A while ago I told you guys that I was going to do the Make-Up of Avatar for halloween. Well I have had a really busy schedule which has meant that I haven’t been able to put aside as much time for this as I would have liked.

Anyway I have started the process and here are a couple of shots of me during my lifecast. We used fast set alginate and plaster bandages. First you vaseline all the back of the head and any hair in the front like eyelashes, eyebrows, nape of neck etc. Then you apply bald cap, in this case we just used a swimming cap as we had a bit of a disaster with our bald cap! You then build up the back half of the head using just plaster bandage as the detail of the cast doesn’t have to be that defined. Then you mix a small amount of alginate and do the nose first so that you can breath out of it. Then you go ahead and mix the rest of the batch of alginate and cover the entire face including eyes, ears and mouth. Be extremely careful that the noseway is kept clear at all times…you have to breath! After the alginate is set you then cover this with plaster bandages to strengthen and support the structure. You can then start to wriggle your face and pull apart the mould. All going well you should have a perfect cast of yourself.

Word of warning! Don’t wear make up while doing the life cast, for some reason whatever make-up I had on my eyelids really liked adhering to the alginate and made for a REALLY uncomfortable few minutes when I thought I wouldn’t be able to get it off!  Also this lifecast was done by professional Make-Up Artists (myself and my friend). We are highly trained, we are just sharing the information with you, so please do not attempt to do this at home!

I had a great night at the Filmbase Special FX Make-up Night which took place on the 28th April, there was blood, guts, burns, bruises and zombies galore

It was a very funny night and there were demonstrations by Tom McInerney, Terri Pinnell an Conor McMahon. I particularly liked Conor’s hilarious demonstration for home made blood and brain recipes which left the poor victim with a sticky syrupy mess all over her head! Just as well its not summer or she would have been attacked by wasps & flies on the way home!

I was a burns victim for the night…it was weird being in the Make-Up Chair for once, but I found it strangely relaxing!

Before

After

I also got a chance to catch up with some old Model Making people who were displaying their armour and props at the event. (Note: I used to be a modelmaker myself in a former life)

I particularly liked the fact that I could see Tom McInerney (Fairycatcher, The Formorian) create a green, ghoulish character from start to finish, he made it look so easy!

At the end of the night we all had to do a Zombie Dance which was filmed…so watch this space…I will update you when I have the video