Mrs Laderman Makeup and Hair Designs

Mrs Laderman's character spends most of her time outside in the full force of the zombie apocalypse. Therefore, she will be tanned (the show is set in a hot Atlanta, USA environment), dirty and cut all over. My model has lovely skin so I am planning on just concealing any blemishes or redness that occur on the day to leave a natural looking base and not show any obvious makeup. I have drawn up variations of my apocalyptic makeup designs to show different physical effects of the apocalypse.

Design 1

Makeup: This design demonstrates the visual aesthetic of prolonged time in the sun in the apocalyptic world. I would start by stippling on a layer of red (mix with moisturiser to thin out the colour) over the light base on the tops of the cheeks, bridge of nose, chin and forehead. I would not powder to leave a sheen on the skin to add to the realism of the sunburn as the skin may almost be blistering. Following that, I would stipple a dark, cool brown on areas of the face to simulate dried dirt. The eyelids would be made slightly red too to show tiredness and the lips would be dabbed with the same shade to emphasis the lips natural colour. Although I like this look as I achieved these effects well in the technical lessons, I feel it is a little bit too simple and I would like to add some sfx makeup.
Hair: I would create two french plaits and make them look loose and distressed. This design would be convenient for this environment but I feel it too neat and not fitting well within The Walking Dead series.

Design 2

Makeup: For the base, I have created a similar look with dried dirt but left out the redness so it does not distract from the sfx I have included. I want to include a vicious looking scar on my characters face to reflect the horrendous world and conditions she has to live and survive in. I want it to be a result of Mrs Laderman trying to fight back or leave Claudia and she physically threatened and attacked her. It could be a physical representation of Claudia's hold over her. However, I feel like this may indicate to the viewer she is the villain as they often have a tell-tale sign like a large scar.
Hair: I would I curl my model's hair and brush it out to look like natural curls and style it with texturising spray and hairspray to make it look messy and distressed. I do really like the idea of this but I do not feel it would be a useful way of styling hair in a world where she is constantly fighting for her life. 

Final Design

Makeup: I will use dark shades of foundation to create the appearance of dried dirt on her face and shoulders, slight redness around the eyes to should tiredness and exhaustion, slight contour with a cream brown/grey shade to sculpt the model's face to show malnutrition and sfx cuts on the face and arms. For the cuts, I will use wax to mould the shape, latex to set it and keep it in place and will colour it with supracolour and fake blood. I will also use glycerin around the face to add sweat to show the climate and her lifestyle. This is my favourite design as I think it will fit in perfectly with the other styling on The Walking Dead and it gives me an opportunity to practice a mixture of the sfx techniques we have been taught this term.

Hair: My favourite idea for the hair is to keep it away from the face in a loose bun. I will have loose hairs hanging down around the face and the roots will be greasy and the flyaways will be wet with 'sweat'. 

Claudia Face Charts and Hair Designs

Claudia

None of the designs have eyebrows as my model has a full fringe.

Idea 1

For my initial design I wanted to take inspiration from the classic femme fatale look of elongated, voluptuous lashes and a red lip. Following my research of materials I could use for the apocalyptic makeup styles and I have to decided to create an oil-slick look on the eyes. For this design, I tried to keep it ultra simple however I feel like this slick cat eye look would not be achievable at the end of the world. I do look the idea of the blood-red colour dabbed onto the lips to look like dried, stained blood.

Idea 2

My second design is an adaptation of the inital one. I used the same product on the eyes but I have dabbed it on instead to show less precision and a more accurate application of such a product in this type of world. However, when I applied the multi-gel onto my skin (images shown below) it had glitter in it that was too chunky and did not portray oil/grease very well. 

Idea 3 - Chosen Design

With this final design I have chosen to use for my Claudia, I have produced a mixture of products for the eye that achieves the desired grease look I wanted: mixing medium, MAC's Black Tied eyeshadow, Illamasqua Beguile pigment and clear gloss over the top. I have also decided that I will apply it with a brush roughly all over the lid and above and smudge it out with my fingers to make it look like she could've applied it herself. The complexion will be fair as she does not see a lot of sunlight and her lips will be dabbed with a mixture of reds smudged onto chapped lips (achieved with latex) to look like dried blood with artificial blood added over the top. I will also add glyercin to the look, around her face, to show the struggle she had with the walker that bites her and also the fever that is starting to set it soon after the bite. As well as that, at the last minute I will spritz her chest and hair to add sweat and sheen to the look.

These images demonstrate the mixture of the medium, eyeshadow and pigment in different lights. I feel it achieves exactly what I wanted to reflect a grease-like texture and substance.

The left image shows me attempting to add the multi-gel over the top. However, as explained above the glitter is too chunky and ruins the colouring of my mixture. The right image I added a clear gloss and smudged it and I feel this works effectively to add to the idea she applied to herself as it makes it easier to move around.

Hair Designs

1. Half up, half down with wavy hair
2. Hair up in a loose and messy bun
3. Naturally wavy hair loose and messy

For the hair, I will keep it simple with a half up half down style that would easily be achieved in an apocalyptic world. The volume would be achieved through backcombing to make it look like her hair isn't brushed often and her hair will be loosely curled to reflect a naturally curly look.

Horror & Fashion

As an introduction into our second part of the Gothic Horror, Kat arranged for us to re-create modern, high-fashion makeup designs inspired by the gothic. I chose to re-create a look created by Pat McGrath for John Galliano in S/S 2010. 

I am very pleased with my outcome. The supracolours blended beautifully on and around the eyes. The postioning of the colours also looked similar. I feel like I achieved the matte white base well, as it was light and heavily powdered. However, I am very frustrated with the eyebrows! I should've been more confident to just create one thin line but I kept trying to touch it up, making it much thicker than it needed to be. Also, the bottom lip needed to be blended more with the white. Nonetheless, overall I am happy with the finished look and am keen to explore modern day gothic horror.

Trial Run of Makeup for Miss Havisham

I practised my final design on my model Beth to check my timing and if I need to make any alterations before my assessment. I completed the look in around 35 minutes - which works well alongside my hair that I achieved in around 30 minutes. Overall, I am pleased with the look and my application apart from two aspects: the forehead wrinkles and one of the patches of dry skin. Like the dry patch I created on the top of the head, I re-created this effect on her jawline on the opposite side of her face. However, in the images it was not very noticeable front on so I have decided in my assessment I will apply this further forward nearer the mouth. The forehead wrinkles looked subtle and effective in person but on camera they are barely visible so I will make extra effort to keep the positioning but darken them ever so slightly for screen.

The most effective features in this practice, for me, were the eyes and the latex dry skin. I used a mixture of darker brown concealers to create subtle eye bags to show her age and torment-filled life. I added a little bit of the colour in her socket line to further make the eyes look sunken. On the day of the assessment, I will add a small amount of red under her eyes to add to the irritation I added into the design. I also think the dry skin created on the forehead works well with my Miss Havisham that shows how her environment has taken its toll on her. The only thing I would change is the amount of foundation I added on top as it makes the latex look obvious.

Step By Step

1.    Prime skin – cleanse, tone and prime (matte primer)

2.    Stipple on latex on forehead (top right) and next to mouth (bottom left)

3.    Hairdry latex and pick away sections to create dry skin

4.    Apply foundation – mix Kryolan Ultrafoundation (Ivory) with small amount of Illamasqua Skin Base in 1

5.    Brush white through eyebrows

6.    Mix D14 + D15 Kryolan concealers and add ageing and sculpting – under eyes, eye sockets, forehead wrinkles, smile lines and cheekbones

7.    Add small amount of red Supracolour under eyes and around nostrils

8.    Apply duo glue onto lips to create dry effect

First Try Out of Products for Miss Havisham Makeup

 Latex + Foundation

My model Beth and I took time out after class to practise some of my new skills to see what is going to be most effective and what doesn't look good. In this series of photos I applied a layer of latex over areas I wanted to visibly age or create dry skin (I followed the process Sue taught us in our technical lesson). Beth has very youthful and plump skin so I found it very difficult to create wrinkles! They were not very visible once I had dried the latex and once I applied my base (Kryolan Ultrafoundation and Illamasqua Skin Base) the layer of latex became extremely visible and create a rough and dry texture on areas that were meant to look like her skin. It also clung to the latex a lot so all the colour was in a block on the latex and was almost impossible to blend. I spoke to Sue and she advised how it may have been the Skin Base I mixed in that caused it to become so dry. I was very unhappy with the resul as it was so visible and would not be good for high definition broadcasting. However, the effect I created for dry skin (shown in the last 2 photos) are very effective in a subtle way and I feel if I practised again and coloured them effectively it would a good way to incorporate sfx subtly in this assessment.

Foundation and Concealer

I also wanted to try out ageing with soft brown shades of concealer that Sue had demonstrated in our tech ageing lesson. I applied a mixture of Illamasqua Skin Base in 1 and Kryolan Ultrafoundation in Ivory to create a pale complexion but I do think it is slightly too white so I will try and mix less white next time to keep it looking realistic (which will make the blending of the wrinkles less obvious). I did not apply anything to the brows to keep it historically accurate, however, next application I may brush a little bit of white to age her further. Following that, I use a mixture of D14 + D15 Kryolan concealers to sculpt and add wrinkles (added lines on forehead and smile lines then blended). I focused the sculpting to the cheekbones, eye sockets and nose area. I feel it worked effectively as it was very subtle but may need to be slightly heavier to be picked up in HD. I will also apply this sculpting colour to the temples next attempt to slim the face further to create a skeletal look. Powder was applied all over, however, next time I will only apply to Beth's oily areas as I have designed my character to have deserted her appearance so she would not have applied powder but the look still needs to be HD ready so I will use a fine powder sparingly.

Trial Run of Miss Havisham Hair Style

Process:

1. Section the hair - a front section (in a middle parting) for the curls and a back section for the bun.
2. Section each side of the middle parting at the front of the hair in 3 and curl each to create identical curls away from the face.
3. Pin curls onto head to set after heating up each section and leave to cool.
4. Pull all the hair in the back section into a tight ponytail.
5. Plait the ponytail hair.
6. Wrap plait around the hair tie and pin to head.
7. Unpin the curls and allow to drop.
8. Run fingers through hair and began to mess up.
9. Back comb curled sections roughly.
10. Pull apart the plaited bun and backcombed sections.
11. Pull at hair pulled into a bun to loosen the tension and create frizz.
12. Dry shampoo roots to age hair.

Reflection of Trial

I am very pleased with my final design and feel the first attempt was successful. It gave me an idea of timing and as we only have an hour and a half, I feel I could complete this in half an hour to leave a large portion for my makeup (as I want to apply sfx). Creating the look neatly and then distressing it has made it easy to replicate and create a step-by-step for myself which will be extremely useful in terms of continuity. In my next practise session, I want to make sure the centre parting is completely straight and the curled sections are even. I also would like to make the plaited bun much messier to match the front of the hair.