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Technical Evaluation

I have really enjoyed the technical sessions in the Special Effects Unit, and I am gutted that we are not carrying forward the option through to next semester. I think that my technical skills have advanced massively, as I am very new to Special Effects, and as initially very nervous about it. I think that I have listened well to instructions and taken notes on all of the processes, including sculpting, making the silicone moulds, filling our moulds, applying our moulds and the colouring our moulds. For me, the most difficult part was the making of the silicone moulds, as there was a lot of pressure on us to make the moulds correctly, and not waste any of our silicones. I did not realise how intense the actual making of the moulds would be, and that you had to have the exact amount of both Silicone A and Silicone B to make a successful mould, but I am happy that we have been taught how to make flat moulds, rather than just learning how to apply them. It was quite daunting learning about the silicones themselves, and the safety behind them, such as not cross-contaminating as this can ruin the silicones and make them unusable. The Health and Safety is very similar to that of normal makeup application, but have more serious outcomes if you do not follow the rules, such as causing damage to the lungs if you do not wear the breathing masks when spraying the Petrolease and Fixing Spray. I liked how we learnt about the products themselves and why we use them, such as the Prosaide being a contact glue, as I would not have known that otherwise. I feel that learning all about the Special Effects has benefitted me in the long run, as it is something that I am seriously considering when thinking about my future in the industry. I have enjoyed this unit, and would have liked to have advanced this a little more.

Brave New World Evaluation

I have really enjoyed the Brave New World Project. I think it has been 100% beneficial to me, as I have learnt what goes into creating creature character makeup. I have overcome challenges, and think I have tried my hardest to create a realistic character that is correct to the Regal Horned Lizard. I think that my time management has been much better than last year, as I have been updating my blog as I complete my research. I have tried to dedicate certain days to the Special Effects Unit, so that I can concentrate wholly on this unit. I think that this project has demanded a lot from myself, as I have strived to create an original design that was different to everyone else's. I think that what I have found most difficult was finding an animal or concept that I wanted to combine into a hybrid, and starting my research. I think that this was such a big project, that there was a big strain on myself to find an idea, as there were so many options. The project undeniably went a lot quicker than I was expecting, which makes me much more prouder that I was able to create such a detailed look and complete all of my research in time. I think that I definitely challenged myself when it came to my design, I wanted to make intricate designs and larger pieces to really convert my human into a real hybrid. I think that I thought deeply about my idea, and everything that I included in the final look I had thought about. When it came to the research, I was inspired by the bald cap technical that I had completed, particularly the application of fuller's earth on top of it. I thought about the textures it created, and found a resemblance to the textures of the earth in the deserts. I then looked at the conditions of different types of deserts, as well as all that inhabit them. I knew that I wanted to make reptile skin for my final piece, so explored the more interesting types of lizards that lived in these conditions. I came across the Horned Lizard and my idea was created. I think the progression of my idea flowed into one another, and all linked to each other. I am gutted that the unit does not continue into the next semester, as I think I could have really developed in Special Effects. I think it would be interesting to maybe have been split into groups in our class, on who wanted to specialise into what part, such as the sculpting, making the moulds, applying and colouring. I think it was be beneficial for the class to be able to see how it works out in the industry, as not one artist completes the whole look. I think that Special Effects will be included in my Final Major Project, as I have enjoyed it so much, and really would like to develop my abilities, as well as conquer challenges. I am happy that I challenged myself in this project, and although I was not particularly happy with some aspects of my final look, I have exceeded my expectations, as I never would have thought I would have been able to complete such a complicated look.

Hybrid Assessment Evaluation

Overall, I am pleased about how my Hybrid Assessment went. I am really pleased with the final look, even though I came across many challenges on the day. Firstly, I know that by misplacing my bald cap I could have been in a lot of trouble if it weren't for the support and helpfulness from another student and my tutor. As I went to the Prosthetics event a couple of days before the assessment, in theory I could have bought a replacement bald cap there, but I was silly enough not to check, because I was sure I had another one. This alone has taught me that I need to check I have the right products at least a week before practice or final looks. Looking back, I am pleased I wasn't getting wound up and stressed during the assessment, I think this is due to the fact that I have really enjoyed making up the prosthetic pieces and I wanted to see how they were going to turn out when applied to the face. I think that the front panel on the forehead was my favourite part of the look, as I had individually placed each of the scales into the mould, to make the piece a lot more 3 Dimensional. I was pleased with my second bald cap that I completed completely on my own, I managed to look back on my first and blend the areas more in the second, making the bald cap seamless. I particularly liked the way the horns went onto the bald cap, and my choice of covering the bald cap, I did not just paint it but I experimented with using different textures to create different effects. I think I may have rushed the colouring a little, as I was worried about timing but also became increasingly tired as the look went on, as it took me about 5 hours to complete fully. I think that I should have taken a bit of a break and came back to the look, but I was conscious about how my model was feeling, and ultimately I just wanted to see final outcome. I think this is something I am going to have to work on, but looking back I know where I went wrong. I am not disappointed with the colour, but feel I could have done a lot better particularly on the back of the head and the arms. I was conscious of the fact one of the horns kept falling off the head, I think was due to the fuller's earth not drying on the base, as there was a leak coming out of the bald cap where I had wet the hair down, and the water was gathering at the bottom and leaking out. I think that next time, if I were to do the look again I will definitely be gluing down the horns before the fuller's earth. I didn't this time mainly because I didn't want the fuller's earth to cover too much of the horn, and make them look smaller. I would love to do a look like this again, and will definitely be investing in the products to practice by myself.

My Hybrid Final Images

Here are some of my favourite images from my final shoot. 

This is my favourite image that I took, as I was able to get most of my look into the image. I asked my model to lift up her hand, so that I could get the scales and colouring of the hands onto the image as well as her face, horns, chest and arm. I really like the composition of this image, as the hand reaching up to the shoulder, and the material that is wrapped around the model lead the viewer's eyes up towards the face of the model. The head is the main part of the image, surrounded by the black background, and then the eye follows back down to the chest and arm. The image also follows the rule of thirds, as the focal point is in the appropriate section. I am pleased with how the scales came out on camera, as they do look really realistic, and the colouring supports this as it brings depth to the look. I am pleased with how the fuller's earth on the head blends into the prosthetic pieces, I think this is mostly down to the colouring, as well as the textures I created on the actual prosthetic pieces. I am not very pleased with the way the fuller's earth has set on the hand, as it didn't crack as much as I wanted it too, which makes it look like I have just used paint and let the paint dry, leading it to crack slightly. The other things that I am not pleased with is the way the prosthetic piece on the forehead set on the eyebrow. Because the piece is a silicone flat mould, it is not extremely flexible, with left the piece bagging over the eyebrow because of where the eye socket goes in. I was not very happy because it makes it look like I haven't blended the  piece, when in fact the baldiez is actually below the piece and blended. 

My Hybrid GIF

When shooting my hybrid, I wanted to capture many images so that I definitely had many to choose from for the submission. So, I decided to make a GIF of my Human Hybrid, as it shows the movement of my hybrid, and gives the viewer a 360 degree view of my hybrid. Making a GIF is very handy when it comes to showing your work, as instead of having to scroll through a whole list of images, you can see each one, one after another. I think that making a GIF helps me to decide which images I like best, as they stick in my mind more than others when they are flashing on the screen. I made sure that when I was taking my photographs, I got a lot of photos. I worry that if I do not take too many there may not be a good selection when it comes to submission. 

My Hybrid Assessment - Technical Folder

On the day of my assessment, I was really looking forward to completing the entire look. I had practised the makeup, hair, and fuller's earth each on their own, but not altogether. I was nervous as this was a really big task, the biggest that I have ever done so far. 

Health and Safety

-Any aerosol sprays need to be sprayed out the window.

-Hair tied up.

-No jewellery.

-New change of gloves after handling products.

-Old clothes.

-Lids on tightly.

-New spatula for each product.

-Wipe down each pot after using it to reduce cross contamination. 

-Wear Breathing mask when using the products.

-NEVER pour silicone down the sink.

• Products -
• Hair Gel
• Water Spray
• Pre-Impression Bald Cap
• Paddle Brush
• Sectioning Comb
• Spirit Gum
• Spirit Gum Remover
• Barrier Cream
• Acetone
• Prosthetic Pieces
• Prosaide
• Isopropyl Alcohol
• Cotton Buds
• Fuller's Earth Mixture
• Horns
• TV Paint Stick in Camouflage
• Kryolan UltraFoundation
• Green Metallic SupraColour
• Kryolan AquaColour
• Brush Set

Method:

1. Set up the studio space, using couch roll to cover the surfaces. Prep model and sanitise hands and products.

2. Brush through the hair, and wet down using water spray. Apply the gel to the hair and smooth down. 

3. Once the hair is fully smoothed, brush through and wrap the hair around the head, making it as flat as you can. 

4. Put on the bald cap, and cut to shape. I have not cut around the ears on my bald cap as I do not want the ears on show for my final look. 

5. Turn the edges upwards, and apply spirit gum to both the bald cap and the model's skin. Then, using a damp cloth, press the edges down to remove any creases.

6. Apply Prosaide to the area you will place the prosthetic pieces, as well as the pieces themselves, as Prosaide is a contact glue. I began with the forehead piece as this was the bigger piece, and the other two cheek pieces were going to be layered onto this one. 

7. Apply Prosaide to the other two pieces and let dry until it is tacky. 

8. Begin to blend down the edges of the prosthetic piece. The Baldiez creates a skin for the piece, which you are able to blend into the skin. 

9. Apply the two cheek pieces, and blend the edges out.

10. Once all of the pieces are firmly stuck, you can begin to apply the fuller's earth to the bald cap. I used a medium size flat brush, and applied the fuller's earth all over. I layered it up towards to top of the head, to fill in the space between the prosthetic piece and the head. 

11. Stick the horns onto the fuller's earth, and blend into the sides of each horn. Make sure the horns are evenly spaced out.

12. Once the head is covered in the fuller's earth, you can begin to colour. I applied Foundation that matched my model's skin tone to the centre of the face, and blended out onto the prosthetic pieces. 

13. Using the Aqua colour, mix a neutral, dusty skin tone. Apply all over the prosthetic pieces as a base colour. Apply the TV paint stick and rub into the scales. 

14. From here, now you have the base colours of the prosthetic pieces. Mix up a light, medium and dark tone for each of these colours; green, yellow, brown, red. Work into the scales and the head, to make the pieces have much more depth to them.

15. Apply a thin layer of fuller's earth to the raised, soft areas on the pieces, the brow bones and the cheekbones and let dry. 

 16. Apply rough layers of fuller's earth to the areas on the rest of the body following the body design. blend in the edges.

17. Colour the fuller's earth as it is drying. Work into the cracks with the darker tones.

18. Apply green lipstick to the model's face to bring the look together.

Altogether, I really enjoyed my Hybrid Assessment. I did come across multiple issues when I was creating the look, but I think I dealt with them quite well. I misplaced the bald cap that I was originally going to use, and had to order one for next day delivery. Other issues I encountered was were the flat mould curved over the eyebrow, and bagged a little. I was worried this made the look quite fake and unrealistic, but I was assured by my tutor that it would not be able to be seen obviously on camera. I am really pleased with the final look, as it is exactly how I envisioned it to look like. Originally I thought I had bit off more than I could chew, but I realised that it was actually more simple than I thought. The whole look from start to finish took me around 5 and a half hours, which is the longest look I have completed to date. It was a very tiring experience, but I was more excited than stressed about completing the look. I am proud of myself to create this look, as it's the most detailed and extravagant look that I have ever completed. 

Choosing my horns.

For my design of my Human Hybrid, I decided to use horns. It would be too difficult and too heavy for me to make the horns out of silicone, as well as it being very difficult to even stick on the horns if I had made them. So, I went on to look for shops that sold prosthetic horns. Most were retailing at around £15 for two, so I was really struggling to find pairs that fitted my hybrid on a budget. I came across an online retailer selling a pair for £6 a pair, so bought two packs of large horns and two packs of small horns. When they came I was pleasantly surprised with them. On the right in the picture is the bigger size horn, and the smaller on the left. I think that these have an appropriate shape, colour and texture to what I am looking for when it comes to the horns on my hybrid. They are both made from latex, and come with an adhesive in each back. I am really pleased with the standard of these horns, as I can really envision what they are going to look like when I apply the to the bald cap. I have chosen to put the larger horns more towards the top of the head, whilst the smaller horns are going more towards the bottom. I am going to blend them into the bald cap by blending fuller's earth up the sides. I am excited now as I have got all of the products and materials to create my hybrid.

Costume for my Hybrid.

When it came to designing my costume, I wanted to find a material that suited my creature the best. I took a trip to fabric land to see if I could find anything suitable for a reptilian hybrid. There were many printed pieces of material, but I came across this material below. I much preferred this to the printed fabrics, as this contained a lot more texture than plain fabrics. There are scales punched into this fabric, which is a leathery texture. I really liked this choice of material, so I bought a meter and a half, to make sure that I had enough to create my costume. 

When I was designing my creature's costume, I did not want the clothing to take away from the look, I didn't want it being finely tailored to the model. Instead, I wanted a more organic feel to the costume, so I thought about just manipulating the shape of the material to create a loose covering of the body. In my head, I wanted the material to all gather in the back, and loosely falling down the back of my model, resembling the spines on the back of the Regal Horned Lizard. I think that this would be an effective way of making the body resemble that of a lizard's too. Below are the rough designs for my lizard woman. All are very organic shapes, and the material will not be cut to suit the model, as in the New World which is full of desert, I do not think that my creature would be making clothes but more trying to survive. I think that she would want to cover up her body to an extent, but needs something that would allow her to move quickly as she finds her prey. 

My favourite design out of all three is the top design. I think this is how my hybrid would create the clothing she would be wearing, and it looks very natural. Using the scaly material supports the idea that she is a lizard. I am pleased with my designs, and think that I have chosen the right one for my hybrid. I have thought about the Brave New World that my hybrid is going to be living in, and tailored my clothing to that. My hybrid would be able to move freely in the costume, it would not restrict her actions at all. 

Makeup Design for my Hybrid - Technical Folder

When thinking about my hybrid in terms of colouring and makeup elsewhere on the body, I knew that I had to reference the Regal Horned Lizard to decide. I decided on using the same colours as the horned lizard, such as greens, yellows, browns and reds. These were the main four colours, but I knew to create depth in my piece, I would have to make up darker and lighter tones of each colour. Below is my final face chart for the makeup side of the look. I have decided that only the pieces will be coloured on the face, leaving my model's natural skin colour to show through, showing that she is still half-human. I think this will be effective, as I will use the basis of my prosthetic pieces for the shapes, but then by adding colour it will make it more realistic. I am going to use a bald cap to cover the ears, as my lizard does not have ears on the outside of it's head. As it will be too difficult to make horns, I need to find some that will be appropriate for my creature hybrid. The horns of the lizard are slightly curved and pointed, so I need to do some research on where I can find some that are correct for my hybrid. For the raised sections on the face, I would like to cover them with a light coat of fuller's earth to create the cracking effect. This will add more texture to the look, which is appropriate for my lizard. My lizard has smooth textures, as well as scales so I think the smooth textures will be on the side of the head using my prosthetic pieces. 

When it came to the rest of the body and the back of the head, I wanted the head to be the main part of the look, and support this with smaller pieces of fuller's earth around the arms and hands. I am going to use a bald cap to reshape the head, covering the ears as my lizard does not have ears on the outside of it's head. On the bald cap I will decorate it with the horns. I would like to find four larger horns for the top of the head, and four smaller horns for the bottom of the head. This will make the look much more fitted towards my model's head shape. To cover the bald cap, I am going to use fuller's earth. I am going to use a heavy layer and build up textures, meaning some parts of the head will not crack, but some parts will. I think that the bottom half of my look should be more dry and cracked, and the top half should be thicker as this segregates the scales from the prosthetic pieces to the fuller's earth. I am going to bring the fuller's earth down the neck slightly, to blend it into the skin.  I think using the fuller's earth to crack will refer to where my hybrid is living, in a sub-tropical desert. Water is scarce in these places, and the ground often cracks up due to the lack of moisture, which will reference how the fuller's earth dries up and cracks on top of my models skin. If I blend it into the skin, I think that it will make it look like my model's skin is really drying off and cracking, as well as revealing the scales.

I have chosen to scatter the fuller's earth around the arms and chest area. I want it to look like the scales are part of her, peeking out along her arms. I was considering covering my model in fuller's earth, but I believe that it will be much more effective as I think I would lose the human essence. I have completed a diagram to show where roughly I would like the placement of the scales. By drawing out the rough sketches and designs, it visualises my ideas exactly how I want them, rather than taking images off the internet and saying that I would like parts of each. I think drawing out my ideas personally helps myself to show what I am thinking. I am happy with my final designs, and now need to look at the costume of my hybrid. I have thought about my model, as she has a tattoo on the back of her neck which I can easily cover using the fuller's earth. I think that the application of fuller's earth will not be perfect, I would like it to be more rough as to me this makes the look much more realistic and natural. 

The Prosthetics Event, Birmingham.

On Saturday 21st November, I was lucky enough to attend the Prosthetics Event in Birmingham, hosted by Neill Gorton. It was an event that I was really looking forward to, and went along with two other students Becky Gould and Sarah Leftly. We stayed the night at Becky's House in Leicester, then on the Saturday took the trip to Birmingham. I was really looking forward to this event as last year I couldn't attend it. This year, the event was held at Aston Conference Centre, which is part of the university, where there would be back to back demonstrations in the lecture theatre, alongside retail stalls, and the Monster Mash Exhibition, Body Art Zone and the small educational stage. The event is for students, professionals, cosplay enthusiasts and fans, which means that everyone is there because we all have the same in common; we all love prosthetics. I wasn't as nervous about attending an event like this, as I was really looking forward to it, and wanted to see how much I could learn.

When we got to the conference centre, we got our tickets, and first went into the main demonstration of the day, where Neill Gorton and Stuart Bray completed character makeup for Laurel and Hardy on their two models. To create this look, they had to go through the process of life-casting, and making the prosthetic pieces out of silicone. This had obviously been done beforehand, but this was shown to us on a projector. As both Neill and Stuart were applying their pieces, they talked the audience through the processes of the look, as well as both the challenges and achievements. They started the looks off with the application of bald caps, and then began to apply and colour their pieces. The demonstration look quite a while, but it was much faster than I expected. The final looks were amazing! They looked so real, as well as very similar to the characters that they were portraying. Both Neill and Stuart did an amazing job, and thought of every little detail, such as making Laurel's neck thicker. After the demonstration, we were allowed to see the final outcome up close, and were able to take pictures of the two models.

The application of the prosthetic pieces. 

Application of the Prosthetic Pieces.

The final looks!

The final looks!

After the demonstration, we headed into the 'Monster Mash' exhibition, where smaller scale prosthetics were on show. This is where sculptures and moulds were on show for us to see up close. Looks from the film 'World War Z' were on show, which I found amazing as I had seen the film a couple of times. The moulds for Laurel and Hardy's characters were on show too, which allowed us to see up close how both Neill and Stuart made the pieces. 

All of these looks were just so realistic, you were waiting for them to move. I have never seen anything like it so close, that we were able to see each individual detail, such as tiny minuscule hairs on the faces. It was an experience that I am always going to remember, and strive to be as good as these artists. 

After the Monster Mash Exhibition, we looked at the Body Art Zone. This is where artists were completing whole body art looks on models throughout the day, which allowed us to see the processes of such a big look. The models were standing up for the whole day, being painted until the end of the show where the models were to walk the catwalk in their final looks. I managed to get a couple of images of the artists at work. 

I preferred the body art that made the model's into a certain character, rather than the ones that were basically a canvas for drawings. The middle image was one of my favourite looks as the model was like an elvish character, and the artists made her look very realistic. I did like the other type of body art, but I am more into making characters. 

After looking at the body art zone and talking to the artists, we took a trip into the rooms were retailers such as Kryolan, Screenface, PAM, Mould Life and Paintopia were. They had stalls showcasing their bestselling products, which was really difficult to walk through as I wanted to buy so much! I went to the Kryolan stall and ended up buying a green metallic supra colour, and a small detailing brush to use when creating my hybrid. On some of the stalls, there were resident artists creating looks with their products. Being able to see the products each and every stall had, really benefited me as I was able to see the range in front of my eyes. Being able to test out products makes you realise which ones are better for certain things than others. 

Overall, I really enjoyed being able to attend this event. It was well organised, and very educational. I think I have learnt a lot as well as being inspired to create more and more looks. The whole event was a lot of fun, and it was amazing that we were able to see looks being created in front of us, allowing us to see the processes that have to be gone through to create them. As my hybrid was coming up a couple of days after, I felt very inspired by many of the stalls, and artists. I will definitely be going again next year, as this has really benefitted myself.