Special FX Workshop: Make Up For Ever Halloween Edition

Yesterday I had the incredible chance to attend a Special FX Workshop held by Make Up For Ever for its special Halloween edition. What an amazing experience, what an amazing day. Thanks to Ilaria Avesani‘s teaching I was able to learn all advanced Special FX techniques and now I’m really happy to share it with you.

As many of you already know, Halloween is not only an US / Mexican celebration but it reminds to really ancient tradition, such as Roman Pomona’s festival or Celtic’s Samhain. Basically, with Halloween and all these traditions people say goodbye to summer and welcome winter.

There are a lot of Halloween make up styles: beauty, fashion, artistic.

The most important thing when it comes to Special FX is to be imprecise nor symmetrical or your work won’t be realistic.

 

What materials do you need for Special FX?

• Liquid Latex: it derives from plants. It dries off quickly, it fix and it remains elastic. It has kept liquid thanks to a chemical process and the add of ammonia. Since it is transparent it can be coloured with water base colours or you can colour it later with oil base colours. It is essential to powder it very well, otherwise you’ll ruin your brushes.

• Artificial Sculpting Flesh: it is perfect for re-create skin’s irregularities, such as burns. It is made of glycerin and gum.

• Artificial Blood: thick, liquid or coagulated. It can be diluted with oil, it can be used around mucous membranes but not inside. You can wash it off.

• Special Effects Palette: oil base colours.

• Powder.

• Spirit Gum: alcohol base adhesive. It can be easy removed with Gum Off remover.

• Sweat Effect Gel: water base product which can work well with oil base products without removing them off.

• Castor Oil.

• Unshaved Effect Sponge.

• Care and Preparation Cream.

• Various: fake nails, cord, kleenex, almonds, coffee, cornflakes etc.

 

 

It is essential to start with a perfect clean skin degreased with alcohol.

 

How to make… wounds, gashes, lacerations

Pull out some kleenex. Add a little bit of Liquid Latex on skin and then add kleenex strips. Alternate them to create a gash. After it dried out powder it well. Now you can add colours. You can use pan stick colours and dilute them with castor oils. Or Special Effect Palette or Flash Color Case. Colour your wound among kleenex strips. Use red, brown etch and skin colour to blend. Final step: add coagulate and liquid blood and Sweat Effect Gel.

 

 

 

 

How to make… scabs

Drench some cornflakes in Liquid Latex and put them onto skin adding more latex. When dried out use colours. To create pus mix some oil, yellow, brown and green. Finish with coagulated blood.

 

 

 

 

How to make… scales

Use Liquid Latex and almond flakes. If necessary use some Spirit Gum to make them adhere well. Colour them as you wish and add some glitters and Sweat Effect Gel. This is a creepy mermaid but you can also make a dragon etc.

 

 

 

 

How to make… burns

Use Artificial Sculpting Flesh and prepare skin with a tiny bit of Care and Preparation Cream. Colours and coffee powder as a final touch to fake burnt skin.

 

 

 

 

How to make… The Black Dahlia

The Black Dahlia was a nickname given to Elizabeth Short, victim of a gruesome murder. Then it became a sort of Halloween classic thanks to its ripped up mouth.

First trace some guide lines with a white pencil. Then add Liquid Latex and kleenex strips, only on one side of the face. On the other side trace an irregular line mixing black and red colours. Use foundation to create a 3D effect. Glue the cord with Spirit Gum and use some colours to enhance 3D effect.

As teeth use fake nails glued with Spirit Gum and colour all with oil base colours. As a final touch add coagulated and liquid blood.