Special Effects Makeup

Photo Credit - Ewen Roberts

Question: What does popular movies/television shows have in common? How about a more specific question: What is common in shows/movies such as The Walking Dead, Harry Potter, and How The Grinch Stole Christmas (besides the fact that they are all awesome)? Well the answer that I am thinking of streams from an art that transforms a person into whoever - special effects makeup. 

Lets start off with saying how talented makeup artists are in general, that much is obvious. Now when it comes to a special effects makeup artist I personally believe that they are super talented. They possess the ability to make any person into, well any person. Let me warn you that I have prepared multiple pictures to show the true transformations these makeup artists perform. I love to use pictures in my blogs in case you haven't noticed because I enjoy showing viewers the different talents people possess. Below I have included some before and afters so you can see the final work of special effects makeup artists.

Photo Credit -  encyclopediapsychotika

Photo Credit - wirenews.co.za

Photo Credit - celebkids.whyfame.com

Amazed yet? Well I defiantly am. Special Effects also called Prosthetic makeup, is the art of creating cosmetic effects. The body and face is the canvas for these artists as they start to paint, mold, and create a vision they have. Using multiple tools and resources artists can easily make an alive person look dead. They can make a person look like an animal. Ultimately they can make any person look like anything they wish to. Imagine for a day you can be whatever fictional or non-fictional character you want to be. I would pick to be sculpted as an Orc from Lord of the Rings. Weird, I know but it would be so much fun!

There are multiple schools that specialize in special effects. In case any of you are ever interested in taking classes I will link some of the schools that are known for Special Effects and Prosthetics.

• Sheridan College in Ontario
• The School of Makeup Art in Toronto
• New Image college of Fine Arts in Vancouver 

These are just a few of the schools world wide. Special effects makeup is truly a talent and not everyone has the skills it takes, however everyone possesses the ability to learn these skills. I am so amazed by the developments in film and television on a daily basis, specifically when it comes to special effects. These artists should get more credit for their work, because it is them that captivates an audience. I leave this blog with a couple more images I found of students work at the Vancouver Film School. 

Photo Credit - Vancouver Film School

Photo Credit - Vancouver Film School