It was a year ago today that I drove home from my lab job for the last time. The last time I had a full time job. The same day I officially became a full time makeup artist. It has been a really interesting year. There have been brides and photo shoots, corporate events and birthday parties, zombies and body painting. I had my first opportunity to work on a union film set and out of town work road trips. I want to thank all my family and friends for believing in me especially on the days I didn’t. J it has been great year and I can’t wait to see what the next one has in store. It is a bit late to be doing a Halloween post I know. But here we are I have been getting asked about what I did for Halloween so I have for you a few examples of the over 20 makeups I did over the week.
The list includes a broken doll, zombies, skeletons, devils, vampires, tigers and a creepy clown. Halloween is always one of my favorite times of year because it allows me to flex the special FX muscles as well as the body painting. I painted mostly faces, necks and hands but did 4 half and one full body paint. I also got to apply a few premade prosthetic pieces, build a few wounds and finished off the lot with one bald cap. I hope you like the results of last year. Don’t forget to book early to do something spectacular for next year. Halloween Madness! As Halloween is drawing nearer I have decided to do a series of picture and maybe even if I can figure it out video tutorials. With my first post I will also be announcing my Halloween makeup contest so stay tuned. If you have any ideas or requests about what kind of makeup I should demo feel free to e-mail me or comment on this post. Here are a few pictures of past fx makeup and character face painting to get you thinking about what you want for Halloween. You may be asking what is a prosthetic makeup? It is a makeup technique that allows for significant and dramatic changes in face and body shape by gluing a sculpted piece to the skin. This allows for more complex characters to be developed. If you have seen a zombie, alien, cyborg or monster in a movie chances re there was a skilled FX artist behind it. When you are looking to have a prosthetic piece applied by an FX artist there are two options available to you. The first of these options is simpler, less expensive and more artists are equipped to do it for you. This method involves selecting a premade mass produced foam latex piece and having it applied blended, sealed and painted by your artist. An application like this will take around 2-4 hours to complete and will generally cost 200-500$ depending on the type of piece selected and what if any kinds of additional body or hand makeup are required to complete the look. A makeup application of this type allows you to make a last minute character for a lower price point. One downside is that as the pieces are “One size fits all” if you have a particularly large or small face the piece will not fit as well and may not be as comfortable. Secondly as the pieces are premade you can only chose from a limited selection of characters. This can make it more difficult to create exactly the character you are imagining. Some examples of premade prosthetic applications are shown below The second type of prosthetic makeup is a custom piece created from a cast of your body and individually sculpted for you by an artist. This process has many more steps and requires a greater investment of both time and money. The biggest benefits to a custom made piece are that you get a one of a kind piece made to fit you perfectly. Getting your own custom piece starts with meeting your artist to discuss your character design. At this point any reference pictures, descriptions or inspirations are useful to bring along. A second get together with your artist is required so a life cast can be made of your head or body. When preparing to be life cast make sure you remember the following things - The whole process can take up to 2 hours so make sure you schedule enough time - Wear a shirt with a low neck line so your clothing will not interfere with the cast - Remove any facial piercings - For men please come clean shaven - Eat something before hand and make sure you are well hydrated - Be sure to let your artist know if you are Closter phobic or unable to sit with your face covered for 15 minutes as the mold can be made in a few pieces so your head is never fully covered - Most importantly remember that if you are uncomfortable or unwell at ANY point let the artist know and they will take off the casting material as quickly as possible. The following are some pictures of the casting process and a finished head cast. After a cast is made your artist will the prosthetic, when it is near completion you will have the opportunity to see it an make any final adjustments. Finally a second cast is made, the clay is cleaned out and your piece can be created.
The final application process is the same as with a mass produced prosthetic and takes about the same amount of time. From first meeting till the piece is ready for application can take anywhere from 3-6 weeks depending on how busy the season is and how complicated a sculpt you require. Prosthetic pieces can be a great way to build an amazing character for Halloween, film or photo shoots. Keep in mind that there are significant time commitments needed to ensure you get the piece you want. If you plan accordingly you can have some amazing results. A few months ago I cast a lovely woman's head and made a plaster copy of it. since then I have spent a lot of time cleaning up the mold and putting clay on it. I am almost done and this is just a little teaser of me working on it. check back to see the finished product. The theme of the project is a cherry tree elf creature. I am very excited to get to the finished product and I hope you will stop by to see it when it is done. |
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Tracy Falukozi
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