TUTORIAL - Evil Clown SPFX Makeup

So I'm sure we've all been scared of clowns at one time or another - usually the type that have evil eyes and bloody smiles.  I'm not sure where this deep seeded fear came from but I can imagine movies and books like IT by Stephen King and the wide variety of paintings, digital art, drawings, and makeups that have brought the most terrifying versions of clowns to life hasn't helped. 

For me however, it has always been more of a fascination than a fear.  I have always been intrigued by how every clown is wearing a disguise, pretending, and can be whoever they want to be.  I have also always loved how something that is supposed to represent fun, laughter, enjoyment and entertainment for children can carry such terrifying connotations.  With that in mind, I wanted to create a clown makeup that portrayed the exact thing I've always loved about clowns - EVIL - and what better way to do that than to slash out the cheeks and give my clown a great big bloody smile!

So here's how I created this look....

Step 1 - Silicone Slash

The first thing you should always do when creating a makeup that involves prosthetics is to put  the prosthetics on first! Why? Because silicone and latex prefer to stick to skin than  other makeup products such as foundation or Supra.  It also makes the whole process faster and more efficient as Silicone can take up to 20 minutes to dry so it can be drying whilst you finish the rest of your makeup.

Like any silicone prosthetic that you sculpt straight onto the skin you need to mark out where you want it then apply the desired amount.  Then, using a sculpting tool, smooth out the edges to the skin so that there are no visible ridges.  You then need to gouge out the inside of the wound to create your desired effect and pattern - remembering that wounds of this nature will usually be jaggered and imperfect.

Now leave the silicone alone till it is completely dry!

Step 2 - Pale Base

Almost all characters of this style and genre start with a pale base (you can also do this step after eyes if you like, depends on personal preference).  To achieve this I used a mixture of a very pale foundation and white Supra, buffed into the skin with a setting powder over the top.  I made sure to blend this down the neck also.

Step 3 - Eyes

For the eye makeup I went with greys, ice blues, dark navy and black eyeshadows - most of which were shimmer.  I started with an eye primer, then a base ice blue, contouring the socket line with the darker colours.  I highlighted the inside of the eye and under the arch of the brow with the ice blues and darkened under the eye with the navy and black.  

I then blackened my water line and under the eye with a Mac smudge liner and penciled in my eyebrows with a waterproof black liner.  Once I had everything looking very perfect and pretty I smudged and blended the eyeshadows and ran Mac gel liner under my eye line, up through the brow and down my cheeks to give the eyes a creepier look.  I didn't want this makeup to look too pretty, but pretty enough and I also wanted it to resemble the stereotypical clown eyes famous in pop culture.  I then added a set of luscious lashes for the glam look and completed the eyes by adding Mac gel liner to my upper eye lid.

Step 4 - Adding Colour to the Silicone Slash

Before I applied any colour to the silicone I first powdered it down with translucent powder to remove any un-natural looking shine.  I could then move onto the fun stuff.  I used red and lake RMGP for trauma around the edges and for inside the wound.  I then moved onto using fresh scratch to add a bit more depth and chunkiness to the wound.  It is important when painting prosthetic wounds that you leave some areas bare, as showing natural skin makes a wound more believable to you're audience. 

Step 5 - Lips

I wanted deep red lips that resembled blood so I lined them with a Lake pencil, over accentuating my lip shape.  I then used Mac 'Diva' lipstick,  to fill in the lip colour, and outlined the lips with black gel liner which I then blended inwards into the red.  Finally I finished the lips with a clear gloss to pump up the 'bloody' look.

Step 6 - BLOOOOOOD!!!!
My favourite part, as always, is adding the blood :D I had to restrain myself from adding too much, as I didn't want to ruin my sculpting and painting efforts by drowning it in blood.  I strategically placed blood in the wound where the cuts would be deepest and dripped blood down from the wound at balanced points along my cheeks and chin.

The final touch was the blood spatter surrounding the wound - very subtle but I think effective.  I created this using the brush I've grown accustomed to calling my 'spatter' brush.

Step 7 - Contact Lenses

For the finishing touch I applied "Manson" contact lenses which really finished off the look by adding that extra creep factor.  However - I don't recommend applying or removing contact lenses unless you know how and have the right equipment to sterilise and clean the lenses.

All in all, this makeup wasn't overly difficult but turned out quite well and definitely as creepy as I 'd hoped.  I can only wish that my makeup and others like it make their way into peoples nightmares all around the world. :D

Yours in Blood & Gore,

Caity

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