Out of Kit Prosthetics

When 1 talk to makeup artists that haven't had a chance to break into the field yet, l often find that they don't have much to show of their work. Cast prosthetics require a large expenditure of time and money . it's often daunting to just make it to the final application.

Often the artist feels that the only professional applications are foam rubber and that anything not cast is less professional. There are many reasons that Hollywood went to cast foam rubber in the 30's but the major ones were: exact repeatability of the makeup for continuity from scene to scene and shorter makeup time in the chair before filming could start. These don't apply to most artists not working in makeup for a living.

There are many types of prosthetic work that don't require a complete studio and a work week of prep time. Jack Pierce, Lon Chaney,Tom Savini and Dick Smith have all managed some great effects without precast pieces. As 1 go along 1'11 point out the weaknesses and the strengths that each technique hasty intent is not to show you how to do a specific makeup but to give you in depth knowledge of your tools and let you create.. Let's start with the oldest technique.

PUTTY

There are many brand names: Naturo plastic, Special Plastic , Derma Wax, Mortician's Wax, Nose Putty, etc. Every line of makeup has a couple of brand names usually varying in stickiness and stiffness. Nose putties are usually harder with the idea of being structurally harder and less likely to be damaged in performance. They were probably designed to make a good Cyrano nose that won't sag on stage. The waxes tend to be softer and a bit easier to blend and work. If you are just photographing your work a soft wax should be fine.

The advantages: Most putties have a lifelike translucency and the color is already fairly accurate to real skin. it's quick and involves no skin irritants. You can sculpt whatever you like blend it imperceptibly into the skin and change it to suit the actor.

The disadvantages: it's fairly heavy and has no stretch. Though it can be improved , adhesion to very mobil parts of the body can be a problem because of it's tendency to peel of and deform. Unless it's sealed ,it is just as likely to be changed by the actor scratching at it as it was when you were sculpting in all those details. This almost eliminates use of putty on flexible areas of the body like knuckles, around the mouth , over the eye, and some areas of the forehead.Wax works best on relatively immobile skin over bone or cartilage. Since it is heavy don't try the Creature from the Black Lagoon ( though take a look at the Dorian Gray done by Bob 0' Bradovich in Kehoe's'' Technique of Film and Television makeups) Application: If you'd like to improve adhesion start off with clean oil free skin and add an adhesive undercoat before application. Even better is to apply some cotton strands from a cotton ball or Q Tip to the adhesive and then mix in the loose ends of the strands into the putty to further adhere it and strengthen it like debars do in concrete or glass fibers do in polyester resin.Refer to our earlier article on adhesives to pick the right adhesive.

OUT OF KIT PROSTHETICS

When I talk to makeup artists that haven't had a chance to break into the field yet, 1 often find that they don't have much to show of their work. Cast prosthetics require a large expenditure of time and money . It's often daunting to just make it to the final application.

Often the artist feels that the only professional applications are foam rubber and that anything not cast is less professional. There are many reasons that Hollywood went to cast foam rubber in the 30's but the major ones were: exact repeatability of the makeup for continuity from scene to scene and shorter makeup time in the chair before filming could start. These don't apply to most artists not working in makeup for a living.

There are many types of prosthetic work that don't require a complete studio and a work week of prep time. Jack Piercep Lon Chaneyy-fom Savini and Dick Smith have all managed some great effects without precast pieces. As l go along 1.11 point out the weaknesses and the strengths that each technique hasty intent is not to show you how to do a specific makeup but to give you in depth knowledge of your tools and let you create.. Let's start with the oldest technique.

PUTTY

There are many brand names: Naturo plastic, Special Plastic , Derma Wax, Mortician's Wax, Nose Putty, etc. Every line of makeup has a couple of brand names usually varying in stickiness and stiffness. Nose putties are usually harder with the idea of being structurally harder and less likely to be damaged in performance. They were probably designed to make a good Cyrano nose that won't sag on stage. The waxes tend to be softer and a bit easier to blend and work. lf you are just photographing your work a soft wax should be fine.

The advantages: Most putties have a lifelike translucency and the color is already fairly accurate to real skin. It's quick and involves no skin irritants. You can sculpt whatever you like blend it imperceptibly into the skin and change it to suit the actor.

The disadvantages: it's fairly heavy and has no stretch. Though it can be improved , adhesion to very mobil parts of the body can be a problem because of it's tendency to peel of and deform. Unless it's sealed ,it is just as likely to be changed by the actor scratching at it as it was when you were sculpting in all those details. This almost eliminates use of putty on flexible areas of the body like knuckles, around the mouth , over the eye, and some areas of the forehead.Wax works best on relatively immobile skin over bone or cartilage. Since it is heavy don't try the Creature from the Black Lagoon ( though take a look at the Dorian Gray done by Bob 0' Bradovich in Kehoe's'' Technique of Film and Television makeups) Application: If you'd like to improve adhesion start off with clean oil free skin and add an adhesive undercoat before application. Even better is to apply some cotton strands from a cotton ball or Q Tip to the adhesive and then mix in the loose ends of the strands into the putty to further adhere it and strengthen it like debars do in concrete or glass fibers do in polyester resin.lkefer to our earlier article on adhesives to pick the right adhesive.

Fingers, or small spatulas work well for sculpting, though if the putty begins to stick to your fingers use a little KY Jelly or a cream The warmer the putty gets the softer it will be so if it is too stiff the warmth of your hands, a hair dryer, or light bulb will help . You can mix a stiff putty with a too soft wax for a better feel or cut an immobile with cold cream. Also the hotter the skin gets the more likely it is to soften. Colored powders or different shades of putty can be mixed to get the right color. Final smoothing a blending can be done with KY or cream. The best prosthetic artist strive for the quality of blend any amateur can get with wax. Since it isn't flexible use this chance to have the actor go through the full range of movement in that area to see if the wax will buckle or distort. If you've carried the build up too far into a soft flexible skin, cut back the blended area. lf satisfied add skin texture with texture stamps or red rubber sponge.

Sealing can be done with any matte vinyl or cellulose sealer like Spray Bandage, Matte Plastic Sealer by RCMA, Fixative A, Flexible Collodion (not rigid). Some artists have tried to use cap plastic since the chemistry is similar but should not be used since MEK is usually part of the formula or at least a very heavy dose of acetone. Stick with sealers from the theatrical store or drug store to be safe, An article on sealers is forth coming. Be careful of the fumes as they can be flammable or at least noxious in a closed room and many actors can be very sensitive to them, I remember having walking outside the trailer with an actor, having him hold his breath, applying the sealer and then having him walk away from the area where we had applied it and it still bothered him.

Since the sealer is not as porous as the skin it may not take makeup the same way the skin does. l try to match the wax color to the skin as closely as possible and then use a matte sealer which holds makeup better than a shiny sealer.. l usually just stipple on color to help the match with a stipple sponge.-this a good time to experiment with the improvement in coverage that stippling gives over spreading the makeup. Many makeup artists don't carry any high coverage makeups (Concealer, Derma ColorplL|ltr's etc), but instead stipple on the makeup, powder and stipple on more. This also intensifies the color since most of use makeup as a stain, spreading it out till the skin color shows through the base color. For removal the wax should come off with an oil or cream remove like Detachol or cold creamy In a commercial where 1 was doing a Tip O 'Neil look-a-like the actor was very forgetful and left his nose on the door jam of the trailer once, scratched it off once, and nearly set it on fire fala Lucy). That's why they don't use much wax in movies. There are several sculptable alternatives pbut neither can be as easily formed as wax.

LATEX & COTTON OR FLEXIBLE COLLODION & COTTON

Advantages: for durable work over the bony areas of the face these work very well.

Disadvantages: Both latex and collodion don't take sculpting as well as putties can be cause skin reactions. Make sure that you have deammoniated latex rubber from a makeup company and not a high ammonia latex from foam rubber suppliers or casting companies. Even ''deammoniated'' can pack a mean whiff of ammonia that sensitive skins can find problematic.

Flexible collodion can be very irritating when used in large area build up with the solvents trapped under increasingly thick layers of cotton and wet collodion.

l've always wondered about those Lon Chaney's Hunchback were laid on each day with build ups of C&C. With that much solvent in the lungs and fire hazard it's a wonder they survived. As a kid l tried a Frankenstein and turned beet red and Rick Baker mentioned the same thing in an article recently. Of course laying on thin layers with full drying helps and there would be no reason not the build up the piece on a head form first and then apply it as a dried piece. and blend it in. Still in the photos you notice that Chaney carried the piece well onto the soft flexible parts of the face and Pierce blended off the first Frankenstein in the forehead crease where the skin in very mobil and yet you don't see any cracking. Can anybody suggest a reason? articles that claim that the first Karloff Frankenstein and lf the actor or actress has peach fuzz or hair in the area to be covered, lay down a layer of spirit gum first to flatten and to add a layer than can be easily solvently off once a thick build up is made. With adhesive or latex or collodion start your build up thinly of cotton batting or cotton from cotton balls. Build up slowly making sure the under layer is dry before the next is added. 1 would guess if the piece is to be very thick you could cut a foam rubber to decrease weight and increase flexibility. Experiment first as collodion might not work with urethane foam (looks like foam rubber but is yellowish white not pure white). What a toxic waste that could be. texturing is hard to do as it doesn't take an imflressilllln Some Skin textile e suggested with stippling on latex You will also need a heavy color as your color will be far off from the skin. Even tinted latex or colored cotton won't look very lifelike.collodion shouldn't need a sealer but latex will probably need a sealer or an RMG base in order not to change color. The Castor Sealer by Nye isn't a sealer as much as it is a castor oil that keeps the mineral oil and other oils incompatible with rubber in normal bases from changing color on latex. Pros Aid-hcolor or RMG makeups should take care of the coloring. To remove: solvent off with spirit gum underlayer with spirit gum remover. I carry a squeeze bottle that l fill with remover and drool it under the piece after l've lifted an edge with brush and remover.

Remember to protect the eyes with a towel and take it slow could be Final

PECTIN

very interesting formulas in his massive and amazing makeup course. If you have the where-with-all to afford his course and outlay in chemicals you probably have gotten bored with this article by now. He also has an interesting earlier kitchen version in his Monster Makeup Handbook ,so go buy it. 1 will pass along one formula from him , with his permission , that I have use. 20 granular less apple pectin (used in canning and available in a well stocked health food store or grocery ) 1 sgr. K1 5 M Methocel ( available from Burman) 62 gr. Glycerin. Mix together (Drug store) Add 4 oz.boiling water and stir quickly. has suggested some

Dick Smith

It can be troweled on and has the advantage of being smoother than other methocel,bread crumb, or pectin formulas.) started with a dried Pros Aid base layer.-the edges can even be smoothed in with a wet finger. It took some texture stamping and only had a mildly grainy texture. The need sealing as the water dries off leading to cracking. l sealed mine with ProsAid as the other sealers didn't spread on without lifting ,since there is water in the formula. It will shrink as it dries so a sealer cuts the shrinkage. Soon to come cost of Kit- Gelatin and Latex Skins and Pulls :like rigid collodion, stipple, plumperspand tapes . For more info or study try Vincent Kehoe's and Dick Smith's books mentioned above and of course Corson's'' Stage Makeup'' and Savinils'' Grand illusion''