Easter holidays

This is the started of the Easter holidays, I was hoping to have all my shoots done by now, but with the amount of testing I have done this has been impossible. The studios were all full for the first week of the holidays so I have managed to book out a number of studios for the second week. Hopefully I will hear back from some of the girls on model mayhem who can model for me, and I need to find a photographer. Over the holidays I plan to edit my photos and start to look at further way to layout my book. I will start thinking about the quotes needed as well as text and I still need to look for printers as my teacher keeps reminding me.

Tinman Shoot

The Tinman makeup look is below, however the whole body will be covered in this way.
The model for this shoot is Susan Kerlo, and the photographer is Priya Shukla, who previously shot the Spider monster character.

I definitely underestimated the time in which it took to cover the model in silver paint and lentils, this was a lengthy process causing me to delay the shoot and the photographer. Luckily the model herself is a nail technician and used the lentils on herself to cover her nails, this was an amazing touch to add to this look. I had originally brought a wig for this look, but after much consideration decided it look cheap and a different hairstyle would be better. I used polystyrene balls in the models hair and then wrapped the hair around it, lentils was then added to this, and spray silver which created a more complete look.

This shoot went really well, and the photographs look amazing so far, the photo below is one take on shoot from my camera phone.
This silver hair and body spray were so effective under the light and was so quick and easy to use.

This shoot could have been improved by having the model nude, this would allow a full body coverage and made an excellent full length shot.

Wizard beast shoot

The makeup look for this shoot is below, a final test for this look hasn't actually been carried out, but the testing of the face mask on the neck was really effective.
The model for this shoot is Jessica Lawrence, who was found through model mayhem, her face has really good structure and she has strong features which is perfect as she is representing a strong character.
The rhino horn matches her hair colour so hopefully will blend in nicely. The photographer for this shoot is Tanya Farrell who also shot the cowardly lion. I have looked at previous photo shoots online at others who have used hair piece and I am unsure whether a black or grey background will be more effective so I have asked Tanya if we can try both.

This shoot went really well. The rhino horn looked amazing on her, and as a test shoot hadn't been done, it turned out better than originally planned, I used the dark red lip with gold shimmer which is also on the neck.

Below are some images taken on my camera phone from the shoot.

Further Experimentation-Scarecrow

As previously stated my teacher told me to experiment further with the straw. I found something that resembles straw in a craft shop but it is almost a bit stiffer and can be moved into different shapes, below I have done a brief test to see how well it sticks to the face, bends into shape and looks under the camera. All these points seem to work quite well, so I carried out further experimentation.

As said before I brought new colours for my kit, this is what the struggle was last time, I felt very limited as to the colours I could create. The line around the nose and eyebrows was kept as I think this really resembles Rawles work and I love that connection between the two. I feel as though the way I put colour on the lips is limited, so I have tried to make the bottom lip bleed into the nude lip, this adds a real sensual aspect to this look.
I tried using just one piece of straw to outline the eyebrows but felt as though it was lost as it is so thin, a larger one was then tested with but I don't think it looks professionally made and cheapens the makeup look.

As the Block of straw didn't work I tried a few more on the other eye to help it stand out. I still felt as though this wasn't working and maybe I was over thinking the idea. I think the makeup is suitable for this character but the straw doesn't have the desired effect.

Cowardly lion shoot

This was the makeup look for the Cowardly lion. My teacher said to expand on this look and develop it more.

I have found this image below, I think this makeup look is really striking and will do something around this idea for my shoot.

This is the wig I will be using for the shoot, I have previously spoken to my tutor about finding another wig to go under the chin, luckily we found one of the same style but it was a bit to blonde, so my teacher suggested spraying some darker hair colour onto it to match the rest of the wig, and this worked surprisingly well. A pair of tights stuff with tissue paper was stuffed underneath the chin to keep the hair up against the chin and neck.

The model for this look was Giovanna Balivo. I came into contact with her through a friend and I asked if I could possibly use her to model. Giovannas face is perfect for the lion. My photographer was from the list of people that a teacher gave me, her name is Tanya Farrell. I emailed her on a social networking site and she was able to shoot with me.

I wanted a grey background as black would have been to harsh and white would have been to white against the face. 

Below is an image taken on shoot.

I was a bit wary of shooting with another photographer after the last photographer who shot the Wicked Witch, but I  was so much happier with this photographer as she really seemed to grasp what I was saying.  The photographer seemed happy to work with me also as she asked if there was anymore shoots she could help me with, and of course I had plenty for her. 

China clown shoot

The china clown shoot is the next look I am doing, I haven't heard from anyone else of of model mayhem so I posted on the Southampton Solent notice board to see if anyone was interested. A girl Jenna did actually get back to me, she sent me a couple of photos so I could see what she was like and I was set to shoot with her. Priya Shukla who previously took the photos was also going to do it for this one.

This is a reminder of the final look for this shoot.

I went out and brought an orange shirt for this shoot as this colour could clash quite nicely with the wig, and being a clown, it is allowed to clash.

I had text my model the day before to check we were still on for the day and she said everything was fine. I got to uni early to prepare everything and allow myself enough time to run through what I was doing. Until Jenna text me an hour before to tell me she had an eye infection, bearing in mind this was at 12 in the afternoon, if she had let me know in the morning i could have made alternative arrangements. However, I wasn't going to give up that easy and thought I would text any of my friends to see if they knew anyone free to model, luckily one was available, but I had to wait in total 3 hours to use her. but I had already waited long enough I wasn't going to not do this makeup look

Ellisha White ended up being my model for this and by the time she got to me, Priya the photographer wanted to go home. So I ended up setting the lighting up myself and shooting it myself, luckily I know the basics of working a camera so it turned out alright.
This is one of the shots taken from the shoot, I will put the others up when they have been edited.

If I was to do this shoot again, I would would have a reliable model, as this messed up the rest of the day with the photographer and studio space. 

Wicked Witch shoot

This is the Final makeup design for this character, I also had an idea this morning, of using gelatin on the face to make it look as though she is melting, as later on in the story line Dorothy throws water over her and she starts to melt. I think she could look really effective and will go with the idea of her looking weird and wonderful.
I have spoken to a model from model mayhem and she has agreed to model this for me.
I have also found a photographer Emily Cross, and a mood board of images has been sent to her so she knows the theme I am going for.

I have decided to have the model in a cape like top to fit in with her being a witch I want this in black as well as short black shorts and black heels, I feel this will give the look an editorial feel. 

I have also brought some black fake nails to create the idea of her having long hands which is how most witches are portrayed to have and I would like to keep this element.

My model Leanne Amy was a pleasure to work with, especially as I haven't collaborated much before. The makeup look seemed to go very well and I was happy with what I had done. My photographer Emily had the lights set up for when we got there which was good, but as she was taking the photos, the models head looked morphed. I tried to explain this to Emily but she didn't seem to understand. It was quite hard to communicate with what I meant and I tried to even tell her how to do it as we had been taught in our photography lessons about it. I ended up taking some of the photos myself as she didn't understand this. it was difficult working with someone who had no idea what I meant even though, as a photographer she should have known about when someones head is morphed. I also told Emily that I wanted to do a second look with this character, but before I was even satisfied with the first look her camera ran out of battery, this was very unprofessional and the university hatch has shut by now so I was unable to finish this shoot.

Below are a few images from the shoot that I have taken myself on my phone.

From doing this shoot today, this really made me question collaborating with people, when there is many people involved you have to rely on others which can be hard if people don't meet my expectations. I am disappointed I didn't get to do the second look and hope I have got some good images of the first. If this shoot was done again I would have chosen a different photographer and made sure there camera is fully charged, but as a photographer I think this is there responsibility. This is a learning curve for me, and I hope the next photographer I use will be more professional. 

Further experimenting- Dorothy

I went out and brought some more eyeshadow colours to help create this character, as previously said I want paler colours for her.
I also brought some pale pink wire to see how I could incorporate this with the look.
I decided to make some eyelashes. I used card as the base and then bent the wire to create a curl.
A pale based was used with a white eyebrow which I felt complemented the pale pink. I used white eyeliner around the eyes and added a few white spots to add to it. Pale white and pink ombré lips suited quite well. This is the makeup I want to use for my Dorothy. It is subtle but effective for her character.

Experimentation-Scarecrow

The next look I am going to look at is the scarecrow. I have decided to refer back to Graham Rawles own illustration which has inspired me.

I liked the idea of using the red that goes around the eyes, I changes this so it would come from the eyebrows and around the nose. I chose to use red and blue which refers back to Rawles illustration and then I added the third primary colour yellow.
Next I tried adding white but felt this dust work as well as the blue, as it was to bright against the skin and the red, so I added white around the red outlines.

This was then developed further to the whole face being white, the yellow was extended around the eyes and a black line was drawn, I felt this didn't match with the look and it became to harsh and structured, so I decided to see how smokey eyes would fit in with this look.
I still felt as though this look wasn't working so I have decided to add some straw to the look as he is a scarecrow stuffed with straw. This again I feel isn't very effective and looks messy.

I looked further for some inspiration and came across this image, I like the colour of this eye shadow an the way it is around the eyes. I will think about using this colour in the next look I experiment with.

I tried to do the dark eyes with the orange but felt I still need more colours in my kit as it is limited so I am going to buy more in the next couple of days.
I decided to see what the black outline on the eyebrows and around the nose would look like. I enhanced the pink and yellow on the cheek, and then furthered this around the nose. However again I think it has been overworked and I have done too much.

After all this experimenting I still feel as though I haven't got the perfect look for this character. I thing I am probably over thinking it the further I have gone on, and  I am going to speak to my tutor and see if she can suggest anything for me.

further experiments- china clown

I have rethought my model for this look, and decided to use someone with a white skin tone. I feel the colours would show up better against a white base and really stand out.
I have previously ordered a purple and orange wig so this will help when doing the makeup for this look.

I used a white base for this look and decided to have different coloured eyebrows, as this character is a clown. clashing eyeshadow was also used with yellow cheeks and a pink lips. I feel these colours work well together, but I still need to express the idea of the china clown being broken and put back together.

Below is the final makeup look. however I felt this wig needs to be larger and make more of an impact.

I have been online and ordered 4 more purple wigs, luckily these wigs were only £2 each so I didn't end up spending to much more. They also don't look too synthetic under the light so they should look ok in the studio. I have then sewn the 5 wigs together to make this giant masterpiece. It has definitely turned out better than what I thought so I am looking forward to using this for my shoot.

Layout and design

As well as creating the makeup look for my book I have also been thinking about the layout and different ways of editing the looks to make it different and interesting. I have looked through a number of magazines and books that show a diverse way of displaying images as well as editing them in visually pleasing ways. This will help when I come to lay my book out, it will show a variety of ways which I wouldn't have thought of.

I looked at different composition for different book layouts, as well as different textures below.

I thought about possible paintings.

I looked at the way pictures can be edited and changed to see if this could be something I do in my book.

At the moment I am just trying to get a feel of the different tings I can consider when putting my book together to see if it can benefit from this and make it more interesting.

Wigs and hairstyles

Ive decided for a few of my looks I want to use wigs, unfortunately I am not in the best financial situation, so I spoke with my makeup and hair tutors to see If they had anything that would be suitable for any of my looks. I have taken a range of photos of some of the wigs I have found to see if they will be appropriate for any of my makeup looks.

This bright pink wig could be ideal for the china clown, however,  a larger wig would be preferred as this will make more of an impact.

When I saw this wig it instantly reminded me of the scarecrow. the choppy layers represent the straw and this could definitely be an option for this character.

This wig would be perfect for the cowardly lion. The long hair would represent his main, it would be interesting to see if I could get hold of another wig like this to go under the chin so the hair goes all the way around like a lions mane.