Unit Evaluation

This year so far is nothing like last year, this semester has been full on with each unit. Special Effects has been fun yet also very stressful. I feel my first sculpture (the bullet) was a breeze, the actual wound came out exactly how I wanted it, and everything went OK with the silicone. There was one thing that I would change if I got the chance to redo it and that would be just to place the wound a little more to the left. However I'm very happy with my paint job and final image of my character.

My human hybrid I'm happy but think I could have improved it a lot more.

I had quite a few issues when creating this mould. Initially I wanted to create a mermaid type hybrid, but wasn't happy that the clay sculpt resembled fish scales. So instead of restarting I changed my idea to a snake design, the snake skin came out perfect on the clay, but once I took it out some of the imprint didn't pick up on the mould (I done the mould 3 times prior). I think I went wrong with the super baldiez, maybe it wasn't dry thoroughly. Once the Make-up and paint job was applied it looked a lot better than it did initially, I think it was the use of metallic colours that helped. I'm hoping by the end of this course year my moulds will be perfect and if not I hope to learn how to work better with what I have.

My human hybrid

Today I created the look for my human hybrid which went well.

The leading up to the assessment however didn't. My mould for my hybrid kept going wrong. Initially I wanted to create a fish look, but wasn't happy with the way the scales looked on the clay. Instead of stressing and redoing I changed my idea to a snake as that's what my clay sculpt looked line in the end.

When making my mould it went wrong 3 times before it finally set correctly and even then when I took the mould away from the silicone it didn't pick up all the details.

By then it was too late to redo so I just had to work with what I had. In the end the metallic colours I used blended it out well so you couldn't really see my mistakes. 

My Hybrid

So initially I wanted to create a 'Mer-Person' but that didn't go as planned. I changed my idea to a Snake Human,

The story behind my hybrid is the female once purely human made a deal with a sand snake, which results in the female being bitten and becoming part snake. Now we all know that snakes are seen as devil like creatures and in films always are portrayed as the bad guys.

My Hybrid lives in the desert where there is golden sand and it is able to camouflage itself with its surrounding.

silicone application

After Sculpting my clay, I was ready to mould. The mould application was quite an intense procedure and took up the whole 4 hr studio session, and for me even that wasn't long enough as my mould hadn't dried before the end of class.


What you Need:

• Silicone A
• Silicone B
• Deadner
• Petrolise
• Fixer Spray
• Alcohol
• Spatulas
• Gloves
• Glue Gun
• Pigment
• Scales
• Measuring cups

Firstly I sprayed fixer spray and petrolise to my clay sculpt and waited for it to dry. Once dry I cut the end off one of the measuring cups and placed over my sculpt. Using the glue gun I glued the cup in place ensuring it was firmly down. Once dry I was able to apply my silicone. 

When mixing silicone A & B you need to ensure the silicones do not become contaminated.

According to my mould my teacher helped my work out that I'll need 20g of each silicone, I placed a measuring cup on the scale, and set to zero. 

Wearing a fresh set of gloves and using a spatula marked 'A' decanted 20g of silicone a to the cup, I then did the same measurement of silicone B using a fresh set of gloves and a fresh spatula as the two silicones will not set if contaminated.

I then mixed the two together, tapping the cup to get rid of any bubbles and poured over the clay sculpt and waited for it to dry, this procedure can take a while. 

Once completely dry I took the silicone away from the clay. Bits of clay was trapped in the silicone so I cleaned it throughly with isopropyl alcohol and cotton wool. 

Once the the silicone was cleaned I added 2parts alcohol to 1part super baldiez to a new measuring cup mixed and tapped to get rid of air bubbles. Using a disposable brush I applied 2-3 layers over my silicone and wired for it to dry.

The last part I felt was the hard part, mixing the silicone with the deadner. The deadner needed to be 60-70% of the silicone and pigment. As I don't my mould at home I needed to purchase pigment from Charles Fox. The lovely customer service team advised that I could use eyeshadow instead. I think the eyeshadow matched a flesh tone really well.

Once completely dry I added a fair amount of talk to the mould. Using a disposable brush I gently pushed the talc into the mould where the edges began to lift. Once it had lifter enough I gently pulled it out. 

The mould is then ready to apply to the model.

Character

So today I shot the look for my wounded character.

The lovely Martina was my model once again ;)

Here's a little summary of the character and her story.

The character is the mistress of an executive banker, now the banker is a family man and has been playing away from home. His wife, finds out all what her husband has been up to over the years and one day just decides enough is enough.

She could however confront him and file for a divorce and try and get money out of him, but she feels that is just to easy and decides to take things to the extreme when she purchases a pistol.

The last piece of evidence the wife finds is a receipt to a lingerie shop and a hotel booking, now she hasn't received any new lingerie and he surely didn't invite her to a plush hotel, but he did however do this for his mistress.

She decides to take the pistol and go and pay her husband and his mistress a little visit at the hotel room.

Bang......A shot is fired.

Human Transformation

My understanding of Human Transformation is when a human being can transfer into something not human.

For example in twilight the cast have the ability to transform from humans to ware wolves and vampires.

Also in Harry Potter, Voldermalt is able to attach himself to other living people and if remembering correctly can change himself to a snake, and both him and Harry Potter can speak snake language.

Also in some Walt Disney movies there is some human transformation going on. 'Pinocchio'
Pinocchio transforms from a wooden boy to a donkey and then becomes a real boy.

There are also a few others such as Jafar's aladdin turns into a genie, snow whites evil stepmother turns herself into a witch, the beast from Beauty & The Beast goes from being a prince to being cursed and turning into a beast along with his castle staff turning into household objects, and when the spell is broken he and everyone is turned back to human.

Creating the Wound

After researching on my chosen wound I was now able to start sculpting. At first I didn't have a clue what I was doing and had to revert back to my bullet images in order to achieve the sculpt.

Bullet Wound Sculpt

• Clay
• Tools
• Hair dryer
• Plastic Container

Firstly gently heat he clay so that it is easier to cut, take a small amount of clay and place on the plastic container.

I used my finger tips to smooth out the clay, then created a hole in the centre to create my entrance bullet wound.

Using my tools I defined the wound so that it wasn't just a random hole.

Wounds (Bullet)

So today I was asked to pick a wound and lucky for me I got a Bullet wound. I think this will be quite and interesting wound to create as there's so much different shapes and sizes in what a bullet wound can look like.

whilst researching I've seen a few images of different types of bullet wounds,

The type of gun used and area to the body in which the person has received the trauma  will make the wound look different.

A shot to the head can result in bruised swollen eyelids, the face might also show signs of swelling and in some cases it affect the back of the head in which it would look like the victims brains are on show.

The area in which I have chosen to apply my mould will be inbetween the shoulder and collar bone. This area is a flesh wound and will appear quite deep on my model. The bullet wound in this area will be quite clean so blood will need to be focused on the wound itself and blood splatter.

Bald Caps

In today's studio session we created bald looks using bald caps. I loved this application and final result, however I have decided not to use on my human hybrid. This is due to timing and the model I will be using to create my hybrid.

Bald caps can be purchased from Charles Fox Covent Garden at around £16

What you will need:

• Bald Cap
• Extra Hold Styling gel
• Pin tail comb
• Spirit Gum
• Foundation
• Pink Supracolor
• Acetone
• Scissors
• Spirit gum remover

The application will differ dependant on the models hair length, this procedure CANNOT be used on a model with braids or weaves as the cap will not lay flat.

If the model has long hair, the hair will need to be parted evenly down the middle of the head, the hair needs to be wrapped flat using the hair gel (lots of it).

If the model has short hair, the hair can be gelled backwards flat.

How to apply the cap

• Slick the models hair back using the hair gel, use the pin tail comb to ensure baby hairs are tucked back also
• ensure the models forehead is clear of make up or oil, using a cleansing pad
• ask your model to hold the front of the cap and then pull the back down
• stick the cap down to the forehead and nape using spirit gum
• carefully cut any excess cap, but do not go too close to the hair line as these edges will need to be blended out
• using a cotton bud and acetone blend the edges to the skin until its practically invisible
• apply the pink supracolor to the whole cap, this makes it easier to match the foundation to the skin tone
• apply the foundation

You can then create your make up look and apply different products to the cap such as fullers earth and glitter spays.

Introduction to the unit

I am just about to start my second year on the make up and hair design course.

This year I was able to choose an optional unit, and I have chosen 'Special Effects'

I have no previous skills in this field of make up other than the small amount in which I did last year for the Charles Dickens project.

I hope the course focuses on special effects so that I can come out with great skills, also I hope that the course is enjoyable, the last thing I want is to go into something then want to drop out.

The world of special effects looks so exciting to be able to change a persons whole appearance with specialist make up just excites me.

I love the looks from Harry Potter and The hills have eyes one & two. Hopefully on finishing I will be able to achieve great work as what I see in movies