Unit Evaluation

I really enjoyed the ‘New Elizabethans’ project, but I loved this project. I have always loved theatre and art, so I was really excited when I found out that this project enabled me to combine them both.

I always find it interesting learning about different eras and their beauty ideals, so I really got into the first part of this project. I had only ever really learnt about the Victorians in primary school, so it was really good to extend my knowledge and learn about their fascination with death. I found the Victorians to be quite boring and dull at school, but there is a lot more to this era than I previously thought. I had never read a classic Victorian gothic novel, and this unit gave me an excuse to do so. I chose Wuthering Heights, and I absolutely loved it- I really enjoyed all of the research as well as the designing. I was fascinated by the section of the book where Cathy ‘haunts’ Heathcliff, and wanted to create a look that portrays a mid-way point between reality and how Heathcliff sees her- perfectly beautiful as she was before she died. I kept the look quite simple for the continuity assessment, but I am really happy with what I have created.

I was even more excited about the second part of this unit, creating my own characters to fit into a horror series. I chose to study American Horror story ‘freak show’, as it was completely twisted and very quirky. I have always loved the makeup design in American Horror story, so this was another factor that helped my decision. I initially had to force myself to watch it as I found it to be absolutely terrifying, but I have now begun to watch the other seasons as I enjoyed ‘freak show’ so much. I chose the characters Claudia and Quentin, with ‘red rave’ being my inspiring word for Claudia and ‘save us’ being Quentin’s.  In my design, Claudia was a neglected soul who had developed psychotic tendencies, and loved to torture her imaginary boyfriend, Quentin. I loved creating make-up and hair designs to portray this. I had so much fun with part of the unit. I loved the first part too, but I feel like we had so much more creative freedom with the second part.

I have really enjoyed the technical lessons with sue, too. I discovered that special effects is definitely my forte, I can’t wait to specialise in it next year and expand my skill set. This term has taught me that I definitely want to work in film and TV in the future. I found creating my own characters to be very exciting and I am proud of what I have achieved this term. I am very passionate about combining my love for theatre and art and can’t wait to continue doing so when I return next year.

A favourite from the shoot...

I know that the photos we submit of our characters have to be seperate images of them individually, but as I did both of my models make up in the same morning, I wanted to photograph them together too. I wanted to create a sort of creepy, American horror story ad inspired image. I previously mentioned that i was hoping to get some eary images in the woods, but unfortunately it was raining!! So I ended up shooting at my cousins house (as she was my model). They live in an old cottage with a couple of creepy spots. They have old floorboards throughout their house, so I ask both of my models to lay down facing opposite ways with the heads next to each other. I was really pleased with the result as i think it portrayed their relationship and the control Claudia has over Quentin.

I love this image and although i wasn't able to use it for my final submission, i had to post it on here as i didn't want it to go to waste!

Final images: Quentin

These are my final images of my chosen character, Quentin. I wanted to create a look to portray his abusive relationship with Claudia. Claudia locks him away in their trailer on site of the freak show circus. He is rarely allowed outside- Claudia wants him all to herself. This is why i began with a pale base, to show a lack of sun and food.

I decided to do just one black eye, as in my other designs i felt there was too much bruising and i wanted something a bit more subtle. I used an old paintbrush to splatter blood (which was so much fun) but i didnt add a wound to indicate where the blood came from. I did this to add a bit of mystery to the character.. is the blood his? is it Claudia's? or maybe one of the freaks was caught in one of the brawls? This is why i chose to dress him in a white t-shirt, as the blood would look more effective.

I feel that i got a bit over excited with my Claudia character and could have put a bit more work into Quentin- Looking back at these pictures i can see things i would change about my design. I would definitely add some more bruises, maybe to the neck/chest area to create some balance.

Final images: Claudia

Final images: Claudia

 Here are my final images of Claudia. We had planned to shoot in the woods, but unfortunately it was raining so we had to work with what we had at home.I am really pleased with the overall look, I feel that the hair, make up and clothing worked together really well. Im pleased with the character i have created.

I used the word 'red rave' to inspire this chaotic character- so this is why there is a theme of red in my design. As well as applying to my word, it matches the circus theme, too. 'Freak show' is set in America in 1952, so i wanted an outfit that looked as if it was worn in a 50s circus. I wanted red to be the main colour, preferably with white polkadots- for an ironically cute look. I searched many charity shops and then ended up using this jumpsuit, which was my aunty's in the 80s! Despite the fact it was from the 80s, it is a very classic style and worked really well for my 50s circus theme.

I loved doing the hair for this as it was a really fun look. I pinned the buns in and then pulled certain areas for a more feral look, as i feel that it suited my character. The make up was fun too, im glad i had a chance to practice before hand as the spikes were really tricky- it was hard to get them both symmetrical and even. This time i immediately powdered the spikes using a small brush to prevent the product from running. Even with a generous amount of powder, the supra colour still moved due to the heat from the eyes. I just had to keep retouching it throughout the shoot.

I had a lot of fun creating this character and i cant wait to take on similar projects in the future!

Hair design for claudia/ hair lesson with third year student

In a recent hair lesson, we had a third year student teaching us as Helen was away. She taught us how to do this jester/joker inspired look for a female model.

This was the image that inspired it:

We did the look on our Katy dolls, and began by brushing the hair through. We created a zig-zag parting with the end of our pintail combs. We then put the two sections into two pigtails. Then we began to curl the pigtails, doing small sections at a time. Once all the hair was curled, we backcombed the hair to create extra texture and volume. The final step was to pin the hair into two big messy buns. I really liked this look and im going to use what i did today to inspire my design! I feel like this is perfect for a circus inspired design.

Above are the images of my work from the lesson.

Products/tools used:

• Brush
• Pintail comb
• hairbands
• Curling tongs
• Hair grips

Practising SFX

As I have been enjoying this unit so much, I have been practising special effects make up. I was given a bit of extra money a couple of months ago and i decided to spend it on new materials for my kit.

I watched a few tutorials on slit necks ( as we havent touched on them in class yet) and had a play. I struggled to get the cinewax to work for this, so i used liquid latex instead. I did four layers of latex, covering most of my neck, drying with a cool hairdryer between every layer. I then used a pair of tweezers to pull and cut out the shape of the wound. - *side note* i practiced the same technique a second time and left myself with bruises from the latex pulling on my skin. Luckily, I discovered this from practicing on myself. An alternative method that i found to be very useful was to draw the wound shape on the neck before applying the latex, and then layer the latex avoiding the wound shape. To create the flappy skin that you get from just pulling with tweezers, take a baby bud with latex remover and tease the latex away from the skin. You actually have more control over the latex doing it this way, and it is pain free.

Once happy with the latex base, i powdered with translucent powder which automatically makes it look more flesh like. I then coloured the inside of the wound with the brighter red from my supracolour pallete. Then i created depth by using the darker red, purples and black around the edges, and even lifted the latex and coloured underneath to create a really deep cut.

Once happy with the colour, i took a mix of reds on a stipple sponge to create irritated/raised skin around the wound. I then filled the wound with krayolan wound filler and blood for extra gore!

I also practised cuts on the wrist using the same techniques we learnt with sue in class. This was because i wasnt happy with what i did in lesson time and wanted to improve my skills. I know nither images are perfect but im happy with my progress so far.

Gothic runway makeup

claudia practice

A few days ago i was able to practice my final design on my model, before doing the final shoot. I was really pleased with how it went, i feel that the hair and make up design went really well together.

It wasnt intentional, but as my model has bright blue eyes, the red eye shadow really makes them stand out, which i think adds to the character! The only thing that didnt go to plan was using the supra colour for the red spikes- as the eyes are really warm it means that the product melts away quite quickly. I will play around with this before i do the final shoot, otherwise i will have to take my images very quickly which would not be ideal.

Step by step:

Hair-

• brush the hair through, getting rid of any knots. 
• Using a pintail comb, do a zig-zag parting and tie the hair into two pigtails.
• Doing small sections at a time, crimp the pigtails.
• Backcomb the hair for extra volume and strength.
• Once happy with the texture, pin the pigtails into two messy buns.
• Once secure, pull out small bits of hair with the end of a pintail comb to create more of a feral look.
• finish with hairspray.

Make up-

• Cleanse, tone and moisturise. 
• Apply satin primer.
• Apply foundation, buffing it into the skin to keep it light and dewy.
• Contour the cheeks and temples subtly with contour kit. Highlight cheekbones with a cream highlighter. 
• Cover the lid right up to the brow bone with the bright red from kayolan pallete. 
• Use a tiny bit of black to darken the crease and line the eyes with it.
• Apply mascara and once dry, apply fake eyelashes. 
• Using a mixture of reds from the supra colour, take a very thin paintbrush and draw on the outline of the spike- always stepping back to make sure they are even.  Fill them in using the same colour and then carefully line them with black to create depth, then blend into the centre.
• For the lips, apply bright red from the krayolan lip pallete. 
• For brows, take some gel on a disposable wand and brush the hair upwards to create a feral/crazy look. 

Products used:

• Brush
• pintail comb
• hair grips
• Hairspray
• hairbands
• Cleanser,toner,moisturiser
• Satin primer
• Krayolan foundation palette
• Contour kit
• Cream highlighter
• Gel
• Krayolan eye shadow palette
• supracolour palette 
• krayolan lip palette

Quentin face charts

Face chart no1: I wanted to created a really bruised and beaten look to portray Quentin's pain and suffering. Claudia takes out the frustration and pain of her trauma on him. When doing these facecharts i discovered how hard it is to do black eyes/bruising on paper, but you get an idea of the placing etc. I wanted to create a beaten look, but i feel like this look is too much and is boderline zombie. I wanted this design to create a gaunt and underfed look.. but as i said i dont want him to look like a zombie-wrong tv show.

Face chart no 2: I stuck with just bruises for this one- but played around with the placing and sizes of the bruises, as i wasnt too keen on my first design. I like this design a lot more- keeping the bruises to the eyes and a couple hickey style bruises on the neck.

Face chart no 3: This time i wanted to mix things up a bit, i felt like it needed to be a bit more gory as Claudia is so obsessed with horror. I toned down the bruising as i felt it would be a bit over the top with blood as well. I drenched an old paintbrush with blood and flicked it at the paper- obviously thisis not a great representation of what it will look like as it will be very different on the models face. I plan to splatter blood on the neck, chest and clothing too. This is my chosen design as i definitely prefer the fact that it has less brusing. I will do a pale base to show his isolation. I like the fact that there is no wound to indicate where the blood came from.. Is it from him? Claudia? or an outsider trying to split them up?

Claudia face charts

Here are my three final face charts for my character, claudia. She is set in a 1950's freakshow, and i have chosen 'Red rave' to inspire my character. I wanted to use a variation of red tones, and i wanted their to be subtle hints to this circus theme, but I didnt want her to look like a full on clown. I wanted something to incorporate these things and represent her psychotic personality, this is what i have come up with: 

This is the first look i created. I want a glowing base, so I would apple illamasqua radiance veil and satin primer, followed by krayolan foundation, as i think this looks really good on camera. I do really like this look, but I'm worried that the clown/jester reference is too obvious and i want something a bit more subtle. However i really like the eyeshadow as a base so i will continue with this and include it in my other designs. I also like the red shapes i have created on the face, so i will play around with them. 

This is my second design- I am actually really happy with it and i know that it will look really good on the model i have lined up. As well as this having subtle hints to the circus, i think that the red triangles almost look like daggers, which is also fitting for my abusive character. I kept the eyes the same as I was pleased with that part of the design from my first face chart. In my first design, i felt that there was too much going on around the eyes for a bold lip. As ive toned it down a bit for this design, I feel like a red lip actually looks really good and pulls the whole design together. I really like this design, but i am going to play around some more and see what else i can come up with.

i kept they eye make up the same again, but this time i placed one triangle underneath the left eye and another above the right. I also added a little ball on the end of the bottom- I would have added to the top too, but that is cut off by the hair on the facechart. For the lips this time, i did a deeper red and lined it with black for a really vampy and dramatic look. I do like this look, but my favourite is still my second design. I have a chance to practice on my model this week before i shoot next week, so i will have a play around with my designs and may change my mind. It's hard to tell which is my favourite until i actually see them on her face!

Chosen characters- Quentin

Quentin is Claudia's long suffering imaginary boyfriend. He changes depending on her personality state. I have chosen to portray Claudia whilst she is in one of her darker states- the side of her that is completely obsessed with horror and torture. To match this identity, her boyfriend is extremely vulnerable and is often abused by Claudia. She has a very twisted idea of relationships due to previous trauma, so she thinks this is completely normal. What makes it worse is that it is all in her mind, a fantasy that she believes to be real.

She loves to torture and torment her love, so I will do a look that portrays this. I have chosen to use 'SAVE US' as my inspiring word, as he is trapped in her fantasy. She controls him with her mind and body. Often leaving him bruised and beaten.

Quentin lives with Claudia in a trailer on the circus' site. All of the freaks know that Quentin doesnt actually exist, but they still hear Claudia torturing him at night. This is what makes them accept claudia into their tight circle, she has mental abilities beyond their belief.

There will be references to the circus in claudia's make up, but i want to keep quentin separate. He has nothing to do with the circus- Claudia makes sure of it. She ensures that he is locked up in their trailer. How dare he talk to, or even look at anyone other than her?

I will create a look to show his misfortune. Beaten and bloody, with no access to the outside world.

Chosen characters- Claudia

Claudia

Backstory: Neglected as a child and always made to feel worthless meant that Claudia developed mental health issues as a young adult. Claudia developed Dissociative personality disorder as a result of the trauma she endured as a child. 

The main symptoms of DID are having two or more personality states or identities. The person will act accordingly to each personality state and it is out of their control. Another symptom is forgetting important personal information- date of birth, where they live etc. People with DID often have imaginary friends to suit their current’ identities’. This is why Claudia has an imaginary boyfriend, who changes depending on her personality state.

Her love for horror films meant that she created an identity with twisted and psychotic tendencies. Taking inspiration from gory horror films, this identity was obsessed with torture and drawing blood. The imaginary boyfriend to suit this personality state was extremely vulnerable and petrified of Claudia. They have a very twisted and abusive relationship, with Claudia using her physical and mental abilities to torture him. 

As a lover of the dark, Claudia decided to explore the freak show that had come to town. After watching one of their evening shows, she snuck backstage with a hope to meet the freaks. She was quickly confronted by the shows owner, Elsa- she originally planned to tell Claudia to leave, but after witnessing the way she interacted with the ‘freaks’, she became fascinated with her and offered the mysterious young woman the position of her ‘first assistant’. It was clear that Claudia was a troubled young soul, and Elsa belived that she would add some edge to the show. She also welcomed Quentin, the imaginary boyfriend, into the circus team.

Chosen inspirational word: RED RAVE

I have chosen ‘red rave’ as Caudia is absolutely manic, completely unpredictable. Extremely firery and has a sick obsession with torture and gore. I feel that ‘Red rave’ is a perfect explanation of the atmosphere she creates. I am going to create a look that shows Claudia’s menacing and ever changing personalities, as well as her connection to the circus and her love for the freaks.