Old Age & Airbrushing Prosthetics

We started this week with the ‘old age’ course component - a difficult make-up process. Louise showed us ‘Green Marble’ which is sold on the market as a make-up sealer but has been adapted and is used for assisting in the aging process. When layers of Green Marble are applied to taught skin it has the ability to emphasize folds, creases and wrinkles already present in the skin and creates additional line work giving the illusion of old age. We found the product to work effectively and the key to the best wrinkles is in the application process. We also learnt about how best to care for your ‘talent’ when carrying out this makeup technique, as at times it can be a long, uncomfortable and tedious for them.

We also experimented with our normal creams and shadows to age someone up quickly using highlighting and shading. The Green Marble is far superior but this highlighting and shading method could be used in applications like theatre.

Wednesday was our final hair class with Tanya. I think we were all a little overwhelmed by this. Hairstyling is an art learnt over years and we have only had six classes, which I guess is best viewed as a ‘taster’. We can now go away and practice the skills we have been taught and put them to practical use. Wednesday’s lesson was about up styling for wedding looks. These styles employ all the skills we have been taught - blow drying, hot rollers, GHD curls etc. We were briefed on the exam expectations and now we have to go away and practice, practice, practice!

Thursday was our workshop day which we spent airbrushing our prosthetic masks. Most of us have spent some time refining technique and working out colours on our practice masks. These were masks that didn’t quite work out well enough in the foam process and were slightly inferior. It was very much a trial and error process but by the time we started on our ‘hero’ masks, we were slightly more confident. Now we have to confirm our costume choices and work on horns or facial hair to complete the overall look. I’m sure we are all looking forward to seeing our characters/creatures reveal themselves when it all comes together on the application day.

Polly McKay - Student