Zombies

Zombie: Halloween (2012) MUA: Caitlyn Worland
Model: Sammy Van Moolenbrook

Zombies.  A word I am sure we have all grown accustomed to hearing, especially over the last year or so.  Although the concept and idea of Zombies, or the living dead, has existed as a standard post-apocalyptic creature for quite some time it seems that the height of their reign in popular culture has truly been over the last few years. 

We’ve seen shows such as The Walking Dead and Zombieland sweep across screens in countries across the globe.  More and more people are participating in Zombie Walk’s worldwide, with World Records for participation being broken, and Zombie costumes and makeup improving out of sight each year.  Even the realm of literature has been swarmed by brain-eating, decaying and death defying Zombies with the release of several Zombie Survival Guides and novels.

Zombie Walk (2012)
MUA: Caitlyn Worland

This suggests that society appreciates and enjoys the thought of Zombies and all that can be associated with them, including the breakdown of society as we know it, but what does all this mean to a makeup artist?  It means that makeup artists worldwide are having more of an opportunity to practice and master the art of Zombie special effects makeup. 

Given that today’s audience are yearning for more realistic and often grotesque special effects, makeup artists are learning and discovering more and more ways to make their Zombie creations more revolting, confronting and realistically terrifying.  If a Zombie Apocalypse is what the world wants, than I say, makeup artists worldwide should give it to them.

Personally, I have always had a passion for Zombies and I don’t discriminate, I love all Zombie ‘types’ equally.  When it comes to my appreciation for Zombie special effects makeup, I do tend to favour the Zombies that have chunks of the face or jaw missing, or are decayed and rotted to the bone to the point that you can see the inner workings of what once was a human. 

"Zombie Bride" MUA: Caitlyn Worland
Model: Atalanta Ehrenreich

Traditionally I don’t think drenching a Zombie in blood alone can create a ‘living dead’ character.  The very idea of a Zombie is that they may have been walking the world as a decaying corpse for quite some time so fresh blood as opposed to rotting flesh, missing limbs or maggot infestation just wouldn’t make as much sense.  There is one place on a Zombie that certainly requires fresh blood, and that is around the mouth.  We all know a successful and well fed Zombie will have had a few live meals of recent and wouldn’t have been very neat and tidy about it – hence why their mouth, chin and even neckline of their clothing can and should be drenched in blood.

Zombie Walk (2012) 
MUA: Caitlyn Worland

When it comes to the Zombies we see on TV series such as The Walking Dead, the average person likely doesn’t realise the amount of preparation and effort that goes into each one of the Zombies present on those shows.  Zombies that have the bottom half of their jaw missing, bones and teeth protruding from the side of their cheeks and caved in heads and faces would all be created using prosthetics that would be hand sculpted and manufactured. The process of making such complex prosthetics is a lengthy one and would require a post all of its’ own; so we’ll leave that one for now. 

Alternatively, a more basic Zombie created with latex, silicone, tissue and other standard special effects makeup can be ‘brought to life’ fairly easily in approximately 30-60 minutes.  With events such as the Brisbane Zombie Walk,   "The Walking Dead" themed Fright Night at Movie World on the Gold Coast, and Halloween all recently taking place, I've had my fair share of quick Zombie makeups.

Fresh Zombie attack
Zombie Walk (2012)
MUA: Caitlyn Worland

I found the most important part of creating a quick yet effective Zombie was the highlighting and contouring in the cranial work.  I made sure to create flesh tones that resembled rotting and dying flesh with the occasional mottled effect thrown in.  I also created quick and easy scabs, wounds, and torn and decaying flesh using tissue and latex that I then further developed with standard SPFX makeup products and effects.  Some Zombies may have more dramatic and grotesque wounds and that's where I bring in pre-made latex scumbles which can easily be applied and combined with tissue and latex to create flappy, oozing wounds.  The final addition for my quick and easy Zombie makeup effects is blood; which I tried to not get too carried away with...

To be honest though, the key to pulling off a spectacular Zombie really comes down to the model or actor.  You can create the most breathtaking Zombie with all their bits and bobs falling off but if the actor or model can't pull off that mind numbing, brain hungry, empty eyed look and groan then you're back to square one...

Yours in Blood & Gore,


Caity

Blood

"Death Cab" (2012), David Kiolle
MUA: Caitlyn Worland

There is just something about blood that makes everything in life so much more exciting.  I’m not sure whether it’s the colour, texture, or sometimes even the taste (depending on the brand) that makes blood, the fake kind, so appealing.  

What I do know for sure is that I love everything about it.  As a special effects makeup artist I take advantage of and use fake blood quite often in my line of work.  Due to this I saw it fit to sum up what I've discovered, learnt and love about fake blood , whilst also providing some examples of how I've used it.

Whilst I love the effect a bucket of blood can have when dropped onto the head of a pretty, curly haired blonde in a nice pastel dress, I do understand that there is a time and place for fake blood and that the rules surrounding this need to be understood. 

Most makeup artists will jump straight to whatever blood they can get their hands on and just throw it onto a wound or smear it onto clothing, thinking it will automatically make the overall effect somewhat better.  As much as I love blood (in the least serial killer way possible), I know from research, experience, and the teachings of a wise SPFX makeup artist, that the addition of the wrong blood, in the wrong amount and in the wrong pattern and place can ruin a perfectly good, well crafted wound or overall character.  It is important to learn about and experiment with all the different types of fake blood that are on the market.

FAKE BLOOD

1. Rubber Mask Grease Paint (RMGP)

It's all about layering when it comes to creating wounds and injuries so why not start with something that isn't actually blood.  RMGP, when used in combination with products such as Fresh Scratch and Mouldlife Arterial Blood can create a very realistic looking wound or injury. There are two colours in this palette I use quite frequently for special effects - Red and Lake, and I advise you to get yourself familiar with both of these.  

However, as this isn't a tutorial on how to create a wound or injury I won't venture much further into how to use this palette effectively.  All you need to know with regards to RMGP and fake blood in general is that you should never just grab the first bottle you can find and throw it on your prosthetic.  You need to layer it and combine it with other products to ensure you create the most realistic effect possible.


2. Kryolan Fresh Scratch

"Death Cab" (2012), Kurt Norvilas
MUA: Caitlyn Worland

Fresh Scratch, an actual fake blood, is ideal for almost all open wounds, lacerations, scratches and wound effects.  Personally, I use it to give my wounds a little more depth and impact as the deep colour, thick  consistency and freshly glossy look this blood has allows for the wound to really come to life.  

It can be used heavily as a wound filler or sparingly in the areas you really want to stand out and look even more grotesque.  The shot of the facial wound to the left is an example of how Fresh Scratch can create depth in a wound.  As can be seen it allows for a relatively 2-Dimensional latex prosthetic to appear much deeper than it actually is and therefore more realistic.



3. Mouldlife Arterial Blood

Professional
Makeup Academy

My preferred and most commonly relied on fake blood is the Mouldlife Arterial Blood.  I buy mine in a 1L bottle and go through it way too quickly.  I find it to be just the right density and thickness to  hold its' shape and body when applied but to also be able to run and move when prompted.  The Arterial blood in this brand is my preferred colour and tone as it is dark enough to be believable but still has a powerful impact on the audience.  

Also, there are a  couple of added bonuses with this blood - not only does it wash out of clothes, hair and brushes but it is also peppermint flavoured and non-toxic so can be used in and around the mouth safely and without discomfort to the actor or model.

The most important thing to remember when adding this kind of blood to your work is to not overdo it.  It is tempting to just throw buckets of the stuff at a wound but creative control is vital when it comes to the application of fake blood.  There should only be as much blood as the wound would produce in real life, regardless of whether it would look more dramatic or theatrical with copious amounts of blood.  Sometimes, just by adding the slightest amount of blood you can create something more breathtaking, eerie and realistic than a mere blood bath ever could, and this is what will have the greatest impact on an audience.

"Death Cab" (2012)
Caitlyn Worland

To be honest though, there are thousands of types, brands and colours of fake blood out there and it comes down to personal preference and style.  These are just a few of the products I've enjoyed using when it comes to special effects makeup and I hope to come across some new and exciting products to play with in the near future.

One last thing to remember, when it comes to fake blood - you can't be afraid of getting your hands dirty...


Yours in Blood & Gore,

Caity

Character Makeup - Black Swan

Black Swan Makeup Trial

As I've said before, almost all character makeup begins with a cranial makeup and that's exactly where my Black Swan makeup began.  However, before I even picked up a makeup brush there was plenty of research to be done.  I wanted to know exactly how Natalie Portmans' makeup looked for the Black Swan from several different angles and under a variety of lighting so that I could achieve the best and most accurate result.

Black Swan image from Kenton

My favourite from all of my research photos is the shot of Natalie Portman that was used on the promo poster for the movie.  This shot shows her makeup at its' most theatrical as the extremely white base allows for the eye and lip makeup to really stand out.  I also think it is the creepiest and most evil of all the shots of this makeup - which is the look I wanted to achieve.  Therefore, when attempting to replicate this makeup this photo was my main reference.

I wanted to achieve a fairly white base but I went a little lighter for the practice just to see how it turned out.  I ensured that I had fairly heavy contouring in my cheek bones and temple before I applied the white base transparently to ensure the shadows of the cranial contouring could be seen through the foundation.  Once applied I buffed the base into my skin so it didn't look quite so shiny and fake.

I then began the eye makeup by drawing the outline of the swan wings, ensuring both sides were perfectly even.  Regardless of whether the curved edges were exactly the same, I ensured the points at the bottom of the wings finished in line with one another as the eye is drawn to this point and any mistakes would have been extremely obvious.

I then filled in the areas and patterns I wanted thicker with black gel liner to allow for the 'wings' to take shape.  The final step for the eyes was to add silver eyeliner in all of the remaining spaces.  Once the eyes were complete I moved onto the lips, as my mouth and lips are a different size and shape to Natalie Portmans i extended the lip colour beyond my natural lip line.  I used a blue based lip liner and lipstick along with black gel liner to create the lip colour - blending is the key for lip colour like this so don't be afraid to blur one colour into the other.

Finally I added just a touch of blush under my cheek bones to emphasise the cranial and narrow my face.  I made sure not to place the blush on or above the cheekbones as this was not done for the makeup in the Black Swan movie.  I also recommend continuing the white base down the neck and across the chest to where the costume starts.  This allows for the overall character to be created.

Version with whiter base

When I recreated this makeup for the second and final time I used a lot more white for the foundation.  Looking back I prefer the initial, more transparent, version of the makeup.  

The intensity of the white in the second version caused the makeup to lose some of its' eerie effect and looks less real.  This is an example of why transparency in makeup is important for film and television makeup creations.

To finish off the look I wore a black corset decorated with feathers and diamante studs, black tutu, white ballet tights, and a silver tiara that I dry brushed with black acrylic paint.  This is a fairly basic character makeup that most people would be able to create with minimal makeup products so I hope that some of my readers are willing to recreate the Black Swan.



Yours in Blood & Gore,

Caity

TUTORIAL - Bald Caps

Bald Cap and paintwork on 05.09.12
Model: Katherine Barrett

I’d like to welcome you all to the wonderful world of Bald Caps.  To most, the idea of making someone appear as though they have no hair is quite befuddling, but once you break the process down it’s really quite simple.  By simple, however, I do not by any means suggest a quick or fast process…

Many popular characters throughout film and television history have worn bald caps.  Some bald caps have been for the most basic purpose of making an actor or actress appear as though they have shaved their head.  On the other end of the scale – they have also been used to create the more complex fantasy and sci-fi creatures.  Regardless of the purpose or character being created the process up until the final makeup application remains the same.  First thing first, we start with the manufacturing of the latex bald cap itself.

Step 1 - Template: First of all you must (or should for accuracy) measure your actor or actresses head – this ensures that the bald cap finishes at the appropriate point on their forehead or eyebrows, depending on whether eyebrow block out is also being done.  These measurements are taken by wrapping your helpless actors head in gladwrap, covering that in sticky tape then drawing in the eyebrows, hairline and any other important features.

This, now firm, template of their head is then transferred onto a ‘Red Head’ which is a dummy head used for making bald caps.  Once the relevant features are marked onto the Red Head and you’ve decided how far down you want the latex to come you can start the delightful stage of coating the Red Head in several layers of latex.

Step 2 - Manufacture: This step wouldn’t be so bad if you didn’t have to dry and powder each coat – causing the length of the process to be dragged out significantly.  First of all you MUST coat the Red Head in Vaseline – otherwise you will never get the bald cap off!  Then, using a tight weave sponge (open weave will leave a rough surface to the bald cap) you can then coat the required area with a layer of latex, dry with a hair dryer and powder over it to seal it.  You repeat this 7 times, any more and it will be too thick, any less and it will be too weak and likely tear.

The most important thing to remember is that the front edge that frames the face will need to be thin, smooth and have no imperfections.  In order to achieve this you will need to taper the edge by placing each layer a few millimetres back from the previous edge.  On the 4th and last layers you can extend it back out to the first edge for reinforcement.

Step 3 - Red Head Removal: Once you have done the hard yards and powdered your freshly manufactured bald cap you then have to leave it to rest overnight – don’t be impatient or you will regret it.  With fresh eyes and a firmly set bald cap you can now remove it from the Red Head.  Using a flat, thin brush and some powder gradually flick the edges free, starting from the base of the neck.  It is vital that you do not go anywhere near the front edge until you have worked your way around from the base – you do not want to destroy this edge.

As you free the edges you should then be able to easily peel back the rest of the bald cap, ensuring that each newly exposed section of the underside of the bald cap is powdered before progressing any further.  If you avoid this step your bald cap may stick to itself and you will be left with something that is about as much use as a dead fish.

Sam Porzionatos' work

Step 4 - Hair Flattening: Now you should have something that resembles a scalp, which means you’ve reached the more interesting part.  Take a large amount of professional grade gel, the kind that sets like concrete and slick back your actors’ hair.  Ensure to pay close attention to any ‘fly-away’ hairs around the ear and front hairline as you need this area to be as neat and tidy as possible.

Sam Porzionatos' work

Step 5 - Application: Place the bald cap on your actors head, twisting and pulling until the placement is correct.  Ensuring there is enough latex to cover the hairline around the ears, glue the bald cap down just behind each ear using Pros-aide to keep it in place.  You can then start to trim the bald cap to fit around the ears and glue just in front of the ear as well. 

Step 6 - Latex Seam: The last of the gluing is along the front hairline, but use it sparingly as you don’t want to have any shiny areas on the forehead.  Now you can make a latex seam to seal and blend the front edge to the forehead – this entails 3-4 light layers of latex that extends just below the line of the bald cap.  This seam should be tapered the same as the bald cap.

My first bald cap, with
eyebrow block out

Step 7 - Bond-o: You can now introduce the marvellous Bond-o, which is a filling agent made from a combination of Pros-aide and Cabosil.  Lightly place this in any holes, gaps or ridges and smooth down with a sculpting tool.  Once dried you’re bald cap has now been applied!

Experimenting with paint splatter
effect using a Kehron Aqua Palette

Step 8 - Underpainting: The next stage is the underpainting – to create that natural skin tone blend between the latex bald cap and the forehead (or eye lids if eyebrows have been blocked out).  You’ll need a Rubber Mask Grease Paint palette as Supra won’t work as well on the latex, isuprophel alcohol, and an open weave sponge.  In order to make the bald cap look like a living thing and not just a dead piece of latex, you need to press red RMGP all over with the sponge to give it the natural undertones of skin.  

Professional Photos COMING SOON

Once you have dried this with a hair dryer and powdered it you can then do a layer of natural RMGP, blended to suit the skin colour of your actors face.  It’s important to continue both of these layers beyond the bald cap edge and onto the natural skin to detract from the edge.  Dry and powder then it’s on to foundation.

Step 9 - Character Makeup:  From here onwards you simply apply foundation and the rest of the makeup you want or need for your character as you normally would.  The photos to the left and right are examples of what I did with my bald cap character makeup.

So you shouldn't be fearful, bald caps are quite easy if you follow the steps.  

Have fun and if anyone gives it a try, let me know how it goes!

Yours in Blood & Gore,

Caity

1920's Period Makeup

In order to create a period makeup, whether it be 1920’s, 50’s or even 80’s, I think it is important to first understand where the makeup styles of that era originate from.  Without knowing what influenced the makeup used, the ways in which it was applied, the fashions worn and the hairstyles of an era you wouldn’t be able to fully capture the essence of that period.

  

Throughout history, particularly after the First World War, fashion, hair, makeup and popular culture has been seen to change periodically in approximately 10 year intervals – usually following a very influential historical event.  With this, each decade lays claim to very different and individual fashion trends, hairstyles, makeup products and lip, eye and cheek shapes. 

The 1920’s arose following the end of WWI where woman had for too long endured a great deal of loss, hardship, and sadness and as a result the 20’s saw in a time where young woman wanted to live outrageously and feel alive.  This period in time gave birth to "The Flappers" and has since been known as the "Roaring Twenties". 

Young women decided to oppose all that had ever been expected of women in the past – they traded their tight corsets and long gowns in for straight cut, short dresses and cut their long hair off into short bobs.  Women in the 20’s took up smoking and partying, became promiscuous and even broke the Prohibition law by consuming alcohol in clubs.  Their attitudes was reflected in everything they did.

The makeup of this time also reflected the rebellion of young Flappers as their lipstick became a very intense, dark red, with dark smoky eyes and bold round blush.  The music of this time also influenced the makeup and hair of the era.  The birth of jazz and swing also ushered in cabaret dancers – which allowed for the makeup to be even more emphasised, bold and daring.  The hairstyles were also broadened from not only a straight cut bob but to also include the shingle and eton cuts – worn straight or styled in finger waves.  

Exploring this era in history I was fascinated by the rebellion and rawness of the women of this time - this being one of the reasons I have decided to create a 1920's influenced period makeup for my assessment next week in addition to a 1940's look. 

 Whilst I am planning a very standard 1940’s ‘working woman’ look, for my practice leading up to my assessment I took a more modern approach with my 1920’s makeup.  I incorporated the famous 1920’s thin, downward slanting eyebrows with the petite yet angular lips that the Twenties are known for.   However, instead of sticking with the plain black smoked eyes, I went to the extreme. 

I went for a smoked pink and black eye over a pale, almost white, base, with lips that shaded from black on the outer line to a shimmer mauve-pink in the centre.  I retained the circular pink blushed cheeks of the Twenties, which were further emphasised by the white foundation.  I highlighted my models beauty spot by pencilling in tiny black love heart – bringing an almost circus feel to the look. 

The final touch to my modernised 1920’s makeup was the inclusion of insanely and unrealistically large and flamboyant black eyelashes, which consisted of individual black feathers.  Once I placed the black bob-cut wig onto my model her transformation was complete.  I had myself a 1920’s doll-like character that hinted of the circus and something a little bit eerie and creepy.  

If I was going to critique my own work I'd admit that these are not the most spotless lips I've ever done, they were a little crooked and I'll make sure to concentrate more on creating a balanced perfect lip shape for my assessment.  Overall though, I was happy with the result, what I had envisioned in my mind was fairly close to what I’d ended up with – it’s always nice when that happens.

Cranial Makeup

The very first thing I learnt in my Cinemagraphic Makeup course was how to do a Cranial Makeup.  Little did I know that this skeletal style undercoat was the base makeup for all character makeup that has ever existed or ever will.  Even some beauty makeup, particularly photographic,   makes use of the Cranial base coat.

Cranial makeup is the basics of makeup – contouring and highlighting.  The idea is to contour the parts of the face you want to push back using darker tones and highlight the sections of the face you want to bring forward and emphasise using lighter tones.  The rule of thumb is 2-3 shades darker than the skin tone for contouring and 2-3 shades lighter for highlighting.  The key areas of the face that need attention are the eye sockets, temples, cheekbones, jawline and for added effect the muscles and tendons of the neck.  However, for beauty makeup the eye sockets are not contoured, rather highlighting is applied around the sockets area to bring the eyes forward and make them stand out.

Cranial makeup left as is with slight additions such as red around the nose and eyes can be used to create the illusion that a person is sick, ill, or with extreme contouring and highlighting, even dying or dead.  The other end of the cranial makeup scale is when the base is then used as the first layer to an elaborate character makeup that consists of several layers, effects and styles.

We had a bit of a play with applying a character makeup over the top and came with skeletons and skulls, evil witches and vampires.  We even ended up creating a decaying corpse look – with the skin looking like it had been rotting underwater for a month or so. 

From Analogholiday.blogspot.com.au

The character makeup used for Johnny Depp in almost all of the Tim Burton films he has starred in showcases the use of cranial makeup.  Depp has a very sharp and skeletal facial structure to begin with and by emphasising his natural contours and highlights his makeup artist has been able to create some very interesting effects.  

Characters such as Edward Scissorhands, Barnabus Collins, The Mad Hatter, and Willy Wonka are among some of the best examples of the transformation of Johnny Depp into Tim Burton characters using cranial makeup. 

The benefits of Cranial makeup is truly underestimated, and the use of this base coat within the makeup industry is clearly prominent. I hope that this post showcases this and the art of Cranial Makeup is appreciated.

Finding the World of SPFX Makeup

I am a 21 year old Aussie girl who, after having completed a Law degree at one of the most reputable Universities for Law in Australia, decided to quit my decently paying graduate program job with the Queensland government to pursue a career as a Special Effects Makeup Artist for the film and television industry. 

My whole life I’ve been fascinated and intrigued by the creative industries – the imagination and creativity that you find in art, film, theatre, costumes, and special effects.  Despite the obvious magnetic pull this world has had on me over the years I managed to somehow avoid entering the creative industries straight out of High School. 

At the end of grade 12, I entered the world wide eyed and did what I thought I had to – go to University and study something the world considered valuable and somewhat difficult.  Although being a lawyer was never really what I wanted to be and having a law degree won’t ever really help me be a better special effects makeup artist – I will never regret my time at Bond University or obtaining a Bachelor of Laws.  I feel as though the experiences I had, the knowledge and skills I obtained and the future prospects I will gain out of having a law degree made the time and effort I spent all worth it.

So there I was, 6 months out of university, working in the Brisbane CBD in a building with 37 floors, 24 elevators and security card access – and I just knew there had to be something else out there for me – something more.  It may have taken me 12 years of schooling, a law degree and 6 months in a graduate program to figure it out, but finally one day I stumbled across a career I’d never considered before – a career as a Special Effects Makeup Artist.

After ample research into the industry, the job itself and the various academies that offered Diplomas in SPFX Makeup, I found the place for me – the Australian Academy of Cinemagraphic Makeup.  With that, I put in my letter of resignation, completed my final two weeks’ notice at work, had one week off and began the journey that will hopefully lead me to the rest of my life…