Makeup Challenge Entries
This month our theme was "Moulage Rouge". Here was the set up:
If you are into SFX make-up chances are it’s because you love horror, or you dream of doing movie makeup and making characters and scenes come to life on the big screen...or maybe on stage. In any case, this is a great chance to practice your moulage makeup.
[Moulage (French: casting/moulding) is the art of applying mock injuries for the purpose of training emergency response teams and other medical and military personnel. Moulage may be as simple as applying pre-made rubber or latex "wounds" to a healthy "patient's" limbs, chest, head, etc., or as complex as using makeup and theatre techniques to provide elements of realism (such as blood, vomitus, open fractures, etc.) to the training simulation. The practice dates to at least the Renaissance, when wax figures were used for this purpose.]
This month we are practicing; specifically, on injury makeup. Blood, gore, slashes, bruises, wounds etc. We’d like you to set up a scene in your mind where someone gets injured- whether it’s from an accident or an attack by other humans, animal(s) or made-up creature(s). This can be a scene you made up, a scene from a movie or television, or something that actually happened. What is important here is that you make the injury makeup look as real as possible.
Think carefully about the specifics of how the injury or injuries happened… what was the victim doing when it happened? If it was an accident, how did it occur? If it was an attack, at what angle did the attack come from or what object(s) or body parts were used to do the damage? What kinds of marks would these leave?
Did the victim fall down and get scraped up or bruised in a different area during the incident? Which way would the blood have flowed? Would some of it be dried and some fresh? At what point of the trauma are we seeing the victim? Did it just happen? Have they been crawling and struggling to get help for some time? How much time? Are they deceased from this trauma? For how long?
Write a description (We usually make it 200 words or less, but you can use more this time if needed-just try to keep it brief enough to avoid dragging on, but specific enough that we can understand what has happened) to thoroughly illustrate the scene, how the trauma occurred, what caused it, and if it is a made-up creature that caused it, to describe that creature in detail...specifically its size, claws, teeth, or whatever it used to cause the injuries.
You will be judged on the following criteria:
1) Makeup execution (technique/detail/realism)-This will make up the majority of your score for judging.
2) Description/set-up of scene
3) Presentation (setting or background/lighting/costume)
4) Adherence to theme/following the briefing- Always a very important part of the judging process
Entry #1
Harvey is a handyman, and rather good at it too! He does everything from metalwork to painting, whatever his client's need! One day, Harvey got a nasty gash on his arm from a piece of metal that he was moving for a roof to a metal shed. Harvey didn't think it was too bad at the time so he kept working. It wasn't too long before it began spouting yellow pus and he knew then that it was infected.
Inspiration for this was from my grandfather who actually had a wound that looked much like this. It was deep but did not require stitches. He had to make sure it was kept clean so it didn't get infected. With wounds like this, to not have them bleed so much, it is important to keep the arm elevated so that you don't gush everywhere. Harvey knew this. He also blotted at the blood which is why there is scatter around the wound itself. Infections don't take long to form, which is what happened in Harvey's case. Had he sought medical attention right away, it could have prevented the yellow puss from oozing. The photos of this wound are a couple of days old, which is why the blood is not fresh. Wounds like this will scab over when they begin to heal, but pus oozes to help relieve pressure from under the skin, which will be fresh until the infection is gone. Harvey should seek medical attention fairly soon to keep the infection from spreading to the rest of his body and getting sepsis or he could die.
Infections are the biggest concern when it comes to any wound, regardless of how it came about. While every infection looks different, yellow is not a color you want to see oozing out of any orifice of your body. When working with metal, you have to worry about tetanus or even shards of metal getting stuck inside the wound. Harvey would most likely have a piece of metal deep within the wound causing the pus, making him very uncomfortable and possibly very sick. Because of the trauma to the area, you can see some light bruising as the wound begins to heal, but not quite purpling due to some residual bruising from constant flexing and use of the arm.
Entry #2
The photos for the makeup challenge were inspired by a novel "Food warehouse" by a Russia writer A.Ivanov that has been made into TV- series (here is the youtube trailer
https://youtu.be/-Wx6ywFVu8w ). The story is happening in the Soviet times in a small summer camp for children. Strange things are going on in the camp and the main characters (a boy of 12 and a group leader of 18 years) try to find out what is going on.
It turns out that an old and powerful vampire that looks like an nice elderly war hero lives near the camp. He bites children and adults from the camp and thus they become vampires and his slaves. They have to drink blood every night from their fellows without killing their "food" so they could collect blood for the grand vampire. These vampire slaves serve as "bottles" and the grand vampire drinks one of them every full moon of the year. After being drunk, the minor vampire dies because of some accident or fast developing illness. So every year there are 13 strange deaths of people who used to rest or work in the camp.
This horror detective not only has an atmospheric setting, interesting twists of the plot, but also poses interesting questions. How importsnt is it to be a part of a group? (the young main chatacter always feels outcast as the minor vampiers and their “food” join together and become friends). Can the easiest way be the best one? (a vampire tries to persuade the main character to become a vampire too to gain super powers to win an important football match). Should one sacrifice oneself to save many people? (in the end the main character has to become the new grand vampire to kill the previous one and after that he will have to live in isolation or even die to stop the terrible things happening in the camp –but we can only guess what he’ll do as the book has an open ending).
It's interesting that Soviet symbols serve as vampire amulets in the story (the red pioneer tie saves vampires from the sun as it has the blood color, the badges have a form a hexagram and are protecting them too). So Marina used these symbols in her cosplay. The image she’s created shows a girl who is trying to escape from vampires. A frightened pioneer is running away from vampires chasing her. She wants to escape the vampire oppression so desperately that she is not paying attention to bruises and wounds she got fighting for her life. As the story is about children and aims at teenagers, Marina’s decided not to make the scene too bloody, but she hopes that she’s succeeded in creating the atmosphere and that the wounds look credible enough to give you goosebumps.
Entry #3
I went to a camp cookout party and was enjoying my time with my friends and family.
I put everything into my mountain pie maker and went to set it in the fire.
I got a little bit too close,just as the wind picked up and the flames hit my arm and hand.
I was taken to the hospital with a 3rd degree burn.
I would consider myself an intermediate artist:)
Entry #4
The year is 2050, and a large portion of the population has been infected by an unknown strain of virus that alters human DNA into pig mutants. The first sign of infection is a large rash of bloody boyles, fever, erratic behavior, loss of hair, vomiting...followed by the changing of physical features like the nose and ears. Once transformed, all human emotion is replaced by animalistic behaviors and a lust for blood. "The Butcher" has only one thing on her mind..... having YOU for dinner!!!
I am an intermediate makeup artist, I have been doing fx for almost 2 years with some certifications
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