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.

Scenes I Imagine My Characters In

Mrs Rose Laderman

                         

The scene I planned Mrs Laderman to be in is following her on the run. Much like this teaser for the Walking Dead, I want her to be in a run down area looking panicked and tired from running. I will look around my local area in Southampton to explore run down or grungdy areas to reflect an environment like the sets and locations in Walking Dead, linking it well with the apocalyptic series. 

Claudia

                         

As Claudia is getting murdered by a zombie in my story, I want to photograph her in a dark studio with just spotlight to highlight her face and shoulders to highlight her makeup and bite. She will be revealing the bit in the photo looking horrified and upset. Unlike the video, she would be completely alone. 

Models and Consultation Notes

Claudia - Tara Page

Age: 19
Hair type: Thick, medium length. Dark blonde with highlights - dyed
Skin type: Combination to Oily
Skin tone: Light with pink undertones
Eye colour: Blue
Notes: Concerned with breakouts, use sensitive products

Mrs Laderman - Phoebe Slee

Age: 19

Hair type: Thick, medium length. Medium blonde

Skin type: Normal

Skin tone: Light

Eye colour: Blue (one eye half brown)

Notes: Fakes tans often to a medium tone with yellow undertones - will ask to do so to fit in with character notes of being outside

Walking Dead Styling

All the current characters wardrobes are muted in colour, practical and easy to move in (standard and plain clothes you'd find anywhere). Interestingly, the colour palette used by the Walking Dead's costume department chose colours very reminiscent of the army, as they are fighting to survive. For my character shoots, I will keep my models in simple outfits - layers of vest tops and dark jeans or trousers. The clothes will be dull and dirty and that's something I can add to the clothes when I purchase the outfits for my models. Having this kind of outfit will keep my characters tied into the story even better.

Claudia

• Black top and black jeans - to reflect the sultry classic black dresses Femme Fatate's would've worn
• Earrings to keep her feeling glamorous (nothing big or gaudy for the apocalypse but something to connect her to life before the end of the world to symbolise her veiled perception of life)
• No other accessories apart from an old looking hair tie on her wrist - to show how she tries to keep up appearances with her hair and will use it to keep her hair out of her face when she devours her victims

Mrs Rose Laderman

• Khaki and dirty cream layered tops with dark jeans - to fit in with current characters
• Chunky belt to look like a tool belt
• Potentially have a dirty knife as a prop or in belt (but as shooting on location I'm not sure if this is a good idea!)

Claudia's Makeup in a Zombie Apocalypse

As part of Claudia's character profile, whilst growing up she became obsessed with horror movies and bases her style of women in horror she is infatuated with at the time. I want to base her look around the classic 'Film Noir' look, a Femme Fatale. After research Rita Hayworth in Guilda, I wanted to base her look loosely around her dark eyes and sultry eyes and bold lips. My favourite aspect of the look is how her false lashes form a dark shadow on her eyelids, adding to the sensual look. However, of course, in a zombie apocalypse makeup products no longer exist. In the role of the makeup designer, I need to visualise and design a look that would be achievable and realistic in the apocalyptic world with the resources Claudia could get hold of.

Claudia's Ideal Look

In a non-apocalyptic world.

Dark, glossy and smoked eyes with a bold red lip

This look cannot be achieved in this world and would not be appropriate for me to design for The Walking Dead. However, I still want Claudia to have some essence of this look to give her a signal to the audience of who she is - like other villains may have a scar or an eye-patch. Interestingly, after watching Mad Max recently I research how the makeup looks were achieved. Specifically, Furiosa from the movie has an oil-like war paint across the top part of her face. Mad Max is also an apocalyptic story. Makeup designer Lesley Vanderwalt explained to the New York times how they went about designing a suitable style. 

“We had to find a way to tie that makeup into the story. We thought, these people had nothing but the materials around them, which would have been grease from the mechanical stuff they were building or clay from the ground.” So she used black makeup mixed with some pigment highlights. When Furiosa grabs a wad off her rig’s steering wheel to reapply it, “it was like she was putting on her war paint.”

(Harris, 2016)

The idea of using resources such as grease and clay inspired me to re-create this. At the end of the world, the use of cars is scarce and they would be scattered all around the place so grease would be easily found. In my story, after requesting her 'slave' Mrs Laderman to collect it whilst getting her human victims, Claudia will keep a stash of grease after discovering its effect in her flat to uphold her look. For the lips, as she is devouring human flesh I will make her lips look blood stained - a similar blood red to the woman she idolises would wear. Making each of these aspects realistic will make my character more believable and will allow her to fit into the world of the Walking Dead better with a twist on her look to keep her original.

Following Lesley's techniques, I will
try out a combination of products
to achieve the same affect as
grease (as obviously this can't be
used on my model's eyes!).

Again, for this aspect of the look I will create my own fake blood to make sure it is edible as it will be on the lips! It will also be interesting to have it in or coming out of the mouth.

References:

• Rachel Lee Harris. (2016). Behind the Makeup and Costumes of ‘Mad Max: Fury Road’. [27^th March] Available: http://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/11/movies/mad-max-fury-road-and-the-furiosa-factor.html?_r=0