Context:
For the first part of our final major project, we were given a list of different words to chose from; Nature, Environment, Celestial, Fire, Midnight and Mental Health to create a look on that includes body paint. I chose Nature for my work because I thought it would be a good challenge. This is my second time doing this because my first attempt was not as good as I could have done. My tutor also said that she wanted me to re do my practical assessment because all year my grades have all been excellents and she didn’t want my first try to effect my overall grade.
In my first attempt, I created a look that was an infection. It involved using green face paint, white face paint, a bruise wheel, cotton wool, fullers earth and boil prosthetics. I was going to use mushroom prosthetics as well to create the link to Nature, I was unable to get them in time. I also ran into a lot of issues when creating my look; the airbrush paints wouldn’t mix properly, the face paint looked patchy and incomplete, the boil prosthetics were far too small and I hadn’t thought of the costume for my model. There were also other factors that effected my performance, my own lack of practice and bad time management. Even though my performance was definitely not as good as it usually is, my tutor said that she liked the texture of the fullers earth and cotton wool and that I still would have passed because I used body paint (the main aspect of this part of our FMP.)
I made these before I knew that I wouldn’t get the mushroom prosthetics. Some would argue that I should have made sure that I would be able to get everything in time before making my mood boards, my response to that would be that I was acting on a whim and trying to create three completely separate looks, mood boards, pitches and adequate research in less than a week (we were given our briefs on March 12th and we needed to have completed nearly everything by March 18th for our Pitch & Proposal.)
Here is the mood board and final image for what would have been my Nature stimulus expression look:
I ended up forgetting about the costume while working on my other look for the other 2 parts of my FMP.
After considering what else I could create a Nature based look on, I decided to just look at things I have in my room and some of the musical artists I listen to. I thought that creating a look inspired by Portals, an album by Melanie Martinez, would be perfect. This era of her music and her character Crybaby are very Nature and fantasy based:
This CD and Vinyl cover is what gave me the inspiration. I would use a lot more body paint which would increase my grade a lot and I have a better understanding of how to effectively create this look.
This is an example of my inspiration for the makeup, Melanie Martinez actually wears a mask that changes the shape of her face and facial features for their new Nymph appearance, but I will be using face and body paint for my look.
Research:
Because I struggled to link my previous attempt to Nature closer to my assessment, I will make sure that this time I am fully prepared. I plan on using mushrooms and flowers on my model’s chest and hands to still have the link to Nature as well as a link to the vinyl cover as I will also use fake moss and fake wood to make the look unique. I will make a head dress to create the ears and keep the four eyes and lip shape the same because they are a very good opportunity to create more effects with the face paint besides just creating the pink textured skin. This project will last 2 and a half hours, so as long as I make sure to work quickly I should be able to finish in time. I will create my own face chart and body chart detailing patterns I will create.
I also looked at the four music videos so far for the Portals album to get inspiration for my Nature look. My favourite song on this album is Faerie Soiree, and there are many parts of the music video that gives me a lot of inspiration for my look. One example is the mushroom vial that is featured:
This feature inspired me to make small mushrooms out of clay to add to my model’s neck as well as moss to keep the Nature aspect, I may also make this vial as a prop for my model to hold. Another feature of this music video hat inspired me was the use of moss all the surroundings:
I was going to use moss anyway so it wasn’t my main inspiration. Another part of the Faerie Soiree music video I would like to use in my work is the makeup the dancers have. I’m not sure who created the makeup looks as I cannot find anything about it online, but I like the makeup and I might try it in my own practice before I re do my assessment to make sure it fits the look properly:
During careers week, I had the opportunity to watch the first episode of season 6 of Glow Up. In this episode, I learnt that using a large paint brush can help to apply body paint to a large area. I also had the opportunity to see a masterclass by MUA Sarah Agbiji, who was also on Glow Up, and I learnt that using paint brushes can be better than makeup brushes in some cases so I would have bought some before my assessment had I not forgotten.
Planning & Production:
To prepare a head dress for my Nature look, I first cut out a sheet of paper in the shape of the ear using my own Portals vinyl cover as reference,
I then cut the shape out and stuck it to four seperate pieces of cardboard, flipping it for the third and fourth. I then used a hot glue gun to glue the two pairs of ears together. I then painted the ears with different shades of pink to make them look realistic and added gold charms for earrings with my glue gun:
To finish, I used my hot glue gun to attach the ears to a headband:
I also created a face chart and body chart detailing my ideas for my look:
I also created mushrooms out of air dry clay that I plan to attach to my model’s neck with an adhesive like Pros Aide to add to the Nature effect:
I decided to make the mushroom vial as a prop for my model to hold to showcase the body paint on the arms and hands. I first cut the top and bottom off of a plastic bottle. Then I made the base, lid and mushrooms using air dry clay. I then painted the mushrooms and base before glueing them together. I wrapped wire around the glue sticks for my hot glue gun to curl them and added that to the base. Then I glued the plastic to the base and then glueing the painted lid onto the plastic.
Practical Skills:
| Product | Purpose | Brand |
| Pink Face Paint | Body Paint Aspect | Snazaroo |
| White Face Paint | Extra Eyes | Snazaroo |
| Translucent Powder | Setting The Face | M.U.D |
| Alexis Stone X Revolution Eyeshadow | Contouring & Eye Details | Revolution |
| Lashes | Finishing Eyes | N/A |
| Lipstick | M.U.D | |
| Eyeliner | Outlining The Eyes | M.U.D |
| Fake Moss | Nature Aspect | HobbyCraft |
| Fake Wood | Nature Aspect | HobbyCraft |
| Fake Flowers | Decorating The Wig/ Hair | HobbyCraft |
| Clay Mushrooms | Nature Aspect | HobbyCraft |
| Pros Aide | N/A | |
| Wig | ||
| Wig Cap | ||
| Wig Styling Supplies |
How I will create my look within the two and a half hours:
Before the assessment, I will set up everything I need. I will also use sticky notes to prepare a template for the extra pair of eyes and have my wig/ wig supplies ready.
- 0 hours
To begin, I will add the pink body paint to my model’s hands, arms, chest and neck using my largest brush so that I have enough time to work on the facial features.
- Half an hour
Then I will add my sticky note templates underneath the eyes near the nose so it leaves the shape I need.
Then I will add pink face paint to the face and set it with translucent powder before using my eyeshadow palette to change the contours of the cheekbones and nose.
Then I will remove the sticky notes and fill in the shapes with white face paint before setting them with powder as well.
I will then use eyeliner, eyeshadow and individual lashes to finish the extra eyes.
- 1 Hour
Afterwards, I will blend purple eyeshadow around the bridge of the nose out towards the eyes and brow bone. Then I will fill in the eyebrows with an eyeshadow that matches the hair.
I will then add lashes to finish the eyes.
- 1 Hour and a half
Then I will add my details; moss, mushrooms and wood to different parts of the face and neck before starting to work on the rest of the body paint.
I will add different shapes according to the reference images along the chest, arms and hands.
- 2 Hours
Then I will add more moss and wood to the arms and hands and apply the wig to finish my look.
Presentation:
On the day of my assessment my bus was over half an hour late, this meant that I didn’t have a chance to get a picture of my set up before I needed to begin my work.
Problem Solving:
A problem I ran into while creating my look was making the mushroom vial. I found it difficult to glue the plastic down after already applying the mushrooms and wire. I managed to fit it eventually but I think if it isn’t angled right it might look messy.
Another problem I faced was that the beads on the ears broke off before my assessment. This made them asymmetrical, which I was disappointed about.
Evaluation:
My tutor said that this was a signifiant improvement to my first attempt. She also mentioned that the face paint had oxidised and “melted” from around the eyes- but the pictures were taken over an hour after I had finished, which I think affected the body paint
I was told that I also needed to bring the body paint further down the chest and arms, which I fully agreed with and completed before the pictures, as well as adding more depth to the patterns but I couldn’t do this because of the lack of time. (I would rather have had completed body paint that didn’t have any depth than uncompleted body paint since that was the main aspect of this part of our FMP) Another point for improvement I was given was that the lashed should have been lower to the lashes, which I also agreed with because I struggle to do eyelashes on other people.
My tutor said that she would give my look a good, but that it could be changed to an excellent if the other tutors marking my work agree that it should be.
Reflection:
Overall I am very glad that I re did my assessment. I think that I did it very well considering I only had a week to put it all together but I feel like it could have been better if I had improved what my tutor mentioned. I am very glad that the wood, moss and mushrooms stuck to my model with pros aide and I think the added texture was very helpful in creating my Nature look.