The Makeup Artist Handbook

by Gretchen Davis

  Everyone has their own style. Todd McIntosh begins with a base coat of reddish color, and paints everything over the red. This lets the painting have the feel that there is blood under the skin, and you can barely see it, once again creating depth. I like to use a base coat of paint that closely resembles the actor's or actress's skin. I use full-strength Pax Paint (a term coined by our dean of makeup, Dick Smith). I might add that GM Foam, Inc., has a complete line of Pax Paints in two palettes: dark flesh tones, and light flesh tones. Each palette also has a red appropriate to the other colors. Once the piece is painted, I gently feather a very thin layer of the base coat onto the skin, using a white makeup sponge. From this point on, I use what artists call “scumble sponges.” Take a white makeup sponge, hold it in both hands, and pull until it breaks into two pieces. Pick at this edge with your fingernails until little holes have been picked away. The sponge is now a stamp of sorts, and can be used to create a mottled surface.

  Painting steps:

  1. After the full-strength base coat, I never again use full-strength Pax Paints. I thin them with water until they are mere washes of color.

  2. After the base color, I paint a thin coat of red by dabbing the scumble sponge, constantly turning it as I dab, so the pattern of the sponge cannot be seen repeating itself. I dry each coat after it is applied.

  3. After the red, use a shade one or two shades lighter than the base.

  4. Next, use a color that is two shades darker than the base.

  5. Then I use greens and blues.

  6. Finally, apply a last coat of the original base as a wash over everything.

  7. Once all the Pax colors are dry, I like to use a thin layer of RCMA Appliance Foundation that matches my base color. Incidentally, my Pax colors are keyed into the RCMA color scheme, with such colors as Olive 1, Shinto 2, and so on, so that when you are ready to harmonize all of your Pax layers, you just smudge a little RCMA over the Pax Paints in the same shade as your base coat. If you use a thin enough layer, it will not hide all of your hard work, and also it will actually bite into the Pax Paint, making the use of powder unnecessary.

  8. If there is more shine than you desire, you can use Origins Zero Oil. Use this product in a sweeping motion. Do not use a stipple technique, or it will dry in little white spots.

  9. Finally, if you have the time, you can paint freckles and blemishes, either with greasepaints, or aqua colors.

  I can tell you in all candor that there is a point, if you are lucky, when the paint job ceases to be layers of paint, and suddenly becomes skin. For a Makeup Artist, I can think of no greater thrill than to have an appliance painted so accurately and artistically that one cannot distinguish it from the surrounding skin. And believe me, the director and the cinematographer will notice.

  Pro Tip

  As with anything else, this technique requires practice. What I wish for readers is that you have a good time learning these techniques, and someday do a makeup that is so flawless that you earn the respect of your peers.

  —Gil Mosko

  Theatrical Prosthetics

  By Lars Carlsson

  The degree of difficulty in using prosthetics in the theatre varies just as it does for other mediums. The size of the theatre, the type of stage, production design, lighting design, and stage blocking all play a part in your choice of design, application, and painting.

  The actor may go through an array of different lights and color gels in the course of the show, so choose the lighting that the performer(s) spend the most time in as your guide for application and painting.

  The front row seats could be particularly close to the edge of the stage, giving the first few rows an “up-close” experience. For these audience members a careful application of the prosthetics edges is needed, and makeup that is not too garish. Design for the middle of “the house” to ensure the majority of the audience can see the work.

  A “quick change” could be a part of the pacing of the show where you need to solve removal issues. These “quick changes” must be rehearsed and timed with adjustments made to accomplish the change.

  Wigs and costumes could be involved that are helpful in hiding edges. The staging of the performance could be that they are in the dark and the need to fully glue down the appliance would not be needed. Save yourself and the performers in this case!

  You not only have to design an appliance that provides the visual impact needed, you also have to be practical in the application and necessities of the show.

  During a theatre production you hardly ever get the luxury of time. As the Makeup Artist, you may be responsible for all the makeup, prosthetics, and the manufacturing of the prosthetics, as well as the maintenance of the show. The most common scenario is a play that runs five times per week for a number of months.

  On the Job

  A typical day working with prosthetics for the theatre might look like this:

  13:00 Cleaning lace fronts of wigs and hair pieces from the night before.

  13:30 Styling wigs and hairpieces.

  15:30 Demolding prosthetics casted the previous night. Also clean molds.

  16:00 Prepainting prosthetics.

  17:00 First actor comes in. A normal play would involve four to six makeups.

  A normal beauty or character makeup can't take longer than 20 minutes including the wig work. Prosthetic makeup can't be allowed to take longer than 30 to 40 minutes.

  19:00 Play starts.

  Depending on the play, there are usually makeup changes during the evening. Normally there is a break to cast the prosthetics needed for the next night.

  22:00 Show is over. I collect all the wigs and put them on blocks.

  Help the actors remove prosthetics.

  Theatrical Casting and Mold Making

  By Lars Carlsson Silicone Master Mold

  Step 1: Start by making a life cast in plaster using alginate or silicone (Figure 11.71).

  Figure 11.71 Blue life cast

  Step 2: Try to identify all possible undercuts that can be a problem in the mold-making. Typical examples of these are shown in Figure 11.71. There are several other undercuts that should not be removed, such as undercuts at the nostril or side of the nose. If these are removed, your finished piece will not fit your actor as well as it should (Figure 11.72). Remove all undercuts by filling them with Plasteline clay. Try to mimic the original texture of the face. All other defects on the plaster cast should be corrected with Plasteline clay (Figure 11.73).

  Figure 11.72 Life cast with undercuts

  Figure 11.73 Filling undercuts with Plasteline clay

  Step 3: On the finished, corrected life cast, create a master mold of the face. Having a negative mold of your actor means you can create many positive molds to work on at the same time. Also you can make smaller molds, such as a nose mold (Figure 11.74).

  Figure 11.74 Create master mold of face brush silicone

  Making the Mold

  Brush on a few layers of thickened silicone. You may use more or less silicone for this. To stay safe, stick with the same sort of silicone that you will cast your final pieces in. For this cast, I used PlatSil Gel-10 from Polytek, thickened with Poly Fiber II, also from Polytek (Figure 11.75).

  Figure 11.75 Thicken silicone

  There are many ways to thicken your silicone depending on which brand you are using, but I have found the Poly Fiber to be wonderful as filler. Poly Fiber blends into most silicones with ease and will not cause too many bubbles. We will also use it later to thicken our urethane plastic.

  Step 4: The first layer of silicone should be runny, so add about 10% (by weight) Poly Fiber II to the silicone. This prevents air from being trapped in the details of the second and third layers. As you can see (Figure 11.76), I have drawn a red line on the board around the head. This serves as a guide on how far out my mold should extend. Later, we will be drilling holes through this part to keep the mold together. It is very important to get it wide enough for this.

  Figure 11.76
Red line on the board

  The finished silicone skin is about one centimeter thick and weighs about 300 grams. The silicone should be fully cured before you go on to the next step (Figure 11.77).

  Figure 11.77 Finished 1-cm thick, silicone skin

  Step 5: Since the silicone is very soft and won't hold its shape, it needs to be supported on the outside with about three layers of plaster bandage. Let the plaster set for at least 30 minutes before taking it apart (Figure 11.78).

  Figure 11.78 Support on the outside

  The master mold is ready to be cleaned up and filled with urethane (Figures 11.79 and 11.80).

  Figure 11.79 Master mold ready to be cleaned up

  Figure 11.80 Product picture

  Urethane Mold

  The urethane used in this demonstration comes from Ebalta and is called SG130 Component A and PUR11 Component B. Sometimes these urethane components are referred to as Mix A and Mix B. This urethane combination is a very simple one-to-one mixture ratio (weight or volume) with a three minute pot life, which allows you to make your molds with incredible speed. These materials are also incredibly strong and yet still flexible, which makes them more or less impossible to break.

  The urethane system does not give off unpleasant odors, so it is easy to think that it is harmless; however, repeated contact may cause allergies. Always work under forced ventilation or use a mask with the appropriate filters. Have your entire work area strongly ventilated so you will not be exposed to any dangerous fumes. Skin contact with the uncured materials can also cause allergies; therefore, gloves should be worn at all times.

  Strengthen the urethane so that you will be able to bolt the molds together strongly. I laminate it with two kinds of fiberglass (Figure 11.81):

  Figure 11.81 Strengthen urethane with fiberglass

  • Fiberglass flocking. Every little strand of glass is about one centimeter long.

  • Fluffy fiberglass tissue that absorbs urethane easily.

  The normal boat-making fiberglass mats that you use with polyester will not work with urethanes. They simply don't get enough time to soak into the mat before the material is set.

  You should cut the fiberglass in 3- to 4-centimeters wide and 10- to 15-centimeters long strips for easy application later (Figure 11.82).

  Figure 11.82 Cut long strips

  The positive face mold will be made in four layers of urethane. Since our master mold is made from silicone, there is no need for any release agent, so you can get started right away (Figure 11.83).

  Figure 11.83 Positive face mold

  Step 1: For the first layer, pour up to 75 grams of SG130 Component A of the urethane in a paper or plastic disposable cup. Thicken it with 10% (7.5 grams) of Poly Fiber II and stir it until it is fully mixed in. Then add 75 grams of PURII Component B, and stir quickly until fully mixed.

  Using a disposable brush cover the whole surface with an even layer of urethane. This mixture starts to set very quickly and it takes a little while to get used to working with it.

  Step 2: The second layer will include our first fiberglass. For this we will use the fiberglass flocking (Figure 11.84).

  Figure 11.84 Second layer: Step 2

  After the first layer is dry, allow it to set for about 30 minutes. Mix up a new batch following the same recipe as the previous layer (see Step 1 above).

  Apply in the same way as before, but as soon as you have brushed it out, you start adding fiberglass flocking to the surface using your gloved hands to create an even layer of it.

  Wearing vinyl gloves, pat the flocking down so that it lies neatly on the surface. Any flocking that is sticking up will cause a problem later. Be careful not to trap any air under the flocking. All air pockets will be weaknesses in the final mold (Figure 11.85).

  Figure 11.85 Wearing gloves

  Step 3: The third layer is once again mixed the same as the first recipe (see Step 1 above) and poured into the mold (Figure 11.86).

  Figure 11.86 Third layer

  This time, instead of flocking, take the strips of fluffy fiberglass tissue and push them into the wet urethane (Figure 11.87).

  Figure 11.87 Push into wet urethane

  The layers should overlap a little bit and cover the entire surface (Figure 11.88).

  Figure 11.88 Layers should overlap

  Step 4: To soak the fiberglass matting with urethane, prepare a mix of 100 grams of SG130 Component A and 100 grams of PURII Component B (no Poly Fiber in this mix) and simply pour it over the matting, while moving it around with your gloved hands. Vinyl gloves work best for this since nitrile gloves tend to stick to the material too much (Figure 11.89).

  Figure 11.89 Mix: Step 4

  The plastic mixture will soak through in seconds. Keep moving the material around until it starts to get sticky. You will at this point feel that you are destroying your mold if the matting sticks to your hand and gets pulled back out. This feeling is your sign to take a step back and let the setting process continue for a minute without touching it (Figure 11.90).

  Figure 11.90 Move material around

  Now comes the most crucial moment of the whole procedure. You need to work very quickly. Using your gloved hands, push the material together and get everything that sticks out to lie down. After a couple of times this step will feel like second nature to you.

  Keep rubbing the surface until it becomes nice and shiny.

  Step 5: If you didn't get nice, smooth surfaces, you can always mix up a thick batch of urethane, adding up to 20% of Poly Fiber (Figure 11.91).

  Figure 11.91 Step 5

  Using the thick mixture as you would patch up a wall, you can get beautiful results and a mold that is nice to handle later (Figure 11.92).

  Figure 11.92 Thick mixture

  Step 6: After letting the urethane set for about an hour, you can demold it. Remove the plaster bandage support mold and then simply peel off the silicone master mold, gently. Remember that this can be used many times so it should be cared for, cleaned, and placed back in its support mold (Figure 11.93).

  Figure 11.93 Demolding

  As you can see in Figure 11.94, the positive mold came out beautifully, but needs a lot of trimming around the edges.

  Figure 11.94 Positive mold

  Step 7: Urethane resins under high temperatures may release toxic fumes. When working with power tools such as saws, drills, or sanding equipment, I always wear a gas mask to make sure that I am not exposed to toxic fumes or particles (Figure 11.95).

  Figure 11.95 Trimming the edges: Step 7

  See Figure 11.96 for an example of a finished positive.

  Figure 11.96 Finished positive

  Sculpting a New Face

  Sculpt on the mold by brushing a thin layer of melted Plasteline clay on the positive. This will form a well-adhered clay layer that you can work on top of. One of the best ways to melt clay is in an inexpensive rice cooker. It will melt the clay plus keep it warm for the rest of your sculpting session (Figure 11.97). Do not lock the rice cooker on “cook.” This will destroy your rice cooker and may be a danger to you and your entire studio!

  Figure 11.97 Melted Plasteline clay

  Now, the sculpt has been made and holes have been drilled in the eyes and around the outer edge of the mold as shown in Figure 11.98.

  Figure 11.98 Holes drilled in eyes

  To put the molds together, you will need a place where excess material can escape. This is called the overflow area (Figure 11.99). You create a void in the negative mold by adding a thick layer of clay outside of your sculpture.

  Figure 11.99 Creating overflow area

  This clay layer should have a sharp 90 degree cutting edge about two to three millimeters away from your sculpture.

  The overflow should be as smooth as possible to avoid difficult removal of your prosthetics later on (Figure 11.100).