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.