Battles With Bits of Rubber

5 THINGS YOU'D LIKE TO KNOW ( OR WOULD HAVE LIKED TO HAVE KNOWN ) WHEN LEARNING PROSTHETIC MAKEUP I'm still learning every day. I still make mistakes and I am still worried that every job I am about to start will go wrong. That feeling has never gone away and I suspect it never will. The trick is to get used to the sensation, understand that it isn't abnormal and to get on with the job anyway. The...

Rob Burns makes great sculpting tools because he sculpts and knows what works. Blog post for this episode with video: http://www.learnmakeupeffects.com/rob-burns/ -------------------------------- It helps to know your tools, and in the podcast, he chats about how he started the company and how he paid his dues. We also chat with Mitch of Brick In The Yard again, and we talk about the proliferation...

Allen Hopps is the director of Dark Hour , a huge haunt attraction in Plano, Texas. I wanted to take a tour and chat with Allen about what it takes to keep people scared and the business of running a haunt all year round. When people think about creating makeup effects, masks and prosthetics, its usually associated with film and TV shows. In the US, Halloween is pretty big and getting bigger every...

Cap plastic is big....and it 's not just for bald caps. Cap plastic is so called as it was originally pretty much used only for making bald caps, so those with hair could temporarily be without it. Over the last ten years or so, it's used much more widely as an encapsulant or barrier in a mould so that when silicone gel appliances are cast into it, they come out of the mould with that cap plastic...

This podcast episode is the belated accompaniment to the blog post . We had a blast, learned some stuff and made some new friends. It was amazing, and I can't wait until IMATS London when I'll be back! Until then, please enjoy and get in touch with us at stuartandtodd@gmail.com and our facebook page.  Please also check out the breakdowns of the makeup demos, there is extensive behind the scenes in...

In part 2 of our discussion, Rob Freitas talks about the value of knowing about the unknowns. He sheds some light on the importance of knowing to look at what was before and honours great artists like Gil Liberto ( http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0508847/ ) who does incredible work for the likes of at Joel Harlow ( Star Trek, anyone? ). Check out this Vanity Fair article about the makeup work on Star T...

Rob Freitas is one of the best-known mould makers in the industry and has a phenomenal reputation. Not only is he incredibly skilled at making moulds but he has a passion for the provenance of the techniques which he uses and cares deeply to help interested parties understand so they can be better too. He also will redirect much of the attention he gets to his predecessors and those peers whom he...

Rob Smith continues his chat with me about foam latex, blood and other FX related goodies. Also, Todd and I talk about our favorite podcasts, and whether or not the word 'mustard' is actually an expression. Todd and I will be at IMATS 2017, 13th-15th Jan 2017 . How about that. Email us at the usual address, stuartandtodd@gmail.com

Blood ! Podcast #15! It's something gets thrown around a lot in film, TV and theatre. There's bad blood, good blood, mudbloods , blood thicker than water and blood brothers.  This episode we're talking about blood, and our guest this time is Rob Smith, blood master as well as an all-around effects bod. He also runs a lot of foam, and makes exquisite soft foam appliances which you really need to fe...

A little look at the influence of digital technology on the practical effects workflow. Bear in mind the problems we try to overcome - namely to create an illusion which appears real such as a decapitation, an injury taking place or some kind of transformation - these issues are the reason that we strive for new and better methods. That desire to create is the wind in the sails, and we have always...

Brick In The Yard isn't the most obvious name to give to a successful FX material supplier. There is a good reason for it though, as you will hear in this podcast. Mitch Rogers is the evil genius behind Brick In The Yard (BITY), one of the largest suppliers of FX materials in Texas and from the store, they ship out all kinds of materials worldwide. Mitch took some time to show me around the shop a...

Rob Burman is a damned nice fella and kindly took some time to share some of his wisdom, and we are all grateful he did. Thanks, Rob!     If you don't know the name ' Burman ' then you must be pretty new to the FX world, because frankly the name is as synonymous with makeup and practical effects as The Rolling Stones is to music. (The blog post to accompany this podcast is at http://www.learnmakeu...

The last time we talked about making foam latex, the craft and materials involved in actually producing the foam. This time around, we figured it would be a good call to look at painting and art finishing. Painting foam latex is different from painting skin or translucent appliances like silicone or gelatine, as naturally you have to create the appearance of translucency on something which is opaq...

Podcast #10 - Foam Latex: It's Smelly But Good! Foam Latex was the main material appliances and pretty much anything skin-like was made of for long time. It is only relatively recently that silicone has taken it's place, and with good reason. There are a lot of benefits to silicone as an appliance material, and because of these reasons it may be that if you're new to makeup effects, you may not ha...

#9 - Symmetry, Schools & Fools   Symmetry in sculpting appliances Whilst teaching a class recently, a student was hung up on getting the nose perfectly symmetrical. I explained as I often do that the human face isn't symmetrical, so going for complete mirror image reflection necessary. That said, asymmetry owing to sloppy work isn't good either - the fact that there is little perfect symmetry in n...

Blog post on this podcast is here:   It seems it would be handy to have some sensible steps to actually start making things. So check out the podcast on this very subject and also the lowdown on cap plastic. After all, the longest of journeys start with a single step, so having some steps in mind will help you start if you are not sure where to begin making. One thing to say is that you don’t have...

In the second and final part of the interview with Geoff Portass, we talk more Ken Russel, Pinhead and FX stories plus some insights into the right way to go about learning some of this crazy stuff. Leave feedback and email your technical questions at stuartandtodd@gmail.com We love to help! Check out Stuart's Pinewood Studios workshops this year - dates on the website: http://www.learnmakeupeffec...

Hey folks, it’s just me today as Todd is pretty sick with a bad cold, so get well soon Todd. Hope you get fixed up and back on track soon. We’ve got a great interview with someone who was the first person I ever got in touch with. Geoff Portass started Image Animation with business partner Bob Keen, and the company worked on some iconic genre movies and shows in the late 80’s and early 90’s. They...

Colour theory is a crucial part of makeup, especially if you are in the business of trying make a portion of the face out of rubber and make it look like it belongs there and is the same as the real skin which surrounds it. This podcast accompanies the article we wrote for Neill Gortons ' Prosthetics' magazine, jam packed with tutorials and great behind the scenes goodies for all things prosthetic...

Todd and I have been chatting, as we both let the blogging slip because of work - so we are back with a plan to do more podcasts to give responses to email questions on a regular basis. So, we caught up in this podcast to get the ball rolling again - listen or download it from here. It was recorded on Friday 13th....so it isn't about the movie Friday the 13th, so sorry to the Michael Myers fans......

Read the blog post to accompay this podcast: www.learnmakeupeffects.com/shooting-guns-at-meat This time we take an interesting approach to capturing the tissue damage caused by gunshots and being able to safely recreate the three dimensional effects by moulding the results. It's a novel way of testing out some theories. All we need is some sides of meat, a range of firearms, some privacy and an af...

Check out the blogpost on this subject too: www.learnmakeupeffects.com/lifecasting-tipstricks/ Lifecasting is an essential, basic skill used in makeup effects and prosthetics - whether to create a custom fit appliance or to make a lifelike prop without sculpting from scratch. In this podcast, Stuart & Todd share cool tips and tricks about this important yet varied subject. Got an FX question you w...

This podcast is the first joint blog post venture with Stuart Bray and Todd Debreceni. Todd is author of 'Special Makeup Effects For Stage And Screen', what many consider to be the modern makeup FX bible. Stuart Bray is a working makeup FX artist with many years experience. Credits include 'Saving Private Ryan', 'Shaun of the Dead', 'Dr Who' and more recently 'Game of Thrones'. This one is all abo...