I briefly touched on make-up earlier this week. Now we are going to go a little more in depth. We will begin with a few simple rules on doing make-up. First and foremost, always do a skin test to make sure that you are not allergic. Nothing is more irritating, or possibly life threatening, than having an allergic reaction to make-up, or latex prosthetics.
Another good thing to remember is to apply make-up thinly and wait until each layer dries before going on to another layer. You can use a blow dryer to hurry the drying process up, but make sure that you have it set on cool. That way you won't be causing a potential burn or even catching your face on fire.
Speaking of fire, never apply make-up, prosthetics, or latex appliances near an open flame. You can actually flame your face off since some of the fumes are volatile. It's just not a good idea to do anything like that near an open flame.
Another good rule of thumb is to never mix different types of make-up, and only use make-up that is approved for being applied to your face or skin.
Now that we have gone over some basic safety tips, let's explore some of the basic types of make-up.
1. Cream Make-ups or Grease Make-up. This is what I primarily use. It is very easy to apply and mixes well if you want to blend colors. The cream make-ups are also a lot easier to remove than traditional grease paint. Another good thing about cream make-ups is that they usually come packaged in character packs. These are all the make-ups that you need to create a specific character like a skeleton, zombie, witch, etc. Cream make-ups can be applied with sponges and for some really neat blending techniques, try using a stipple sponge.
2. Liquid Make-up. This is what we primarily use on the characters that are not being showcased. It's quick, easy to apply, and gives you just a bland make-up job. The fact that it is cheap, also helps out a lot. There is also another type of liquid make-up that is used primarily in airbrushing. You can get very elaborate with an airbrush, but make sure you are using the liquid make-up that is specifically made for airbrushing.
3. Pancake Make-Up. This is usually used for a foundation, or set up. It comes in a powdered form and is applied with a powder puff. If you use pancake make-up, make sure you used a setting spray, so that it stays in place all night.
4. The final make-up that I want to talk about is stick make-up. This would be lipsticks, etc. This type of make-up is great for outlining, shadowing, and highlighting.
Now that you know a little bit about the different types of make-up that are availiable to you, find the one that you are most comfortable using, and get to work. Practice as much as you can until you get the look that you were after or until you like what you see in the mirror.
Since we are still talking about make-up and set up, I would like to address adhesives. The most common adhesive out there is spirit gum. You can also use liquid latex as an adhesive. Make sure that you, or the person that you are making up, is not allergic to the liquid latex. Liquid latex also has ammonia in it, so do not apply it up around your eyes. The fumes can actually burn your eyes and I can tell you from experience, that if you get it close to your eyes, they will tear up. To help it dry faster, you can use a hair dryer set on cool to facillitate the drying process.,
You will need an adhesive to apply any prosthetics to your face or anywhere on your body. Some of the prosthetics that I use are scars, open wounds, and screws, stakes, and spikes. You can make your own wounds using liquid latex and a paper towel, but more on that later.
Now that you have the basics, let's prepare for the application of your make-up. The first thing you need to do is decide whether you need to have your costume on before you put your make-up on. You can really screw up a make-up job by pulling a shirt over your head.
After you decide on whether you need your costume on yet, or not, then you need to clean your face. I use Sea Breeze to clean up my face before I apply the make-up.
Your face is clean, now you need to find a spot in front of a mirror with adequate lighting. Lighting is very important in making sure that you apply the make-up correctly. Especially if you do a lot of blending.
If you are going to use prosthetics, now is the time to begin applying them. Spirit gum does not adhere well to make-up. Apply all of your prosthetics, let them dry thoroughly, and then you can begin applying your make-up. To help blend the edges of the prosthetic a little more naturally, use flesh colored latex. Apply it with a sponge and build it up layer by layer until you are satisfied with the results.
Now that you have your prosthetics on, apply a foundation. I use grey since I am basically a corpse or one of the living dead. If you are a vampire, use white. Apply it lightly and then pat it with a sponge to blend the make-up.
When you have the foundation done to your liking, it is time to highlight. This is when a make-up brush really comes in handy. You can also do your shadowing now.
The next step is texturing. I like to use a sponge, especially a stipling sponge to get the look that I want. You can also use a make-up brush to have a smoother texture. Here's a tip: If you load the front of the brush with a light color and the back of the brush with a dark shade, you can stipple with the brush to get an uneven look.
Shadowing and highlighting are the last step that you need to do. This is why the lighting is very important. To shadow properly, you take a darker color than your foundation and apply to the natural areas on your face that are shadowed. And example of this would be under the eyes.
To highlight, you want to take a lighter shade than your foundation color, and hit all the areas that you want highlighted. An example of the areas that you will want to highlight would be the wrinkles on your face, whether real or prosthetically enhanced.
The final step in the make-up process is setting the make-up. The cheapest way of doing this is with baby powder. Just dust your face with the powder and it will be set. It is important to set your make-up so that you do not sweat it off during your performance.
Baby powder can also be used to in your hair to make you look older. I personally like to use the easy to wash out hair sprays to add any color to my hair. It washes right out when you are taking your make-up off in the shower.
This is a whole hand shot after cutting the grass. The colors that were used to make the wound were magenta, red, and yellow. I think the yellow gives the skin around the wound a pus-like coloration. You use the magenta to give the wound depth. These are all airbrush colors that were dipped on with applicators.
