I am currently going to school for cosmetology and have been working on makeup as my specialty. I thought that going into the Hollywood world for makeup and or special effects makeup would be a dream job. Does anybody have any tips, experience or advice on how to prepare myself and or get my foot in the door?
Hello, Beads
I have written just such an article:
http://www.learnprostheticMakeup.com/How_can_I_get_into_makeup_effects.pdf
I work as a makeup effects artist in the UK and have a website with free articles for you to view/download here:
http://www.learnprostheticmakeup.com/page9.htm
Please be aware that it is competitive industry (name one that isn’t) but a broad skill base means there are a number of avenues to pursue.
A great many ‘Hollywood’ films are made in places other than Hollywood. In the UK, I have been fortunate enough to work on The Mummy, Saving Private Ryan, Gladiator-all full of UK crew and extras. European locations are often used (Prague and Budapest were popular) and Morocco is often used for desert locations so it may be necessary to travel if you get involved in that area.
Many successful makeup effects artists did not go through conventional makeup schooling-rather they misspent their youth making monsters for fun and gradually honed their skills over time. They were doing it for fun, making mistakes and enjoying it long before it paid their bills.
Most people are freelance, as the nature of the work arrives in peaks and troughs so you’ll need to sustain yourself with your earnings while the going is good, and accept there will be quiet times of the year.
A lot of prosthetic work takes place in a workshop environment rather than the set, which is a completely different world. It is messy, smelly and often long hours-not at all glamorous. But if you like sculpting, painting and making monsters then it should be your natural habitat!
Many makeup artists will be expected to do some ’special effects’ such as straightforward casualty makeup, illnesses and subtle aging. Specialist makeup effects departments step in when the skills needed are more extensive.
If you can’t find what you want near you, I suggest getting a good book, and spending the money on some kit and practice. Good books include:
* Character Makeup by Make-up Designery (ISBN-13: 978-0974950006)
* Special Make-Up Effects by Vincent Kehoe
* Special Makeup Effects for Stage & Screen: Making and Applying Prosthetics by Todd Debreceni
* Stage Makeup by Richard Corson
Some courses can be expensive ways to learn unless you are totally set on doing it as part of a career move. The best teaching will come from those who make their living from it, and naturally there will be emphasis on film quality work.
I also teach in the UK, and a lot of people from all over the world travel to learn. If you were successful in the trade, you would most likely need to travel all over the world when you work, so if you don’t like travel or working away from home, you may limit what work you can do.
Family commitments often hold people back in this way, and a lot of good artists who start early in their lives work all over don’t settle down.
You may not be able to travel to learn, but know that your competition will-it is a very competitive industry if you want to make a career out of it.
Check http://makeupmag.com/faqmain/. They also host trade shows (check http://www.makeupartistshow.com/) It is worth going, so you can meet and speak to people face to face about your intentions. It is great meeting like minded souls, and most of the big schools are there giving demos and often have show offers and discounts.
Whoever you go with, check them out online, see if anyone has anything bad to say about them. If you want a career in film and TV I also suggest you run the tutors name through http://www.imdb.com/, and see what credits they have to their name. Many teach it although they haven’t actually done it themselves in industry.
Kind regards
Stuart
mail@learnprostheticmakeup.com
Feel free to check the website:
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