Timed assessment part one

Timed assessment part one.

Today I had my first of two continuity assessments. I went in feeling really confident about my design as I had a chance to practice a couple of times and knew I was able to do it within the time limit. I took advice from my teachers and decided to create more of a simple look, to ensure that I was able to complete the look to a high standard, twice!

I was quite worried about doing hair and make up in the same assessment, as this is something we haven’t done before. I always worry about hair assessments, as this is something that is completely new to me. As I had a lot to do I the assessment, I made notes that listed the order in which I did these things. This ensured that I didn’t miss a step and helped with time keeping. I also made a list of products and tools that I would need to use, so that I would have it all laid out ready for me, and meant that I wouldn’t be fishing through my kit and wasting precious time.

I chose to start with hair as the rollers needed time to set- my hair design was a lot more time consuming than my make up design. Choosing to do it this way round actually worked really well as it meant that I could prep the hair by putting it into sections, rollers and plaits, then do the make up and then finally style the hair. The one thing I was really worried about was securing the roses into the hair! This was the last step as I was worried about erin moving and the roses falling out- luckily I had about 20 minutes to spare when I got to this step so I had plenty of time to secure them, with plenty of hair grips!

As I mentioned, I kept my make up design fairly simple to make sure that I was able to execute it well in the assessment. I’m so glad that I chose to do this- I’m really happy with how the make up looked today, it was simple yet effective. I feel that I made erin look creepy and ghost-like without going over the top. I’m pleased with how the make up looked on camera, too.

I was actually really pleased with how my assessment went today. I feel that my time manegment has improved this term- perhaps this is down to having more of an understanding of how long things realistically take to complete! Having a better understanding of time management has enabled me to be more organised and confident when going into an assessment. I just need to make sure that I follow every step like I did today in my second assessment and I should be fine. 

Proucts used:

• Cleanser, toner & moisturiser. 
• Illamasqua matte primer
• 001 skin base
• Mauve from mac pallete
• Dark brown from mac pallette
• Translucent powder
• liquid latex
• Hairspray 

Tools used:

• rollers
• hair grips and pins
• pin tail comb
• hairbands
• straighteners
• Foundation brush
• Kabuki brush
• various blending brushes
• flat brush
• lip brush
• fluffy powder brush 

 Health and safety:

• Before I do anything, I make sure that my brushes have been sufficiently cleaned with  Isopropyl alcohol to prevent bacteria spreading.

• I covered my work station with couch roll to ensure that I had a clean space to put all my products and tools onto.
•   I covered my model with a gown so that no product would fall  onto her clothing.
•   Before starting the makeup I asked my model if she had any skin diseases or medical conditions that i should be aware of. I also asked if she was wearing contact lenses, as some products will irritate them.
•  I washed my hands with soap and water to prevent bacteria transferring.
• I decanted any product onto the back of my clean hand, to prevent double dipping and again preventing any bacteria from the models face being transferred into my make up.  

Alexander McQueen

Alexander McQueen  have always been known for incorporating gothic horror influences into their designs. I came across this image recently, it is taken from McQueen’s Autumn/winter fashion show at London Fashion week.  I found this intruiging as it is not what springs to mind when you think of gothic fashions. However, I would definitely say this had gothic influences- I would describe it as a ‘dark romantic’ look. The use of lace and floral patterns is what makes it quite pretty and romantic, whereas the use of colour is what gives it the gothic feel. Black lace is very common in gothic fashion. What looks like a lace undergarment is actually attached to the rest of the dress. As this part of the dress looks like underwear, it automatically screams sex- sex and lust are common themes in gothic horror novels.

This is a very quick post, but I wanted to mention this McQueen number while it was fresh in my memory!! I just found the subtle references to gothic horror really inspiring. 

image- pinterest

Doing make up for a 'R.E.D sounds' event

Some friends of mine own an up and coming company named 'R.E.D sounds'- standing for 'red eyed dj's'. Based in Bristol, they get together a group of aspiring dj's and play a range of House, bass, garage and grime. All of these events have a horror/ sexual torture theme and i was asked to do make up for the five dj's and hosts. They always go to town on the decor which creates a really cool yet trippy atmosphere, and this time they wanted some gory make up to take it up a notch.

As I was going to be making up 10+ guys in about two hours i knew that i needed to design something simple yet effective. When I asked what make up they had in mind- they replied 'go crazy! whatever you think looks cool!' the only request they had was a slit neck, however, i knew i wouldn't be able to do 10 in 2 hours. I had never done a slit neck before, the only special effects experience i had was in sue's lessons. I had really enjoyed these lessons so luckily i had stocked up on special effects make up, so i had all the tools i needed. When creating a slit neck, I tried cinewax first- i knew that the cinewax wouldnt last the night. These dj's were bound to get hot and sweaty and it needed to last from 10pm to 6am. After asking sue for some advice, I came home and tried a slit neck using liquid latex. I was so pleased with the way it turned out and it didnt take me too long either.

• I began by applying krayolan skin protector foam.
• Then drew the outline of the slit i was going to create.
• I then applied clear liquid latex around the shape that i made, covering most of the neck. With a hair dryer on a cool setting, I dried the latex until it went from white to clear. I repeated this four times until i had a good amount of latex to work with.
• Once happy with the latex, I took some latex remover (or acetone) on a baby bud and extended the slit slighty, creating flappy skin. It is important to tease the latex away with acetone rather than pulling it like some tutorials suggest. When practicing this method on myself, i was left with bruises.
• I then began by colouring the wound with the brightest red from my supra colour pallete. Then I put a deeper red in the middle and then black around the edges and even under the flappy skin. This was really effective and created the illusion of a deep cut.
• I added wound filler and blood to the wound, and then coloured surrounding area with a variation of reds and blood, i found a stipple sponge to be very useful for this step.

I did this on a couple of the dj's and it looked really effective. A i said, it would have been impossible to do this on all 10 guys, so i needed something simpler up my sleeve. As they call themselves 'red eyed dj's' i wanted to create something to reflect this. I designed a look to reflect this and last all night. Using supra colour, i created a bruised, irritated eye on just one eye (some people wanted both done). I also added black khol around the eye for an extra dramatic look. I then took a baby bud and drenched it with fake blood and carefully took it along the lower lashline, and dragged it down the cheek slightly and layered it until it began to drip. This took on average under 10 minutes and was very effective. I ended up doing around 15 of the crew and then the bar staff and bouncers wanted this look too! It was very simple but i think it really added to the atmosphere of the night and added an extra something to the promo video they had made. This was such a good experience for me, something completely different. They have asked me to help out with future events. Its even relevant to this project, too!

Bruises/black eyes

In our special effects lesson with sue today, we learnt to to create effective bruises and black eyes. I really enjoyed this lesson as I found this look to be really simple, but really effective! I loved just playing around with different colours and seeing the outcome of using certain colours in certain areas.

I chose to create a black eye:

• Begin by cleasing and toning your model. It is important that you moisturise for this, especially on the are that you are going to create the bruise. People often refer to black eyes as 'shiners', so this is why is is important to start with moisturiser!
• Use a dark purple/mauve (depending on what kind of black eye you are going for) and follow the socket for a realistic bruise. 
• This is the basis of the black eye, once happy with this, blend it out using your finger, get rid of any harsh lines. 
• One of the most important things about a bruise if variation of colour. A mixture of purples, reds,blues and even yellows are needed for a realistic look. 
• I chose to do a dark purple around the socket and then a lighter shade of purple as you get closer to the eye, with a touch of yellow stippled on. I thought this looked really effective and i was really happy with the outcome. 

Products used;

• Cleasner,toner, moisturser. 
• Supracolour pallete.
• Krayolan bruise wheel.
• eyeshadow brushes
• sponges.  

 Health and safety:

• Before I do anything, I make sure that my brushes have been sufficiently cleaned with  Isopropyl alcohol to prevent bacteria spreading.

• I covered my work station with couch roll to ensure that I had a clean space to put all my products and tools onto.
•   I covered my model with a gown so that no product would fall  onto her clothing.
•   Before starting the makeup I asked my model if she had any skin diseases or medical conditions that i should be aware of. I also asked if she was wearing contact lenses, as some products will irritate them.
•  I washed my hands with soap and water to prevent bacteria transferring.
• I decanted any product onto the back of my clean hand, to prevent double dipping and again preventing any bacteria from the models face being transferred into my make up.  

Cuts using gelatine moulds

In sue's lesson today, we learnt how to create cuts and scars using gelatine moulds. I actually found this really difficult, its the only special effects lesson that i have struggled with so far. The part that i found hard was blending the gelatine into the skin, once you have roughly cut the edges off. I found it literally impossible to blend the edges out, and it look like it was literally plonked on my skin! It looked like i'd bought a fake scar from a joke shop, which is obviously not what I'm after and i found very frustrating.

Here are the steps that we followed;

• Cover your model to ensure no products are transfered to their clothes.
• As you are using gelatine, you should ask your client if they are vegetarian, as some will have a problem with wearing gelatine.
• Cut down the edges roughly so they are easier to stick down. make sure you cut off all parts that look like they may be hard to blend.
• Drench a cotton bud in witchazel and blend out the edges in a zig zag motion, this could take some time! 
• Once blended well, you can remove any remaining glue with pro-clean,but be careful as if you aren't careful with this it will remove the glue under the mould and then you are back to square one!
• Once the wound is secure and blended, powder with transclucent powder- this automatically makes it look more flesh like. 
• To colour the wound use supra colour/ powders/ bruise wheel or whatever you think would work well! Just remember to use a mixture of shades for a more realistic wound. What kind of wound is it? how fresh is it? these are things you need to think about before finishing with blood etc. 

Products used:

• Spirit gum
• Scar moulds and gelatin 
• Witch hazel
• pro-clean
• supra colour
• powder 
• Various brushes and baby buds. 

As I said i was so disappointed with the outcome of my wound!! I have been really pleased with everything I have done so far in SFX lessons, but not everything comes first time. I'd like to purchase the materials so that i can practice and perfect this in my own time.


 Health and safety:

• Before I do anything, I make sure that my brushes have been sufficiently cleaned with  Isopropyl alcohol to prevent bacteria spreading.

• I covered my work station with couch roll to ensure that I had a clean space to put all my products and tools onto.
•   I covered my model with a gown so that no product would fall  onto her clothing.
•   Before starting the makeup I asked my model if she had any skin diseases or medical conditions that i should be aware of. I also asked if she was wearing contact lenses, as some products will irritate them.
•  I washed my hands with soap and water to prevent bacteria transferring.
• I decanted any product onto the back of my clean hand, to prevent double dipping and again preventing any bacteria from the models face being transferred into my make up.  
•  

cuts/scars- Sue's SFX lesson

In this lesson with Sue, she taught us how to create special effects cuts and scars using various materials. I loved this lesson and even though my first attempt wasnt perfect, i discovered that I love special effects and think I want to specialise in it next year. I just think its so much fun and it allows you to be so creative!

• Prep the area you are going to work on by cleaning the area and then apply a layer of krayolan barrier cream. 
• Using a pallete knife, scrape out the amount of cinewax that you require and then warm it in your hands. This will make the product easier to move and mould.
• Apply the wax to the skin, blending out carefully with a pallete knife, making sure to get rid of any harsh/obvious edges. Using the same knife, make a slit in the thickest part of the wax. This is more realistic as the actual cut will always be the most raised area.
• Once happy with the wound you have created, apply a layer of liquid latex- use a hair dryer to on a cool setting, and wait for the latex to turn from white to clear. 
• Using the foundation pallete, cover the whole area with a colour suited to the model.
• Using different shades of red,pinks and purples shade the area to make it look sore. Do a small amount of colour at a time and remember to use several different shades, sometimes less is more, even with special effects!
• Use wound filler and blood to fill the wound, or place wherever you feel looks realistic. 

My wound didnt go completely to plan.. i think i tried to open to wound too much when i made the slit, and it ended up cracking. Sue suggested that i just turned this bit into a flappy bit of skin, so all was not lost! I just added more wound filler and blood to cover this mistake. I really enjoyed this lesson and will definitely be practicing this in my own time.

Products used:

• Cleanser and toner.
• Krayolan barrier foam.
• Cinewax
• liquid latex
• supracolour pallete
• wound filler
• blood
• pallete knife
• stipple sponges
• various art brushes.

 Health and safety:

• Before I do anything, I make sure that my brushes have been sufficiently cleaned with  Isopropyl alcohol to prevent bacteria spreading.

• I covered my work station with couch roll to ensure that I had a clean space to put all my products and tools onto.
•   I covered my model with a gown so that no product would fall  onto her clothing.
•   Before starting the makeup I asked my model if she had any skin diseases or medical conditions that i should be aware of. I also asked if she was wearing contact lenses, as some products will irritate them.
•  I washed my hands with soap and water to prevent bacteria transferring.
• I decanted any product onto the back of my clean hand, to prevent double dipping and again preventing any bacteria from the models face being transferred into my make up.