Make-up Effects Group

A New Start

2012-01-21T03:21:00.000-08:00

What a great start to the New Year! Week 1 began with introductions and getting to know one another. Louise explained our very busy schedules, it’s a little daunting but we are all very excited.

We received our make-up kits and our inner child came out when we got our hands on them, labeling them took some time but is essential as we all have the exact same kit.

Starting to use our kits, we got to know the products a little better. We practiced on each other, using both grease and liquid foundation, lipsticks, eye shadows, blush, eyeliner and mascara. And turned each other in to (UMMM) let’s just call them master pieces!

We were lucky enough to go out into the workshop and see the amazing work being done by all the technicians for a new movie… ssshhh… I can’t say any more than that!

Showing Nick our prosthetic references for our characters, we were out in the workshop to start our prosthetic sculpts for 2 days... wow!!!

Kim Weeks – Student

Short Film - Thank You

2011-12-12T02:08:00.000-08:00

A HUGE thank you to Louise, Nick and your brilliant team of makeup artists.

The makeup made up a big part of the characters in the film and your team pulled it off brilliantly. I am beyond thrilled with the way all the clowns and judges looked - as were the actors.

Everyone was an absolute dream to work with. They are an easy-going, fun but professional group. Nothing was too much trouble. Couldn't have asked for anything more!

Rebecca
Producer/Writer/Director
Project Top Clown

Prosthetic Application Day

2011-12-01T20:27:00.000-08:00

Congratulations Rachel, Natalie, Tina & Nicci. Wonderful work.

Prosthetics - Clowns & Demons

2011-11-24T04:45:00.000-08:00

Congratulations Adrien, Lana & Sherri. Wonderful work - hope you are proud of your first prosthetic make-up - from sculpture to application.

Continuity, Blow-Drys & Airbrushing

2011-11-11T14:54:00.000-08:00

We left the bald caps and moustaches behind this week in order to master the art of continuity. With scripts in toe we read, re-read, highlighted, made notes and prepared questions that we would take into a pre-production meeting. We then prepared our continuity sheets detailing the make-up styles and effects required for each scene. Continuity was not everyone’s cup of tea, but an important skill for any make-up artist.

Tanya returned for our final hair class before the exam…(insert scary music). In order to recap and best prepare us, it was time to turn the clocks back and perfect a full body blow-dry. Everything from seamless sectioning to styling was fine-tuned. From here we took our blow-dry into a 1920’s modern contemporary up-style, with the classic Marcel Waves a must.

It was finally time to remove our training wheels and start airbrushing our hero prosthetic pieces. Slowly but surely in amongst the flying paint and noodling our characters began to emerge. Not long now until application day!

Natalie Di Risio - Student

Annie

2011-10-28T01:18:00.000-07:00

I'd like to thank Nick, Louise and Paul from Make Up Effects Group Master Classes for the makeup team they supplied for this years season of "Annie" by the Rockdale Regals Musical Society.

Director, Meg Day's vision of a Tim Burton style look was achieved by the makeup team headed up by Rachael Jade who looked after the Daddy Warbucks bald cap and makeup. Annie and Grace were taken care of by Natalie. Rooster and Lilly were in the good hands of Lana, with Nicci, Lea and Tina making sure the pale withdrawn ensemble and orphans during the depression, and the bright happy mood in the Warbucks mansion was clearly felt by the audience through the makeup.

The cast and crew of the Regals were a joy to work with and the appreciation shown by them of the hard work from the makeup team was loud and clear when the production wrapped. They are looking forward to more involvement by the make-up team and students from the MEG Master Classes in future shows in the coming seasons.

More photos to come.

Ken Bowrey – Make-up Supervisor

Dead Again!

2011-10-28T01:15:00.001-07:00

What great timing for doing cuts, bruises, tattoos and dead bodies, right before Halloween!!!

It’s such fun creating and replicating 'ouchies'! Using all parts of the body, including the heals, to make some very sore looking blisters. A burnt hand was created, and how disgusting and real it looked… so real in fact that someone has already reposted it on a face book page to scare his family!!!

We also dabbled with applying and painting up tattoos, giving each other some wonderful ones to take home and scare mum!! Dead bodies were next on our hit list with so many things to take into consideration when creating a dead body – what was the cause of death, how long have they been dead for, where was the body found…? Lots to take into account.

To finish off the week we were graced with Tanya and her hair classes, braids all the way, then in the workshop with Nick to ‘noodle’ away with airbrushing and a foam latex run of our masks. What a busy week!!

Tina Paul - Student

High Fashion Photo Shoot & Foam Latex

2011-10-19T02:58:00.000-07:00

The week began with the word 'red carpet', it was bold, beautiful and new. Everybody explored various colours through a Catwalk Makeup - where anything goes.

We were lucky enough to have a catch up day to complete our mustaches. Surprisingly within a couple of hours everyone had their heads down, music on and individual hair knots underway. It was a long day but I was pleased to hit my mark on making the half way point, with the fine film lace and perfectly placed hair strands.

What an opportunity to have a professional photo shoot. It was fast paced and an adrenaline rushed day. Matt the photographer was fantastic, he took in our individual designs and ideas to make each make-up look diverse and the best it possibly could. It was such a pleasure working with him and his professional standards. Thanks also to our great models.

Then it was time for our first foam latex run for our prosthetic pieces. Nick took us through the crucial process in mixing products within a specific time frame, having controlled room temperatures and the efficiency you must have to be able to produce the greatest result. This process was all new to the group and we were all very involved, the first run worked out quite well.

The second half of the day was experimenting with airbrushing. For some of us this was the first time ever using the brilliant makeup tool of an airbrush. I couldn't get enough of it, experimenting with shapes, sizes and of course, colour. With the varied amounts of pressure you applied to the trigger, you were able to achieve different tonal and textured effects. I can say that I can’t wait to explore this further and the purchase of an airbrush is next on my list.

Rachel Jade - Student

Sneek Peek - High Fashion

2011-10-14T19:14:00.000-07:00

SNEEK PEEK. Fashion Day. Congratulations to everyone for bringing some amazing looks together. You should all be very proud of what you did.

Sculpting & Fashion

2011-10-14T19:08:00.000-07:00

Well, I feel like I haven’t had a two week production break! Ha, well that’s because I haven’t - I’ve been sculpting all holidays in the studio with Nick! Fantastic!

This week has mainly revolved around our FASHION make-up. It was helpful to get our models in for our prep day on Thursday, to figure out the make -up, hair and clothing for our overall looks for the upcoming shoot. Our High Fashion teacher Lilly gave us some great ideas to improve our makeup and hair designs and instilled confidence in us to experiment with our looks.

Looking forward to Special Effects Makeup to start very soon.

Oh god! Wig knotting next week… death by hair!

Adrien Kent - Student

Body Art 2

2011-09-16T04:26:00.001-07:00

Body Art 1

2011-09-16T04:23:00.001-07:00

Sculptures

2011-09-16T04:22:00.001-07:00

Period Make-ups 3

2011-09-16T04:19:00.000-07:00

Period Make-ups 2

2011-09-06T06:53:00.001-07:00

A lot of STYLE!

Through the Ages

2011-09-06T06:43:00.000-07:00

This week we carried on with using the thick grease foundations, but with quite a different look in mind; we began period makeup looks for film!

We started with Ancient Egypt and the difficult task in creating an authentic look using our very dark brown foundations. To finish our Cleopatra and Pharaoh, our eyes were covered in rich gold, royal blues and greens, followed with thick black liner created in a shape that showed our status. The look was completed with a black wig and heavy gold jewellery.

Next came the 1800’s, with the thick white bases and beauty spots and designs galore, it was revealed to us just why they created such extravagant designs upon their faces. We created rosy cheeks and rouge lips, at last the look all came together with the typical hair-styled wig of that time, decorated with jewels and feathers.

Then we all turned our attention to the Queen Elizabeth makeup. Again we used our white bases but in a much more delicate manner, to create a fine layer and still have the natural skin beneath showing through. The look was completed with red powdered eyebrows, red-brown eyelids, cheeks and lips, and of course a curly red wig adorned with shinning jewels and pearls.

Then it was back to the present, and out the back to further finish our sculptures, adding details and texture, such as defined wrinkles and pores. We are getting closer to adding the flashing and then to make the mould!

Nicci Hensman - Student

Acrobats and Kitty-Cats!

2011-08-24T05:01:00.000-07:00

This week was an exercise in thick grease foundations, applying layer upon layer. Once we felt our models were sufficiently caked in it, we then set the base with enough of our Showface powder to cover the room in a fine mist. It all began on Monday with Theatre makeup. We were applying liner to open the eyes and giving the face some shape with extreme contouring to counteract the harsh lighting of theatre.

The layers continued with Cirque Du Soleil makeup. With Louise having toured with Cirque for two years we were just mesmerised by her stories and backstage photos. Upon returning to our work we discovered that our Cirque makeup was a challenging exercise of working with and mixing greases, aqua colours and powders. With this we were again learning the lesson of blend, blend and blend!

We spent a day catching up on our various projects like finishing the layers of our paper mache masks, colouring and styling our wigs and continuing to add texture to our sculptures. With a lot to do and never enough time we stayed very busy, covered in glues, newspaper, clay, hairspray or in the case of Nat and myself elbow-deep in Ajax removing colour hairspray from our makeup workstation. Nat's wig in particular looked amazing with the bright colours, so it was well worth it.

Then came the big finale of the week CATS!!!! More layers, more powders, more hairspray and more blend, blend, blend! The final makeup look was very animated and as we were promised, the look really came together with the wigs and costume. Everyone did so well and I think the photos of our fabulous furry felines speak for themselves!!!

Lea Jackson – Student

More wigs than ever before!

2011-08-12T02:28:00.000-07:00

We were all bubbling with excitement for our film character makeups. Cruella de Vil was done by Lea, she did a great job on the makeup design and a brilliant effort with the costume to complete the overall look. Everybody got right into each character and made the most of the jam-packed day. A quality you need to excel in for this fast passed industry. This week we learnt how to put on false eye lashes in a completed Glamour makeup and hair look. I felt the pressure during this exercise - to complete within the time frame and slightly frustrated with my application and slow progression. However, when the time came for 'brushes down' I was happier than expected with my result.

Wigs were scattered all over the room. It was now time to prep individual wigs from the musical production 'Cats'. Everybody chose a different character after some last minute reference changes. It was an exciting time and explained extremely well by Tanya. The afternoon was a continuation on from our first hair lesson. Moving into full body blow drys, we had a demonstration with correct techniques and funny examples of what 'not' to do, when it was our turn. Everybody came out with extraordinary results for their first ever, full body blow dry. Well done guys :)

Staring at sculpted faces, it only takes moments till each of us are remodeling and refining our characters. We used thinners to wash down areas of our clay sculpture to help round and clean up the form. The process helped us consolidate the look of the character in our minds. Shez and Alana began to texture today, using wire tools and a stippling technique to add the detail.

Rachel Bartley - Student

Psycho Killer & Iron Maiden

2011-08-05T05:32:00.000-07:00

This week began with Character Makeup and I was made up as a psycho killer doctor. I had fake blood smeared over surgical gloves and held a metal tool waving it around madly, doing my best to get into character for the photo shoot. My mission was to turn one of my classmates into a prisoner. I must admit I did enjoy this particular makeup. Adding all the reds, blues and purples to the face to turn a normally pretty girl into someone who is worn, slightly aged and unattractive, was good fun.

Wednesday we began our Paper Mache masks. Jayne our teacher warned us that the process of applying layers of glue-covered paper would be addictive and unstoppable. Well she was right. Once everyone started we kept going well past home time. Applying the layers of paper for hours on end made me feel like a basket weaver.

Then came my favourite part of the week, prosthetic sculpture day. I had my earphones on and Iron Maiden, “Live After Death”, blaring in my ears, sculpting fine details and surface texture onto my clay sculpted face. What a day, couldn’t think of anything better than to sit for hours sculpting ghoulish faces in a sculpting workshop with inspirational music to energise the mind, just awesome!

Adrian Kent - Student

Lips & Hair

2011-08-04T05:11:00.000-07:00

Today our subject was different lip shapes. Lopsided, uneven, small, large, wrinkled - we sat in class and completed a fun exercise of lining the different lip shapes on paper to make them all beautiful, plump and luscious. Once our not so perfect lips were filled in and transformed into 'the perfect lips' we paired up and created a 'look'.

Foundation and blusher is the subject of the day! Two sorts - cream and powder. After a small amount of theory, a look into plenty of different types of foundations out on the market and a quick demo, we went straight into the practical exercises. Our aim was to make up both sides of the face, one side with cream blusher, and the other with powered blusher. I enjoyed using the cream blusher, I found that the cream when blended well, has a beautiful finish.

Hooray, our first hair class. I'm very excited for today's lesson - I've always wanted to be able to 'do' hair. Our teacher Tanya is great, fast paced, lots of information. Proteins and conditioners - who would have thought there was so much thought put into products!! We learnt how to shampoo, condition, massage and then we learnt more about the hair. How to dry it properly, which products to use, why and how the hair can be styled. Then it was up to us. Wash, condition, massage, analyzed hair type, product, dried the roots, sectioned the hair, and then straight into the blow dry and then, I was done. My first blow dry! Who knew learning could be so much fun.

Tina Paul - Student

Beauty Therapy, Art & Sculpture

2011-07-22T23:22:00.000-07:00

From face shapes, we focused on different eye shapes. We highlighted and shaded to correct each of our eye shapes, to create the ideal almond contour.

Beauty therapy, skin care, basic hygiene principles - we then moved on to the correct procedure of make-up removal, the three-step process of cleansing, moisturizing and toning.

You think shading a circle to give it the appearance of being a sphere is difficult? Well this was our introductory exercise to our first art class with the delightful Jayne. Shape, tone, texture and colour, are the four key elements one must acknowledge when involved in an artistic endeavour, even make-up! Highlighting and shading using both cream and liquid foundations and powders - the key to this exercise was blend, blend, blend!

We were also given the opportunity to watch Nick and Paul make fiberglass moulds of their amazing sculptures - first sealing and using release agents, then applying a fiberglass gel coat and layers of fiberglass matting.

We again came face to face with our prosthetic sculptures. Some were on track and content with their newly formed creatures, while some of us were uncertain and changes were made. We sculpted away to often-dramatic theme music with a dash of Bollywood in the background. We set down tools at 6.45pm, switched off our lamps and were pleased with the work we had achieved for the day.

The fun had just begun for those of us waiting to catch the 309 bus. Everything from wet feet to the tragic fashion crime of a plastic bag poncho were realised. Stay tuned for more 309 adventures!

Natalie Di Risio - Student

New & Exciting

2011-07-22T23:21:00.000-07:00

A passionate group of Make-up Students begin their journey! Everyone was excited but we bottled our enthusiasm and spent the first day in silence as we rummaged through our kits, with bits of plastic flying everywhere and the scent of nail polish slowly filling the room. This is going to be an amazing 6 months.

Spent some time learning about the products in our make-up and hair kits and then went onto some basic make-up exercises. We quickly had great insight into seeing how many bad habits we were going to have to let go of.

It wasn't as sunny on Wednesday, so we opted to spend our lunch break inside and Nick was kind enough to show us a bit of old school 80’s footage on some awesome sculpting by Mark Alfrey. This in turn helped us gather some more useful references for the following sculpture day.

We gave Louise a break from us today and joined Nick in the workshop. A little daunting for most of us at first as we sat face to face with our fibreglass heads. But once we got our hands in the plasticine, our sculptures began to take shape. Initially, with this being a new experience for the majority of us, our faces seemed a little peculiar. Fortunately, with Nick's much needed guidance and advice, he helped us make tour characters more visually aesthetic and organic.

I can't believe how fast the first week has flown by. Looking forward to the weeks to come.

Alana Pecotic - Student

A Foot in the Door

2011-07-12T19:02:00.000-07:00

Ex-Students are busy working in all aspects of the industry. From features films such as THE HOBBIT and REDD INC, to photo shoots, short films and music videos - everyone is getting their FOOT IN THE DOOR.

To the January class - your Portfolios, CV's and Business Cards are looking great - start networking and building on all the contacts you have made. You are all great artists. Be confident and enjoy the journey...

Nick, Paul & Louise

A Fresh Start

2011-07-12T18:53:00.000-07:00

The new class of students has just started. It's great to see the excitement in all their eyes.

They all love their make-up kits and are busy unpacking and becoming familiar with what will become their tools of the trade.

Lots of well thought out reference supplied for their sculptures, as they begin to plan their prosthetic character make-ups.

Good luck everyone - you're going to have an amazing time...

Nick

Exams & Prosthetic Application

2011-06-15T00:33:00.000-07:00

Our second last week was possibly the most eventful so far. We were very busy Monday through Thursday with our practical exams, recreating famous film characters, cats, historical figures and more! I think we can all feel quite proud of ourselves for the work we put it. On Thursday we also had our written exam to see how much we absorbed from our lessons on script breakdown, continuity, SPFX and all the other subjects we've covered during the past 18 weeks. Fingers crossed we all did well!

Saturday was the day we'd been waiting for: the application of the facial prosthetics we've been designing, sculpting, casting and painting for months. We spent the whole day attaching the prosthetics to our models' faces, blending the edges and styling the overall look we wanted to create and the results were all FANTASTIC! It was an amazing to see our characters come to life. Then came the removal, which was almost as difficult as the application, depending on the amount of adhesive used. We owe a lot of thanks to the artists that donated their time to take us through the process and assist us throughout the day and the models that were so patient while we poked and prodded them.

Oh no, now we only have one week left! Whatever will we do?!

Rachel Greening - Student

Prep, Prep & More Prep!

2011-06-03T16:37:00.000-07:00

With our exams just around the corner, and end of term approaching fast, we dedicated this week to preparing and practicing. We teased, tweaked, and coloured wigs for our CATS and FILM CHARACTER make-ups, tidied our moustaches, and trialed some of the ‘looks’ we will be tested on. We even had a fretful last minute cleaning of kits, having been threatened we would lose marks for an untidy kit!

We finished our lessons on SPFX with ‘dead body’ make-ups, sharpening our skills on bruising, cuts, slit throats, bullet wounds. The effect was awesomely gruesome!

Our actors for the PROSTHETIC APPLICATION day joined us for a hair and costume trial. We were all happy with our creations, and as our characters begin to come to life, we become anxiously excited for the Big Day!One of the most valuable parts of the week was our lesson on ‘timing’, in which we had to produce a high fashion make-up under a time limit. The class created fantastic works, from Punk Militaries, to modern Victorian inspired, to Drag Queens! Under a time limit, we were disciplined to keep focus and concentrate on our subject, preparing us for when we are on the job and under pressure.We are all nervous for our exams, but with good training behind us, we are sure to produce more remarkable make-ups.

Natalie Rose - Student

Continuity, Exams & Bald Caps

2011-05-28T23:11:00.000-07:00

Continuity began the week, continuing on from where we left off.

Our task - to create a character from a series, based upon how we believed they should be portrayed. We then had to create a makeup chart of that character, before we were shuffled around to recreate someone else's makeup based on their ‘detailed’ chart. This exercise went well, as it showed us the importance of continuity and how a face chart and photo reference should be understandable, to get the best result.

Tuesday and Wednesday were days we weren't looking forward to... the Hair Exam... Luckily we had Tuesday as a practice, to try out our 1940's inspired hairstyles and work out how they could be improved. But we all passed with flying colours and are happy it’s over.

We were taught the art of creating a Bald Cap, using liquid latex and lots of sponges, and now are well on our way to losing our hair.

I look forward to next week with more dead bodies and high fashion makeup.

Student - Zeb Tilden

Perplexing Productions, Paint & Prosthetics

2011-05-20T17:34:00.000-07:00

A successful Make-up Artist must be capable in not only the creative aspects of Make-up, but also in terms of organization and planning, and Louise's favorite - Continuity! This week certainly taught us what it is to be a well-rounded make-up artist. We learnt about production meetings, budgets and continuity. We also developed and pushed our creative side, airbrushing in the workshop and working on fantastical/high fashion make-up designs.

It was our final lesson with Jane, who has been an absolute treasure! We handed in our major art works, mimicking a work of art to appreciate the technique of the artist. There was a huge variety from a fabulous comic illustration by Rachel, to an innovative multi-canvas wonder made by Azrielle.

We were split in two groups Tuesday and Thursday, either doing continuity breakdowns or airbrushing prosthetics. The class has all become 'Noodling' experts, giving life-like tone to our prosthetics using the airbrushes. Now we just need to get the hang of Nick's reputable 'Splattering' technique. Our characters are really coming to life, we can't wait until the big application day!!!

In continuity, we learnt the process from getting a script and breaking it down to creating continuity sheets. We've already found our continuity lessons useful, utilizing them for a production meeting at Sydney Film School. We will put this knowledge into action on Monday working from each other’s face charts… Wish us luck :)

Student - Alex Guillot

Slit Throats & More Blood

2011-05-13T17:12:00.000-07:00

We started off the week with slit throats and bullet wounds - not many people could probably say that to their friends and family without getting a strange look from them. We began to have a little fun when Alexis, Zeb and I created some lovely looking dead bodies. Zeb’s victim had been in a car accident with glass protruding from her skull and blood gashing from all orifices, he did this master-piece on Natalie, and I must say that it looked fabulous!

Alexis turned Rachel into a junkie with track marks up her arms and an unhealthy complexion - it looked so real!

I worked on Alex and created a burn victim that had been in a plane crash, well she looked singed to the bone, with hair flying every which way and blood cascading from all wounds, it turned out quite well.

We all created some lovely hairdos on each other on Wednesday, when Tanya came in to teach us more tricks of the trade. Alex's hair was probably higher then the Statue of Liberty, but that's okay!

Thursday and Friday we were out with Nick in the workshop. Some of us were patching up some holes in our foam latex prosthetic piece. We mixed Pros-Aide and Cabosil to create a paste called Bondo, which we then used to fill in any holes or imperfections in the foam. The others practiced more air brushing and started to paint their foam latex characters ready for the big application day in the coming weeks. Lots of fun!

Azrielle Alman - Student

Happy Hobbit

2011-05-03T01:43:00.000-07:00

Here's a nice email sent to us from Polly Mckay, a little while back when she started work on The Hobbit in New Zealand. Polly was an excellent student and gifted make-up artist, (she came first in the Prosthetics Make-up competition last year at IMATS) who seems to have found her niche. We were all very happy to receive the positive and uplifting email:

Hi Louise/Nick,

Just wanted to touch base and let you know I am loving the new job!! I'm still pinching myself daily and feel so very fortunate to be in this position!

It's an amazing new world and I have learnt quite a bit already. Everyone in the team is lovely, really friendly and so willing to share their knowledge. I love listening to all their stories about other jobs and experiences and I think there will be many fun times ahead! They all speak so highly of Paul too! :)

Tomorrow is the start of week 3 for me. Have spent the past 2 weeks hair punching hundreds of hobbit feet and hot tonging lace Hobbit hair pieces. Despite the burns to my hands, I'm eager every day. Doing a course in contact lenses this week and moving on to punching silicone (which I have found a tad more difficult).

I'm completely in my element and till now hadn't realised that 'working' could make you so happy! I look forward to all that is in store over the next few weeks and the future of the job.

Just thought I would send you an update! :) Polly

Barbers & Bloody Treats

2011-04-29T06:18:00.000-07:00

After many weeks of threading, knotting and tweaking on beautiful fine lace, we proudly finished our moustaches and were very excited to apply them on our partner’s face. Penny led our class on Wednesday, teaching us how to cut, shape and style our moustaches. We then used spirit gum to adhere the moustache and other facial hair such as eyebrows, chops and stubbles. The transformations were very refined and quite amusing. We had Alex as a cowboy, Azrielle as an old man, Alexis as a gangster, Zeb, a dashing Olde English Gentleman, and me, a bikie. However it was Rachel who stole the show as our favourite hero, Super Mario! We thoroughly enjoyed the experience and were sad it was over after weeks of hard work.

Thursday’s lesson had us once again behaving like children in a candy store, except that our candy was red and gooey! We began our very first lesson on Accident Simulation experimenting with different types of blood, our illustrator palette, grease bases, powders, adhesives, and scar materials. We practiced making basic scars, cuts, bullet holes, bruises, and boils - a tiny bit gross, but still very enticing! We are eager to explore this part of the course in more detail in the following weeks.

Natalie Rose - Student

Glamour Dilemmas

2011-04-25T23:51:00.000-07:00

In a crash course in black and white photography, we were taught to be able to recognise how the shades and tints of various colours would convert into the grey-scale, creating the look for the black and white photos.

As Tuesday arrived, so did our professional photographer Gavin, and our beautiful models. After we created our natural and high fashion looks, our ‘standby kit’ skills were put to the test during the photo shoot with only a few mistakes (I forgot the lip gloss). Gavin and Louise both helped us to identify what we need to be looking out for on our models, as well as the correct lingo to call out so our perfect photo shot wouldn’t be ruined by us standing in the way.

While the glamour part of the week finished the fun was nowhere near over. Nick and Paul took us into the workshop to start our foam latex runs for our prosthetics, with the importance of temperature control, measurements and timeframes being made clear to us. With two goes at it, we were able to make our ‘Hero’ prosthetics. To finish off the week we were introduced to airbrushing. While some of us soon managed to create masterpieces, others mastered the skill of splattering - I think I need a little more practice...

Alexis Lynch - Student

Exam Make-ups

2011-04-21T15:26:00.000-07:00

High Fashion & Fibreglassing

2011-04-18T15:28:00.000-07:00

The class arrived back from the production break this week and got straight into high fashion. We started out with an explosion of colours doing period-inspired looks, from Egyptian to 1980's. Nat was the diamante queen this week producing beautiful work!

Tuesday, we continued with high fashion looking at more avant-garde catwalk looks and Thursday we had a prep/practice day for our photo-shoot. Experimenting with costume, hair and makeup designs before the big exciting day.

We had a great couple of days in the workshop as we delved into the fibreglassing of our sculptures. We applied layers of polyester coated fiberglass sheet over our plasticine sculptures to create a negative mould. A day later we cleaned out the moulds and they are now sitting strapped up happily in the oven at 45 degrees to remove toxins. We are all so excited for the next stage!

We had a lovely end to the week celebrating Louise's birthday, Mariel's 3rd place at IMATS New York, and Alice now heading for NZ to work on Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit.

Alex Guillot - Student

Body Art

2011-04-09T19:35:00.000-07:00

The last week before production break was certainly a busy one! Tuesday we did our body art, that we prepared for the day before. Our models looked amazing! We couldn't thank them enough for coming in during their free time and standing still while we painted on them for such a long period of time. A big thank you to Fiona for helping us throughout the day.

Then Thursday was the big one: exams, yikes! We all did well in our practical exams, recreating film characters and period looks in a short time frame, but we’ll just have to wait and see how we did in the written test. We also handed in our completed paper mache masks and research assignments, all of which looked fantastic. We all really thought outside the box when it came to presenting our research assignments in a creative manner.

Now we all just have to wait until the 2 week production break is over so we can get started again!

Rachel Greening- Student

More Make-ups

2011-04-04T04:09:00.000-07:00

Congratulations Mariel

2011-03-20T00:18:00.000-07:00

We wish Mariel McClorey all our best wishes for being successful in getting into both the FANTASY & PROSTHETICS categories at IMATS NY. A talented make-up artist with a genuine creative flair. Good luck in the competition.

Mariel and Alice Baueris are currently helping us out in the special make-up effects department of the feature film REDD INC. They are both doing a wonderful job - although they talk onset all the time... they know what I mean.

Nick, Paul, Louise

Body Art & Work Experience & IMATS NY

2011-03-20T00:15:00.000-07:00

This has been a jam-packed week finishing off our final period work before the holidays.

We started with a briefing from the fabulous Fiona, on Body art and had a practice with a strict time limit creating a 1950’s look.

We explored the big, bright and colorful 80’s with sky-high hair and bright makeup - a fabulous end to our period makeup.

Hair lesson with Tanya, brought on 1940’s style victory curls, using our hot rollers. Everyone has come a long way with hair after only a few lessons, due to the expert tutelage of Tanya!

To end the week we went on a shopping spree for our body art supplies. We were taken very good care of in both Showcase and Three Arts (Thank you!!)

There has been lots of exciting news for MEG this week. Some of the students are working on a short film this weekend - Zeb as Special Effects Makeup Artist, will be aided by Lexi, Natalie and Rachel. Also, Mariel has been accepted in both the FANTASY and PROSTHETICS categories in the prestigious IMATS in New York!! So congratulations to everyone and good luck.

Alex Guillot - Student

Period Make-ups

2011-03-20T00:13:00.000-07:00

Period makeup from the 1920's and 1940's: experimenting with different hairstyles from this era by using setting lotions, heated curlers and various hair pieces - our teacher Louise helped us to recreate the ultimate batch of hairstyles from the time.

Using very different eye shadow techniques, we were able to create two totally different looks on our models. Bright red lip pencils and lipstick from our pallet brought the makeup together. I wound up looking rather dashing as always, in my wig and costume, and everyone else looked great as well!

We continue with the patience of ... wig knotting. We are all going really well with our mustaches, as they take shape and start looking cool!

Looking forward to more period work from the 50's and 80's. Let’s see what we will be able to achieve next!

Zeb Tilden - Student

Transports of Delight

2011-03-11T02:25:00.000-08:00

Following on from last week’s experimentation with grease bases, we found ourselves once again face to face with new challenges. We were to apply the same grease bases but to different features, to create different period make-ups for films, and to change skin colour to achieve a classic desirable beauty.

We boarded our Shuttle and travelled back to Ancient Egypt, where we were transformed into Cleopatra and Pharaoh, via very dark brown cream bases. It was difficult achieving a flawless even texture from face to arms, but we were eventually the stuff of legends! Filled with power, glory and mystery, our eyes sparkled with shimmery gold, and iconic greens and blues. Eye make-up was decorative and ornamental and we outlined different shapes with thick black liner to reveal our class status. Terracotta cheeks and lips, the application of a cropped black wig, white linen dress and the adornment of gold jewellery and amulets, completed our journey.

Next stop was to an era which marked the epitome of glamour, extravagance and the façade – the Eighteenth Century. We were to achieve a lustrous pale complexion: desirable to the aristocrats, by applying our white base densely to disguise original skin colour. The girls enticed with their with rosy apple cheeks, irresistible rouge lips, pastel shadows, defined brows, and beauty marks drawn onto the face and neck. The ultimate look was finished with big white wigs ornamented with pearls, butterflies, ribbons and feathers, and a seductive black satin corset! Even Zeb looked simply ravishing with his pale complexion, beauty-marked face, terracotta checks and lips, and equipped with a neatly curled white wig, satin shirt and tights!

Our final destination was to The Golden Age where we became the popular Queen Elizabeth I. This time we applied our white base delicately to achieve a fine, even, pastel texture, with the faint glow of the natural skin beneath. The look was subtle and sophisticated and highlighted with red powdered eyebrows, brown shadow on the eyelids and red brown cheeks and lips. We felt very regal with a red curly cropped wig adorned with pearls and diamantes.

As our traveller brought us back to the Twenty-First Century, we were full of ancient history, knowledge of classic aristocratic looks, and definitely much more familiar with the application of cream bases. It was certainly a majestic week, my favourite so far!

Natalie Rose - Student

Theatre Make-up

2011-03-01T04:46:00.000-08:00

Big, bold and beautiful... also a lot more difficult then it looks. Our first challenge for the week was completing a basic theatre make-up in which we had to draw upon the techniques we have been taught, such as our product knowledge, colour theory, and the importance of high-lighting and shading.

We soon clicked as to why grease bases were our best friends for theatre and why a thorough powdering went hand in hand with those greases. With our understanding of the basic style, we were put to the test of applying a more characterised version with our own choice of WICKED characters to recreate. As some tackled the obstacles of wig setting (becoming aware of things they’d forgotten), others were faced with the challenges of being green.

We were then treated to the extremes of theatre make-up... CIRQUE DU SOLEIL. With challenge one being which design to choose, we were soon hit with challenge two - white bases. In our initial attempts to create the white mask look, we discovered there were very fine lines between not having enough base, to a perfect base, to a blotchy ill looking base. As the more colourful aspects of the make-up began to take shape we discovered the amount of detail in creating the bold and beautiful designs that make Cirque make-up so amazing. With an arrangement of crazy costumes to complete each character, as well as some acrobatic photo shots (thanks Zeb), we managed to get some fabulous shots as well as a great full group photo.

The challenge of theatre make-up was so much fun and definitely something I would love to continue with.

Alexis Lynch - Student

MEG Master Classes on Facebook

2011-02-21T01:59:00.000-08:00

Stay in touch with all our Friends at Make-up Effects Group Master Classes and SIGN UP on our new Facebook page.

See the wonderful work the students are creating...

www.facebook.com/pages/Make-Up-Effects-Group-Master-Classes/132929083441771

Glamour & Character

2011-02-18T16:57:00.000-08:00

After flying in directly from Hong Kong to start the course 2 weeks late - to what felt like the HOTTEST summer of my life! I can honestly say that I felt I was never going to be able to catch up.

But here we are in my 3rd week and after the expert tutelage from our talented, experienced teachers, I can comfortably say that we are all in our creative element with numerous projects on the move and that I have never felt lost or behind!

This week started with Glamour makeup, trading our subtle liquid based palette for a heavy grease based, fake eyelash powered bomb shell look. It was lots of fun, I can assure you - even after a minor lipstick explosion on my part (Sorry Azriel!!)

We then created our film characters. Rachel impressed us all by creating dreadlocks in her own creative techniques, everyone really captured their characters through not only makeup but wig work, costume and hair.

Wednesday we looked at the 1920’s Marcel wave look with the lovely Tanya, getting to use our hot rollers and Marcel clips.

The week ended with work on our prosthetics with Zeb and Rachel moving onto mold-making at a record pace. My prosthetic is moving along, I must say I felt proud looking at the tension/muscular details in the forehead.

This has been another amazing week and looking back on all of our work, we can’t help but feel proud at the progress we’ve made. Doing this course has been one of the best decisions I’ve made!

Alex Guillot - Student

Face Shapes, Hair & Sculpture

2011-02-04T16:05:00.000-08:00

Learning to recognise different eye shapes and how to correct them with the simple swish of a brush - I thoroughly enjoyed this task as experimenting with eye shadow is one of my favourite aspects of make-up.

We studied lips shapes and corrections. We applied the techniques by doing a full-face make-up, splitting the face in half and creating two different looks.

Wednesday was most exciting for me because I was pushed out of my comfort zone. We had our first lesson on hairdressing with our lovely teacher Tanya. Some of us had never experimented with hair, so the day proved to be an exciting challenge. Tanya taught us all about protein and moisturising products, and how they should be used, as well as learning how to recognise different types of hair. She then showed us how to apply the products and correctly blow-dry the hair in preparation for setting. As much as I enjoyed doing hair, I must say, I really enjoyed being pampered and fussed over when it was my partners turn to play with my hair!!

The amazing things we learnt and tried in the first three days just made our desire to go back to the workshop blaze! So when Thursday and Friday came, we finally could continue with our sculptures, refining our new skills, forms and beginning to add texture to the faces. I now have the words “ORGANIC” and “REFERENCE” burnt into the back of my head! No matter how long our eyes wander around the studio, we always see something new and wonderful to inspire us, and make us even more determined to work as hard as we can. I just know next week will be just as wonderful as this one.

Natalie Rose - Student

Wig Knotting & Sculptures

2011-01-28T13:37:00.000-08:00

This week brought us an exercise in patience known as wig knotting. Also learning to identify face shapes, more work on highlighting and shading and adding more detail to our prosthetic sculptures.

I think we all still feel like kids in a candy store, familiarising ourselves with our kits and learning something new every day! Wig knotting with Penny introduced us to the daunting task of making a moustache one hair at a time. I wasn't kidding when I said it was an exercise in patience! Then we were back with Louise to learn how to identify face shapes and use highlighting and shading to correct them. It was great to get into our kits again and I think I may have finally overcome my crippling eye-shadow dyslexia.

After a break for the public holiday (boo, hiss!) we went back to our prosthetic sculpture, learning more about the sculpting tools and how to use them to gradually make our creations come to life. It was all about form and making shapes look organic.

Rachel Greening - Student

A New Start

2011-01-22T02:41:00.000-08:00

Early morning starts all round had five overly excited people bustling in to begin what we had all been awaiting for the past few months. As Zeb, Azrielle, Natalie, Rachel and Myself introduced ourselves, we spoke of what had all brought us to Make-Up Effects Group Master Classes.

BUT... before we could get our teeth into the special effects we had to become best friends with our fabulous new makeup kits. As we collectively “OOHH” and “AAHH” over each mascara, eyeshadow, foundation, lip colours ... Louise began her trademark hygiene drill, most of us realising the amount of bad habits we would have to brake.

Our first makeup experience was Louise’s demonstration of a more natural look, all the time showing us different application techniques. When it came time to have a go ourselves we soon discovered it was not as easy on each other as Louise made it appear. Revision on our high school art was given with the importance of highlights and shadow within makeup being explained, and by ourselves attempted.

For one afternoon we were gifted with the wisdom of Beauty Therapist Lian. We were taught the importance of skin preparation prior to makeup as well as the procedure for makeup removal meaning we were each treated to facials. (YAY!!) Combined with makeup removal we were coached on how to identify skin pigmentation and how that will effect the makeup upon each person.

Thursday was prosthetic day. Initially we all felt like we’d been thrown in the deep end, but with the guidance of Nick and Paul, our characters have begun to take shape. With our first week flying by so quickly, we are all excited about what is to come.

Alexis Lynch - Student

Prosthetic Application Day

2010-11-26T19:24:00.001-08:00

Congratulations to all the students. You all produced some wonderful work.

Weird Science

2010-11-10T04:13:00.000-08:00

All systems were go as we near our final weeks and lead up to major exams. We are learning new skills everyday - the measuring and making of a bald cap using a Redhead block and liquid latex.

We also worked on continuity and breakdown of a script for TV and film work. This is a very involved process and extremely important for work practices. We did a mock script breakdown and then each chose a character from our script to make up. We made notes and makeup charts, took photos, and then we each had to recreate another persons work using these notes. We had a hair lesson with the lovely Tanya, revising our skills and practicing for our practical hair exam. Our major art works were also due and we were all very amazed at the skills we each displayed, thanks to Jane’s careful tutoring in the elements of Art.

We also spent some time in the studio with Nick and Paul over these weeks doing the airbrushing of our prosthetics using various techniques with the airbrush, such as noodling. splattering and misting of the paint. We layered our colours using acrylic paints and saw our pieces come to life. Prior to air-brushing, the boys showed us how to patch any holes in our pieces using a Pros Aide and Cabosil mix, called "Bondo". There is a real science to this prosthetic business! Our pieces are now ready for the big day - the application of our foam latex pieces onto our Actors so they can come to life.

Special Effects

2010-11-06T14:38:00.000-07:00

Moving right along from high fashion, we plunged straight into the gory, grotesque and very fun special effects component. Starting off with burns, bruises, cuts, grazes and scars, we moved into the more in-depth and detailed work of open wounds, bullet holes, decomposed flesh, sunburn, blisters, dead bodies and accident simulation.

We went through extensive product knowledge, experimenting and playing with new products - in order to know what products worked well with each other and what products worked the best to achieve certain effects. The fun has only just begun…

Mariel McClorey -Student

We’re Baaack!

2010-11-06T14:36:00.000-07:00

The two week production break flew by and we were all really excited to be back. Professional makeup artist Garry Sutiz inspired us with high fashion looks and new products and techniques to try. With this motivation and creativity we felt confident about our professional photo shoot with Gavin Douchkov.

It was a long and potentially stress filled day due to the tight schedule we needed to stick to, but with Louise’s guidance, Gavin’s photographic direction, and of course the lovely models who gave us their time, it ran really smoothly. We were all extremely proud of the quality of the work that we managed to produce… the photos speak for themselves! A great addition to our professional portfolios.

During this last fortnight we also completed our wig knotting assignment with wig maker Penny Clements. She taught us the correct way to apply and maintain the moustaches we had made, as well as the techniques used to apply stubble. Candy looked great as a man!

Crystal Davies – Student

Exams & IMATS

2010-11-06T14:35:00.000-07:00

The last week of term came around all too fast as we prepared for our exams. We spent time researching, practicing and dressing any wigs that we may require and going over our notes for the written component.

Tanya came in to show us GHD (hair straightener) work, as well as lots of clever styling "tricks" with the GHD.

The exam day was great fun and a welcome respite from the nerves leading up to it! Crystal even managed to apply her new GHD skills in her exam piece for film character "Elizabeth Bennet" from the BBC's Pride and Prejudice.

We were invited to help on the MEG stand at the International Make-up Artists Trade Show (IMATS). This was the most wonderful experience as we were able to listen to some amazing speakers, acquire some great show make-up specials and cheer on some past students to victory in the student prosthetic competition. A great finish to a hectic and fascinating ten weeks.

Candy Burgess – Student

MEG wins British Horror Film Festival

2010-11-02T04:15:00.000-07:00

We were just informed that MEG won the "Best Special Effects" award at the British Horror Film Festival for our work on the film Needle.

Needle also won awards for “Best Cinematography” - Stephen Windon and “Best Supporting Actress” - Jessica Marais.

More to Come...

www.thefilmfestivalguild.com

MEG wins LA Screamfest

2010-10-22T21:50:00.000-07:00

SCREAMFEST LA October 8-16th - showcased some cool Horror flicks at Mann's Chinese Theatre on Hollywood Boulevard. The competition was very strong (over 20 great films) which included some big budgeted films including Black Death (Sean Bean), Mirrors 2 (Nick Stahl) and Altitude.

John Soto and Deidre Kitcher premiered their film, NEEDLE, at the festival and received a great response. Screamfest LA is a wonderful forum for Horror and Genre Films to gain exposure on an international level and is one of America’s biggest Horror Film Festivals.

At the awards ceremony, our company Make-up Effects Group won the BEST MAKE-UP category for the work we contributed to Needle. Thanks to the great make-up team we had; Katherine, Justin, Gab, Grant, Alex, Minch, Kala and Rachel.

Congratulations to John & Deidre for bringing Needle together. It is the second film of theirs Make-up Effects Group has collaborated on.

Check out the cool award.

www.screamfestla.com/winners2010.php

www.dreadcentral.com/news/40391/screamfest-la-awards-winners-announced

www.needlemovie.com

Great Work!

2010-10-22T14:44:00.000-07:00

IMATS Studio Visits

2010-09-26T18:16:00.000-07:00

During the Sunday morning of IMATS, Paul gave special guest note speaker Gino Acevedo and his actor muse Jed Brophy (LOTR Trilogy) a tour of the MEG Master Class facility. Two highly regarded artists in their own right with years of experience and credits under their belts. They were blown away to say the least and it was great to have them come through the studio.

It was also wonderful to have Cheryl, Heather and Jennifer from Make-up Artist Magazine visit us and get the VIP tour, following a wonderful and successful Trade Show weekend. After our two amazing wins on the weekend, the Make-up Artist Magazine team wanted to see where our student’s learn and get a feel of the creative and inspiring space. They took heaps of photos as they clowned around like little girls in a giant toy shop! Nick, Paul and myself were very pleased to show them around the make-up room and the workshop facilities. They were very impressed with the facilities and how we were running our classes, and of course the level of the students work.

We would like to say thank you for taking the time to come and visit us.

Last but not by any means least, it was an honour and a total dream come true to have the great Tom Savini drop into our studio later in the week. He hung around with us for a couple of hours talking about make-up, films, the industry and “Vamp Pirates”. Tom is a great guy, the original Special Make-up Effects ‘Wizard’ long before it was common, and an inspiration to us both from an early age. It was so bizarre having him in the studio, remembering 30 odd years ago reading his fantastic books…. wow how the time goes! We had lots of laughs!!

IMATS Prosthetic Competition Winners

2010-09-26T18:03:00.000-07:00

IMATS came back to Sydney last weekend for the 2nd year running. This time around they ran their Student Make-up Competition - Saturday was the Fantasy Character Make-up Competition and Sunday was the Prosthetic Make-up Competition. By submitting their portfolios to the IMATS committee, 8 students were chosen for each category from the hundreds of applicants.

Polly McKay and Alice Bauires, two graduates from our January Master Class made the prosthetic section.

Congratulations to both as, Polly was the 1st place winner and Alice came in 3rd place, 2nd was Chikako Kitadata from Japan who trained at Cinema Make-up School in Los Angles. We are very excited and proud of their achievements and the beautiful work they produced.

The competitions are not that simple as the ex students are only given a theme for the competition (Grimms Fairy Tales) but do not know what type/look of prosthetics they will be handed. It shows amazing initiative and creativity to be able to establish a direction and character on the spot.

A huge thank you to all our past graduates Polly, Alice, Gavin and Jacinta for the amazing work done at our booth. To our models Aaron and Lachlan and present students Crystal, Candy and Mariel, for all their hard work over this long weekend.

It was great to meet so many of our make-up contemporaries and let them see our student's wonderful portfolios and introduce them.

We look forward to working with the many new students that signed up on the weekend and guiding them on the amazing new career path they have chosen.

Check out the cool photos on the link below.

www.imatsshow.com/photo_gallery.php

Body Art

2010-09-14T04:36:00.000-07:00

1920’s & 1940’s Make-Ups

2010-09-14T04:23:00.000-07:00

We traveled through time and entered the world of the roaring twenties! Louise talked us through a demonstration on how to apply the “smokey eye” look, the authentic way, not to be confused with the modern adaptations that usually include blues and greens. We also found that by covering the brow and penciling in a thinner, curved 20’s brow, combined with altering the lip shape and accentuating the “cupid’s bow”, we were able to completely transform the face shape and overall look of one another.

It was another ‘Victory’ as we entered the 1940’s and created a look that was “natural, with a little support”. It was a fantastic opportunity to put the skills learnt in Tanya’s hair class into action by recreating the Victory Hair Rolls.

Tanya showed us how to create the 1920’s Marcel Wave - a technique that requires A LOT of patience. We each had a go and tried our best but agreed that we need to PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE!

We also had a very relaxed day, letting our creativity flow, working on our paper mache masks. I must say they look AMAZING!

Crystal Davies - Student

IMATS Sydney 2010

2010-09-03T15:37:00.000-07:00

Make sure you get down to Darling Harbour on the 18th & 19th September for the International Make-up Artists Trade Show. We'll have our Master Class booth set up so drop in and say hi. We can answer any questions you have about the Make-up Effects Group Master Classes Course and you'll see some cool make-up demonstrations from ex students. It's a great event with plenty to see.

http://www.makeupmag.com/

http://www.imatsshow.com/index.php

Looking forward to hearing Keynote Speaker - the one and only TOM SAVINI. One of the greats of our industry and a major contributing influence on both Paul and Myself finding our way into this amazing industry.

Congratulations to Alice Baueris & Polly McKay for their selection into the 2010 Student Make-up Competition - Prosthetics Category. Two very talented Make-up Artists who passed through our Master Classes at the beginning of the year. Two very creative and focused individuals who have a wonderful future ahead of them in the Make-up and Effects Industry. Good luck ladies and enjoy the journey.

Period Make-up & Sculpture Detail

2010-08-27T15:55:00.000-07:00

We are now learning to apply our make up skills to Period makeup for film. The last few weeks we have learnt the correct techniques for applying the different types of foundation and our skills have been tested this week with the need to produce an authentic Egyptian look as well as a design typical of the 1800’s.

The students were again reminded about the importance of careful blending as we applied a very dark base to our models for the Egyptian look. Achieving the correct eyebrow line, using the gold and blues of the time and perfecting the eyeliner design proved to be quite a challenge. However we rose to the occasion and produced some lovely “Cleopatra’s”.

We had all done a great deal of research for both the era’s and had great fun discussing our results particularly as to the reason for beauty spots and decorative designs on the white based faces of the 1800’s. Mariel tried her hand at recreating a horse and carriage design on her model, which was a great success! We dressed and wigged up our models, applying the hair preparation skills we had learnt in previous weeks, and took some excellent photographs of the results.

This week saw us take a great leap ahead with our sculptures. It was very exciting to finish the first stage of sculpting and move on to adding finer details to the faces such as skin pores and fine wrinkles. The boys showed us various techniques (and a few nifty tricks) on how to achieve the detail and we were thrilled to see how much these things changed the look of our characters and really started to bring them to life. Soon we will be able to add the flashing to our sculpts, that will bring us closer to making the actual mould. We can’t wait for that day!

Candy Burgess - Student

Cats, Cirque, Wig Knotting & Sculptures

2010-08-25T03:36:00.001-07:00

Utilizing the tools and techniques we have learnt regarding high-lighting and shading, product knowledge, colour theory and the basic differences required between theatre and film make-ups, we delved into completing a basic theatre make-up on each other. We then moved onto our Cirque Du Soleil make-ups, which we all found fun and challenging, made all the better by having friends and family sit as models for us. Behind the beautiful colours and bold lines of a Cirque make-up, we discovered lies lots of technique in regards to working with a white make-up. The process of powdering your make-up as you go to ‘set’ the base, really was emphasised with this kind of work, as white doesn’t hide any mistakes at all! Hair designs were completed and costumes were chosen for the final photo shoot so we could really see our creations come alive.

Wednesday saw us in the workshop refining our sculptures as we get ready to make our moulds. As far as we thought we have come, there is still a long journey ahead of us in refining our designs and detailing our faces. Skin texture, expression lines, wrinkles and over all composition, as well as making sure any technical faults with our pieces need to be addressed. The whole process of choosing a character and sitting here for weeks on end creating it has completely changed my appreciation for the craft. I’ve always picked apart the technical side of films but now knowing and experiencing all the painstaking work that goes into the tiny details of the special effects, it seems that simply enjoying a film is beyond me now. All I will ever wonder is “what materials did they use to make that?”

Thursday and Friday were both mammoth days that saw us finally bringing to life our ‘Cats’ character and commence our wig-knotting component. Talk about baptism by fire!! Thursday was fun but intense, as we used our knowledge of white base make-ups and applied it to our ‘Cats’ make-up. Wigs and costumes on - why go to Broadway when you can create it in your own classroom? When our wig making teacher Penny came by on Friday we already felt like there was no more room in our brains to learn, especially after she showed us the rather painstaking demo of what it takes to make a wig. We couldn’t believe that you have to knot hair ONE STRAND AT A TIME into the lace to make a hair piece... was she being serious!!!?? As we all moaned that we would never be able to do it, one by one we all got the technique down pat, I myself even found it oddly enjoyable!!

Mariel McClorey - Student

Character & Glamour Make-ups

2010-08-17T01:45:00.000-07:00

It’s been another fun filled week in the MEG Makeup Studio! Having the fresh face of Alice, our year 10 work experience student, we were able to create new and exciting looks for each other. Monday’s look was ‘Glamour’. Each of us explored and produced our own ideas of glamour makeup, from the classic style of Audrey Hepburn, to the polished look of today’s Burlesque beauty Dita Von Teese.

On Tuesday we focused on character makeup for film. Louise had us replicate the looks of Anne Hathaway from the “Princess Diaries”, Glenn Close as Cruella Deville from Disney’s “101 Dalmations”, and Julia Roberts’ character in “Charlie Wilson’s War”. It was very exciting to do the Hair and Makeup, choose costumes for our models to wear for the photo shoot and to see the transformation of each character come to life.

Tanya, returned this week for a jam-packed day of theory and practical work on styling with hot rollers. It was a definite “Victory” for some of us re-creating the look of the 1940’s “Victory Roll” in each others hair. Tanya also talked us through styling and pre-setting wigs for our “Cats” characters next week. We were able to bring together some amazing designs for the characters.

Back to our sculptures – Nick & Paul happily showed us new techniques for refining the form and adding intricate details, such as pores in the skin, and natural or “organic” lines and creases. It seems we have all developed a Love/Hate relationship with the faces that silently stare back at us as we sculpt... Some days we get along with them, other days they become very uncooperative!!

We have learnt so much these past 5 weeks and not only do our amazing teachers have high expectations of us from here on in, we are beginning to feel much more confident and have high expectations of ourselves!

Crystal Davies - Student

Basic Make-up Principles put into Practice!

2010-08-07T15:44:00.000-07:00

“Good morning girls and welcome to week four!” This was Louise’s greeting to us on Monday and it brought home with a thud just how fast this course is progressing. We had a full week ahead putting into practice all the basic principles we had learned so far. We had spent the weekend researching our looks for our television character. We then put up our research photos and set about turning each other into a Nurse Ratched type, a down and out prostitute, a stressed mother caught out shoplifting and a school teacher who was in jail for inappropriate behaviour! After completing each character makeup, we dressed our models accordingly and photographed them. We were all very pleased with the results.

Tuesday was about creating, a “no make up look” like what you might see in “Pride and Prejudice” etc. We soon learned this is the most difficult type of makeup to get right, especially for High Definition film! Perfect blending technique is required and it took much longer to achieve than other make ups.

We were very excited to see the wonderful Jane again on Wednesday who taught us all about colour wheels and the types of colour and its uses. She did a fabulous demonstration showing how this relates to makeup using warm and cool colours correctly. In the afternoon we were able to start on our paper mache masks after a quick demonstration and explanation of the techniques and tools required. I don’t think the class has ever been that quiet as we all sat, heads bent over our moulds, gluing madly! It was all very therapeutic!

On Thursday we were back out in the workshop with our clay friends. With encouragement and words of wisdom from Nick and Paul we were soon underway again and making great headway towards the finished sculpt, refining forms, making wrinkles look realistic and adding details we never noticed before. Once again the end of the day came all too quickly and some of us opted to stay longer and keep working on this fascinating component of our course.

Another component of the Master Class is “work experience” and I was lucky enough to be asked to work on a film shoot during the weekend. It was a fascinating adventure to work with professional Actors on make up and hair and to see how a film set operates on location. I worked with another makeup artist who was a graduate of Makeup Effects Group Master Classes and who guided me through the process and showed me how “standby” was put in to practice. We even did a little special effects work!

Candy Burgess - Student

Down to Make-up Basics

2010-08-03T04:21:00.000-07:00

Where do all the days go?

The knowledge, information and experience we've gained in just a few short weeks makes my head spin! Couldn't have been possible without the wonderful teachers guiding us with their expert tuition... Having fun while learning is a unique part of this experience!

This week has been a mixture of components! Monday was all about the lips, learning the techniques of correcting and enhancing them to achieve the ideal lip shape. Tuesday was our first hair lesson with Tanya, a qualified hairdresser with years of experience, who taught us the basics about hair. We learned about different hair types, how to shampoo hair, working with different hair products, as well as going through the components of our well equipped hair kit. We each had a go at shampooing and prepping one another's hair.

Wednesday was focused on bases and foundations, choosing the right one for a specific occasion and look. We experimented on each other with our aqua colours and grease foundations to get a feel of the materials and to become familiar with their consistencies. To get a better idea of what it felt like to be made up, we got into pairs and painted each other's faces with an experimental design of our choosing. Finally we were each given a picture of a newsreader as reference to replicate, so once again we got into pairs and made up one another, and for the first time styled the hair as well.

Amy Merhi – Make-up Student

Make-up Shape & Detail

2010-07-25T15:32:00.000-07:00

They say time flies when you are having fun and that is how we all feel in week two of the Master Class. It was all about focusing in on the details and nuances of each face. We analyzed face shapes and looked at each other to determine the sometimes tricky job of defining someone’s face shape. We then learnt ways to correct, enhance and change the shape of a face with highlighting and shading techniques, using both crème and powder products. Tuesday was all about eyes and eyebrow shapes and how to correct, enhance and accentuate the different eye shapes we studied. We are all still extremely excited when it comes to getting into our amazing makeup kits and experimenting with colour and product.

On Wednesday we had makeup artist and visual artist Jane come in to start us on the art component of the course. We learnt that the four main components of visual art -Tone, Line, Colour and Texture directly relate to make up artistry and how a make up artist approaches their subject. We warmed up to doing our high-lighting and contouring make up by first doing a still life sketch which we all found challenging – but it got our hand/eye co-ordination happening and taught us the importance of being confident in your brush stroke.

Thursday it was in the workshop to get back to our prosthetic. When we sat in front of our expressionless fibreglass casts to start sculpting onto in week one, we didn’t even know where to begin as we were all new to this and intimidated by the task. Coming in this week, it’s amazing to see characters staring back at you - witches, ghosts, boogiemen and gangsters that were all on paper as reference, now exist in 3-D, challenging us to keep going and make them real.

Mariel McClorey – Student

A Make Up Journey Begins

2010-07-19T15:30:00.000-07:00

Candy, Mariel, Amy, and Myself all come from different backgrounds with two major things in common... a passion for make-up and special effects and choosing MEG to teach and equip us with the tools, skills, and knowledge to follow our dreams.

WOW! What a week! Day one was like Christmas as we explored the products and tools in our new make-up, hair, and stand-by kits. Then we got right down to business with Louise taking us through, step-by-step, the process of applying a basic natural look make-up. All the while advising us on such things as the different brushes and what they are used for, the differences between crème and liquid bases, how to follow good hygiene practices (and abandoning those not so good ones that we have developed over the years of applying our own make-up), and the importance of making sure the talent is calm and comfortable during the very personal process of applying make-up to a stranger.

Beauty Therapist Lian took the class one afternoon for a lesson on the importance of skin preparation prior to make-up, as well as the correct procedure for make-up removal -especially around the very sensitive eye area.

Finally, Thursday had us in the workshop with the boys - Nick and Paul - as we began the very daunting process of beginning our face sculpture for the prosthetic make-up component of the course. Although it seemed scary at first, Nick and Paul managed to ease our nerves by giving helpful instruction, demonstration, hints and tips, and words of encouragement. We began to see our creatures take form. VERY EXCITING!

Crystal Davies - Student

YouTube Make-up Master Class Video

2010-06-21T04:42:00.000-07:00

Check out our new make-up video up on YouTube and on our Master Class website.

See the great work the students have created. It’s inspirational and a lot of fun.

http://www.youtube.com/user/MegMakeupEffects

http://www.megmakeupmasterclasses.com.au

Make-up Graduation

2010-06-19T15:55:00.000-07:00

It was wonderful to see so many family and friends at the graduation ceremony and wrap dinner. We had parents from Tasmania and Melbourne here to celebrate the successful graduates from January 2010. The very high standard of work produced by the students made all of us very proud.

Be bold, creative and never lose your enthusiasm to learn and grow – you all have the talent and focus to do anything you want in this field. Find your path and enjoy the journey.

On behalf of Nick, Paul and myself, we wish all the graduates great success in their new careers.

Louise Fitzgerald – Director of Training

Prosthetic Run Down from the Make-up Chair

2010-06-07T03:36:00.000-07:00

Thankfully the technology behind prosthetic make-up has come a long way since the original Planet of the Apes movie won an Oscar in the late 1960's. But it remains an art where patience is the ultimate virtue. Having been invited by students of the Make-up Effects Group Master Class, I enjoyed up to around 6 hours (maybe more) of being poked, prodded, glued, painted and fussed over. But it culminated in a transformation nothing short of phenomenal. In fact, the entire process was quite relaxing.

I was warned that the experience could be claustrophobic, but I found it not so. Initially, the basis of my character's face was formed by a prosthetic mask, moulded from soft foam and perhaps latex that fitted over the contours of my face like a glove. This was aligned to match my features, generously glued in place, and allowed for amazing reproduction of my facial expressions. Being restricted to the chair for so long was alleviated by the attention paid by various 'assistants' who ensured water, juice, tea and coffee was continuously offered (and consumed via a straw) as well as ample goodies in the form of gummy bears and other sweet treats.

With the basics in place, a break for lunch was called and the artists, along with their own 'beasts', retired for a time to congregate around the catering, made up of various wraps (yes, versions for vegetarians as well), soy crisps, wagons wheels and a cheese and fruit platter.

Back in the chair after lunch for the finishing touches by way of acrylic and grease paints, as well as the more traditional powder-puff. Lunch had kicked-in, and during the ensuing hours I certainly drifted off to the land of nod once or twice. I believe this is common in 'the business'. Finally, fitted with costume, it was time for photos, which never do justice to the magic and skill of the artists. Talking and performing various emotions via facial expressions is key to creating 'realism' in any film's fantasy world, and this make-up technique allows for both in spades. The blending between the prosthetic pieces and my natural skin is the real skill, and truly results in a convincing on-screen character.

So amazing was the finish, I didn't want to have it removed. It was a work of art, and I the proud canvas. Eventually though, two artists spent time slowly removing the layers of paint and powder, carefully peeling back the mask and brushing on copious amounts of fluid to neutralize the glue. Bit by bit, reality returned albeit over another 90 minutes or so, as the fantasy was finally detached, and life returned to normality... until the next shoot ...

Tim Stackpool – Prosthetic Beast

Hair Exams & Prosthetic Application

2010-06-04T04:38:00.000-07:00

For our hair exam we hoped that we made an impression, as our work over the last 18 weeks came to an end. We all did a good job and felt that we are on the way to becoming good hair stylists - thank you Tanya for your guidance and help.

At last “our reveal” - all those months of texturing and running foam, the big day was here at last. We applied our prosthetics on 5 great models Tim, Ken, Alex, Sharon and Angus, a huge thank you for your patience, as you made the day run so easily for us. We know how hard it must have been and we all are so grateful.

With Nick, Paul, Troy, Rachel, Jess, Kala and Louise, we have realized and achieved all our goals, as our creations were more than any off us dreamed or imagined possible. The results for us all were the ultimate achievement of our characters and how well each turned out. The day was 11 hours but seemed like 1, as we had so much help and encouragement from everyone. A big thank you to everyone again and again.

Good luck to all for the exams next week.

Yee Haa Graduation soon.

Rae Hennessey - Student

Art Presentation & Prosthetics

2010-05-28T04:51:00.000-07:00

Week 17 and all the girls were amazed at how quick this second term had gone. We started with script break down - learning about call sheets, schedules and continuity - a most important part of the make-up artist’s job.

We had our last class out in the workshop with Nick and Paul, finishing off our prosthetics and finalizing the costume ready for our application day next week.

Jane came in for our last art class, where we presented our major art works - all the students did amazing work. There were paintings on canvas, water colours and pen and ink drawings - we could all see the hard work had paid off, with all the tutors very pleased with our presentation. We all felt really proud of what we had achieved. We finished art classes with a fun lesson on face painting the ‘skull’ on each of our faces.

On behalf of all the students I would like to thank Nick, Paul and Jane for sharing your amazing skills and talents with us.

Jennifer Kuehn - Student

Old Age & Airbrushing Prosthetics

2010-05-24T04:14:00.000-07:00

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

Careers News

2010-05-24T04:13:00.000-07:00

I went to Make-up Effects Group, which is located in Matraville for my work placement. Make-up Effects Group holds Master Classes for those who want to get into the industry. They run a 5 month training course for those that want to work on big production movies and TV series.

I had to travel by a train and bus to get there and home each day. I got to experience some really exciting things. On my first day, I was lucky enough to be an assistant on a photo shoot. I went around to all the make up artists and helped them with odd jobs, such as nail painting on the models, wig styling, handing out hot rollers and hair spraying.

My second day I got the chance to be in the make up chair and be a model for one of the students while learning about black and white make up for photography. After she had finished my make up I then got to have a photo shoot.

On my last day there I got to be in the workshop with all the exciting special effects side of the Master Classes. I helped with a foam run, which consists of filling a mould with latex that later made a foam mask. They also taught me some basics on airbrushing, which was a lot of fun.

I really enjoyed my week there and I hope to go back very soon. The Master Classes they teach are a must for people that want to get into the make up industry. The teachers there all have first hand experience in the field and pass down their knowledge to the students. Everyone was very welcoming and helpful especially Louise Fitzgerald. They all made my experience one I won’t forget. This gave me an insight into the industry and I really want to get into this kind of work.

Nicole Tanti – Work Placement Report

Bald Caps & Airbrushing Prosthetics

2010-05-14T16:03:00.000-07:00

A huge weekend - we were all involved in a theatre production at NIDA on Friday and Saturday nights. Great fun and it really made us realize just how busy it gets with so many make-ups to do in such a short amount of time. It was a good experience and introduction to this industry – we all came together and did a fantastic job.

Karen from the Make-up Business brought in her Era spray makeup to show us how to use it. We were all amazed at how good it was and are looking forward to working with it in the future.

After making our bald caps two weeks ago, we were ready for Kath Brown to come in to show us how to apply them correctly. Hardest job was getting the hair as flat as possible to the head - we all did quite well. Gluing down the bald cap correctly and making sure there were no visible joins was very difficult, then onto coloring them to make them look natural using rubber mask grease paints. Our end results really surprised us all with Alice applying a lace hair-piece and mustache to finish off the look… who would know it was me, and Jacinta’s beautiful blending with make-up that was out of this world…. Thank you Kath for your generosity and for sharing your amazing knowledge with us.

In art class we went though using various techniques and materials like paper, to achieve different make-up looks.

In the studio we started to learn how to airbrush, doing various painting tests on paper to understand how to control the airbrush. Once we had the hang of it, we used all the painting reference we had collected to guide us towards our final make-up look and moved onto painting our prosthetics.

Rae Hennessey - Student

Photo Shoot & Foam Latex Run

2010-05-10T04:39:00.000-07:00

We were graced with the presence of 5 gorgeous models for our high fashion photo shoot. We each used two models to create two different looks. One being a natural fresh ‘no make-up’ look and the other a more ‘Avant-garde’ high fashion look.

On Monday the models came in for a trial run, which enabled us to decide on the looks we wanted, the hair-styles and outfits.

The following morning, our professional photographer Gavin came in for the ‘big shoot’ and we re-created the looks from the day before with much more confidence and a few changes here and there.

Gavin was quite funny and made the experience most enjoyable. He had lots of great ideas and directed the models making them feel comfortable, which enabled them to give their best. During the shoot we learnt what was required to be on ‘standby’ e.g. touching up make-up, making sure the garments were correctly placed, hair in the right spot etc.

On Wednesday our art teacher Jane showed us how to contour the face for black and white photos. We learnt about shades and tints and how it translates into a grey scale for a black and white photo.

To finish off the week we spent the day in the workshop doing foam runs for our prosthetic pieces. We learnt about all the different components required to mix together to create the foam latex and how accurate and controlled your environment needs to be to regulate the rise and gelling of the foam.

A big thank you to our work experience student Nicole who spent the week with us. She was of great assistance to all of us during the photo shoot and was a fabulous model as well for my black and white photos. She looked stunning! We thoroughly enjoyed having her and hope she comes back again soon.

All in all, another busy and productive week.

Jacinta Christos - Student

Moustaches & Mould-Making

2010-05-04T05:05:00.000-07:00

We learnt how to measure up a person’s head in preparation for making a custom fitted latex bald cap. In two weeks time we will be applying the bald caps so we just let them sit for a while to cure.

Our wig-knotting teacher taught us how to cut and groom the moustaches we had made. We applied them on each of the girls to transform them into boys - they all looked great.

Thursday and Friday were spent with Nick and Paul in the workshop and we made the fiberglass moulds for each of our sculptures. The process was new to all of us but we all learnt so much that day. Once the moulds had cured overnight we pulled them apart and cleaned and prepped all the surfaces ready for the foam latex prosthetic run.

This week was very interesting and a new learning experience for everyone. We all had an enjoyable time with our teachers.

Jennifer Kuehn - Student

Macabre Make-up Effects and Marcel Waves

2010-04-23T07:30:00.000-07:00

Twelve weeks in and we're getting back into the swing of school. We continued with accident simulation, playing and experimenting with the products. We mainly played with Latex, Gel Effects and 3rd Degree, all professional products used in TV and Film, that could be used to create bruises, burns, cuts and swellings. With our grease make-ups and Illustrator palettes we could make them look even more realistic. Even surprisingly mundane products such as Vaseline and KY Jelly, gave bruises and burns an extra depth so they no longer looked like make-up sitting on skin.

On Monday we each had a go at creating burnt hands, you know you did a good job when people cringe a bit looking at what you've created - pus filled blisters... eewww...

We moved on to creating cold dead bodies, dying from various bullet wounds and slit throats.

With Tanya visiting again there was a reprieve from the macabre, where we created Marcel Waves with hot rollers and clips, then turned it into a high fashion look.

We ended the week with each being allocated a "dead body" to create. Burnt bodies, drownings, car crashes, bashings and 6 week old corpses littered the classroom. All in a day at makeup school.

Alice Baueris - Student

High Fashion Make Up & Accident Simulation

2010-04-15T21:48:00.000-07:00

After a two week production break all students returned to the course with renewed enthusiasm for the remaining ten weeks.

We started with a period to high fashion makeup. This involved choosing a significant element from a makeup period that we studied last term. This could be a style of eye makeup, a colour scheme, or a hairstyle, and then giving it a modern twist bringing it into a contemporary look. Each student had a different approach and the end results were striking and unique. We all enjoyed the freedom to create in this exercise, which was different to previous weeks where we focused on getting techniques correct rather than creative flare.

We had a class with Gary Siutz on Wednesday. Gary is a makeup artist

and owner/creator of makeup brand ‘MultiMedia Makeup’. Gary has extensive experience working in fashion and editorial makeup and therefore his techniques and style are quite different to what we have learnt so far for film and television. He not only taught us some new tricks and shared with us new products but also talked about the realities of working in the fashion industry and the pro’s and con’s of putting together a makeup portfolio for fashion. It is really invaluable having teachers who work in different areas of the business so that we can gather different skills and tips from each of them.

The rest of the week was spent doing an introduction to accident simulation and special effects. Louise introduced us to some new

products to enable us to create realistic injuries. We will be using these products over the next few weeks to create a variety of simulated injuries. I think what we learnt is that creating something that looks authentic is harder than it looks. It’s a fine line between subtle/ real and fake and tacky. I’m sure with practice our skills will become more refined - although Rae turned a few heads on a lunch excursion sporting two black eyes!!

Polly McKay - Student

Body Art Make-ups & Exams

2010-03-26T04:18:00.000-07:00

Body art was a huge day for all concerned. We worked hard to complete diverse, interesting and beautiful concepts. Guided by our lovely Louise and the talented and gracious Kath Brown, with thanks to our wonderful, patient and fun models/dancers, who bought our efforts to life?

A little time to review notes, clean and organize our kits and set wigs in preparations for our end of term 1 exams.

We had a great hair class with Tan, styling Polly and Alice’s hair to look like the 1940’s.

Exam day-good - luck everyone: presentation of our paper mache masks and assignments – they all looked fantastic.

Well done – yee ha, happy production break all.

Rae Hennessey - Student

Period Make-ups & Onset

2010-03-26T03:59:00.000-07:00

End of term exams are fast approaching; gee this course has gone quick! This week we did the final of the period make-ups, 1950’s and 1980’s.

1950’s saw women become sexier, with bold make-up, more hair and much more cleavage, the Marilyn Monroe’s and 50’s housewives come out to play.

The 1980’s were when girls just wanna have fu-un! The frosts and the bright colour were brought out and the hair was teased to an inch of its life, lots of fun.

On Wednesday we had another art class with Jayne, where she taught us how to make our own face charts and gave us great tips for our body art for next week.

We’re also starting to gain our on set experience with Nick and Paul at Fox Studio this Friday, which will be priceless for our CVs and our confidence.

Busy weekend for all with the preparation for body art, final exams, finishing our mask and research assignment, eep!

Alice Baueris - Student

Make-up through Time

2010-03-13T20:18:00.000-08:00

The week started with make-up based on the 1920's - Bobs and Marcelle Waves, porcelain skin and bow lips. Paler foundations and smokey eyes then developed into the 1940's look of more glamourous screen sirens, with blood red lips and well defined eye makeup. We had fun dressing these looks up with head scarves and fur coats!

We are all working busily on our paper mache masks, which are almost ready to be painted and decorated. We also continued wig knotting our moustaches.

The highlight of the week was the arrival of 5 male models who were subjected to 1800's looks, with powdered wigs quickly followed by a basic stage makeup and then a natural film look. They were all fabulous models and presented three very different looks.

A great week!

Jacinta Christos - Student

Period Make-ups Create Lots of Fun

2010-03-05T02:57:00.000-08:00

Week 7 has brought new and exciting challenges for all the girls:

Monday started with 1800’s make-up, an era of bold make-up and wigs, all the girls created a great Marie Antoinette on each other.

Tuesday was our Queen Elizabeth 1st, with our pre-set wigs all styled-up, we all had another challenging but fun day.

Wednesday’s art class began with learning to paint with primary colours. We then moved on to our paper Mache masks. Art teacher Jayne is always helpful and such a nice lady, we really enjoy her classes.

Thursday we continued on with our paper Mache masks, which was a relaxing and creative day.

The first two days were the most challenging part of the week as we again experimented with different brands of white grease bases.

Over all the girls had an interesting fun week with many laughs ‘at the way we all looked’, check out the photos.

Jennifer Kuehn - Student

Egyptian, Cirque & Finished Sculptures

2010-03-01T03:15:00.000-08:00

After several weeks working on basic makeup techniques and refining skills in the minimalist makeup look, week six was met with an air of excitement, as it was Egyptian and Cirque Du Soleil week!

Egyptian period makeup meant working with new products and using bold colours in the likes of greens and blues and an amazing gold! Since day one of the course, we have been training our eye to pick correct foundation colours, so trying to change a skin colour tone to suit the Egyptian look was a little difficult at first. How much is too much? Whilst the 'Cleopatra' style was very formulaic, we still had the freedom to experiment. We added an Egyptian wig, jewellery and toga to complete the look and it was amazing to see the regal characters coming to life.

Cirque Du Soleil was a really exciting day! We are very fortunate to have Louise teach us this component. Her time spent on tour with Cirque meant her insight and knowledge on the subject is invaluable. Not only in learning the makeup techniques but also in learning about the culture of the show. Louise cannot speak highly enough about the company, and has got us all thinking about the possibility of working towards a role with Cirque (although we will have to work on our sewing skills first!?). In terms of our own makeup day, we all approached the task with much enthusiasm! We worked from reference and copied existing images. It was great to work with colour and get into creative mode. Once again we were using new products we hadn’t yet touched on and this wasn’t without trial and error but overall we had some great results.

We had our third hairstyling class, which was all about the amazingly versatile GHD! We learnt how to create a variety of curls and waves and the difference between GHD curls and hot rollers. We used aluminium foil and French Pins to create crimped, zig-zag looks, and realised that the possibilities are endless - you just have to get creative.

As Friday approached we all knew it was the deadline for finishing up our prosthetic sculpts and prepping them for the next stage. It was a very intensive day of working on the last stages of texturing and refining areas that still needed work. We are very fortunate that Nick and Paul are ever patient with us and always at the ready with advice and help. We learnt about the next stage for our characters and set the sculptures up for the moulding process, which we will carry out in a few weeks time. It does seem a little bit of an anti-climax to be finished... how do you know when you are really finished? It's the sort of work that the longer you persist with it, the better the end result will be. I’m sure we all agree that we have learnt so much from the experience so far....

Polly McKay - Student

Glamour to Stage

2010-02-25T02:36:00.000-08:00

What a week! We made over each other from film glamour puss’s to stage characters from “Cats” the musical.

We all came out to play this week, between the different styles of make-up; our glamour make-up’s allowed us to play with eyelashes for the first time.

Our stage make-up was a chorus led by Lady Al Al Alice, with a brief visit from the dearly departed (but still very loud) Lucille Ball.

But our “Cats” characters were the highlight of the week! I believe Kristin was looking particularly wonderful as the cat “Exotica”, thanks to Jacinta’s beautiful blending, she must have had an interesting ride home on the train. I think the girls pulled this off in every sense of the word, if only we could sing and dance too! But we were trying hard to make our chosen character come alive under Louise’s expertise and all were purr purr perfectly wonderful.

Continuing with our sculpts has become a labour of love for all six girls (so hard to tear ourselves away) watching a character come to life from paper to clay – a 3-dimensional form that will become our foam latex prosthetic character make-up.

Rae Hennessy - Student

Fun Make-up Week

2010-02-12T01:51:00.000-08:00

As the weeks have progressed, we’ve settled into the studio and honed our new found skills with all the practice we’ve been having, and have now moved onto the fun makeup. Yay!

Monday we each performed a character makeup and ended up with a full cast for “Days of Our Bold and the Beautiful at M.E.G”. A high class prostitute and a poor homeless person saved a 25year old mum of three from Western Sydney from a politician who was a serial killer by night, who was then taken for treatment with a stern matron, but then they all went to watch a live performance from a Diva that had come out of retirement. It was a fun day with lots of laughs. Everyone did such a great job.

Next we tried the hardest makeup to do, the “no makeup” look. It’s easy putting a full makeup on, but hard to keep it at such a minimal amount. As long as we got a good base and a few tricks from Louise, we did well.

Tanya revisited and got us to practice our hair washing and taught us blow-drying. It’s really tiring on the arms, and trying to get the co-ordination with the blow dryer in one hand and a brush in the other was frustrating.

Thursday was the most fun, we all needed to blow off some steam and get out of the classroom. Visiting the ABC studios and AFTRS (Australian Film Television and Radio School) and their makeup rooms, was good experience for what will be out there when we start working. Louise also took us to a few make-up shops and we stocked up on supplies and extras for our kits. You never know what you might need.

Alice Baueris - Student

Skin Care & Wig Knotting

2010-02-08T02:34:00.000-08:00

We started the week with an intensive examination of ‘lips- luscious lips’ by Louise! We completed a full make-up with special emphasis on defining shape and correcting lip lines. Out in the workshop our sculptures that we are creating to make prosthetic masks are taking shape.

We took a comprehensive look at the various types of foundations that can be used for stage, film and High Definition TV. We investigated different brands, colours, textures and discovered how to select certain shades to correct colour imbalances.

The afternoon saw us busy with the guest beauty therapist Liane, who outlined the different skin types and the products needed for their care and maintenance. It's obviously very important to understand the different skin types, skin textures and skin conditions. What goes on must come off!! So we then learnt the correct way to remove all our handy work.

The art of wig knotting was taught to us by Penny, a professional wig maker who showed us how to create our own facial hair-pieces such as moustaches, sideburns and eyebrows. It's quite tricky as each hair is individually knotted with a wig-knotting hook through a fine lace backing.

It has been an intensive and enjoyable week, full of new experiences!

Jacinta Christos - Student

Hair, Make-up & Sculpting

2010-01-29T17:54:00.000-08:00

Week two into our course has been interesting and exciting.

We had our first hair class with Tanya, instructing us on how to shampoo, condition and give a great head message. We completed the day learning how to do different hairstyles.

Next in the make-up chair was eye shapes with highlighting, shading and blending, and designing some fun colorful looks on the eyes and face.

We spent time in the workshop with Nick and Paul, sculpting and bringing to life the character designs we had selected. It was the first time sculpting for many of us. We all found the process to be therapeutic and creative.

All six ladies are enjoying this wonderful new experience.

Jennifer Kuehn - Student

First Class of 2010

2010-01-27T04:13:00.000-08:00

Six ladies from varied backgrounds thrown together to embark on a five month journey in the pursuit of careers as make-up artists…

Initial make-up tasks were met with an air of excitement and apprehension, but given extensive personal guidance and coaching from Louise, we gained confidence in leaps and bounds!

Jayne’s art class was daunting for some, but the small class size meant plenty of one on one attention and support and the class steamed ahead.

The make-up and hair kits are amazingly comprehensive with nothing overlooked and each day brings the promise of new experimenting and learning which we eagerly await!

Polly McKay - Student

Graduation and A New Career

2009-12-09T01:34:00.000-08:00

After an exhausting week of exams we all sat down and worked through some of the business and presentation side of the industry. We designed letterheads, C.V layouts, business cards and chose photos for portfolios.

The students had to dress the part for the Job Interview Session. They brought in their hair and make-up kits and experienced their first taste of applying for a job.

We next had an accountant come and talk about tax, superannuation and setting up a business. A great deal to think about, but very important to start this next part of the journey the correct way.

The students have been involved in short films with the AFTRS and have commenced the beginnings of a solid portfolio that reflects the great work they have done throughout the course.

Graduation was attended by family, friends and the Master Class Tutors. An exhibition of the students work was displayed at the studio. To see how much solid work they had completed in these 6 months was astounding and we all feel very proud.

GOOD LUCK to everyone…

Revision and Body Art

2009-11-20T04:47:00.000-08:00

In revision mode for the upcoming exams - discussing schedule and requirements, pre-setting wigs for selected make-ups and focusing each of the students for the busy couple of weeks ahead.

Moving onto Body Art - our models arrived not quite sure what was about to happen to them. Fiona our tutor was very helpful and made the models feel at ease by telling them about the body art process. Fiona then worked with each student, talking about the body art designs they had selected, plus any costume, wigs or hair-styles, they were going to incorporate into their final looks.
The students did free hand drawing instead of stencils or stamps, feeling the need to create the design from start to finish as they tried all the different products to produce their fantastic work. The day was long but the results were very rewarding for everyone. Thanks to Christina, Sam, Ryan and Fiona, it was a creative and inspiring day.

A great way to finish before the exams!

Continuity and Art Work Assignments

2009-11-13T03:36:00.000-08:00

We moved into completing our Continuity exercise with our models becoming the characters from each of our scripts. The technical task of documenting all the make-ups began by taking photo reference of each of the models and creating make-up charts. The photo reference and make-up charts linked together to ‘tell the story’ of how the make-ups and hair-styles changed through-out the script. The students realized how important this exercise was and an invaluable part of the process for any make-up artist to keep on top of, during the hectic process of a film production.

Major Art Work assignments were handed in. Each of the students created some amazing pieces and each of their distinct styles were evident. Congratulations all.

With the mould-making process now complete, all of the techniques used in preparing the sculptures for mould-making were clearly understood when the students could see the final results in front of them. Ready for the Foam Latex runs and the generation of the Foam Latex Prosthetics.

We are now in revision mode as we start exams next week.

Script Continuity. Hair Class. Mould-Making

2009-11-06T03:46:00.000-08:00

This week the students were given their film scripts to read and break down. This is a creative and logistical process to understand the story and how to go about executing the Director’s vision. In our particular area, this is where the make-up artist is able to bring to the table all their skills in discussing character and design, and working out what is the best way to bring the most to the story, within all the budgetary and time constraints surrounding the particular project. The make-up artists notes and ideas are crucial in trying to keep everything on-track, and in balance with all the other departments. As you map out all your make-up requirements in the script, you have to start to keep a detailed ‘Continuity’ of all these requirements as the story evolves.

We would also like to thank Tanya for all the wonderful Hair classes she conducted and all the important skills and confidence she instilled in the students.

Back in the workshop and the students prepped their sculptures for mould-making - learning intricate techniques and understanding the materials they were using to prepare their sculptures for a fibre-glass mould. Well done to everyone – they tackled the lesson very well, as none of them had ever done anything like this before.

Dead Bodies and Prosthetic Sculptures

2009-10-30T14:48:00.000-07:00

Learning to keep our make-up stations clean while completing accident assimilation for our “Dead Body” look was very difficult. Lots of blood and gore make-up products can make things messy but the students managed to keep some control. We used “Ben Nye Death Bases” to recreate our looks from the research material that was collected. It took the students 3-4 hours to complete their make-ups as they experimented with all the different products. Some of their favourites were the “Illustrator Palette” and “3rd Degree” silicones for creating wounds.

We would like to thank our models for their help and patience as it was a long and difficult day for them.

The students moved to the workshop for the next few days to complete their sculptures. They were in the final stages of adding detail and bringing their creations to life. Long hours were put in with fine 'tooling techniques' and use of 'rubber stamps' to help layer all the detail work into the plastercine. When complete all the sculptures were prepared for the next step of fibreglass moulding.

Pam Meager Visits from London

2009-10-23T20:34:00.000-07:00

How exciting to have Pam Meager come in and spend time with us, explaining about On Set Protocols and Script Breakdown.

Pam has had an amazing career in the make-up industry and worked on so many important films and TV productions. She won a BAFTA Film Award for The Adventures of Baron Munchausen and was nominated for another BAFTA for Crime and Punishment.

The students were given a short course in applying bald-caps and introduced to some clever techniques for old age make-ups.

Pam was so impressed with our Master Classes Hand Book and all the reference material compiled in the course, that she wants to take it back to England and introduce it into there teaching system.

Pam has inspired us all with her quiet manner and wonderful stories of 40 years in the make-up and hair industry. Thank you kindly for spending time with us.

Blood, Blood and more Blood …

2009-10-15T03:49:00.000-07:00

This week was dedicated to playing around with various special effects make-up products. There was latex, grease palettes, powder palettes, sweat, dirt, 3rd Degree, gel effects, blood and more blood.

Also moving on to the final stages of the sculpture process. The students have come a long way and developed their skills in sculpting their prosthetic make-up. Soon they will be prepping their sculptures for the fibreglass moulding process.

Fashion Week Comes Alive

2009-10-14T03:05:00.000-07:00

High Fashion with Gary. He showed us clever and different ways to mix our foundation before it’s applied. He has his own make-up range which we used with excellent results.
Meeting our models for the Photo Shoot and prepping all our looks before hand. Having Tanya there to help us with our hair-styles brought some wonderful looks together.

Gavin our photographer arrived when we were on the final stages of our make-up and hair; there was a real buzz in the air as our creations came alive with costume and jewellery.

It was a tough schedule to complete “2 Make-up Looks” but Gavin guided the models and the make-up artists through the shooting process and everyone finished within the time allowed. The students realized how important all their preparation was and they handled the day like consummate professionals.

IMATS SYDNEY - Makeup Trade Show Comes to OZ

2009-09-21T00:51:00.000-07:00

After weeks of preparation we moved to the Sydney Convention Centre for the International Make-up Artists Trade Show (IMATS).

All past and present students were on hand to help with our stand, with great audio-visual and photos of the students work on display. It was a busy weekend and we were very well received by everyone that visited our stand and complimented on the high standard of work we were producing within our Master Classes.

The seminars throughout the weekend were inspiring and it was great to see so many artists under one roof talking about what they love most in their make-up worlds.

Congratulations to Michael Key, Cheryl Morrill and everyone at Make-up Artist magazine for putting on a wonderful and successful show. See you next year.

www.makeupmag.com

www.imatsshow.com

End of Term… Production Break

2009-09-09T15:00:00.001-07:00

It’s a countdown to our 2 week production break. The down side is that this week we have exams, our Term 1 Assignment and Paper Mache masks all due.

Starting off the week we learnt how to make a Bald Cap. We followed the process Penny showed us of pin curling the hair as tight to the head as possible, wrapping the head with glad wrap, marking the front, back and ears, and transferring our custom head wraps onto our Red Head (a special type of head is required so you can make bald caps).

Our final hair lesson for the term was all about, Up Styles and French Rolls. A good roller set was the foundation on which we were to work. The end result was fantastic, with our teasing expertise coming into practice, as our hairstyles were so tall.

The students will also be working on a short film and a theatre production during their production break. A great experience for them all and to put into practice what they have learnt this term.

Our History Ends! On to High Fashion!

2009-09-03T00:46:00.000-07:00

We have now completed our journey through periods in history, comparing the 1950’s to 1980’s. Where the 1950’s was, sweet pretty with curls, our sparkling 1980’s was, frost and more frost, with big cheeks and hair.

We have really enjoyed the research section of the course, as this is getting the students ready for the world of film and television, where it is so important to recreate the correct looks when working on a ”Period Piece”.

Moving forward to ”High Fashion” and our “Photo Shoot”.

Starting in art class with the ”Grey Scale“, which included a painting exercise in black and white emphasising tone through highlighting and shading. Then finishing the day with make-up for ”Black and White Photography”.

Doe Eye to Smokey

2009-08-27T19:41:00.000-07:00

We are still on our journey through periods in history. What has made an impression on the students is that in most decades, we repeat many make-ups with a slight twist.

This is very evident when working with our 1920’s and 40’s Make-up and Hair; the 1920’s ”Doe Eye”, a term used to explain the shape of the matt eye shadow placement on the eye, has now been replaced by the ”Smokey Eye“, which is the same shape, now using frosted eye shadows and liquid eyeliner for high fashion. The best way to apply this look is to do the dark eyes first and then finish up with your make-up as normal.

This way you will have a good clean make-up with strong eyes.

Our hair work for 1940’s is the foundation for today’s hair styles, so in our hair class this week we were perfecting hot roller sets, curling irons and blow drying, completing the exercise with a classic hair style.