Technical File - Gothic Horror hair lesson 2

How to:

- Create a zigzag parting using the end of a pin tail comb down the middle.

Take each half of the hair and put them into tight pigtails.

- Curl the hair in the hair in each pigtail using curling tongs, alternating the direction of the curls so that they don't all face the same direction.

- Backcomb the hair in the pigtails and pin the hair into a messy and roundish shape.

Evaluation:

Overall, I am not that pleased with the outcome. I really struggled with making a zigzag parting and am aware that i'll need to practice this technique. I also feel that the bunches do not looks as big and messy as they should have, although I am aware that the intended visual outcome would have been easier to achieve with much longer hair. I also would have liked to have put the pigtails in a higher up position on the head.

Technical file - American Horror Story hair

How to:

- Part the hair in a side parting.

- Directional set the front section of the hair with heated rollers in a downwards direction.

- Brick set the mid section of the head/hair with heated rollers in a downwards direction.

- Set the bottom section of the hair in a normal set, but setting it in a upwards direction.

- Once the hair has cooled, dress out the hair, keeping the top section separate and dressing out the rest, pinning the ends up and round in one large barrel curl.

- Take the sides of the front, and bring it around and dress the ends into curls.

- Dress out the side fringe into a curl(s).

Evaluation:

Overall, I am really happy with my outcome. I am pleased with my own interpretation of the style with the use of pin curls etc and think that the outcome of the finish is quite refined. If I were to do this hairstyle again, I would spend more time refining the barrel curl at the back/bottom. 

Final Design Breakdown

Make-up Design

Product List:

Illamasqua Matte Primer

Kryolan Ultra Foundation

Kryolan Concealer Palette

Illamasqua Translucent powder

Kryolan Liquid Latex

Kryolan Cinewax

Kryolan Supracolor (red)

Rimmel Mascara

Kryolan Glamour Glow Palette

Latex Prosthetic Piece (Forehead)

Dental Prosthetic Piece (Fangs)

Design

In my design, I have decided to go for a natural but pale skin tone as I feel that this is more suited film as it gives a more natural and realistic finish to the overall complexion. I found using a white greasepaint made my previous design look theatrical and too bold for a HD camera and would have looked almost comical. 

I have chosen a matte primer as my model has a combination skin type and any shine would be obvious on a HD camera and also give away that presence of make-up on the skin. I will be using darker shades of foundation to contour with over powder as this is much lighter in consistency and therefore more natural in appearance. The absence of base make-up is important to my character as not only is she set in the Victorian era, where make-up was taboo, she was also a vampire, a mythical creature, therefore make-up application in her animalistic-like state would not be something on her agenda.

I wanted design for the scene where she is seen as a Vampire and feeding, therefore I added red tones to the lips and around the eyes to give a subtle hint of life and colour to her face as she would be in health prime as a Vampire as a feed, while also mainitaining a ghostly complexion. 

In the book, when she is first seen as her vampire self, it is something that is instantly recognisable and distinctively different from her human self. I felt that by adding something that looks like it is between a human and an animal to the face would really help to define her in her vampire form. Therefore, I chose my forehead/brow prosthetic. This gives her a fierce and angry expression which therefore makes her scary to look at. The distinctive lines and depth ensure that it is too unusual to be human. 

I lastly finished my look with a pair of fangs. I chose this style of fangs as I felt it that these are the types of fangs that would produce the puncture marks in the neck that is described in the book. Fangs that are on the canine teeth would be too far apart to and large to create it.

To add depth to my prosthetic, I used dark foundation tones. I wanted the prosthetic to match the rest of the face and not look out of place, therefore I used these same tones to contour with, to add the same type of depth and colouring to make the look continuous.

I also used a light amount of black mascara on the eyelashes to bring my look together as I felt that the overall appearance was too pasty and undistinctive without extra definition to the eye area and also meant that there was too much focus on the depth of the prosthetic, therefore I felt this was needed.

The reason I chose a prosthetic piece over creating a similar effect with Cinewax or a similar product is that I felt that this was most suitable for continuity as it can be remade over and over the same every time using a mold with the same outcome every time.

Hair

For my hair design, I decided to go with a neat plaited bun design which was inspired by the plates I had gathered from Richard Corson's 'Fashions in Hair' book from 1870 to 1900 which I have discussed on this page and is the era in which my book is set. I felt that the front section of the hair would provide a feminine touch as my character is described as pretty and feminine. I also found that with this, it would give me the ability to further camouflage the edges of my prosthetic due to it's placement which would increase the overall effectiveness of my design. Due to it's distinctive appearance but simple required techniques, I felt that this hairstyle would be doable when recreating it for continuity.

Technical File - Step by Step of my Assessment, Practice on Myself and a Product List

Product List:

Hair:

Denman brush

Pintail Comb

Bobby pins (dark brown)

Thin hairbands (dark brown)

Heated Rollers

Hairspray

Sectioning clips

Make-up:

Pre-made, pre-painted Latex Prosthetic

Cleanser, toner, moisturiser

Illamasque Matte Primer

Kryolan Cinewax

Kryolan Liquid Latex

Kryolan Creme Foundation Palette

Kryolan Supracolor (Red)

Illamasqua Translucent Powder

Rimmel Long Lasting Mascara

Dental Fang Prosthetic

Step by Step

1. Remove any make-up that my model has on by cleansing, toning and moisturising. Allowing it to soak into the skin while I move on to the hair.
2. Section the front half of the hair and clip it forward to separate it from the back.
3. Take the back section of the hair and put it a neat ponytail on the center of the back of the head.
4. Plait the pony tail and tie it off with hair band.
5. Twist the plait around on itself, into a bun shape and secure it with bobby pins.
6. Part the front section of the hair down the middle and directionally set the hair with heated rollers.
7. While the rollers cool and set, begin the make-up.
8. Apply a matte primer on the skin (I will use a foundation brush for this to maintain good cleanliness).
9. Apply Cinewax on to the eyebrows and smooth it down with a spatula (this is to protect the eyebrows from adhesive and to flatten any areas that are not covered by the prosthetic). 
   
10. Apply an adhesive around the edges of the prosthetic. For my assessment I chose to use liquid latex as it's easy to remove and works well my with my thin latex based prosthetic and a heavy duty one is not necessary. 
    
11. After leaving the liquid latex after a short time to allow it to get slightly tacky, I apply the prosthetic to the face, so the the bottom middle sits just above the bridge of the nose and the sides sit just before the crease of her eyelids to ensure her eyes can still open with ease and is comfortable and central. 
    
12. Once the liquid latex is dry and the prosthetic is stable, I blend out the edges with liquid latex and a cotton bud to make it a smoother transition from the prosthetic to the skin. I then dry this with a hairdryer. 
    
13. I then apply my base make-up (Kryolan creme foundation) all over the face and over the latex edges and partially on to the pre-painted prosthetic to further help with blending.
14. I then use darker shades of foundation (which were also used on the prosthetic) to add depth and contour the face which I blend out thoroughly but try to match the visual impact of the prosthetic to help it to not look out of place. 
    
15. I then powder over the whole base using Illamasqua translucent powder to set it. 
    
16. I then apply Kryolan red greasepaint on the the lower and upper eyelids and the lips which I blend with my finger to give it a natural appearance which I then set with translucent powder too to avoid creases. 
    
17. Lastly, I apply a light amount of black mascara on to the lashes to add a bit of subtle depth to the eyes. 
    
    
    
18. Once the make-up is complete, I move back on to the hair where I remove the heated rollers and lightly dress out the hair. 
19. Using a pintail comb, I encourage the sides of the hair wave forward towards the face at the sides to cover the sides of the prosthetic to further help camouflage it while also looking very true to the late Victorian look.
20. I then pin the ends of the hair to sit over the ears and back into the bun which I secure with bobby pins.
21. Lastly, I ask my model to put in her dental fang prosthetic on to her teeth to finish of the vampire look. 

Technical File - Hair Practice

Method:

Section the back half of the hair and tie it in a pony-tail. Plait it and tie off the end. 

Twist it around on itself into a bun and secure it with bobby pins. 

Part the front section down the middle and set the hair directionally with heated rollers. 

Once they are cooled, take them out and use the height and shape given to dress it around the front sides of the face which will be used to help disguise my prosthetic. Tuck the ends of each half of the front around the bun and pin it in.

Evaluation:

Overall, I am happy with this practice and confident with putting the hairstyle together quickly and efficiently. My method creates the appearance that I want. My styling in this practice doesn't look particularly refined and this is something I will need to work on although I am aware that the hair on this doll head is quite damaged which impacts it. 

First practice

Overall, I am not very happy with this outcome. I found it almost impossible to achieve the same colour on the prosthetic as on to the natural skin and then  I also found that the same with the shading, practically outlining the edges of the prosthetic with colour making it obvious. The redness around the eye looks pinkish in colour and the lips too bold for the period. I mixed black and white greasepaint and it looked blueish in colour. Overall, this looks very theatrical and not at all suitable for film. I feel this is mostly due to the boldness of the shades and their application. Therefore, I need to rethink my approach. I am currently considering a more natural and human-like shade as the base, like a very pale foundation. I then would like to use grease-based darker foundation shades to add shading as I think this will look a lot more realistic. I also plan to use greasepaint instead of eyeshadow around the eyes which I will blend lots to create a softer and more natural effect. I am also going to use a softer shade of red (more rouge like) on the lips to be more authentic to the victorian era.

Design Ideas

 Design 1.

Above is my initial idea for my character design. I wanted my character to look pale, and to look unwell with red around her eyes and lips to enhance it. I also wanted to have blood dripping down her chin as in my chosen scene, she had just bitten someone and her appearance is described as this. As she is also described as animalistic, I considered making my design more interesting with a colour added on the face that looks animal-like. The image below is where I found inspiration for this idea:

Pinterest, (2015). Yolandi Visser Vampire. [image] Available at: https://uk.pinterest.com/pin/346003183851186890/ [Accessed 28 Feb. 2016].

After drawing up my initial idea, it occurred to me that my design would be very hard to create for continuity and at this stage I want decide on something achievable. The blood in particular would be especially hard to get it to drip in the same way. I also found my animal-like aspect on the skin may not look as effective as I want and difficult to achieve.

Design 2.

With this design, I tried to approach my design in a way that was a lot less abstract and more vampire-like. After drawing my design I found my ideas to be too predictable and uninspiring. I felt that I needed something with originality, but still recognisable as a vampire. I also felt that my design also did not reflect the period in any way.

Design 3.

I decided that a good way for me to achieve some creative flare and also be successful in continuity would be to incorporate the use of prosthetic in my design.

I felt very confident with this idea and decided to practice it on my model:

When creating my design, I decided to swap out the grey powder for greasepaint as this would not apply well on to the prosthetic and I wanted it to match on the face. After doing this design, I realised that everything looked far too threatical for a TV design and almost cartoon like which made it look comical. I realised I needed to reconsider my products and colours what I wanted to use to make it look more suitable.

With this design , I followed the same idea as before but this time everything is toned down. I have gone for a much softer use of red around the eyes and lips to look more natural and gone for a pale skin tone instead of white. This therefore still looks vampire like but without the boldness:

After practicing this design, I realised I like this approach much better and the more natural look is much more suited to the Victorian period. 

Technical File - Hair Design Initial Idea Practice and Outcome

After some discussion with Helen, I realised that my hope to do a typical late Victorian Hairstyle (as shown in previous Technical file practice) was far too adventurous to fit into my time frame, particularly as I hope to do quite a complex make-up. Therefore, I have chosen a hairstyle which is much simpler and requires less heat setting etc.

The pictures above are of a general shape which Helen put together to help bring an idea to life, which I am adapting further to create a style that would be true to the Victorian era but also be quite simple.

Below is a drawn and adapted version of my idea, which I will later practice on my model properly using her length of hair as this will be influential in my approach to the style:

Technical File - Late Victorian Hair Styling

Step by Step:

First, I set the front of the hair in medium-small sized heated rollers. I set them so that the hair would fall in the direction I wanted it to be in once cooled.

With the back section of the hair, I halved it across the head and put the top half in a ponytail. I then sectioned the hair into 4 and curled the hair under itself with a heated tong and then pinned it into a clover-like shape.

I then began to heat the hair in the same way as above in various places which I brought up and around the bun I had made to stop it appearing bun-like and more random.

I then took out the heated rollers from the front and parted the hair and placed it around to finish off the style.

I then took the bottom section and curled it to make 2 large ringlets.


Evaluation:

Overall, I am very disappointed with my styling and think that every aspect of it is unsymmetrical. I also feel I did not disguise the bun well at all. In the future I will need to perfect my middle parting before setting the hair with heat as this contributed to the lack of symmetry. Despite this, I do not think it is terrible for a first attempt and feel that after this practice, future ones will be much more successful.

Technical File - Early Victorian Hair Styling

Early Victorian Hair Plate. (n.d.). [image] Available at: https://uk.pinterest.com/explore/victorian-hairstyles/ [Accessed 10 Feb. 2016].

For this early Victorian hairstyle, I created a plait bun and had two plaits coming down from a center parting, going underneath the ears and joining the plait bun. This style was inspired by early Victorian concepts such as on the plate above (Top right, Centre).

How to:

1. To start the style, I made sure the hair was combed through fully to get rid of any knots or stray hairs that would prevent it from looking as sleek as possible as this part of the period focused heavily on neat and sleek styles.
2. After this, I sectioned the front and back halves of the hair and parted the front section down the middle.
3. I took the back section and made a ponytail just below the crown of the head, which I then plaited.
4. I wrapped the plait around itself and pinned it in, into a bun shape.
5. I then took one half of the front section and began to plait it just above the ears.
6. Once the plait was finished it, I then draped it under the ear and pinned the end into the bun.
7. I then repeated this process on the other half, completing the style.

Evaluation:

Overall, I am quite happy with this first attempt and think that the front section looks best. I am not overly pleased with the bun as I feel that the pins look too obvious and the ends of the plaits do not blend in as nicely as I would like. If I were to practice this again, I would work on improving the bun for a more polished finish.

Research - Victorian Beauty Ideals

Victorian Hair

Below are a series of collages I made with images of Plates from the 'Fashions in Hair' book by Richard Corson. I have chosen the plates I feel sum up the era well and help to support my information/research I have gathered.

Early Victorian Men (1830-1860)

1830 - 1840 - In this part of the period, hair length was generally short to medium in length and fairly ruffled and messy with waves that were often swept to the side. Side burns / mutton chops were sometimes seen but facial hair in general was minimal.

1840 - 1850 - Hair has increased in length since the 30s and has become more medium to long in length. Hair is generally straight but occasionally some subtle waves. No facial hair was still seen but sometimes alone beards, mustaches or a combination of both was starting to come into fashion.

1850 - 1860 - Hair has become shorter again, usually sitting just below the ears. The hair is usually textured with waves. Facial hair has almost completely gone but side burns or mutton chops are sometimes present.

Late Victorian Men (1860-1900)

1860 - 1870 - Hair is now usually just above the ears and either straight or flicked at the ends. The parting is usually at the side or swept back. Full facial hair is in fashion but also sometimes a beard with a mustache is seen.

1870 - 1880 - Hair is still often short and facial hair has lessened again to no facial hair or a mustache on it's own. Only sometimes a beard is present.

1880 - 1890 - Hair is now even shorter and neat and often straight. Sometimes the hair is long but quite rare. Mustaches, often paired with beards is now in fashion.

Early Victorian Women (1830-1860)

1830 - 1840 - In this early part of the period, the hair is parted down the middle and often has a type of bun using the back section of the hair on the head. The remaining hair from the front section is plaited or made into ringlets from the ears down, leaving the top straight. The length of the hair usually ended around the jawline.

1840 - 1850 - The hair in this part of the period is very similar, only the hair is now longer and often finishes just past the collarbones. Occasionally, remaining hair that is down is plaited and brought back under the ears and the ends incorporated into the bun. 

1850 - 1860 - In this part of the period, the front section of the hair is parted down the middle and pulled back over the ears and is often waved. The back section is usually in a spiral twisted bun or rolled back with height.

1860s - Again, the hair is parted down the middle, only this time the front and back halves of the hair flow together rather than separated. The back rolling with height element of the 50s is now heavily used with much more visual complexity; coming in from various angles with various shapes and sizes.

Late Victorian Women (1870-1900)

1870 - 1880 - The hair has evolved even further from the 50s - 60s to now into the 70s. Hair rolls, also known as barrel curls, are used in abundance. The hair is covered in rolls starting from the front of the head coming all the way down to the very back. Occasionally, the hair may be finished off with ringlets falling from the very back.

1880 - 1890 - The fashion of the rolls are still going, only now they are starting to fizzle out subtly, with the rolls being kept to just the back section and front being brought back but waved. Tiny fringes at front of the hair that resemble baby hairs which were often curled are now seen.

1890 - 1900 - The hair is now all brought back in one continuous roll with added height around the head, all meeting in a small bun on the crown or just below. The bun sometimes features small adornments for evening wear.

1900s - The height of the hair leading to the bun has increased dramatically, as has the bun, which is now at the top of the head and styled in various creative ways.

For my final design, I plan to do a type of bun that is seen on the 1890-1900s plates, as the book I have chosen is set in 1897. This is very late Victorian, which is obvious due to it's similarities to the popular bouffant type bun seen in the Edwardian era which came not long after. Therefore, this hairstyle seems like a natural choice for my female character.

Victorian Make-up

Queen Victoria Picture: Queen Victoria. (n.d.). [image] Available at: http://www.scottish-country-dancing-dictionary.com/dance-crib/queen-victoria.html [Accessed 8 Feb. 2016].
King Edward Picture: King Edward. (n.d.). [image] Available at: http://cookit.e2bn.org/historycookbook/22-112-edwardians-and-ww1-Food-facts.html [Accessed 8 Feb. 2016].

In the Victorian era, make-up was something to be ashamed of. As Queen Victoria was in reign, she herself did not wear make-up, nor did she approve of it. During this era, royalty was extremely influential in terms of fashions and opinions, therefore this influenced what the people of the country of that era did. It is said that her son, who later became King Edward after Victoria's death, was highly promiscuous. Victoria blamed this on the influence of actresses and prostitutes, the only women of that time to wear make-up. Therefore, in Victoria's eyes, make-up equaled women of poor reputation. After Victoria's death, with King Edwards leniency, make-up was slowly started to be reintroduced into society.

A pale complexion was the height of fashion during the Victorian era and also suggested that you were not a working woman, and therefore were not in the outdoors long enough to get a tan. Women were supposed to be sweet, respectable and fragile in nature, and a pale skin was supposed to support this ideal. Unlike previous eras, a pale/white complexion was achieved with a non-toxic substance. This substance was Zinc Oxide, which was a white mineral powder. They sometimes even drank vinegar as they felt it helped to prevent a tan. 

Due to the secrecy surrounding cosmetics, they would be bought in secret and hidden in their rooms. Rouge was added to their cheeks with what was simply beet juice, which would be applied lightly to give a natural appearance. Eyeshadows were made with lead and antimony sulfide and lipsticks were made with mercuric sulfide - again, these were only applied to enhance features and were not applied in a way that would show they were wearing make-up.

Victorian Woman Picture: Victorian Woman. (2014). [image] Available at: https://uk.pinterest.com/explore/victorian-paintings/ [Accessed 8 Feb. 2016].

As my character is a Victorian Vampire, a lot of these traditional Victorian attributes cross-over with that of a Vampire. Therefore, I shall be ensuring that a very pale complexion and redness of the lips are key features in my design, as well as some subtle eye definition. Thankfully, these features do not interfere with a Vampire concept, therefore I will be able to incorporate them in a way which is historically accurate without reducing the impact of my design.

References for this post:

beautifulwithbrains.com, (2010). Beauty In The Victorian Age. [online] Available at: http://beautifulwithbrains.com/2010/08/06/beauty-in-the-victorian-age/ [Accessed 8 Feb. 2016].

Corson, R. (1965). Fashions in hair. New York: Hastings House.

Corson, R. (1972). Fashions in makeup. New York: Universe Books.