Makeup and Prosthetic Tips Anyone?

DRthunderMD

DRthunderMD

Turns out the makeup artist we listed for our upcoming project needed to back out for personal reasons. Now me and my team of three are left to do our own alien makeups.
Any tips people? Perhaps creating a prosthetic and some different colored makeup? I'm not a makeup artist, although me and my team created all the original weapons and props that will be used in the film.
Any do it yourself makeup tips would be greatly appreciated.

What I would need is just a basic humanoid alien look. Slightly more alien looking than Star Trek's. Perhaps just a paler color, still maintaining a mostly human shape.
 
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Get someone else :)

An amateur attempting to do a professional job of something that takes years of practice and a large amount of skill to get right, is simply going to look amateur.
 
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jax_rox said:
Get someone else :)

An amateur attempting to do a professional job of something that takes years of practice and a large amount of skill to get right, is simply going to look amateur.
Click to expand...

I see your point, I do, but this isn't a "professional" film shoot to begin with. If by professional you mean having years upon years of experience and learning. We're 22, and are self taught. This is our passion. As a director and creator of our production company, I want to be well versed in all areas of this field. I love and enjoy it all.

I understand this isn't going to look like Vi Neil did it. We don't have a lot of makeup schools or makeup students around here, so finding a good makeup artist who will work for free is almost impossible.

We aren't about to quit, each film is a learning experience.

All of us have a good understanding of shading and applying makeup and small prosthetics.
None of us have created a face prosthetic though, to change the bone structure of the face.

I appreciate your input, but getting another artist is not an option at this point.
"We will either find a way, or we will make one." -Hannibal
 
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DRthunderMD said:
I see your point, I do, but this isn't a "professional" film shoot to begin with. If by professional you mean having years upon years of experience and learning. We're 22, and are self taught. This is our passion. As a director and creator of our production company, I want to be well versed in all areas of this field. I love and enjoy it all.

I understand this isn't going to look like Vi Neil did it. We don't have a lot of makeup schools or makeup students around here, so finding a good makeup artist who will work for free is almost impossible.

We aren't about to quit, each film is a learning experience.

All of us have a good understanding of shading and applying makeup and small prosthetics.
None of us have created a face prosthetic though, to change the bone structure of the face.

I appreciate your input, but getting another artist is not an option at this point.
"We will either find a way, or we will make one." -Hannibal
Click to expand...

Always have a clear idea of what you're going to sculpt. Have a fairly detailed drawing of what you want to do.
You need a head armature or similar head-shaped figure to sculpt on with clay.
Get some clay. Sculpt.
Cast it with some type of plaster (Plaster of Paris works fine) and bandages (Plaster of Paris bandages are good as well)
Take the cast off when it's dry, and paint latex in.
When dry, pull the latex out.
Paint the latex.
You have a prosthetic.

I'd recommend casting the prosthetics in pieces if it is large. Casting is a very difficult process, especially with large pieces. I know from experience.

Also, here's are two mask/prosthetic kit that are worth investing in. They can be used many times, is very portable, and has a book and DVD full of instructions. Worked nicely for me.

http://www.monstermakers.com/product/introductory-foam-latex-appliance-kit.html
http://www.monstermakers.com/product/basic-latex-mask-making-kit.html

Even if that's out of your price range, both products have a very detailed handbook that you can buy separately. I recommend reading both.

If you have any questions or need a more in depth response, just ask. I'll give you one.

Good luck! :cool:
 
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do not bother worrying about prosthetics, get someone else to do it, you are the director, so stick to directing etc, dont get caught up otherwise youl lose production value, trust me im speaking from bad experiences myself.

If you want to put that much effort into doing it yourself, your much more likely to find someone for free who will do a better job than you even if they are amatuer
 
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Do not know where you are in Ma., but there are several makeup artists in the Boston area. The big problem is whether you can pay for their services. You could try Craigslist, Facebook and Linkedin. To get tips, you could try Youtube.
 
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maybe you could try something different like dying their hair all an unnatural color, or use basic making shading to make it look like they all have triple-clef chins or something.

i wouldn't go through all that trouble for a prosthetic that won't look nice anyway. i know i wouldn't have the sculpting talent to create a good one.
 
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Making prosthetics is a long process and does take some practice while getting used to the materials. For human-like looks, a perfect-fitting prosthetic requires starting with a face cast of each actor and sculpting similar "alien" characteristics onto each one while making them unique to the individual as well. (Note that human features vary amongst individuals... noses, eyes, lips, and ears slightly different shapes, etc...)

If you've got your heart set on prosthetics, I'd suggest getting pre-fabricated ones from Halloween shops, sticking to more standard-fitting areas like foreheads or ear tips. I also recommend using a strong adhesive like Pros-Aide to glue them on (use an adhesive remover like Super-Solv to take them off) to keep them snug for a long day. Paint a thin coat of liquid latex (make sure it's the skin-safe type!) over the edges to smooth them out before applying makeup to blend.

Rub foam latex prosthetics down with a little castor oil before applying makeup to them, as it helps the rubber act more like skin and makes application easier. Some ready-made prosthetics are pre-painted, which can be a real pain to match skin tones when blending to the actual skin.

Speaking as someone who has tried to both direct and do F/X makeup work at the same time... I'd really recommend finding someone else to do it! Makeup application can take some time to do well, especially for a beginner, and you'll have plenty of time-consuming distractions with the job of directing.
 
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