfect here is how to change the shape of the face using highlighting and shading in a variety of ways - this is especially useful for Halloween characters, as the technique can be used to make a zombie face look gaunt and sunken, or the bones of a skull look like they're jutting out, etc. She told us how to do this with several different colours as well, so that when it was time for us to practise we would be able to create looks without limiting our colours. To highlight and shade, a mixture of black, grey, brown, white, and even yellow, red and green are used, and, if done correctly, can really create an interesting effect.

The following is my first attempt at Halloween makeup, done on my lovely model Leeanne:

I don't want to sound conceited, but I was really pleased with how this look turned out, and Bella didn't have a bad word to say about it either! It's based on the witch character above (first picture), which I found on the Illamasqua website. I love that it's a witch, but an unconventional one. To create this, I used greasepaints and applied using a sponge and brushes, then set it all with powder. I used a mixture of white, brown and black to create the look. I wanted her cheekbones to really stick out, so I shaded with brown just under the cheekbones and used my fingers to blend. I did the same on her temples, nose and chin, just to give her really sharp features. By shading dark on either side of her nose, I feel like it makes it look longer and thinner, and more witch-like. The eyes were the most diffcult part - as you can see from my research, the eyes have a winged effect and are darkened in at the nose to give her an evil look, so I tried to recreate this as best I could. I used brushes and my fingers, and I found it to be really delicate work! A steady hand is essential! I feel like I ended up with a very good effect, and I'm really happy with the blending and symmetry on her eyes. To finish, I used black on her lips with a dab of brown in the middle. To give them extra depth, I went beyond the natural line on the cupid's bow. Finally, I used a very thin brush to create the lightning bolts around her eyes and lips.

For my second attempt, I decided to do the creepy ventriloquist's dummy (the last picture at the top there). I was ready for assessment after doing the witch, but I felt I needed more practice on something very different before being assessed. Again, I used greasepaints, a sponge, brushes and my fingers to create the following:

I really loved doing this character, but I'm not as happy with it as the witch. I feel my symmetry is a bit off - if you look at the picture, you can see that the left side of her face (our right) has a few messy bits and my lines are a bit squinty, particularly on the eyelashes. But I still enjoyed doing it, and there are parts of the face that I really like! The cheeks for example, I spent the most time on because I wanted to get the shading just right. Bella suggested that next time I make her cheeks a bit redder, but apart from that I'm happy with them - I wanted to make her cheeks stick out, and the overall look is meant to reflect the plastic/wooden doll effect, and I think I captured that. I'm also really happy with her eyebrows (although the one on the left side needs to be tidied up for next time) and lips. As before, I exaggerated her natural lip line to make them more prominent. The black lines on her chin are meant to be the mechanism on the dummy which allows it to 'talk', and I do like the effect, but I need to straighten them up next time. Bella also suggested that I try doll-like lips next time, instead of filling in her whole lip area. I would like to try this to see how it would change the look, but also because it might be easier to make the lines straighter if I'm not having to go over the natural curve of her chin.

I really enjoyed Halloween week, it's been great to try something a bit more creative! More to come next week, assessment day!

Happy Halloween! :) x

Fantasy Makeup

1.) Pan's Labyrinth

To create The Pale Man's hands for Pan's Labyrinth, we would use a mixture of prosthetics, wax and makeup. Obviously I'm still a beginner and there are probably loads of fancy materials that the movie makeup artists use that I'm still not aware of, but it could be done simply using wax. First, I would apply the eyes to the hands (possibly by glueing them down with eyelash glue), then, for the eyelids, apply derma wax to the top and bottom of the eye, and blend thoroughly. This would also help hold the eye in place. From there, the skin could be painted accordingly. For his fingers, I assume they've used prosthetic pieces to elongate his fingers, and painted them black to give a really creepy effect.

2.) Hellboy II: The Golden Army

 To achieve Princess Nuala's look from Hellboy II, a very pale foundation would be applied. Her eyebrows would either be bleached then covered with foundation or a layer of wax would be applied to hide them. Then, she would be fitted with coloured contact lenses and brown/sand eyeshadow would be used on her lids and extended up to the eyebrow and across to the temple. A slightly more orangey plum colour has been applied in the corner of her eyes and extended down to give her an ethereal look. Her eyes are also lined along the upper and lower lashlines with a slightly darker brown to define her eyes. To make her cheekbones stand out, a dark brown colour is used to give the shape of her face more definiton. To create the markings on her face, the makeup artist will have used a very thin brush to apply, and set the whole face with powder to remove any shine.

3.) Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones

To create Shaak Ti's look, the entire face and neck would be painted red, leaving two largs ovals around the eyes to fill in the white area and the red marks above her eyes. The eyes themselves are left almost bare, with just a little reddish-plum eyeliner on her lower lashline - this makes her black contact lenses really stand out. Her cheeks are shaded with dark shadow to make her cheekbones really stand out - this also makes her eyes look bigger. Her lips are lined with a similar shade, and filled in with a pale lip colour. A large part of this look involves jewellery - as you can see from the picture, there are chains that go round her cheeks and meet in the middle of her forehead on a large pendant. These are attached to prosthetic spikes on her hairline, which would be applied with some kind of adhesive to keep them in place. Her horned headpiece covers her hair, which would be secured to the head and hidden under a stocking cap. The headpiece is probably made from plastic, foam or silicone (something lightweight) and painted accordingly to finish the look off.

Character Makeup - Straight Theater 1

A few weeks ago I did a Straight Theater look on Kirsty but I didn't get the chance to take photos because I didn't get it finished, and it didn't turn out too great either! So I did one on Melissa on Monday, which Bella said was good enough for a pre-assessment, which is good news. Before I show you my photos I'll explain a bit about Straight Theater makeup.

Straight Theater is the same idea as Straight TV makeup - a natural face which is meant to represent a more refined version of the person we're looking at. It is not meant to look like any kind of character, it is essentially just a natural face. However, the makeup always has to be a bit more intense for Theater because, unlike TV, the audience is looking at the person from quite far away. Here are some examples of a Straight Theater face:

Theater makeup has to be a more intense version of TV makeup, so we use foundation shades that are slightly darker (just a shade or two) than the person's natural skin tone. We also enhance the blusher and lips, and for the eyes we line them in a specific way - in order to give the illusion of larger eyes, we line the upper lashline with either dark brown or black and extend it out from the eye. The same is done on the lower lashline, and again the line is taken a bit further out from where the natural eye line ends. We then use a light shade of eyeshadow (either white or cream) and colour in between the two separate lines to give the illusion that the white of the eye is extended. It is a good effect as the eyes appear much larger from far away.

Close up, the Straight Theater face looks a bit 'too much', and even a bit Drag Queen-esque, but this is needed because the actor is standing far away from the audience. It is important to enhance their features even more so they don't look washed out or fade into the background.

The following is my attempt at a Theater face:

Melissa's skin tone is very fair so I got off to a slow start trying to find the right foundation colour for her. The one I used was maybe a little too pale, but once I applied it, blended it and finished it with powder it looked good. You can see from the top picture the two lines I mentioned prevously - they would be clearer if Melissa wasn't smiling but you can see how the two lines extend out beyond the eye and make them look bigger.
I was happy with the look and the fact that I managed to complete it in a good time, but Bella suggested that next time I use a slightly darker shade of red on the lips (more of a brick red rather than pinky red) and blend the eyeshadow a bit more, but I was happy to hear that she thought it was good enough for pre-assessment :)

Look out for my assessment, coming soon!

Gill x

Character Makeup - Straight TV 3

This week I did my Straight TV (female) assessment and passed! Just need to do Straight TV and Theater (male) and Straight Theater (female) now. It went really well, on my face sheet Bella commented that it was good work and that I completed it in a commercially viable time, which is great!

Take a look at the finished product:

I used really natural shades on Kirsty, and managed to get the right amount of product on her eyes so it didn't look too overdone. As you can see, I highlighted her eyelids and brow bone with a lighter shade, and blended the brown shade upwards and outwards from the crease to really open her eyes. I lined her upper lashline with a small amount of dark brown (almost black) eyeshadow, which turned out really pretty and subtle, the way I wanted. I also blended the multitonal effect on her lips better this time and managed to mix the right colour to line them with. Her blusher turned out really well also - I went for a more pink shade rather than the peachy ones I had been using, and I feel it really brings out her cheekbones as well as warming her skin. The foundation I used was a bit greasy on her skin initially, but I managed to blend it really well and I toned down the shine with some translucent powder, which gives her a nice glow.

I'm really happy with the outcome, I just need to practise my theater makeup now and hopefully I'll be ready to get assessed in a couple of weeks!

Gill :)

Character Makeup - Straight TV 2

This is my second attempt at Straight TV makeup, again it's the female version!
I worked with Shona this time, and she has a longer face and slightly darker skin compared to Debbie, so despite it being the same look it was great to practise it on a different person as I had to find slightly different products. I decided to do roughly the same shape on the eye, as I feel it really opens the eye with the right amount of blending and colour applicaton. I did a few things slightly differently, as I took note of Bella's tips from last time!

Take a look at the picture, with and without flash:

Unlike last time, I applied a small amount of dark brown (almost black) eyeshadow along Shona's upper lashline to really bring out her eyes - this look is subtle but very effective. I also took Bella's advice from before and lined Shona's lips along the top and bottom. Combined with the slightly darker pink areas at the corners of her mouth, this gave her lips extra fullness and enhanced her natural shape.
I also applied mascara to her top and bottom lashes, which I feel really finishes the look off.

In the photos without flash, Shona looks a bit pale - I applied a pinky peach blusher to add warmth to the skin and bring out her lovely cheekbones, but I think I need to add a little more next time.
Overall though, I am happier this time with how the look turned out, in particular the eye look. I always like to blend outwards and upwards to open the eyes, and the winged effect makes Shona's eyes look much wider. I also managed to keep the eyes more natural this time, particularly in the crease, where Bella said it was too dark last time.

Maybe next time I would add a small amount of foundation under her eyes in a slightly paler shade to remove any dark shadows, but in general I'm really happy with my final result. I'll be ready for assessment next week I think! :)

More to come soon!

Gill

Character Makeup - Straight TV 1

In our Character Makeup class we have been researching and practising Straight TV and Straight Theater makeup. In this post I'll be covering Straight TV, as I haven't had time in class to practice the Theater look yet. That will come in a later post!

Straight makeup for television is the creation of a natural look - it is meant to essentially represent a more enhanced version of the person on screen. This look is used on newsreaders, presenters and hosts in order for them to look healthy and refined. The person's job is to connect with the viewer, so the facial features have to really stand out, while still remaining natural. This is evident from the following research:

As you can see from the pictures, this look is applied to both male and female presenters. For men, the process is more subtle; the skin tone is evened out and the eyes are enhanced by tidying up the eyebrows and applying a small amount of eyeliner underneath the eye. I have yet to practice this look on one of the guys in the class - so far I've done the look on girls, although I would like to try a Straight TV male look!

Also evident in the research is the way women are made to look - their eyes and lips are the main focal points, as they are used to convey a number of emotions and stories. Their colouring is taken into account and the eyes and lips are made up to look very striking but natural at the same time.

I first tried the look on Debbie - she has very pale skin so I chose the lightest foundation shade I could find and applied it all over. I finished by setting with powder and adding a small amount of peach blush to warm the skin. I combed her eyebrows and enhanced their natural shape and colour with a little brown eyeshadow - eyebrows are used to convey emotion so it is important they are enhanced. On her eyes, I applied a base colour which was slightly lighter than her natural skin colour, in order to even out the tone of her eyelids and brighten her eyes. In the crease of her eye I blended in a light brown colour, and swept it outwards towards the edge of her eye and up towards her eyebrow. I then chose a slightly darker brown and smudged it into the crease and down on to the lower lashline in order to give her eyes more definition. I finished the eye by applying the original base colour to her browbone to highlight, and tidied up her eyelid by adding more of the same colour on the lid.
For her lips, I wanted to keep the colour natural but warm, so I mixed my own colour from the palette - it turned out a slightly warmer and pinker version of her natural lip colour, and I applied this all over. To make her lips appear fuller, I mixed a slightly darker version of the same shade and applied it to the corners of her mouth. Observe the final result, with and without flash:

The look turned out as I hoped, however I ran out of time and didn't get the chance to apply mascara - however if I did, I would use black and apply to her top and bottom lashes, to really open her eyes. I asked Bella for her verdict, she said the eyeshadow was a little too dark in the crease, so next time I will make it more natural. She also recommended I use a very dark brown shade and a thin brush to line her top lids, close to the lashes. She showed me an example and it really helped add definition to her eyes, so I will also do that next time. Finally, for the lips, she recommended I blend the darker shade slightly better, and maybe use this shade to line.


For my first attempt at Straight TV makeup I'm really happy with how it turned out. Next blog post will be my second attempt!


Stay tuned :)

Gill