Character Makeup

A true makeup artist is capable of doing far more than making women pretty. Creating whatever characters are necessary to make a script believable takes talent, knowledge and research. Think about Pirates of the Caribbean; if the actors just had a gold tooth and an eye patch, would they have been believable? The process of making their skin look old, sun damaged, weathered with beard stubble and rotten teeth is what brings you into the scene and makes the story work.

This 2-day Character workshop is imperative for anyone wanting to work in television, video or film. You will learn how to develop a character with makeup and the use of prosthetics. The application of foam or gelatin appliances allows makeup artists to alter an actor’s face to look completely different. For example:

Fake nose:
Think of Ralph Fiennes in Harry Potter, Nicole Kidman in The Hours, Danny Devito in Batman Returns, Jack Nicholson in Hoffa, Will Smith in Ali and Anthony Hopkins in Nixon.

Heavier:
Think Shallow Hal, Big Momma’s House or Monica flashbacks in Friends.

Monsters:
Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, Hannibal, Bram Stokers Dracula, The Fly, The Howling, Nightmare on Elm Street and American Werewolf in London.

In this course you will learn to apply facial prosthetics and paint them to create advanced characters. Both days include lecture, demonstration and hands-on time on models. The first night of class you will create a zombie character with hollow eyes and rotting flesh. The next evening you will learn to create a vampire character as in Lost Boys and Buffy the Vampire Slayer. During Halloween season, this course will enable you to find additional work at various theme parks and Halloween attractions in addition to booking clients to do makeup for parties and contests.