Character 2: Mrs Laderman. Step by step.

Products Used (in order):

• Benefit's 'Porefessional' Primer
• Kryolan Ultra Foundation
• Kryolan Concealer Palette
• Illamasqua Translucent Powder
• Kryolan Glamour Glow Palette
• Benefit Brow Zing (Medium)
• Mac Cool Neautral Palette
• Benefit 'Roller Lash' Mascara
• Kryolan Creme Liner
• Kryolan Lip Palette
• Kryolan Cinewax
• Kryolan Supracolor (Red and Black)
• Kryolan Transparent Blood (dark)

Step by Step:

 1. First, I prepared the skin using cleansing, toning and moisturising. I then applied Benefit's 'Porefessional' primer to help reduce the appearance of fine lines in the make-up.

 2. I then applied the base, which I firstly used Kryolan's Ultra foundation and conealer from the concealer palette. I blended this in well with a kabuki brush before setting it with Illamasqua's Translucent Powder to prevent the fine lines from being visible. I then warmed up the skin tone and contoured the face using bronzer, highlighter and blush from the Kryolan Glamour Glow Palette.

 3. I filled in and shaped the eyebrows using Benefit's 'Brow Zing' and an angled brush.

 4. I created a soft smokey eye using black, dark brown, light brown and white shades from the Mac 'Cool Neautral' palette.

 5. I then applied Kryolan's Creme Liner in Ebony and Benefit's 'Roller Lash' Mascara on the lashes.

 6. I then applied a orangey-red lipstick to the lips (Kryolan's Lip Palette) as I felt this particular shade of red complimented my model's skin tone.

 7.  I curled the hair all over, alternating in direction. using a curling wand which I loosely teased out with my fingers and hairsprayed.

 8. I then moved on to the cut hand, which I firstly applied and blended the edges of Cinewax and cut down the middle with a spatula.

 9. I then applied red greasepaint around the cut with a soft brush for a light application. I then used a small refined brush to add red inside the cut.

 10. I then applied a small amount of black greasepaint inside the cut with a small refined brush and then used to same brush to add dark transparent blood inside the cut.

Health and Safety:

• Decant all product on to a palette before use.
• Make sure all electrical equipment is PAT tested.
• Use spray products such as hairspray in a well ventilated room.
• Use disposable wands when applying mascara.

Evaluation of practice:

Overall I am very happy with the outcome of this practice. The one thing I would change about the overall look is that I would concentrate more on an even application of the eyeshadow above the eyelid so that the colour is more consistent. The thing I am happiest with the most is the cut on the hand, although like the eyeshadow, I would like the colour application to be slightly more consistent/smooth.

Character 2: Mrs Laderman - Final Design

Products Used (in order):

• Benefit's 'Porefessional' Primer
• Kryolan Ultra Foundation
• Kryolan Concealer Palette
• Illamasqua Translucent Powder
• Kryolan Glamour Glow Palette
• Benefit Brow Zing (Medium)
• Mac Cool Neautral Palette
• Benefit 'Roller Lash' Mascara
• Kryolan Creme Liner
• Kryolan Lip Palette
• Kryolan Cinewax
• Kryolan Supracolor (Red and Black)
• Kryolan Transparent Blood (dark)

Consultation Notes:

Skin Type: Combination

Skin Sensitivities: None

Current Skin Care Regime: Daily cleanse, tone and moisturise.

Allergies: None

Skin Disorders: None

Contact Lens Wearer: No

Design

Above is the face design for my Mrs Laderman character. In the 80s, design typically included black, neon, primary colours, pastel colours and geometric shapes (as shown and discussed on my mood board for this character). From this, I chose to follow this as a guideline, but decided to scrap the neon aspects as I felt this is seen as too 'trashy' for my character due to her age and glamours way of living. Therefore, I included black in the eye make-up with black eyeshadow. I made the black harsh on her eyelid but well blended above the lid/below the brow as this was typically done in the 80s era. As my character is set in modern times, just influenced but the 80s (her prime time), I decided to leave out the bold use of blusher, particularly as I didn't want my character to look comical. I chose a bold red lip, which compliments the smokey eye and will also contrast with the pastel colours which I plan to incorporate in my character's styling/costume. I decided hoop earrings were essential as part of my design as it allowed me to incorporate geometric shapes in a way that is subtle but also modern. I also included strong eyebrows and long lashes in my design as this was beauty ideal in the 80s. I decided on messy curls for my design as I felt this would flatter my model's round face shape and also be very typical of the 80s era, particularly as perms were big around this time. As my character is in a scene where she is searching Claudia's house, I decided to add a part where there is tension when Mrs Laderman breaks something and risks waking Claudia up. In her desperation to quickly fix the broken glass, she cuts her hand by accident.

Character 1: Claudia. Hair & Make-up Step by step.

Products Used (in order):

• Illamasqua's Matte Primer
• Kryolan Ultra Foundation
• Kryolan Concealer Palette
• Illamasqua Translucent Powder
• Kryolan Glamour Glow Palette
• Benefit Brow Zing
• Mac Cool Neautral Palette
• Max Factor 2000 Calorie Mascara
• Kryolan Creme Liner
• Kryolan Lip Palette
• Kryolan Transparent Blood (dark)

Step by Step:

 1. First, I prepared the skin by cleansing, toning and moisturising. I then used Illamasqua's matte primer.

 2. After, I applied Kryolan's ultrafoundation over the face and neck using a foundation brush and then blended it with a kabuki brush. I concealed any dark shadows and imperfections with kryolan's concealer palette. I then powdered over the face with Illamasqua's translucent powder. I contoured the face using Kyrolan's Glamour Glow where I applied a natural amount of bronzer, highlight and blush.

 3. I filled in the eyebrows with Benefit's 'Brow Zing' in the shade 'medium'/

 4. I applied eyeshadow with a cat-eye effect using black, dark brown, light brown and white from the Mac Cool Neautral palette, creating a ombre effect.

 5. I applied mascara on the top and bottom lashes using Max Factor's 2000 Calorie Mascara. I then applied Kryolan Creme Liner in Ebony.

 6. I applied a soft pink shade of lipstick to the lips, using Kryolan's Lip Palette.

 7. I then started with the hair, which I created by back-combing the front of the hair, parting it down the middle at the back. Then I plaited the two halves, crossed them over the top of the head and pinned them together.

 8. I then took the two strands that I purposely left out, and curled them using a curling wand.

 9. I then applied blood to my model's hands and spattered blood on her face using a brush. I then finished off by applying blood to my own hand and making a blood print on her face. This is the finished look.

Health and Safety:

• Decant all product on to a palette before use.
• Make sure all electrical equipment is PAT tested.
• Use spray products such as hairspray in a well ventilated room.
• When flicking product on to the face, ensure model's eyes and mouth are closed during.
• Use disposable wands when applying mascara.

Evaluation of practice:

Overall, I am very happy with my practice and the outcome. In the future I will work on ensuring the eye make-up and eyebrows are more even to refine the look.

Character 1: Claudia - My Final Design

Products Used (in order):

• Illamasqua's Matte Primer
• Kryolan Ultra Foundation
• Kryolan Concealer Palette
• Illamasqua Translucent Powder
• Kryolan Glamour Glow Palette
• Benefit Brow Zing
• Mac Cool Neautral Palette
• Max Factor 2000 Calorie Mascara
• Kryolan Creme Liner
• Kryolan Lip Palette
• Kryolan Transparent Blood (dark)

Consultation Notes:

Skin Type: Combination

Skin Sensitivities: None

Current Skin Care Regime: Moisturises daily

Allergies: None

Skin Disorders: None

Contact Lens Wearer: No

Design

Above is my design for my Claudia character. For my design, I wanted my character to look very feminine as she is influenced by TV shows, and currently the show 'Scream Queens' and therefore has a preppy style. I felt that using pink colours in my design would translate this chosen style well, which made me decide to incorporate the colour in both her styling and her make-up to compliment each other. After experimenting with different feminine eye make-up, I decided on a cat-eye as this makes her eyes look  more sinister yet empowered, to suggest her strong personality. I decided on a hairstyle that, again, is feminine, but I also wanted it to be a style that Claudia could realistically do on herself as she lives alone. I wanted my model's skin to look fair and not tanned due to her very rarely leaving the house, despite the hot climate of Miami. Lastly, I added the blood on her face to contrast against pretty and feminine aspects of my character after she commits a murder. I felt this would work well against her appearance and shows the audience that you can't judge a book by it's cover. I wanted the blood to look like it was splattered on her face, as it may be expected after frantic stabbing. I also wanted her hands covered in blood and a bloody hand print on her face to look like she accidentally touched her own face without realising the blood on her hands due to her zoned out state after realising what she has done. I also felt the bloody hand print allowed me to add more blood to the face as the splatters alone did not create enough impact on their own. I also felt the use of blood splatters would be a great edition due to Blood Splatter Analysis being a key theme to the show due to it being Dexter's profession.

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 - Consultation Notes of my Model

Name: Jennifer Barry

Skin Type: Combination

Known Allergies: None

Sensitive Skin: Yes

Contact Lens Wearer: No

Skin Disorders: None

Scalp Conditions: None

Second Practice

With this practice, I am far happier with the outcome compared to my first one. I have completely changed my approach, with a much more natural use of colour, instead of theatrical and almost cartoon-like. I also feel this will be much easier to replicate as the colours are simple.

Also with this practice, I have used my fang prosthetic, where I melted the mold that goes inside using boiling water, inserted it into the piece and then into the mouth. This was successful first time and I feel that it definitely enhances the impact of my design overall. 

I feel that the more subtle and better blended use of red on the lips and eyes means that it is more authentic to the period as a bold lip would not have been seen during this time.

I am not 100% please with my blending of the prosthetic edges, but as this is a reused piece from my first practice, and is the piece with the thickest edges, I expect the piece that I will use on the day to look much better. Including the outcome of the colour as I had to try to wash off the previous colour i had put on it and cover it with the new.

Prosthetic Painting Part 2

After being unhappy with the outcome of my first practice of my initial design, I needed to remove the make-up of my practice prosthetic and test my new design concept. After finding the outcome to be too bold and theatrical, and definitely not suitable for film, I had to rethink my approach. After considering my options and also the products I already have available to me, I came up with a new idea.

I wanted my new design to be a lot more natural in appearance, and for the prosthetic to look as matching to the skin it is applied to as possible. Part of my read for originally opting for white Supracolor was the thick, grease-based and creamy consistency which provided a coverage thick enough to make the complexion of my model and the prosthetic as much of a close match as possible.

I then realised that the answer was very obvious and simple:- Kryolan's Ultra foundation palette. This gave me enough of a range of highlight and shade tones and also allowed me to pick a shade that was both natural and human-like but also pale. As well as this, the consistency is thick enough and easily bendable that I could create the outcome that I wanted.

Once I decided on this, I painted my prosthetic using regular beauty brushes and the foundation, using darker shades in the deep areas and lighter shades in the higher parts, with a pale shade as the base. 

Once I had done this, I did another make-up practice on my model to test the new outcome, and was very please with the result:

(prosthetic before and after)

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.

Prosthetic Painting

Below is my current design idea for the make-up. I have sourced an appropriate prosthetic, which I have 3 of - One for practicing with, one for the first assessment and one for the second. I have decided to paint 1 of my prosthetics, to test if I feel that my approach with colour and highlight & shade is appropriate and to see how it translates to a real face. I will be doing my first ever practice tomorrow, so I will be able to judge it's success.

Below is a before and after comparison of my piece painted. I have done only a basic and general application colour to save time, and hope that with my practice, i'll be able to incorporate new shadows to help blend the prosthetic with my model's own face shape.

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.