Hey guys! This weekend was a big one for me; I did makeup on another short film set! I love doing these. It's hard work, but the experience and networking is worth the lack of sleep and long days (Friday we were on set from 7am-11:30pm! Somehow I did that all on barely two hours of sleep, goodness). Fortunately, going to an art school where film is the biggest department enables me to do makeup (and costume design) for a lot of student films. I'm hoping to get more into indie movies as I gain experience, but I digress.
Anyway, for this film I learned how to do more bruises and wounds. The girl I worked with was such a good teacher! Making these types of abrasions is pretty much trial and error- there isn't one "right" way to do it- but she told me the process and how to make different effects.
We used the Ben Nye Pro Bruise Wheel, which has four shades of cream pigments used to mimic the look of a bruise. It comes with a deep red, blue, purple, and green depending on how old the bruise is. This particular one looks like so:
We started out where the bruise occurs, and then used the deep purple/blue in the center, blending as we go. The red is used most to blend out the other colors and fade away into the skin. Powdering in between layers is important, especially when with film- you don't want all of that makeup sliding off right away! It also helps to deepen the color and make it look more real.
Then we used a stipple sponge to create the appearance of broken capillaries around the bruises (where needed). The girl I worked with did the two wounds- you use liquid latex and fake blood alongside the bruise wheel pigments to get the look of a fresh abrasion.
My friends asked me last night if I could make a black eye for their film next weekend, so I'm totally going to be investing in one of these wheels (and hopefully a few more!) soon! I really want this student theatrical makeup kit, also by Ben Nye, but I'll wait until this becomes a more regular occurrence.
Have you guys done special effects makeup- if so, feel free to share any tips/tricks/advice you have! Thanks so much for reading everyone.
xox
