25 June 2021 – Diploma in Special FX & Prosthetic Makeup Artistry Level 5 Assessment – Cut Above Academy Auckland
WARNING: THIS POST CONTAINS GRAPHIC CONTENT
Costume scars or wounds are used in movies in the background. It would be partially hidden under a costume or clothing, dirt, or blood. The scar or wound doesn’t need to have a lot of detailing and is normally made from molding liquid latex. It can be applied to clothing by cutting or tearing a hole into the garment and sewing the wound or scar into the area. Our brief was to research wounds and injuries, and research, design, sketch, and reference a chosen injury we want to use in the assessment. Taking into consideration a backstory and environment for the final photoshoot.
After the sketches and reference photos were done, we started by sculpting the injury on a wooden board with wet clay. I found during the sculpting that the design I had chosen was a bit ambitious for my skill level. However, giving up is not in my nature and I finally produced a sculpt I was happy with to continue.
After building the walls for the sculpt, we learnt how to mix the plaster and started filling in the mold. It was my first time using an air compressor, and we had a couple of laughs and a lot of cleaning up to do later…. The importance of wearing protective clothing and the correct safety equipment became very apparent in this assessment.
We worked with liquid latex prior to this, so the step of running the mold wasn’t hard and I only needed a couple of attempts to produce a workable injury prosthetic.
To paint the prosthetic, I used alcohol paints. At this stage I didn’t put any blood, as I still needed to sow it into the garment. Again, I found that the design I have chosen was on the more difficult side for my skill level, due to the placing. With a bit of perseverance and much grumbling, I managed to make it look pretty cool in the end and I am happy with the result of the photo shoot. The scratch blood was added right at the end to make sure it stayed where it needed during the shoot.
What would I do differently: For the first time doing this, I would suggest using a flatter surface like the calve, thigh or abdomen. It will make it easier for the sculpting and the placement in the garment, especially if sowing is not your strong point.
