After being presented with a variety of horror make-up techniques, I was given the opportunity to independently attempt to either recreate a look demonstrated by the professional make-up artist (vampire, zombie or virus victim) or establish my own look using the equipment available (i.e. bruise wheel, latex, prosthetics, a range of fake bloods etc.) whilst taking into consideration methods needed in order to create the look (buffering, gluing, pressing, blending etc.). My main objective was to build towards the look of someone whose face shows signs of feeling unwell. In order to achieve this, I had to concentrate on the colouring of the eye area (on top and underneath), the colouring of lips (warm pink/red to cold white/grey), the prominence of the cheekbones to suggest weight loss and the overall complexion of the face to show general ill health.
Up until the tutorial, I had never before attempted this type of special make-up so I was slightly sceptical as to whether my attempt to create the virus victim look would be successful.
On the left is a medium close-up image of Lulu normally without any product on her face. Even though the image is in black and white, you are able to see freckles and the healthy colouring of her lips.
Firstly, I washed my hands! (This is vital as you don't want to spread any bacteria). Then, I tied Lulu’s hair back and used a cotton wool pad and a non-alcoholic toner to clear any excess oils and dirt from Lulu’s face. After her face had dried, I applied a foundation (Shade 1 IVORY) that was one shade lighter then Lulu’s own skin tone in order to neutralise any colour, freckles or blemishes.
I applied a pea sized amount on the back of my hand and used a foundation brush to blend the product onto Lulu’s face. This was to ensure no foundation was wasted as if I were to need any more, I could just empty some from the bottle.I applied a clear lip balm to the lips to ensure that when I applied foundation, Lulu's lips would dry.
Here on the left, is the image of a bruise wheel. I have numbered the bruise wheel in order for easier reference when explaining what shades were used when creating Lulu's final look.
After, I began to apply a small amount of shades 1,2,3,4 and 5 from the bruise wheel provided on the back of my hand with the end of eye shadow brush. Similarly to when I applied foundation to the back of my hand, applying colours from the bruise wheel meant that I could choose to either use each colour separately or to blend to create a new shade. Bruise wheels are great as they offer six different bruise shades that give a nice sheer shine that give a realistic appeal.
I gradually began to build around the eye area using colours 2 and 3, ensuring that no product went into the eye itself. I initially started applying the product with an eye shadow pad then, I went onto blending the product into the skin with my finger.
I used Lulu's natural under eye shadowing to guide me where to apply the darker bruise colouring; I wanted to exaggerate what was already there without making it look just like a face paint (the whole objective with film make-up is to add to the realism of what the spectator sees).
After I finished with the eyes, I began to slightly contour the cheekbones with the remainder of bruise wheel product I had on my finger. Because Lulu is only young, she doesn't yet have full cheekbone structure so I just focussed on darkening the tops of the cheekbone near the ear area and the temples of the head to make them seem more prominent.
Overall, taking into consideration that this was my first time trying to recreate the virus victim look without any guidance, the process took around 15/20 minutes. Now that I have an understanding into how long the process takes, my group and I can allow preparation time for make-up and costume within our filming schedule.
Here is Lulu with make-up applied to her face. I had to take an extreme close-up of Lulu in order to show the finer details such as the colouring under her eyes and the pale complexion of her skin.
On the left is a medium close-up image of Lulu normally without any product on her face. Even though the image is in black and white, you are able to see freckles and the healthy colouring of her lips.
Firstly, I washed my hands! (This is vital as you don't want to spread any bacteria). Then, I tied Lulu’s hair back and used a cotton wool pad and a non-alcoholic toner to clear any excess oils and dirt from Lulu’s face. After her face had dried, I applied a foundation (Shade 1 IVORY) that was one shade lighter then Lulu’s own skin tone in order to neutralise any colour, freckles or blemishes.
I applied a pea sized amount on the back of my hand and used a foundation brush to blend the product onto Lulu’s face. This was to ensure no foundation was wasted as if I were to need any more, I could just empty some from the bottle.I applied a clear lip balm to the lips to ensure that when I applied foundation, Lulu's lips would dry.
Here on the left, is the image of a bruise wheel. I have numbered the bruise wheel in order for easier reference when explaining what shades were used when creating Lulu's final look.
After, I began to apply a small amount of shades 1,2,3,4 and 5 from the bruise wheel provided on the back of my hand with the end of eye shadow brush. Similarly to when I applied foundation to the back of my hand, applying colours from the bruise wheel meant that I could choose to either use each colour separately or to blend to create a new shade. Bruise wheels are great as they offer six different bruise shades that give a nice sheer shine that give a realistic appeal.
I gradually began to build around the eye area using colours 2 and 3, ensuring that no product went into the eye itself. I initially started applying the product with an eye shadow pad then, I went onto blending the product into the skin with my finger.
I used Lulu's natural under eye shadowing to guide me where to apply the darker bruise colouring; I wanted to exaggerate what was already there without making it look just like a face paint (the whole objective with film make-up is to add to the realism of what the spectator sees).
Overall, taking into consideration that this was my first time trying to recreate the virus victim look without any guidance, the process took around 15/20 minutes. Now that I have an understanding into how long the process takes, my group and I can allow preparation time for make-up and costume within our filming schedule.
Here is Lulu with make-up applied to her face. I had to take an extreme close-up of Lulu in order to show the finer details such as the colouring under her eyes and the pale complexion of her skin.
