# Makeup Assistance



## JR_Ferreri (Jun 24, 2020)

I’ve done makeup special effects professionally for stage and film.

Just putting it out there that I’m available to give advice and answer questions on anything from simple face paint and grocery store FX supplies all the way to professional foam latex or silicone systems for prosthetics, polymer transfers, hair punching, ll of it.


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## Batbuddy (Sep 3, 2014)

I have a question, Where do you recommend getting prosthetic supplies from? I have been wanting to do some silicone stuff( have done foam and latex) It just seems soo expensive, looking for a good priced supplier.


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## JR_Ferreri (Jun 24, 2020)

Makeup can become an expensive hobby, makeup special effects even more so.

You can buy everything from very cheap supplies to more pricey stuff to very high end professional products. In my studio I probably have around $6,000 in supplies.

While it is true that you can learn with inexpensive materials, eventually the materials start to get in the way of more advanced technique. On the other hand, buying RCMA isn’t going to transform you into a professional.

Your strategy depends on your actual budget an goals. You’ll go at it differently if you have $20 vs $200 vs $2,000 to spend.

First off, work on your drawing and painting in general. Draw LOTS of faces, old and young. You’ll be drawing and painting on a flexible, curved surface: human skin. When practicing on yourself you are working backwards looking in a mirror.

There are many different brands, but the first rule is to avoid the blister packaged stuff sold in deep payment stores at Halloween, it is mostly garbage. I could get decent results with some of that stuff by mustering a couple of decades of experience and modifying them somewhat.

Some of the latex prosthetics are decent. I was amazed to see Tinsley Transfers being sold at Party City last year, which are quite good!

In order to get the biggest bang for your buck, buy a small number of colors (red, yellow, blue, black, white, and a foundation color close to your skin tone if available.

Mehron Theatrical makes superior products. Even their cheaper carnival face paints are higher quality than what is sold by many other companies.

Stage makeup is traditionally done eith greasepaint, which has high pigmentation, must be powdered to set it (it does not dry) and is easy to blend. It resists sweating and rubbing off better than most water based makeup. You need cold cream or another remover to take it off properly.

Water based makeup is easy to wash off with soap and water but it sweats off easily. It comes in a cake that you activate with a wet brush, sponge or applicator or in liquid form. The more expensive professional line is more durable and has higher pigmentation.

Alcohol activated makeup is more durable but the alcohol is a bit harsh on the skin. Mist people who don’t have much experience with other makeup don’t do a great job by rushing into it.

Similarly, people who skip using derma wax and liquid latex by rushing into silicones don’t do as well as if they’d mastered the basics first.

Get some scar wax/derma wax/skin wax. The stuff you make with petroleum jelly and flour or cornstarch barely works and is very fragile. It is more of a DIY salve instead of a wax.

Make Dick Smith’s formula of Karo syrup blood until you have more money to spend. I have ten different types of blood, some that is rather expensive, but I’ve used Karo blood on produced films.

If you can’t afford liquid latex rubber, you can use Elmer’s School glue at first to learn the basic techniques. It isn’t elastomeric or as durable, but it is better than nothing. I have bottles of skin products that cost over $100 and I’ve used Elmer’s (with a plasticizer added) for a photo shoot.

What experience with art and makeup (or cosmetics) do you currently have?

What are you willing to spend at this point to get started?


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## fontgeek (Jul 24, 2006)

For a lot of goods, you might look at Reynolds Advanced Materials for some of the prosthetic appliance materials. https://www.reynoldsam.com
I'd also echo the last two questions of the previous reply. 
Knowing what you can or can't do, skills wise, and what kind of budget you have for both time and money makes a big deal in where to direct you.
Also knowing what your big and small goals are can help us too.


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## Batbuddy (Sep 3, 2014)

I appreciate the recommended website. I have made several sculpted faces I ave done cold foam masks from them and done latex masks from them as well.I have done life casts too. Here is a makeup I did on my son a couple years ago.







I have worked with gelatin prosthetic's and worked with plaster molds. As I said, I was looking for recommended sites/companies that sell silicone products for a good price. I build animatronic props and they need skin. Latex doesn't last too long... I guess I would consider myself an amateur makup artist.


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## Brianaala (Nov 4, 2018)

Hey Batbuddy, finally an area that I can help you in! You can also get really great silicones for animatronics from Sil-Pak here in L.A. (they ship everywhere) but they tend to be significantly less expensive than Reynolds (also here in L.A.). As long as you're not working directly on skin (in which case you need a deadened platinum base) you can use a tin-based silicone, which is significantly cheaper and easier to work with. Usually for animatronics you want a low shore hardness (it's softer and much easier for the mechanics to move). And for the paint what we usually do is tint the base (it's translucent) with either an oil tint or flocking. The flocking fibers adds a very nice tone variation and can look like capillaries if done right. So your base tint should be close to the color you're going for and then the paint should be built up with transparents for the best (most realistic) look.


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