Yep, for the first time, I’ll actually be sharing some makeup applications that I’ve done over the years.

Makeups that I have applied all using the wonderful foam latex appliances from RBFX.

If you’re not familiar, RBFX is a company that is the brainchild of former Hollywood Makeup FX heavyweight, my friend, Roland.

Roland is something of a legend in the field.

He has worked for makeup effects legends such as Rob Bottin, Greg Cannom, and Rick Baker. That’s basically the makeup effects trifecta of the 80s and 90s.

Roland’s knowledge and experience supervising foam rooms on massive makeup-heavy shows in Hollywood led to him stepping sideways and forming his own company to provide options for makeup artists that require prosthetic appliances for projects last minute, or without the standard procedure or lifecasting, and custom building for a performer. This seems to be the case more and more these days…

On a whim, I decided to chat with him last week, because, well it IS Halloween after all! And he’s your man for all makeups Halloween calls for!

Okay here’s what the man behind RBFX had to say to me about his incredible company!

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What was your introduction to makeup and makeup effects?

It started with Halloween as a child.

Cheap plastic fangs, a bottle of spirit gum, crepe wool, and a tube of cheap fake blood from the local mall magic & novelty store.

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As a kid, did you know that this would be something you would pursue as a career? Or that was even a possibility?

I had no idea it was a career when I was a child. Yet as a young adult I knew it was something I would like to do. 

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So, how did your film/tv career begin?

My film career started with going to a makeup school (which is no longer around).

I assisted on a few projects (with no pay) at Makeup Effects Lab & independent college projects before I got my first professional job in 1988.

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You were so prolific in what I like to look at as makeup effect’s heyday. I know you’ve worked on some incredible makeup effects-famous movies in your career. What has been your most memorable/favorite job experience?

It’s hard to pick just one but I’d say in all, would have to be during the 1990s working on Total Recall at Rob Bottin’s.

There were so many fantastic makeups and animatronics developed all before CGI existed. It was also my first time on set and I worked crazy hours.

Another would have to be working at Greg Cannom’s on Bram Stoker’s Dracula.

Overall, it was a small crew creating some iconic characters in a relatively short amount of time.

Both of these films won Academy Awards.

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Amazing. Legendary work in both, quite different projects.

What have been some of the biggest challenges or hurdles you’ve had to face on projects? Deadlines, challenging builds, or locations?

I’d say the biggest challenge I faced in makeup effects work was working on How the Grinch Stole Christmas.

At that time I had a crew of eleven people consisting of a day & night crew.

As a crew, we cast over 64,000 prosthetics for many, many different characters.

Also at the time, I had a newborn at home. Exhaustion was an understatement. 

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RBFX is so omnipresent now, it feels like it’s always been around.

How did the idea of creating high-quality off-the-shelf appliances come to you? Was it difficult to walk away from, being such a prolific foam room supervisor with an impeccable resume behind you? 

Over my years of casting prosthetics, people knew they could ask me where they could find a certain makeup look or style of work (via makeup FX shops – since I worked for fx shops I made castings for over the years).

I came to the point where I said to myself I could do it, so why don’t I just give it a shot?

Definitely a risk, but one worth trying.

In the first year, we created about 64 designs to sell.

And now at almost 10 years in we are at 1010 product pages to choose from.

By working with my Distributor Motion Picture FX Company we are known and used worldwide. 

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Amazing! Congratulations!

Thanks! Walking away from working in-house in other shops was a natural process.

After the recession in 2008, I was only employed 4 months out of that year, so I knew I’d have to do it for myself, and not wait for others.

So in 2008, I created RBFX Studio to cast prosthetics for a variety of different FX shops, large & small.

Then in 2013, I created RBFX Prosthetics which turned the tide on my business – which now reaches hundreds of makeup artists and production companies every year from all over the world.   

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That’s incredible! Such a great success story of making our industry work for you.

Do you miss the days of Rick Baker’s shop and those massive makeup effects-heavy productions that really don’t exist anymore?

Sure, I miss the old days, but what miss the most from it are the people.

Over the years I have worked with amazing artists & FX technicians who have both taught and touched my life.

Many I call friends today. 

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Awe. I hope you cross paths professionally, as well as personally to this day. Where do you see things moving in the future for you? Have you embraced 3d printing, scanning, and the newest techniques and materials that seem to be massive labor-saving devices? Are these tools and equipment types applicable to your business?

We still all work old school style, but we work with the best mold & casting materials available.

Our timelines are different from that of other FX shops, so deadlines are not such an issue.

That said, I can see bits of 3D printing in the future for a few designs. 

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Oh, fantastic. And what would you say is your most popular appliance? 

I’d say zombies and aliens are our top sellers.

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Interesting. I’d love to ask – how do you decide on sculptors and the design that they are sculpting? Do you give them a brief of an idea you have in mind, or is it left up to them what they would like to create? 

Over the years I’ve known many sculptors, but I have also brought in many that I have never met before in person, only on social media. (Including Savannah Koningen who I know you have already interviewed. Check her out here!)

I usually reach out to them to see if they have any interest. If they are into it, then their first design is all about fun.

I like to have them do a design that excites them. I ask for updates along the way and give input to make sure it could work as a generic piece along with some guidelines. 

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Oh, that’s great! I know you’ve dipped back into production work from time to time to assist with running pieces when Makeup FX shops get slammed – how does this slot into the day-to-day runnings of your business? I can imagine it gets pretty hectic at times.

Yes, I help other shops from time to time but I have referred most of that work to my friends Bill Fesh & Tim Phoenix who have now opened their own casting company (they have worked for years for me in the past, so I’m happy to send the work their way). 

It’s exhausting taking on other FX work along with the catalog work.

I once closed the catalog down to complete one FX job, and I will not do that again.

But I will pick and choose parts of an FX job so that it could work in tandem with my company’s work. 

Wow. That does sound like a lot.

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Okay last question – if you could only pick one makeup or effect to be your favorite what would that be and why? 

Now that’s a difficult question! Just one!?

Well, I would have to say the makeup of John Merrick on John Hurt for the movie “The Elephant Man”. Although, I feel that makeup brought so much to the film, showing the inhumanity and humanity of mankind. I could ramble off a dozen of other makeups that I feel that strongly about.  

Thanks so much, Roland!

Check out the entire catalog of the RBFX range right here.

You can also find his catalog here on Instagram. And, if you’re looking for some creative inspiration, check out his RBFX Makeup Gallery, dedicated solely to the makeup applications that artists around the world create using his appliances. Such a cool page!

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Featured Image by Brett Stanley. Makeup application by Kerrin Jackson. Model is Mo Meinhart.

The post An Impromptu Chat with the Brainchild of RBFX appeared first on The Makeup Refinery.

Hey Alex – I’m super excited to indulge in a little chat about your meteoric career so far. When did you first discover makeup?

Growing up, I didn’t play with makeup much.

My sister was more adventurous with her fashion and makeup but she was already an adult as I was going through middle and high school.

I would do an occasional eyeliner during my brief “emo” phase.

In high school, I took a Literature and Film class where we watched Pans Labyrinth and Edward Scissorhands. I was shocked by how much it was just like a children’s book but with moving images.

I was immediately captivated. Originally, I wanted to become a children’s book illustrator, so when I saw the movie I was hooked. I somehow needed to be a part of this world. And for class assignments, I started making little films with my friends and it quickly became an obsession.

When I was 20, I moved to LA by accident with a friend who received a full scholarship to study film at USC. She started with production design and went on to be an incredible Production Designer.

I thought building the worlds I loved instead of drawing them would be fun, so I joined her on one project when I wasn’t working my other 2 jobs. I very quickly realized building the worlds wasn’t at all what I thought it was going to be and so it was back to the drawing board for me.

I was working at Coffee Bean across the street from Cinema Makeup School and was able to meet students and teachers who encouraged me to come to check it out.

One of those students is Chloe Sens!! How crazy? Now we work together sometimes!

I’ve always been a painter and illustrator so I understood color and texture and decided to give it a shot. I got my kit the day before I began CMS and before that, I had a fear of foundation, because how do you even use it? At the time I only owned one black Covergirl mascara and a brown blue Mac eye shadow. Needless to say, I was pretty much CLUELESS when it came to makeup.

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Oh that’s amazing. So how did that lead to your first professional work as a makeup artist?

I began with my production designer roommate, Michelle, and all of her USC film school friends. Through one of them, I met Bianca Appice and Heather Galipo who hired me on my first ever movie which was the James Franco film class project.

They brought me on as an additional and we’ve been friends ever since! I learned so much from both of them and I am forever grateful for that experience.

I then went on to department head the next Franco class project and from there it was back-to-back indie films.

I was feeling burnt out after a few years of department heading indie films and took a break with my now wife.

We did a much-needed 5-week cross-country road trip.

When we got back she got the news that she would be Katy Perry’s new personal chef and everything changed from there.

Katy had a small indie artist signed to her own record label, Unsub, named Cyn. Cyn was my first ever beauty client and with her, I did music videos, Chanel campaign, Coveteur shoot, glammed her in Mexico City as she opened for Katy on her Witness Tour and so much more.

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I also have to ask you about Pen15. This show has become something of a cult hit in the time since it was released. Would you mind telling us about it?

I was just about to give up on the film world after having a little taste of the glam fashion world when Michelle Miller called me to invite me to be her Key Makeup Artist on Pen15.

Pen15 happened to *flip.

To this day I am still juggling the film and tv world and the fashion world, unable to make up my mind.

Michelle Miller invited me on to Season 1 of Pen15 after we worked with Maya Erskine on an indie film. Michelle really changed my life through Pen15 because this led to me getting into Local 706.

I love working in comedy because we always have so much fun – which is funny because I don’t typically find myself watching comedy!

We got to relive middle school with Maya and Anna. It was both traumatizing and exciting. Hearing everyone’s different experiences was the best part. Crying with laughter during takes was even better. And there was never a dull moment.

We knew we were making something special but I don’t think we realized how incredible it would be and how many people it would touch.

People still bring it up on set, even more so than Euphoria!

Comedy days are long because of all the improv, but nothing beats watching the monitor and laughing so hard they’re asking you to leave the room because of sound, hahaha!

One word. Euphoria.

We have to talk about it. The show is such an epic phenomenon – it really has become a cultural event as far as makeup goes.

Dare I say, iconic. Tell us why!

I was probably Euphoria’s number one fan throughout Season 1.

It reminded me so much of a show I loved in high school called Skins but times 10!

Euphoria was both of my loves combined: storytelling and fashion.

It sounds silly but I truly could not believe my eyes.

And the work I was doing at the time seemed so uncreative when it came to beauty makeup. I was having much more fun throwing colors on models during my editorial shoots than I was working on set for hours on end. Not to take away from anyone that works in film/tv – it’s a grind and I have the utmost respect for my tv/film crowd, and certainly don’t mean any disrespect. Everyone works so hard and long!

I always joke that I am the only non-spooky union makeup artist, although I do love my spooky goth girls!!

I wasn’t very interested in special fx but I absolutely lived for beauty and character makeup. So for me, Euphoria had it all. I have never seen anything TV-related go as viral. People want to connect with characters they love and see themselves as. They want to BE them.

And how can teens become the characters they love so much? Hair? Kinda but that’s only part of the character and less recognizable. Wardrobe? Designer clothes are too expensive and not accessible. Makeup? YES! I think that’s why the show went so viral and changed TV history. The kids have access to so much makeup these days and when they connected to a character and wanted to BE them they used makeup to do so.

When Donni emailed me a week after my interview and invited me to join her team I truly could not believe it.

I’d love to hear about the pace of the schedule. How you would film – one episode at a time, or if you would ever block shoot?

Euphoria was the hardest thing I have ever done and also the most rewarding.

I feel like everyone knows it’s such a hard show to shoot. Yes, we would block shoot. Many Mondays would start at 5 am and Saturdays we would wrap at 6 am, hardly leaving you a weekend.

We shot for 9 months which is also insane.

Nothing like that comes easy. We had such a great team. Donni Davy as the Makeup Designer and Department Head. Tara Lang Shah as the Assistant DH and then lil ol gay me.

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Wow – just the three of you. Incredible! How did the shooting schedule challenge you in terms of the makeup?

For beauty makeup in tv/film, I feel like most makeup artists take about 45 min to an hour for a natural look.

We were doing 2-2.5 hour beauty makeups multiple times a day. Towards the end when we were filming the play, Donni was 3 months pregnant and we were on our feet banging out look after look for the play girls to the main cast from 7 am to sometimes 8 pm without stopping.

Tara was on set with her character, Maude Apatow aka Lexi since she was running the play so it was up to Donni and me to get the rest through.

We had some incredible day players to help us through and I am forever grateful because at times it truly seemed impossible.

I maybe had one mental breakdown but that’s a secret I’ll never tell. Ha! Just joking! xoxo

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Ha! Oh boy. 2 – 2.5hr beauty makeups!

I can only relate that to prosthetic makeup application times. And I’m happy to hear they gave you that amount of time for the looks. I suspect a lot of shows wouldn’t.

Yeah, and before the play, the biggest challenge I had was doing any changeovers on my character, Alexa Demie aka Maddy, since her makeup took the longest.

I remember one day I was on set with her from 11:30 am until 6:30 am the next day and we had 4 makeup changes that day.

I almost collapsed LOL. Luckily I had Donni to help me tag-team her changeovers.

Other than that, night shoots didn’t bother me too much. We actually had a lot of fun together.

Okay, so you took care of Maddy/Alexa on the show, who else would take care of?

When I first interviewed with Euphoria Makeup Department Head Donni Davy she told me I would be doing Alexa Demie aka Maddy and Barbie Ferreira aka Kat.

I tried to keep it professional but on the inside, I was freaking out! Those were my favorite two characters! Barbie is also my twin!!

I was also in charge of another season favorite, Chloe Cherry aka Faye. Everyone was so incredible and sweet and brought so much to the table.

As cheesy as it sounds, It was a dream come true.

How are the character makeup looks designed? Do you basically come up with the characters that you make up – or does Donni come up with everyone’s looks and then you have to recreate them?

When S2 began, we loaded into the trailer on my birthday (how crazy!!) and had a week off between the makeup test day and the actual first day of filming.

During that week I would spend 12 hours, sometimes longer, in the trailer by myself testing looks and sending them to Donni.

I really wanted to get a feel for my characters before starting the show because I knew all eyes would be on the makeup and I didn’t want to disappoint Donni.

During this week we found some cool ideas and color combos for some characters and Donni also put together look books and mood boards for each character which inspired me so much.

As soon as filming began, I quickly realized my girls would come in with incredible ideas for their characters, and Donni and I LOVED them!

For example, Alexa would come in the trailer and be like, “I feel like this should be a purple lavender eye but I can’t really explain it.”

I would then proceed to swatch every single purple eyeshadow in our Sephoria makeup trailer and suggest different textures or lip combos that would go well with the look.

Donni and I would also test so many looks on each other during our downtime for certain moments in the script and then show Alexa.

It was truly an endless collaboration between us and the actors all season.

I was so impressed that Alexa and Barbie had such a vision for their characters, it made everything much more fun and also challenging.

We had to be prepared for anything and everything. Personally, thats when I am able to create my best work.

I learned quickly that less is more. And that every little detail even down to the tiniest glitter has a meaning and a purpose. I would swoon over Donni’s Instagram character breakdowns from Season 1. They were so interesting and the way she designs makeup looks is so incredible.

She doesn’t do anything because it’s “pretty” or “looks cool”. Everything has a purpose.

I also learned how sharp eyeliner could be by watching her add finishing touches on Alexa before sending her to set.

I truly became a much better artist during this 9 month makeup boot camp.

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What was the most challenging look to come up with on the show? Why?

For me personally, it was Alexa’s NYE look.

There was so much pressure since this was the first time in 2 years that we would be seeing a fan favorite on camera again. And the look had to be perfect and meaningful.

Alexa always wanted straight eyeliner. Donni suggested something silver and since it was NYE, I wanted it to be sparkly as hell.

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I tested out a bunch of different eyeliner looks with a glittery silver eyeshadow and showed them to Alexa. She picked her fav one and from there we built the rest of the character together.

It was such a crazy moment for me because I was such a fan of the show Season 1 and here I was with an iconic makeup team with THE makeup girl of the show creating looks.

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Watching Donni add her finishing touches to the look and make the eyeliner the sharpest liner in tv history really taught me so much.

I never knew eyeliner could be so sharp from every angle!

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Speaking of eyeliner, I have to ask you about products. Was there the luxury of testing and trialing palettes, products, or new things before creating a look? I know I’ve discussed the Byredo Prismatic Palette (swoon) with you online before…

We had an entire 6 station makeup trailer entirely filled with mostly beauty products.

I think it was Tara Lang Shah who came in and was like, “This is SEPHORIA!” We screamed and never looked back. If only that trailer could talk.

Donni has the largest makeup kit I have ever seen.

It was every makeup artist’s dream come true. I had every brand I could have ever wanted to try. From simple everyday things to expensive high-end lux products.

It was overwhelming but I was nerding out so hard.

I have expanded my knowledge of products and brands from any color to any texture. It was an absolute dream. If we were curious about a product and we didn’t have it, I would email the brand and request 3 of whatever we wanted and every brand would send.

We were able to meet every actor’s needs who came through the trailer. If anyone came in with a very specific brand and color we most definitely had it.

That truly sounds like a dream. That being said, did you come to rely on any one specific product at all?

Every situation was different. Every look was different. We would even switch up the product if we didn’t feel it worked the last time.

Everything was constantly changing.

The one thing I loved was using my beloved Face Atelier Foundation, as well as Chantecaille Future Skin Foundation and Shiseido Synchro Skin Foundation. Talk about a GLOW!!

Great coverage but doesn’t feel or look like they’re wearing any foundation. And since our director wanted actual no foundation looks, we had to make it look like they weren’t wearing any.

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Brilliant! Well, job well done. I’d love to hear about the entire makeup department and who did who.

Donni Davy – Makeup Designer/Department Head

• Rue
• Jules
• Cassie
• Cal
• Kitty
• Hallie
• Ali
• Ashtray

Tara Lang Shah – Makeup Assistant Department Head

• Lexi
• Nate
• Elliot
• Fezco
• Suze
• Samantha
• Leslie
• Custer

Alexandra French – Makeup Artist

• Maddy
• Kat
• Faye
• Gia
• Marta
• Luna
• McKay

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Absolutely incredible. I hope you had a rest when you wrapped! And so what are you up to these days?

Because of the success of Euphoria S2, my life has completely changed.

I was able to sign with an agency, work with all of my dream clients, and best of all be hired for my style.

I am given the freedom to “do my thing” on makeup campaigns and it’s so refreshing.

Although I do love movie making and storytelling, I am taking a step back to work more in fashion with celebs and brands.

I think starting in film and understanding how to build a character has made me a much better, also more creative, beauty artist.

I always try to build the look based on a character or back story and not just because it “looks pretty”.

I learned how to refine those specific skills by watching Donni Davy build characters for Euphoria. I can’t stress enough how lucky I feel that she trusted me with such an incredible opportunity. She really gave me the chance to bring something to the table, be myself, and also grow tremendously as an artist in just 9 months.

Hopefully, the viral success of Euphoria will allow the film and tv world to be more adventurous with beauty makeup and encourage artists to want to take more risks. Because fuck it!! We are making art.

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Love it. Well, I always knew you did exquisite makeup and can I say “I knew you before you did Euphoria?” (Ha!)

I have been a fan of your more avante garde editorial work and creative eye for many years now.

What’s in store for your future?

I am hoping to continue to juggle both worlds, fashion and tv/film.

I am hoping more department heads will take note of our work and want to have us on their team!

I feel like there is so much more I want to learn and discover with tv/film.

But honestly just taking it one day at a time and trying to have fun while doing it!

What’s your dream job (if it wasn’t Euphoria?)

After Season 1, all I talked about whenever anyone asked me this question was Euphoria.

On my film and tv bucket list, I would love to help design a cool marvel-like character, I feel like there’s lots of room for a cool fashion vibe.

I truly just want to have fun. As a kid, I always wanted to be a painter and I hope 10-year-old Alex would be proud of 30-year-old Alex today!

I’m sure she certainly would. Thank you so much for sharing your incredible stories and insight with us, Alex. And congratulations!

I hope you enjoyed this interview with the extraordinarily talented and lovely Alexandra French as much as I did. Check out her vibrant and exquisite work on her IG page right here.

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Tell your friends, tell your fellow makeup artists and makeup aficionados alike!

I love it when you share my posts – especially ones as exciting as this bonza chat with Alex. So feel free to share by scrolling down on your smartphone.
Scroll up to the top on your computers and clicking on the little icons to share by email, and social media.

*To flip basically means that a non-union production gets signed onto an IATSE deal whilst in the middle of production. For all non-union-hired artists on said productions, it is essentially the “golden ticket” to begin the process of applying and getting into your Local, and for Alex, the highly sought after Local 706 for hairstylists and makeup artists.

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The post The Iconic Makeup of Euphoria appeared first on The Makeup Refinery.

Her passion and enthusiasm for her craft are nothing short of infectious. Together we explore art history, her favorite sculptors – past and present, and all things in the technical realm that is to sculpt in fx makeup. Including how it feels to be one of only a few women to ever grace the highly coveted sculpting room.

So, join me as we catch up with Savannah, and I hope her dedication and true passion for art and sculpture rubs off on you as much as it did me.

Hi Savannah, thank you first of all for joining us for this interview. I would like to get straight into it by asking you about your childhood. Was it creative?

Yes, my childhood was very creative.  

I grew up in British Columbia, Canada, and actually one of my very earliest memories is of making art.

Finger painting, in fact, at our little house’s dining room table facing the back porch. There was always Playdough around to mess with and crayons and markers.

I began drawing when I was very young. For as long as I can remember, family members, and my parents, most of all, were encouraging me to keep drawing and making art. So I’ve identified with art and being an artist in some form pretty well all of my life.  

I am not sure if any particular moment stands out to me, apart from making drawings and making art throughout my life.

I always knew I would do something with it, just not always exactly sure what.  

How did you get started in makeup effects and movie work?

I attended Blanche MacDonald Center in Vancouver, BC. I was straight out of high school, and I took their full-time makeup diploma program.  

I always thought working on movies must be the coolest job in the world, and so I left there with a mission to get myself on set, not knowing exactly how to go about that.

Blanche MacDonald, at the time, did not offer any instruction in makeup effects other than bald cap application and out of kit type applications. I also took a brief special makeup effects course after graduating from Blanche MacDonald as I knew I definitely wanted to specialize in prosthetic and character makeups.

That was where I learned life casting, mold making, foam, and silicone running – the more specialized technical aspect of makeup effects. This is also where I tried my hand at sculpting for the first time.  

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That sounds like a solid training ground for a well-rounded education and introduction. What was your first job in makeup/makeup effects?

My very first paid film makeup job was on set for an independent film called Desperate Hours with Tom Berenger.

 It was wild!

I remember being so nervous as I drove to set for my first day. I felt so green and unprepared. And I had no idea how I was going to pull it off!

I managed to get hold of myself, and to walk into that makeup trailer for the first time was one of the most exciting experiences I’d had.

The job went great and I was completely hooked.

I began working on more independent films after that. I was able to get into the Vancouver film union, which I was in for five years. And at that point, I moved to Los Angeles.  

While I was in the union in Canada, I was able to work on some great tv shows and films.

After I moved to LA, I started working for Steve Prouty at his Fusion FX shop after sending him a random “Hey, I wanna work for you!” message on Instagram.  

This was one of the most – if not the single, most valuable learning and working experiences of my life.

Not only did I learn so much, but Steve also trusted me with some great opportunities to get my feet wet with sculpting professionally.

And for that, I am eternally grateful. 

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I’m always intrigued at how and why certain niche jobs in film making are male-dominated or female-dominated. Why do you think sculpting has been something a boys club for so long?

Now, this is a question that interests me very much as well. I don’t know if there is one straight answer, and I’m still kind of figuring it out myself.

Lately I’ve been asking a lot of people what their take is on this also.

It’s difficult to discuss this topic without making broad generalizations but, here we go!

There have been women sculptors in makeup shops over the years. But there are definitely few and far between in comparison to their male counterparts.

Of course, it has nothing to do with ability or potential because women are just as capable. Many female sculptors in the fine art world can attest to that – like Barbara Hepworth, Joanna M Allen, Phyllida Barlow, Malvina Hoffman.

The list goes on.

I think it’s probably due to a few different factors.  

One is that there simply aren’t many examples of female sculptors in film for aspiring female artists to look to or be inspired by. Even the ones that have been doing it, it’s not always easy to find examples of their work. They’re just not mentioned often and you kind of have to already know they exist, as you likely won’t happen upon them by accident.  

And whether they’ve been left out of their share of the glory intentionally or by mere accident, I have no idea.

I only learned of Linda Frobos and Carol Koch by word of mouth from my co-workers who had worked with them. Despite both of them having very long and successful careers.

The majority of successful women in makeup effects, it seems, tend to work on set and not in the shops.

 
Another reason – I think this is actually a significant one (although this is a huge generalization!) is the way women tend to get into the industry versus the way men do.  

Men seem to be much more comfortable with learning from home.

Making and trying and creating on their own, and submitting a portfolio based on that work.

On the other hand, women seem to like learning by attending makeup schools.

This is great but significantly more expensive and still doesn’t guarantee any job placement afterward.  

The schools really don’t focus on shop work. Even though they may cover some of it, the focus is more on finding work on set than in a shop.  

And if a school does cover lessons on how to sculpt in makeup fx, it’s incredibly brief compared to the time it takes to become proficient.  So you basically have enough time to try it, making something that looks nothing like a Steve Wang sculpture, and feels like it’s simply not for you!  

If you look at the makeup schools, their attendance seems to sway with a vast majority of female students. Yet the people who work in shops seem to be 90% men. This is certainly more than accurate in the sculpting room.  

And sculpture really is an art that requires self-instruction.  

Yes, you can and should take workshops and learn from someone great at it. And that is incredibly necessary and valuable. But the real progress comes from sitting down at your desk and putting your hands on the clay, from the inevitable frustrations that come as you attempt to teach yourself this new language of creating in three dimensions.  

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That’s one thing I would really love women who are interested in sculpture to know. It is very much like learning a language in my mind.  

You can’t expect to sit down for the first time and be fluent in sculpting. The same way that you can’t take one class of French lessons and expect to have a fluent conversation with a Parisian.  

Your mind really needs to go through a learning process with sculpture.

You need to teach your eyes to see.

It’s arduous and frustrating and joyful because of that.

The payoff is immense when you see it finally start to click. But it takes determination – even sheer stubbornness.  

You have to really love it.  And if you’re not willing to put in the time to sharpen your skills, maybe you don’t love it as much as you’d like to.  

Sculpture is not typically an entry-level position. You don’t really get to walk in and “try it” in most cases.  You usually need to show up on day 1 ready to bust out good work and do it very quickly.  And you have to keep up with the artists that have been doing it already for years.  

Personally, I have never met any kind of resistance or lack of opportunity in the industry just because I’m female.

I worked really hard at trying to get good work into my portfolio before I showed it and it seems to have paid off so far.  Truly I think a lot of the shop owners love to see women who want to sculpt and work hard to do it well. So I don’t know if any kind of resistance or exclusion is a factor in sculpture being male-dominated, at least in my limited experience of very recent years.

I don’t know what it was like 10 or 20 years ago; if that may have been a factor because this topic is still such an enigma to me, I’d have to meet another woman sculptor to find out finally!

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Tell us how it is being one of only a handful of female sculptors in town. 

Well, it is an interesting experience, to say the least!  

To be totally honest, the fact that the sculpting departments in makeup fx are almost all men never even really occurred to me before or even while I was attempting to become a sculptor.

I actually don’t think I even really became conscious of that fact at all until I was already doing sculpture work and someone else pointed it out.

For me, it was simple – I love sculpture. I love to sculpt, and I wanted to do it, and so I kept that as my aim and worked towards it.  

I was such a tomboy growing up, so things that boys liked to do vs. what girls liked to do never carried much weight in my mind. This also meant that I’ve never been really felt the need for a female role model to follow. This is funny because in recent days, I’ve become so inspired and in awe of the many female sculptors I keep finding out about and have been on a mission lately to learn more about them.

Also, always identifying as an artist from an early age meant that I really didn’t take note of male dominance as a roadblock. Because it’s always been part of who I am, never because I was or wasn’t female.

Art never seemed like a male vs. female thing at all in my mind.

Also, I think the fact that I’m an introvert who’s learned to be extroverted means that I had no problem sitting at home on my own practicing sculpture, which is vital to learning it of course.

So far in the industry, however, I’ve been incredibly lucky.

The men I do work with in the sculpting room are some of the most wonderful and lovely people I’ve met in my life. They could not have been more welcoming and supportive when I began working at KNB FX Group.  

And who knows? As I’ve also really only been sculpting professionally full-time for just over two years now. So maybe there will be challenges down the road when it comes to being a woman and making sure I can continue to do the work I want to do and be valued for it properly, but I’ve had a very fortunate beginning.  

I hope not. I only see the path being paved stronger with each passing year.

I love being a woman, I am so proud of it, but I also hope that in my career, I will be able to be known as just a great sculptor as opposed to a great female sculptor in makeup fx.  I don’t think that distinction is ever really necessary, the work should stand apart.

Agreed. I feel exactly the same when it comes to working as a make-up effects artist.

Do you like to apply makeup as well?

I love to apply makeup!  

And I believe it’s really important to have some experience in if you want to sculpt makeup prosthetics and for makeup fx in general(duh).  

I still love the excitement and energy of being on set and doing an application, working within a whole team of talented people with the same goal. And I miss it a lot sometimes.

That whole team-oriented experience is just one of the coolest things to me, and I really enjoyed not only the application work but the lifestyle and social aspect of set work as well.

Application is a very different beast than sculpture and requires a definite mind shift and skill set. One I need to make sure doesn’t get too rusty since I sculpt full time these days!

Applying a makeup is incredibly rewarding because it is a real challenge and so much fun when you get it figured out.  

Where do you see yourself in 5 years?

That’s a great question. I definitely want to continue with the path I’m on with sculpture. To sculpt full-time in makeup fx and film and also working on my own projects on the side.

As I mentioned, I’ve really only been sculpting professionally and full-time for just over two years now. I have a great desire to push myself and to keep building my skill set. I still have so far to go in regards to where I’d like to be skill-wise.

I’m excited to just be beginning my career in film because I feel like there is so much work to be done ahead of me. I am so passionate about sculpture, I just love it so much I could talk about it all day.

I listen to sculpture podcasts while I sculpt at work, then I come home and watch videos on Contrapposto in the tub, haha!

My goals are really not to slow down. To keep improving and to hopefully, one day, be respected for the work I do among my peers.

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I love figurative work and would like to keep exploring that in a conceptual way as well outside of film, more for myself and to see what would come of it.

Also, just on a knowledge level, I’m currently learning a lot about the history of sculpture – all of the different eras and the great artists. The art movements that have come before – so I’m excited to keep learning more about it academically.

As far as in specifically, 5 years, I’m not sure exactly at the moment. Perhaps my trajectory will continue to shift as I find my place in the sculpture world. Who knows, I’m open!

Do you have a single inspirational figure?

I don’t know if I have just one because there are so many artists to look up to in so many different styles and times. I think a current day inspiration for me is Joanna M Allen. She is a figurative and conceptual artist from the UK, and her work sings to me.

Listening to how she thinks about sculpture in conversation and her working process really resonates with me as well.

Oh Joanna’s work is incredible! It’s so raw and energetic, yet still so polished in likeness.

Who are some sculptors you draw upon for inspiration?

Sculptors from the film industry who I adore are ones like Josh Weston and Sebastian Lochmann, Barrie Gower, Mark Coulier. Their work is just stunning!

I stare at their sculptures over and over again for hours. I get so much inspiration from what they do. It’s incredibly frustrating as well because I just want to figure out how they do what they do so well, haha.

Another notable favorite is Jose Fernandez. His forms are so powerful and his body of work is so strong.

The works of Kevin Yagher, Kazu Hiro, Mike Marino, and Arjen Tuiten are out of this world. Their sculptures and makeup works are all totally flawless. It’s mind-boggling.

There are so, so many incredible artists I could name.

We are so fortunate these days to have such instant and easy access to everything they do. Instagram is a complete treasure trove of drool-worthy inspiration and instruction.

Absolutely. And you have mentioned so many insanely brilliant artists.

Do you like to sculpt in a certain style? 

I’ve always been in love with human anatomy, drawing/sculpting faces, and bodies.

As a kid, my sketchbooks were full of faces. So I love working on makeups like aging makeup looks, weight gain/loss, that sort of thing. Anything with a lot of fleshiness to it.

Also, makeups that are really character-driven and that require a strong, individual look. Things such as likeness makeups.

I’m not sure if that’s a particular style, but when I sculpt I really try to focus mostly on the large forms and save detail as the icing on the cake.

I believe you shouldn’t have to add a bunch of detail to your sculpture to make it look like something. You should already be able to know its character just from the primary forms you lay down. The silhouette is paramount. Knowing it from across a room (or in our case, usually very dark lighting and a wide-angle).

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What’s your favorite era when it comes to sculpture and art in general?

Oh man, don’t think I can pick one!

And I’m currently still learning so much about the past, so maybe I’ll pick a favorite one day. But for now, I am in love with the work of Bernini, who was Baroque. I’m not sure I know a sculptor who isn’t.

Houdon who was Neoclassical and Alfred Gilbert who was I think what is called The New Sculpture Movement.

I also love a lot of contemporary figurative art as well.

It’s hard to say one era, but anything that is strongly rooted in the figurative (which covers almost all eras, haha, except very recent art history).

And I love a lot of abstract sculpture. Working in space, light, and form, like Barbara Hepworth and Phyllida Barlow.

You do have an almost infectious passion for portrait work for sure!

On a slightly different tangent, tell me some of your favorite movies/tv-shows?

My favorite movie is probably Altered States.

And my favorite tv show is probably the first season of True Detective. All the seasons of Game of Thrones. All of the beautiful prosthetic work and sculptures in Game of Thrones.

As for films that are out recently, I absolutely love Luca Guadagnino’s films. He did Call Me By Your Name and the remake of Suspiria, I can’t seem to get sick of either film.

I also of course love the original Suspiria by Dario Argento.

All the makeups in the remake of Suspiria kill me – especially the aging/gender swap look on Tilda Swinton by Mark Coulier’s team. It’s magnificent!

But for other all-time favorites, I have to say The Hunger, When Harry Met Sally, Jurassic Park, Alien, and The LOTR trilogy.

That’s quite a diverse list!

If there were one character you would dream of designing and sculpting, who would it be? Why?

Oh man, that’s a tough question. So many!

I think I would absolutely love to one day create a makeup like the Churchill one Kazu Hiro did on Gary Oldman for The Darkest Hour.

A likeness and a weight gain combo with aging is kind of a dream for me and would be such a massive challenge. Especially one where you really get to go through the entire process. To do extensive makeup tests, and try to get things right sounds so exciting.  

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Absolutely. To be able to actually resolve challenges and technical issues in the building stage instead of just work with them is quite a dream for most jobs.

Also, a show with character/fantasy makeups like the ones done for Game of Thrones or Harry Potter would be so much fun. There’s this giant that was done for Game of Thrones that absolutely kills me! And the goblins in Harry Potter are some of my all-time favorite character/fantasy makeups.  

Have you ever had a project turn out not how you envisioned?

I mean, I guess this kind of thing happens all the time to some extent.

The thing about sculpting for film and makeup fx is that we often have so little time to work with.

You really have to make judgments on what the important shapes are very quickly. And what you start with is usually what you’re stuck with.

Also, much of the time you’re sculpting something that you’ve never sculpted before! For example, maybe I’ve never practiced sculpting a horse on my own before but I show up at work one day and find out I need to sculpt a horse head in like, three days. You kind of just say a prayer, hope for the best and go to town.

And even though you get the job done because you have to, there are sometimes certain sculpts you wish you’d done better or that don’t turn out as well as you hoped. But you do your best, sweat it out, and move on to the next thing.

I’m pretty self-critical so there’s usually a lot of things I wish I’d done better on all of my sculpts. But at the end of the day, if it gets approved and used then you can’t be too bent out of shape.

You just use what you didn’t like to try and make the next one better, every single time.

Dick Smith once told me that he was never happy with anything he had done in his career. And that put me at ease – this is something I see in so many brilliant artists.

In the past, I have observed that certain sculptors are gifted at likeness sculpting. Others are better at creature work. Where do you see yourself? Do you have a certain aspect that comes more naturally to you or that you enjoy the most?

I am certainly more in my wheelhouse when it comes to likenesses, aging, character, that sort of thing.  

Although I love human bodies and faces. I’m probably more comfortable with them since I’ve loved drawing them since I was young.

I also see them as an eternal challenge because the human body is so complex and varies so greatly. It will never not be exciting to me.

However, I absolutely love the creature work as well. It’s so much fun. I’ve been trying to focus on it more in order to have more ideas and banks of patterns. Forms in my brain to draw upon when doing creature work.

I’m lucky to work with guys like Dave Grasso, who is so gifted at creature design. It comes so naturally to him, and he’s a wonderful person to learn from.

I know we touched on this earlier, but how important do you think it is to actually be able to apply prosthetic makeups, or for that matter have experience in mold-making, painting, running pieces as well?

I think that having knowledge in every single step of the process is vital if you’re going to be involved in sculpting prosthetic makeup designs.

Every project we do is so customized, and each thing is different from the last. There are just too many steps involved to be able to do the work without having a working understanding of them.

I was fortunate to learn all these steps from Steve Prouty, who is not only a talented artist but brilliant in the way he designs makeups and thinks them all the way through from life cast to application.

My technical knowledge is still nowhere near his. But he taught me so much and prepared me for what I get to work on every day now.  If you’re reading this and want a first-rate education, ask if he’s hiring interns!

What is your favorite medium to sculpt in?

Right now because I primarily sculpt for film, my favorite is probably the Chavant Monumelt. It’s nice and creamy for creating soft, fleshy forms.

I also prefer the color of it to the Red NSP. Although I often use that clay for certain projects as well.

I actually have a tube of Herbin Plasteline from France. I’ve been dying to break into it as well but haven’t tried it yet. I’m anxious to see how it feels, as so many sculptors in Europe and the UK do stunning work with it.

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And what about tools? Is there one sculpting tool that you can’t live without?

Yes! I have many I’m desperately attached to, but my absolute favorite is the Kemper Tools Loop Tool #D10. I’ve dremelled notches into it to make it a rake. Once I switch from sculpting with my hands to using a tool, it’s pretty much only that one all the time! Until I get it to the point where I’m adding skin texture, which I have 4 or 5 favorite tools for.  But I think I’d die if I didn’t have that Kemper D10!

Okay, we’ve talked about sculpting just a little. What else are you passionate about outside of your work?

Can I say sculpture??

Haha, well besides that I really do love film. I love books. I’m usually reading 5 or 6 different ones at once.

I love music and am particularly missing seeing live shows right now. I am so excited for when the world gets healthy and safe, and we can all jump and dance around to a live band again.

I also have such a passion for travel and I’ve done very little of it since I’ve been very career-focused for my adult life so that is something I really want to plan for in the near future.

I’d love to do a sculpture tour around Europe and the UK at some point.  I’m also in love with the ocean. Just being around it, near it, it has such raw energy and the light is so different when you’re close to the water and I love that.

I’m particularly passionate about the larger world of art at the moment. In history and present-day, and am having a really great time learning more about it currently.

I think something else I’d like to emphasize is that I really would love to see more women in sculpting rooms in the makeup fx world.  

And I love to talk about how challenging sculpture is, not to discourage new women sculptors, but actually to ignite a fire and encourage them!  

What really gets me about sculpture and why I prefer it now to drawing or painting is because it’s so visceral, and it’s difficult and such a wonderful challenge to take on.

It really is joyful for me and I hope that other women get that it is so worth the effort it requires, and that the effort is a beautiful gift unto itself.  

And contrary to many opinions, it’s not just about talent.  

Talent servers only to get you off the starting block faster if you have it, but it’s the desire, discipline, and passion for it that will begin to form a fulfilling career for you.

Thanks so much Savannah, this has been an absolute pleasure, and I wish you all the success in the world!

All images courtesy of Savannah Koningen

The post To Sculpt in Makeup FX – Not Entirely a Man’s World appeared first on The Makeup Refinery.

This movie has single-handedly re-ignited my love for movie-makeup and fantasy characters, after what seems like the longest of times. It is nominated for its delicious makeup and hair work at the Oscars this year.

So, to celebrate the work of Mark Coulier and his team of talented artists, sculptors, mold-makers, silicon runner, seamers, painters, and hair-technicians and makeup artists, I took a moment to chat with English movie-makeup artist and Oscar nominee in his own right, the one and only Duncan Jarman. Duncan was involved with the sculpting of a few of the key characters in Pinocchio, but we shall get to that in a bit.

Hi Duncan, first of all, thank you so much for taking the time to talk today!

I have been a big fan of your work for so long, and I have many questions about your impeccable career.

So let’s get to it!

I want to start by asking what’s been the single most challenging makeup you have had to tackle in your career as a movie makeup artist?

I think, like a lot of makeup artists, there have been tricky deadlines, difficult actors, and ridiculous budgets.

But I’m going to be really boring here and give you a very short answer and say the current job I’m working on for BGFX.

Barrie and Sarah Gower have a number of projects going on, and I can’t comment on any of them, but they are cool! I have signed an NDA, so can say anything about it, but hopefully in about a year come back to me and I can answer that question in full!

Tell me about your childhood. Was there a single moment that you discovered your love of makeup?

I was born in 1969. In a time before VHS videos and the internet.

I would watch Gerry Anderson’s tv shows – especially Captain Scarlet and UFO and Space 1999. Also, the Planet of the Apes tv series.

On my birthday, my dad would hire super 8 movies and project them at home for me and my friends. There would be Tom and Gerry cartoons but also short edited versions of the universal monsters movies.

I loved making model kits, which included the Aurora monster kits, and I got the Dick Smith monster makeup kit one Christmas.

My parents would take me to the cinema. I saw Jaws, Star Wars, King Kong 1974, Close Encounters. Me and my brother would go to Saturday movie club at our local cinema.

I was very much obsessed with the comic 2000AD and would constantly copy the illustrations. So I went to art college intending to be a graphic designer or comic book artist. 

The real “Eureka” moment was seeing Hellraiser at the cinema. I was blown away by the design of the cenobites and the fact that they were created in North West London. And by a U.K.-based makeup effects company and made not far from where I live.

The next day I went to the college library and took out the book, Making a Monster by Al Taylor and Sue Roy, with Dr. Zaius on the front cover. I read it cover to cover. I knew then that this was the career I was going to take. 

Nowadays, it’s commonplace for the bigger effects shows to be quite compartmentalized in the various creative production stages. Yet you still seem to be involved in a lot of the physical designing of characters in makeup.

Is this part and parcel when you are negotiating your projects? Do you prefer applying makeups that you have sculpted as well?

I started as a bedroom boy. I would read Fangoria, Cinefatastique, Cinefex and copy what I saw.

Sculpting, molding in my bedroom, running foam latex in my mum’s oven at night when she wasn’t using it.

I was making low-budget horror movies with my friends. We would all act in them and I would do the makeup effects.

I spent many years working at Bob Keen’s Image Animation. Everyone that worked there was like me in the fact that they all did a bit of everything.

I’ve been exceptionally lucky to hone my skills by being taught techniques by Mark Coulier, Daniel Parker and David White.

All of this made me realise what constitutes a good and a bad prosthetic, and the reasons why they’re good or bad. Having been burned many times over the years – turning up for an early call, only to be handed some shockingly bad appliances.

I realised that it’s best to apply prosthetics that you have seen all the way through from sculpting, molding, through to application.

I’m very lucky now that I work for companies that feel the same as I do, so it’s now not an issue.

When I read the makeup credits of Nick Willing’s Alice in Wonderland that you were involved with, it reads like a who’s who of today’s British Makeup Effects leaders. You all must’ve been fairly young and it early on in your careers then.

Can you tell me a bit about the project?

Annie Spears, a fantastic makeup artist, was the designer. She made the ballsy decision to put prosthetics on pretty much the whole cast.

Gorton and Painter (an early company of Neil Gorton’s) were employed to produce a lot of the prosthetics, along with Mark Coulier, David White, and the Jim Henson company.

I worked for Gorton and Painter. I was doing lifecasts, sculpting appliances, and making molds.

Annie wanted someone to work with her applying on some of the main cast, and I was very lucky that she chose me.

Hallmark always managed to get the best actors in their shows. So I got to work with Ben Kingsley, Christopher Lloyd, Gene Wilder, Ken Dodd, Sheila Hancock, and Liz Smith. Applying these cool designs and working with your mates. It was a great project.

You also work on a lot of projects that seem to take you far away from your home country. On the surface this sounds glamorous and exciting. But as we know, once you land, the true challenges begin. 

Would you mind telling us about some of the more remote locations you’ve filmed at and how you manage the unexpected challenges and spontaneous curveballs that tend to be thrown when you’re not in a major city, with the makeup supply shop down the road?

In my younger days, I was very fortunate to travel to New Zealand, Canada, United States, South America, South Africa, Morroco, Turkey. All over Europe and Eastern Europe.

But working in Northern Thailand on a lesser-known Angelina Jolie movie called Beyond Borders comes to mind. Martin Campbell directed it. The film was set in Cambodia but used remote locations about 2 hours north of Chang Mai in Northern Thailand.

We had minimal materials with us. I can remember driving around the nearest big town with a handful of US dollars looking for materials. We managed to find dental plaster, alginate, molding silicone, fiberglass, resin, polyfoam, wet clay, and clear silicone caulking.

The director wanted to see actor Clive Owen hit in the face with a metal car aerial and have a red cut appear on his cheek in-shot without a cutaway.

I remembered the Dick Smith gag from The Godfather where James Caan gets shot in the face, and to reveal the wounds, he covered them with flesh tone latex patches attached to the fishing line gently attached to the actor’s skin. He pulled them off one by one to reveal the gunshots. 

We used the same technique. I glued the latex strip over a painted-on scar on Clive’s cheek.

On a muddy hillside in the Thai jungle, actor Burt Kwouk swung the car aerial at Clive Owen while Darren Robinson (legend makeup effects guy) tugged the fishing wire it snapped, leaving the latex cover still on his face.

Take two.

I have to stick the fishing line back onto the latex cover, which is on Clive’s face with superglue, which is like a surgical procedure, in front of the whole crew and director. Luckily on take two, everyone hit their marks, the latex pulled off, cut revealed!

Moving on, Martin Campbell shouts, “Well done you c..ts, now get off my fucking set!”

if you have worked with him before you will know that’s high praise indeed!

Wow, that’s quite a compliment!!

Now tell me about working with Leonardo DiCaprio. You have quite the history at this point. How did your working with Leonardo begin? 

It’s all down to one person, Sian Grigg – Leo’s personal.

Many years ago, one summer, we worked together on an awful sci-fi game show called Scavengers.

At the end of that job she said she was off to Mexico to work on a film about the Titanic.

Sian went on to become Leo’s personal after that. I made some scars for her on Gangs of New York, and met again making stuff for The Beach for Mark Coulier.

But it wasn’t till Aviator that I really started to produce prosthetics for him.

It has always been Sian that has hired me. One of the reasons being that she physically likes to see the prosthetic sculpts before molding. And we usually do makeup tests on a double before going to a shoot. And it helps that we’re all in the same country for that.

I must check out “Scavengers”!

That’s a very interesting progression. Tell me more about the pros and cons of being a “personal” prosthetic artist. 

I would have to say that you have to be on your a game constantly and always prepared for every eventuality.

When you’re working on the main star of a show, I’m very aware that it’s their face that’s selling the movie. So whatever you’re doing has to be perfect.

The hours are always a plus. The artist is never kept waiting around, your work is always seen, and very rarely will a producer break a turnaround.

The Revenant filmed in chilly Canada. How did the weather affect the appliances, or any makeup/materials?

For instance, I recall working through a European winter, and our 244 bottles froze each night. Did it provide challenges that we take for granted when not working in freezing conditions?

Weirdly there weren’t that many problems. If anything, it was better for adhesion as we shot the entire film outside. There was zero chance of sweat attacking the appliances because it was so cold.

We always kept our makeup trailer warm, apart from one day when the heaters weren’t working. It got so cold our boots were freezing to the floor.

You couldn’t leave prosaide in your onset bag as it would freeze solid during the day. So I would keep it warm in my coat pocket.

Blood was always an issue. Because many of the wounds were on Leo’s body, and to reveal them for the shot, we had to take off all the warm weather gear and then get it quickly back on again between takes.

The blood was sticky and cold. And the post-bear attack scene, we had 6 blood pumps on him. It was a logistical nightmare.

Congratulations on your Oscar nomination for your work on The Revenant. It was incredible, and I suspect it was a challenging shooting experience. Your accolades are very well deserved!

How did the pandemic in 2020 affect the film industry in general, and more specifically makeup artists in the UK? 

Did you take up any creative projects during the year? I would love to hear how you utilized your time (or perhaps you took a complete departure from all of this?)

I had been at BGFX for quite a while and we were right in the middle of several projects when the pandemic hit.

Luckily the projects were happy for us to continue the build. I took some sculpts back home to my shop to continue on them whilst the workshop was closed.

Also, my friend Alex Harper had just set up his mask-making company – Crypt Studios. So I was sculpting zombie masks for him. When it came down to sculpting, which on the whole is a solitary pursuit, I managed to keep myself quite busy.

In regards to applying makeups on set, Jurassic World was the first movie back to work in the U.K. and everyone was watching to see how that worked out, funnily enough Sian Grigg was the designer.

Luckily, it went well. After that, we were back working on set with Edgar Wright’s Last Night in Soho.

Followed quite quickly by The Witcher.

It was a slow start, and it is difficult to work with masks, visors, and plastic aprons.

But I think everyone is very aware of how easily a production can get closed down because of a COVID outbreak. The whole crew is exceptionally on the ball with the regulations as everyone wants to keep working and earning.

Absolutely. It’s not easy. We lose so much of how we communicate when covered over, it is all something of a new challenge, indeed. A new way to gain trust and expression.

I have to ask you about Pinocchio. I’m quite taken with it. And all of the makeup work and creature designs and executions are perfect, in my opinion.

I haven’t been this excited about a fantasy/fairytale movie in a long time.

What was your involvement on the show?

Mark Coulier was the Prosthetics Designer for the show. He gave me the Gorilla Judge, as he knows I love monkey makeups.

It was an interesting one to sculpt as it was the first time I had sculpted on a 3D print instead of the traditional lifecast.

Because the eyes were open instead of closed it had a much better fit around the eyes.

We also scanned him wearing dental plumpers to push out his lips into a more simian muzzle shape. He was originally going to wear little glasses and a judge’s wig. This would have been cool, but these fell by the wayside after the build. 

I also sculpted the Cricket. I did a version based on an original concept by Sebastian Lochmann.

Brogan Sharpe and I did the makeup test, but when the director saw the final makeup, he wanted to see more of the actor showing through.

So I re-sculpted the face area to look like the actor and he approved it.

For Mr Fox, I originally sculpted a full-face prosthetic with ears. We did a test with this beautifully hair-punched face piece.

But again the director wanted to see more of the actor, so it ended up just a top lip and septum piece with the ears.

With the Snail, Sebastian had done a beautiful maquette using a miniature print from the actress digital scan. Then Sebastian and I scaled it up over a full-size CNC’d version of the actress (a CNC router is a computer controlled cutting machine.
It takes the digital scan data from the body scan and cuts it out of hard foam) and blocked out in wet clay.

All the detailing was done by Andrea Eusebi. Julian Murray and I also sculpted Pinocchio’s legs, feet and hands.

I went out to Tuscany to work on the puppet theatre sequence where I applied the puppet, Pantalone with Michele Vaccaro.

Pantalone was played by Davide Marietta – the same actor as the cricket. Interestingly he was the demon child in Dario Argento’s Phenomena and he’s in Passion of the Christ as well.

The puppet theatre sequence is breathtaking!

With a project as fantasy-based as this, when you are primarily working on the design aspect of characters and prosthetic makeup looks, is it difficult to be removed from the final steps of the creative process?

I’m very rarely involved with the art finishing and hair work of a character.

I’m usually hired by a prosthetic designer for my strengths – which are sculpting and application.

They are the ones who have the overall vision. I get involved when I’m asked for my opinion, but there are people way better than me who specialize in those departments.

Having said that, when I run my own jobs with a crew, it’s great to be involved in the entire look. On smaller jobs, I do everything, sculpting, molding, running silicone, art-finishing, and then the final onset application.

Whilst researching you online, I discovered a portrait of you and your family with some Planet of the Apes characters.

I love this – what a special family portrait.

This must’ve been a standout moment of your childhood, then?

I love that photo!

As a kid, I was obsessed with the Planet of the Apes tv series.

I heard that you could go to the London department store Selfridges and have your photo taken with the apes.

You can tell by the size of my smile and the huge pin badge I was wearing I was so stoked. Unfortunately, I don’t think my siblings shared my delight.

There are multiple projects in your career that you have been strongly involved with that are either favorite shows of mine or contain favorite makeups of mine (or both). Pardon me for indulging, but I have to ask about a few of them…..

The work in Chernobyl was so captivating and confronting.

And yes, some of my most recent, favorite makeup work is in the program. I think because you see the humanity in the performer’s eyes behind all of the radiation wounds and hideousness. I was reminded of The Elephant Man makeup on John Hurt, in that respect.

Would you mind telling me how you were involved with that series and how it was to work on?

I thought the makeup work was brilliant in it, too.

We were working in Ireland on the last season of Game of Thrones when Daniel Parker asked Barrie to create the prosthetics for the show. I came back to the U.K. workshop to work on both shows simultaneously.

I was sculpting Crumb the Zombie Giant for GOT but also working on Chernobyl. I did the sculptures for the character Anatoly Dyatlov, played by the recently departed Paul Ritter. He had a mild radiation sickness look, which included a bald cap, eyebrow blockers, swollen eyes, and blistered lips.

And then, a premature aging look which consisted of eye bags, eyelids, nasal labial folds, and a neck waddle.

His makeup was applied by the talented Victoria Bancroft and Robin Pritchard.

That was me done on the project and I flew back out to Ireland to finish up GOT.

Amazing! Two incredible pieces of work, across continents and genres. Love it.

Your Nixon makeup for “The 101 Year Old Man who Skipped out on the Bill and Disappeared” is phenomenal!

Nixon makeups can easily come off as looking like a parody or caricature.

But you brought him to life with a deft hand, and a subtle, understated quality.

I’m always quite fascinated how vital casting is on these character makeups that are such iconic historical recreations. Considering that the actor looks little like Nixon to begin with. 

Back at the Oscars ceremony, I talked with Love and Eva (Eva von Bahr and Love Larson own and operate the brilliant Swedish makeup effects house The Makeup Designers) about 101 Year Old Man. I had told them of my interest, as I loved their work on the first movie.

They gave me Nixon as he was a stand alone character and I could do everything in the U.K.

Production chose Darrell Duffey, who is a Nixon impersonator, and not a bad face to work on.

Vincent Van Dyke did the lifecast, which was one of the best I have ever seen, and shipped it to me in the U.K.

I sculpted lots of individual pieces so I could use some but not others, as I knew the makeup test would only be the day before the actual shoot day and there would be zero time to make new pieces. Love organized the wig and eyebrow corners.

I flew to Hungary and did the test with Richard Redlefsen.

Darrell was a star and let us shave his hairline back and pluck his eyebrows.

We did old age stipple around his eyes, then applied silicone nasal labials, jowl pieces, a nose tip and a piece that went in between his eyebrows.

It was one of those makeups that worked well because you have someone at that perfect age with lots of skin texture and colour. 

Okay, this interview wouldn’t be complete without me asking you about Game of Thrones.

GOT is undoubtedly one of my favorite television shows.

It’s such a brilliant, almost Shakespearean drama, and I can’t begin to imagine the logistics of working on it – I have heard from various artists in the past about the different shooting units all over the place. Mind-blowing. Share what you will about your experiences on the show!

I started on Season 6. I had put off working for BGFX because the workshop is over an hour’s drive from me.

But once I started working for Barrie and Sarah, I liked the work ethic and the people they have working there.

It was very cool to work on the Mountain on Season 6 and then revisit him again in Season 8.

People had been waiting to see what he looked like under the helmet for such a long time. Not only that but to see what had happened to the rest of his body when he removes his armor was pretty sweet.

I sculpted the head for Seasons 6 and 8, plus I created a stunt version for his stunt double.

He’s a big man. And it took four of us to do his makeup. To cover that amount of skin, we ended up using paint rollers. 

I’m still really proud of the Wight that is shown to Cersei in the dragon pit in season 7.

It’s the only time a Wight is seen in daylight. I got to sculpt his head. Patt Foad and Andy Hunt did the body, hands and legs.

Barrie, Patt, and I applied the makeup to stunt man Michael Birch.

Michael is a man whose face has the perfect proportions for zombie makeups.

It was so hot in Spain, and Michael was exerting himself so much.

Sweat was pouring out of the suit. And if you watch the show, you can see it flying out of him as he runs at Cersei.

Is it weird that I was aware of that?!

He’s unreal – such a fantastic makeup, performance, and VFX combination!

When he’s originally captured he has lips. We did this scene in Iceland. The Hound puts his hand over his mouth and his lips slough off, revealing just his teeth. This was filmed again as a pickup on the tarmac in the crew car park in Belfast.

The other makeup I’m proud of is Crumb the Wight Giant that kills Lyanna Mormont.

I worked on some Giant Wights in Season 7, but you didn’t really see them. This one was on performer Ian Wight, who I’ve worked with before on Alien Vs. Predator.

I had to stick closely to an existing VFX design, which I wasn’t a huge fan of, but luckily managed to steer it in a slightly cooler direction.

I stuck it on with Chloe Mutton Philips. It was all second unit green screen work, so it was a really relaxed, unstressful part of the shoot. 

Another standout makeup that I have to ask about is Tilda Swinton as Madame D in Grand Budapest.

Tilda is such a stunning chameleon. Was it difficult transforming her into such a character? Did she have much input into how she looked?

It was a super fun job to work on.

Frances Hannon was the makeup/hair designer and Mark Coulier was the prosthetic designer.

We were doing the reshoots on World War Z at the time. I was sent back to the workshop with some photographic reference material to start the sculpt.

Mark wanted to use old age stipple around the eyes and then add the prosthetics afterward as he had done on The Iron Lady.

It works great as you get beautiful movement around the eyes. This can look a little stilted when you have a sculpted eye bag onto an old-age makeup.

Wes Anderson movies aren’t big budget, so the sculpt was quite quick. Josh Weston did some beautiful hands for her. He also sculpted Harvey Keitel’s bald cap and I did his broken nose.

Mark, Stephen, and I flew to Berlin and did a makeup test on Tilda. It was eventful for the fact the Mark’s wife had gone into labour and he was desperate to get the makeup on and get back to the U.K. as fast as possible.

The lipstick was Tilda’s idea. She applied it herself in that slightly wonky fashion as she remembered a relative of hers used to do.

The only change was that she wanted the neck waddle closer together. I took all the neck appliances and did a cut and shut on them as there was no time and budget for a re-sculpt. She loves to transform herself into different characters and was incredibly patient in the chair.

It was also great to see Ralph (Fiennes) after working on him for so long on the Potter films. A highlight was chatting with Jeff Goldblum about his time on the Fly. 

The makeup you did on Mandella: Long Walk to Freedom is so effective!

I know you filmed in Africa – that must have been an experience. And yet you still created such flawless work. Can you tell me about the project? 

Mandela was an awesome experience.

Mark Coulier was the prosthetics designer, and we were helped majorly by Clinton Aiden Smith’s company Cosmesis from Cape Town.

I did Walter Sisulu played by Tony Kgoroge, he was Mandela’s right-hand man.

There was a mid-stage aging look and then a full face aging makeup.

We could keep a handle on the temperature most of the time, but there was one day when we were filming on Robbin Island, and the guys were working outside in a vegetable patch. It was a mid-stage look, and the pieces were thin, so I spent the day chasing sweat bubbles, never a relaxing day.

I do notice this running theme of injured/damaged/burned protagonists throughout your career.

From Band of Brothers, The Beach, The Little Stranger, Saving Private Ryan, The Last Samurai, Rush, Chernobyl, The Revenant, the beautiful, out-there burn makeups in the also underrated Sunshine. Even the Mountain from GOT.

And yet I still grasp a sense of beauty in your work that I have mentioned.

Is that a conscious choice that you strive for, or are even aware of? 

I think it’s the flow or sculptural direction.

It’s difficult to describe, but I like to have movement to a sculpture. It’s the thing that makes me happy when I see a finished sculpture.

At least brief happiness. 99 percent of the time I look at my work and dislike it, sometimes an hour or two later.

There are exceptions to the rules but mostly I’m not a fan of my sculpts or makeups. I always see the flaws. But I suppose that’s being an artist, you’re never happy.

In the past, there have been a few shows that I have worked on that began in the UK, or the appliances were made in the UK. I notice that there has been a strong leaning towards not containing flashing in the molds when producing silicon appliances. Have you ever applied silicon makeup with flashing?

Does anyone in the UK include flashing in their appliance making? And is this a geographical thing?

The whole flashing/no flashing thing all stems from different mold making techniques.

In the U.K. we have never had particularly strong dental stone, so we’ve made most of our molds from fiberglass. This meant we would use bolts to close the mold then inject foam latex.

When we started making silicone appliances we carried on with the bolted mold, only now the silicone didn’t flow through to the flashing. That’s really the reason. We don’t do plunge molds because our materials weren’t strong enough. It wasn’t till Joel Harlow came over on Pirates that Kristyan Mallett and I ran some of his epoxy dough molds, that things changed.

We started playing around with the system which is what we use today. That system is an epoxy core and a silicone and fiberglass jacketed matrix mold. Which for a while didn’t have flashing on it, just a gasket. Now we do the same mold with flashing that we inject separately.

Also in the U.K. until recently, we didn’t have a decent version of 1630 for doing small plunge molds, but that has now changed also. Our flat molds have always had flashing.

So I think nowadays it’s rare to find pieces without flashing incorporated. 

Personally, I prefer to apply with the flashing on, it’s a hell of a lot quicker!

Agreed!

You mentioned Ralph Fiennes earlier – I have to ask you about Harry Potter as well. Tell me about the goblins, and Valdermort – some of the most memorable makeups of these films for sure. 

Mark Coulier got me in on Order of the Phoenix to do Voldermort with him and Stephen Murphy.

The same team did his makeup again on the last two movies.

Sadly we didn’t get to do much of the application of the goblin shoot as it ran at the same time as Voldermort.

But Stephen and I would muscle in whenever we could. 

Mark designed how the Voldemort makeup went together. It was very clever.

All the veins on his head were transfers. To get them in the right position every day, we had vac-form set with holes in them that we drew dots through onto Ralph’s skin.

Using the dots you could place the transfers in the right place. And finally, we placed green and blue tracking markers on top of the dots for VFX to track on his snake nose.

I sculpted a few of the goblin makeups and did their test makeups.

I also sculpted Domhnall Gleeson’s facial scars for his character Bill Weasley. His silicone transfer appliances were applied mainly by Barrie Gower. 

My son was born during the filming of the last two movies.

My main recollection was falling asleep on the couch every lunchtime and consuming vast amounts of strong coffee.

Harvey Keitel AND Anton Lesser both wore your work in Fairytale all those years ago. And they both appeared in shows you worked on again (20 years-ish?) later.

I’m curious to hear if either remembered you from Fairytale or Grand Budapest and GOT, respectively?

Funnily enough, neither of them remembered me.

It was a while ago and I think I’m quite a generic person, easily forgettable, haha! I do remember Harvey being a bit grumpy with me at the test fitting for his nose on Fairytale.

But he couldn’t have been sweeter on Grand Budapest. Such a lovely man. We share many similar interests and also share the same birthday. 

Would you call things in your industry somewhat “back to normal” these days?

What sort of safety protocols do you have to contend with when you’re at work? (I’m curious if it is similar to here in the US)

I think the safety protocols were developed in the US and U.K. at the same time.

Having worked in the US last year I can say it’s exactly the same on any of the big productions in the U.K. as it is in the US. 

With regards to the workshop, each department has its bubble, whilst working in it you don’t have to wear a mask.

But enter a different department then a mask has to be worn.

We are tested twice a week. Temperature tests every day. The workshop is professionally cleaned, sanitation stations in every department.

It’s about as safe as it can be. 

Just in case you haven’t yet worked on anything even remotely close to your dream job, what would that be?

Is there a style of movie, or makeup that you haven’t done that you’re desperate to create in the future? 

I have a strong interest in military history.

My grandfather was a wireless operator on landing craft during WW2.

As a kid I would bug him for war stories all the time.

So although I worked on Saving Private Ryan and Band of Brothers, I would love to work on a WW2 movie based more around British involvement in the European campaign.

At one point there was going to be a movie about the Guinea Pig Club – the RAF pilots that were severely burnt, and the early days of plastic surgery.

That would be my ultimate dream job.

That sounds incredible.

I notice that you have just released your very own Skin Illustrator Palette from PPI.

Would you mind elaborating? I love the concept behind it, as well.

I love the PPI Glazing Gels. I had talked to Kenny and asked if it was possible to produce a pallet. He mentioned that the gels wouldn’t work in a dry format. But maybe he could develop something similar with the Skin Illustrator pigments.

We played around with the amounts of pigment for a long time till we got something that was very washy.

I was never expecting it to come out with my name on it, that’s Kenny and Karen being sweet.

But I do love it, it has my favourite colours that I always use on old age makeups.

Oh, that’s great – I can’t wait to get mine.

Well, Duncan, thank you so much for sharing so many brilliant stories from your amazing career and experiences as a movie makeup artist. Your work ethic and dedication is more than inspiring.

And I’ll be in touch in a year from now

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Fast forward.

It’s now over 2 years since I spoke to Duncan, and I am delighted to share that the projects in question happen to be the tv series Stranger Things, and The Last of Us.
Duncan took home a Primetime Emmy in 2022 for his work on Stranger Things Season 4.
I bet there are plenty more awards in his future, too

The post Interview With A Movie Makeup Artist: Duncan Jarman appeared first on The Makeup Refinery.

Have you taken any makeup courses in the past?

Yeah! I’ve done short courses in the past.

I did a course with Thomas Suprenant on making prosaide transfers and prosthetic teeth. I have also taken a course with Brian Sipe on how to make and apply prosaide transfers. 

Brian’s was the best course for me so far.

He helped a lot with sculpting, and especially with my application skills. Brian taught me to extend colouring from the prosthetic onto the skin. And to blend it more (for instance, when doing a scarring makeup).

He showed me three Skin Illustrator Complexion palette colours for skin tones. I use these three colours on nearly every makeup I apply to this day – Pastel Yellow, DT Blush, and Cool Tone.

It was a great course and taught me a lot.

As well as showing me what kind of teaching style I like and aspire to.

For me, that’s lots of time for hands on experience. And repetition. Also, correcting people as they’re applying to direct them to better end results. 

I also won a free short TAFE* makeup course. I was at a Halloween party, the first prize for best makeup was the TAFE course.

It was something like 7 weeks, to get a Certificate II in Retail Make-Up and Skin Care.

It was kind of random to win that. But it taught me a lot about practical beauty makeup applications on other people.

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That’s great. I had no idea TAFE even had a course remotely related to makeup.

They certainly didn’t 20 years ago (I’m so out of touch!)

How do you feel about courses now? It’s such a bone of contention with makeup artists, whether to take courses or not nowadays.

Yeah, I can understand some of the reasoning. Some of the makeup schools in Perth would charge around $10,000 for a course.

And the courses seemed mostly to teach people out of kit stuff with wax and latex.

I guess if you’re someone who isn’t interested in learning at home. Perhaps, then it might be more beneficial to take a course of this structure.

I do think that the best and fastest way to learn is through observing others. Getting to see different ways of doing things. Whether it be on YouTube or a Stan Winston Studios course.

I know for me personally, one of the biggest learning moments was on a film set.

It was on Kong Skull Island.

Bill Corso had organised a practice day for us to apply the makeup looks on extras (a non-filming day). It was really lovely to get to have a play with other artists in a low stress environment. 

I learnt so much from other artists in that environment.

It seems like many people would benefit from that in-person experience of having their applications watched. And then having someone with more experience point out ways that they can improve.

I think that sums up the beauty of what is essentially “on-the-job training.”

And now, almost 30 years into my career, I’m still learning each day at work.

I think that’s a huge part of why I still do makeup. There is an ongoing educational element to it, for sure. And that only comes as a result of the unpredictability of any given day on a film set!

In your world of video production, how long on average does one video take to put together?

Recently, my YouTube videos have been shorter than in the past.

Applying one gory prosthetic over about an hour or two, while narrating what I’m doing. This is usually a two camera set up. And then editing it down to a ten to fifteen minute video. 

So that could be a full day of work in total. 

That’s pretty fast – way quicker than I would have guessed. But there are a lot of different areas of expertise in there!

In the past when I’ve done full faces, or sometimes arms as well. Whether it’s an orc or zombie. I can get a bit lost in that and take several hours for the application.

Some of it comes down to taking snack breaks and technical things like charging camera batteries.

Then occasionally, I’ve made bigger things like the Clicker Makeup or Jaylah recreation. These projects can take me weeks of sculpting, molding, casting, painting, and application.

Add to that the days required to edit all the footage. 

Recently I’ve started filming longer form courses that go a lot more in-depth. And presenting them as workshops and short online courses on Teachable.

That’s a three-camera setup. Two mics and I get a professional editor to help me with that. Having something like 20 hours of footage per camera. And with three cameras, it is just too much for me to handle editing on my own.

My most recent one is Applying Prosthetics (silicone appliances and prosaide transfers – specifically aimed at first-timers). It was edited down to something like 10 hours, divided into 90 videos (between 1 minute and 15 minutes).

Each video would be on a different topic. It contained multiple prosthetic applications on different skin tones, demonstrations, that sort of thing.

That one course took me about a year in total to complete. A couple of months’ break a few times a year to work on film projects that came up.

I am hoping to get that process going a bit faster this year. 

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Do you ever work by a schedule?

I need a schedule with ADHD because my mind is somewhat chaotic. And I cannot retain everything I need to remember.

I write everything down so I can refer to it later.

Scheduling can also get overwhelming.

Sometimes I have ‘time blindness’ to how long things realistically take. Or how long I have been actively doing a task whilst in the moment.

So this can lead to unrealistic schedules sometimes. Even though I think I’ve been generous with the amount of allotted time.

The main thing I’ll schedule and stick to now is days that models and videographers are involved in the shoot. Outside of that I’ll have a list of things that I want to work on.

I will pick a thing each day that I’ll try to work on. Keeping it a bit looser; all depending on how focused and energised I am feeling each day.

Sometimes there will be entire weeks that I feel burnt out for no reason.

Or I’ll have zero energy or motivation and be unable to keep a thought in my brain for even a second. So I just constantly feel like I just forgot something important, and on those days I allow myself to have a couch day. 

Finding out what was the cause of that executive dysfunction has been very helpful. Taking ADHD medication has been helping me have less ‘zero days’.

My latest goals are to commit to actually finishing tasks, rather than get them 90% then stop.

I’m really hoping that in 2021 I get to finish a big chunk on my to-do list.

My next online course is how to make prosthetics for beginners. 

That’s great. Time management and creativity don’t always walk the same path!

I’d love to hear how you come up with ideas for your videos.

It’s always a bit of a mix.

Sometimes it’s seeing others work – whether it’s in a movie or tv show or on someone’s Instagram page. There are many interesting things that I save as inspiration.

Sometimes I see a real-life reference image of something medical. Usually, stuff online, or sometimes a friend will save photos of their own injuries specifically to send to me. I’ve made prosthetics that way.

There are prosthetics on my website right now (that I made with Dabbledark in the past). We brainstormed ideas for pieces that we thought would be unique.

Appliances like a skin graft or a dog bite on the hand. And a partially healed version of that bite that has white mushy skin from the wet dressing. 

Other times it’ll be stuff that seems to be absent from the collective knowledge out there.

How does your schedule change if you take on a film or tv job?

I think because I’ve never been good with consistency, people don’t notice my absence.

I may take a two or six-month break from posting because I’m on a film job. Or if I’m working on completing a project of my own, it all looks the same from the outside. 

And I’m lucky that most people are really understanding. 

And can you to maintain working on both your online projects and maintain an onset gig at the same time?

I can imagine that being quite a challenge.

Haha, not at all!

I get so wiped out being on set or being in a workshop full time.

Some days are so long that I barely have time to shower and get enough sleep. Let alone spend any time talking to friends or family or doing any self care.

The online stuff is quite far down the list of importance when I’m on another job. I just put it all on hold. 

Even replying to my emails gets so delayed when I’m working full time. I don’t know how people, in general, can juggle so many things at once. 

What do you have planned in the future? Do you foresee expanding at all?

Right now, I’m finishing an update to my Applying Prosthetics course with some new videos.

After that, I want to extend the range of prosthetic appliances that I sell online. I have a long list of ideas for new prosthetics. 

I’d also like to film some application shots and videos of those new appliances.

I’m also working on a “Making Prosthetics” course. How to sculpt, mold, cast, and apply them. Both silicone and prosaide, as the sculpting and molding process is very similar for both).

And then I’d like to expand the online store and kits. So they include stuff for making prosthetics to go along with that course, in kit form.

It would be great to keep expanding the teachable videos too.

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I’d love one that gets lots of my industry friends involved. To have them speak about being on set and a thorough introduction to the profession.

From kit contents, to etiquette, safety and hygiene and so on, just all of it would be so good.

And from multiple perspectives from makeup assistants, to day-checkers, keys, through to designers.

Maybe I can hire you to do one of those videos for me Kerrin. Tackle your fears of being in front of a camera head-on! 

Ha! Maybe one day!

How has the pandemic affected your videos if at all?

If I were good at regularly posting content, it would have been boosted by people staying at home a lot. People are turning to online learning and online entertainment more. 

I haven’t been using YouTube regularly because of my use of anything with fake blood. They started placing restrictions on the reach and age of who could view my videos (some are 18+).

So now they have no monetization or ads. This removes part of my motivation to continue making content for the platform.

I could switch to doing more family-friendly and less gory makeup. But I just don’t want to keep anticipating things changing again.

The thing that made me popular on there and that they used to promote, now gets me punished. So I’m expanding what I do beyond YouTube so that I can ‘diversify my income’, as they say. 

Your fans seem to be very loyal, some of which have stuck with you for a long time.

It’s really interesting to see them encourage you and support you. Is this experience a big part of the process for you?

Yeah, that’s one of the best parts of all of this.

When I’m working on set or in workshops, I miss the online gang – their encouragement and connections.

Sometimes I base my own opinion on my projects on whether people who follow me respond well or not.

If I’m too close to a makeup to be objective about it, I’ll be persuaded by people’s online feedback. This is good for my mental health as well. It makes me less critical of my work and myself. 

Sometimes I am super excited to post it to see if others love it too. To see what they have to say about it – definitely a big dopamine booster. 

Emails I like because I can write longer replies to people who have reached out.

Occasionally I hear from people that get angry at me if I don’t respond to them fast enough. It’s been pretty extreme.

So now we know a bit about Freakmo, tell us about Kiana.

Do you ever see yourself going into any other completely different fields at all?

Generally, I try to be pretty open about everything, including when makeups don’t work and my own mental health struggles.

It concerns me a bit about social media being a place for everyone to flex and post their highlights. To create this presentation of them having this fulfilled life when I know so many people struggle beneath that facade.  

I try to post to my Instagram stories about my own mental health struggles. Struggles with anxiety, depression, C-PTSD/childhood trauma, and now, newly, ADHD. 

In terms of things people don’t see as much – I really enjoy baking. And started learning how to temper chocolate and make chocolates and confectionery at home last year as a ‘pandemic hobby.’

I’ve been told by a few people that I could be a professional baker. And that the chocolate chip cookie I made is the best they’ve ever had!

I like to wake up early before going into the workshop. I like to bake cookies fresh. So they’ll still have that crunch on the outside, and the chocolate chips will still be slightly melted. I love the joy that those things can bring to people. 

Also, I’m a huge sugar addict. I could maybe go into baking or being a chocolatier in another life. More early mornings and recipes to follow, just like FX work, haha!

For a while, I thought the art world was where I would belong. Maybe working in a gallery (rather than being an artist creating the work). 

But truthfully I felt like I didn’t ever fully understand or ‘get’ the art world, or fit in there.

A lot of the art that I liked was because it was technically skilled and realistic. But in the Ph.D. program, we learned that wasn’t enough. You had to be able to write about it, too, and explore different concepts and philosophies. And understand how it is applied and can be interpreted.

I did learn a lot about art. And I learned a lot about how to research (in general), and it gave me so many underlying skills that I can apply to FX makeup now. 

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I see that you often do tutorials with Marc Clancy (aka Powdah) – how did this come about? Tell us more!

I think he had been following me as Freakmo online and watching some of my tutorials, among others like Stuart Bray’s.

I saw one of his posts on Instagram (a wax missing eye with a Fourth Seal Studios eyeball in there). And I thought it was one of the best executed missing eyelid looks I’d seen. He has such great deep eye sockets for it too. 

We started chatting, became friends online. He was over in Melbourne, whereas I was on the other side of the country in Perth.

I got to meet him for the first time at IMATS Sydney. We hung out with a few other online makeup friends. And since then we’ve become really close friends.

He was a ‘bridesman’ at my wedding a few years ago. 

We have done a few collaborations. I always love collaborating with Marc. He’s just super easy to work with. And we have the same kind of vision and aesthetic.

If we were sculpting something, I could hand it over to him to swap and know it’d come back better. Same for application. He’d know the right colours and placements for things and make everything better while also being easy and fun. 

In recent times he has lost the love for FX a bit. I think for him, part of it was Instagram and YouTube taking down. Hiding and demonetizing everything he’s created because it’s too realistic and gory. 

It takes away the motivation when you are creating things, knowing they will be hidden intentionally. And not shown to the people who have subscribed to you or followed your page. 

As he’s a ‘social media makeup artist,’ he’d also be subjected to criticisms. Things like, “Well, it’s great, but wax wouldn’t last on a set, so…” That sort of thing.

That’s interesting. It must be challenging not to take the knocks personally.

I’ve seen Rick Baker use wax in his self-applied makeups recently.

Do you think you will do more collaborations in the future?

For sure, I’m currently trying to rope Marc into doing a guest lecture on some of my Teachable courses. I’d love to add some of his out of kit FX stuff as video lessons. He’s just so good at it and really great at teaching/explaining his process. 

We still have dreams of doing an almost full body/full creature creation in the future. 

In general, I do a lot better with working on this stuff with other people around. Whether we’re working on the same thing or not. Having someone else creating with me is really motivational, and I love the company. 

Especially when I’m used to working at home alone. I am excited for the pandemic to be over so that kind of stuff can resume more frequently.

Where do you see yourself in 5 years?

This is a tough question.

I do have this yearning to be accepted fully into the FX industry and get lots of work under my belt.

But I think that will involve relocating to a new country, whether New Zealand, the UK, or the USA. This seemed easier when I was in my 20s but feels like a lot to handle now. 

I picked up silicone painting pretty quickly. I’ve convinced myself that if I got lots of industry work doing that, I could become really good at it. Maybe become recognized for that skill.

The amount I got to paint at Weta and how much I learned in those few months is crazy. If that continued over the next five years, I think I’d be unstoppable. 

But, as my husband tells me, that kind of work, the long hours and the competition. And workplace demands that can come with it aren’t the most conducive to my good mental health.

Even though I progress slower when I work from home, I only really learn from myself (or online videos). And I’m not constantly anxious or exhausted due to the stability of working for myself. 

So it could be that I keep working on my own stuff. Doing prosthetics for smaller movies and other projects that people want to employ me for.

Also selling prosthetics and materials online, doing online courses teaching people what I know in a beginner-friendly way.

Or I could be trying to get more work in the industry in another country.

Or maybe a mix of both.

I think I prefer a mix of both. I guess we will have to wait and see!

Thanks so much for your time, Kiana! I wish you all the best in the future!

*TAFE is a leading vocational training organization in Australia. It stands for Technical And Further Education.

All images courtesy of Freakmo (Kiana Jones)

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The post Who Is Freakmo? (Part 2) appeared first on The Makeup Refinery.

I caught up with the lovely Kiana Jones recently. And gained some insight into the life and times of an online makeup artist.

Well, Kiana’s much more than that. But she certainly has a vast online presence. And that’s something I am very intrigued about, as it’s also something I know very little about!!

It’s interesting to learn about someone through their online persona. But for me it’s far more beneficial getting to know people a little better. To learn who they truly are and what makes them tick.

So let’s gain some insight into the creative, sensitive mind of Kiana Jones (aka Freakmo!).

Hi Kiana! Thanks so much for indulging me in this little chat!

Let’s start at the very beginning. Where did you grow up?

I grew up in Kalgoorlie, Western Australia. It’s a remote mining town. 

I really loved art, and the arts program at the local high school wasn’t very good.  I moved to Perth when I was 16 to do my last year of high school. This was a school that specialised in Art.

Where are you based now?

I live in Sydney, on the east coast of Australia. I’ve been living here for almost 4 years, which has flown by. 

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When did you first discover you had an interest in makeup?

So many people have these amazing stories of their childhood. Knowing that makeup was what they wanted to do. And making masks from the age of seven.

But I stumbled into it by chance when I was 23.

I was working on my PhD in Visual Art at Curtin University (in photography and video art). I had spent several years painting, sculpting, and drawing in high school and in my undergraduate.

So I think that all helped me to fall into it pretty easily. A lot of those skills transferred pretty smoothly, for sure. 

I started with latex and toilet paper on my face for a zombie crawl in 2012. And while researching how to do it, I found a Stuart Bray video on YouTube. Stuart’s video showed latex build ups for a zombie mouth. 

Mind you, I had absolutely nothing to colour-match the latex to my skin. So I just covered everything in a thick, dark gel blood.

Ha! If in doubt, add gel-blood. I’ve heard that before!

I had a good response to the makeup at the crawl (from other zombie crawl attendees, people asking for photos with me). And I wanted to keep exploring it after that night. 

I was always a sucker for a good costume party, and this was somewhat similar. 

Okay, I have to ask.

What prompted you to create Freakmo FX?

Around the same time as that first zombie crawl, I was spending a lot of time on Reddit. 

I posted photos of my zombie makeup on /r/pics (that’s Reddit pics for non-users!) and got a lot of positive feedback there. Readers were encouraging me to keep exploring FX makeup, or asking how I’d done the makeup. 

So, come October and Halloween that year, I did a second makeup.

I got the sculpting department at my university to do a life cast of my face. This way I could copy a build-up technique I saw Stuart Bray do (with cotton and latex on a life cast), and make the second makeup more detailed. 

This time I filmed the application process so I could show others how to do it. Anticipating that there may be the same kind of interest and questions as the first time. And I could easily show them how it’s done in video form.

I uploaded a 9 minute long, sound-less, sped up makeup application to YouTube.

I posted the makeup to Reddit. It was a zombie Audrey Hepburn.

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In the comment section, I linked to my application video. And it brought something like 10,000 views overnight from Reddit.

After that I just kept filming and uploading almost everything that I made, and the channel grew from there. 

What does it mean, Freakmo?

Freakmo was my Reddit username.

I just felt more comfortable having something that’s not my actual name as my username on a website like that. So it became my YouTube channel name by default, being linked to my Reddit posts. 

The name Freakmo originally came from my husband.

We were laying in the grass at my university one day during a lunch break, and he said, “Do you smell what The Rock is cooking?”

I didn’t know that quote so my reply was, and replied, “What? Are you going to fart?”

He laughed at me and said, “No, Freakmo!”

And the name just stuck with me as something funny. Like calling someone ‘Dudemo’, or saying someone is a ‘Creepmo’, but it was ‘Freakmo’ for me. 

Ha! Okay, well, now we all know the meaning behind it!

Is this around the time that it all started taking off for you?

Initially, it really was just a creative side hobby that I’d film and upload for attention from the internet. Then from there I started making friends both locally, and internationally with makeup artists online.

I remember back early in the Reddit days Sara from ADI befriended me, and I still chat to her often.

Kate Anderson from Perth also became a close friend. She started to get me onto productions to help with extras. And taught me so much about on set etiquette, how to use silicone gels and alcohol palettes.

I owe so much to her, she elevated my knowledge from latex and blood, to silicons and alcohol palettes.

I love Kate! She’s a brilliant human being!

Yes, she is.

She also helped me to get over my anxiety about going on set.

Being at home playing with makeup and taking photographs is an entirely different thing to working on a film set. And Kate was a great person to guide to me through that transition. 

I made a bunch of wonderful friends online in the film industry. They all helped improve my skills (still learning at home) into making moulds and running silicone appliances.

There’s a lot of people who helped me out over the years.

In particular Stuart Bray, Thom Floutz, Sangeet Prabhaker, Daniel Browne, Rob Freitas, and Vincent Van Dyke have given me wonderful feedback, advice and help. Each of them has taken time out of their busy days to talk to me. And I will forever be grateful for that. 

Perth doesn’t have a huge film industry that is terribly demanding of prosthetics or FX makeup. But Daniel Browne has a workshop in Perth where he services a multitude of other industries, and he started getting me in to help paint and sculpt stuff for the museums and the zoo, and I even got to paint a fish for David Attenborough (as a gift from the museum) through him. 

That’s amazing!!! I’m very envious!

During all of this, my PhD started incorporating simulated gore as part of the project. I was kind of fascinated by real world photographs of “beautiful suffering”.

I was also intrigued how people can know that something is fake or simulated, yet still have such an intense reaction to it and not want to look at it. Especially when it comes to fake gore and gore makeup effects.

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About four years into the PhD, and three years after starting this makeup stuff as a hobby and posting it all online, I got a DM from Bill Corso on Instragram, which still doesn’t feel real by the way. 

He asked me if I wanted to work on a production on the Gold Coast.

So in early 2016 I got my butt over to the Gold Coast for a few months.

I did maybe a week on set doing extras for Kong: Skull Island, and the rest of the time was working at JMB FX workshop, running thousands of silicone prosthetic appliances with Jason Baird and his crew.

Fantastic! What an experience! I love the makeups in King Kong, and have been very vocal to say so in the past. Bravo!

Ha! Thanks! I think that experience was really good for me. Prior to that, I was too afraid to try to get work on big professional sets or workshops before that.

I didn’t think that I had enough knowledge or skill compared to others who worked in the industry professionally.

But, it turns out, all of my intense research into everything I could find online about makeup effects had paid off. And I knew the same amount of knowledge (about silicone prosthetics at least) as the people who worked in the shop, and they dubbed me a “prosthetics nerd”. 

That was definitely validating that I am good enough to work in shops. I didn’t have to hide away in my house forever.  

That would’ve been invaluable for your confidence.

It’s interesting that sometimes we need to be thrown in the deep end to truly learn to swim – to surpass our own (inner critic’s) expectations.

Okay, so aiming high then, what’s your dream job consist of?

Honestly, I think I much prefer anything based in reality – having a reference image is so much more comfortable for me than any fantasy stuff.

I love painting silicone skins and I love gore. So any combination of those two things would be fantastic.

Maybe a severed silicone body prop. Or a full body, silicone skin, old aged person, à la Thom Floutz, would be very cool to do. 

Ah, Thom Floutz! The man, the magician.

It’s funny, I used to think I had an answer for what my dream job may be, but lately it kinda feels like when I’m at home, by myself working on my own projects, I want to be in a workshop, and when I’m in a workshop I want to be at home creating my own stuff. 

The grass is always greener!

Ha! Yep. I know that I do prefer workshops over being an on set artist.

I like that it’s a little bit more relaxed and you’re with familiar people, and you don’t have to start at 3am. Also, less long days on set.

And I love sculpting and painting.

Application is fun, but it is stressful under the time limits on set. And then maintaining a makeup all day is something I’m not the best at (knowing how to fix everything that can arise). 

Plus the stress of fixing a makeup before a close up at the end of the day when everyone on set is waiting for you – it’s a lot. Though it is amazing to see the sets and costumes and how it all comes together. 

I’m curious – did you do makeup before you began your tutorials?

What came first – the chicken or the egg?

Haha – the tutorials definitely started it.

Not only was I not especially interested in makeup as a kid (in the way that so many people in our industry were into it), I also hated horror movies and would avoid them. I could not look at any real life gore references. 

After dipping my toe into gory makeup for the zombie crawl, I started looking at gory reference images, and now I am mostly de-sensitised by it.

I’ve also been going through classic horror movies as an adult, and it’s fascinating to work out how some makeup effects gags worked and admire the makeups. 

I know I’d be horrified to do what you do – did you enjoy being in front of the camera at first?

I don’t completely remember now, but I think I’ve always liked the fact that I can edit it and decide whether to post it or not. 

If I hate how it looks or how I look, I’ll just never post it.

I know that I learnt early on, just how fast I speak. And how much I mumble and combine words.

I’ll be watching it back and have NO idea what I’m saying. 

There’s also that small, vain part of me that hopes people will think I’m funny, or skilled, or well researched.

And then that’s balanced out by the fear that there will be people who are going to say mean things about my work (or even have totally valid constructive criticism which still feels crushing, until a few days later I realize they’re right). 

So it’s somewhat about having creative control, and creative freedom?

I think that you’re always going to be exposed to critics when you do something in the public eye.

I’ve been recently diagnosed with adult ADHD. And one of the traits which I heavily identified with is rejection sensitivity, so maybe it’s not the greatest of ideas to be putting my stuff online, giving opportunity for people to anonymously leave such harsh comments.

Another trait of ADHD is absolutely loving to research something (obsessively), and then talking anyone’s ear off who will listen to you, so YouTube has been a great outlet for that desire within me, to ‘info dump’. 

I think it’s funny as well, that you, Kerrin, are horrified by the thought of doing what I do, when for me, being on set is much more of a nightmare.

At home I can totally control my environment, I can choose what angles and lighting the makeup is seen from I don’t have to deal with any of the on-set stress of having a short amount of time to apply something (I can spend hours just enjoying the detailing).

I don’t have to make sure it stays on through different (sometimes extreme) conditions. Or not be able to control how it’s seen or from what angle, or the movement or lighting (that can reveal a cap plastic edge wrinkling weirdly).

Plus the long hours. The early starts.

That’s something a lot of people wouldn’t be able to do long term. 

That’s courageous, to me. 

Ha! I don’t know if I’d call it courageous, but thanks!

How does your process compare now to when you began all those years ago? Has it changed when producing a Freakmo FX tutorial?

Yeah, it has changed a lot. When I started out, I had a DSLR to use for my art projects at university. I would set that up on a tripod and film myself from one angle applying makeup.

I think upgrading the lighting came next – buying soft boxes from eBay and last year I upgraded to LED’s that are a lot more compact. They’re brighter and don’t get hot. 

In my early YouTube days, I didn’t know what to do for audio so I’d use my internal laptop microphone to do voice overs which was terrible!

Then I upgraded to a Rode USB mic. Now I use a proper wireless lav mic and record the audio while I am doing the makeup in real time, rather than doing voice overs. 

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I also used to only do makeup on myself, which made it easier in terms of my own availability (and I was happy to model for myself!) Another thing, I had a face cast of myself already. So I could keep reusing so I could make things that fit me. The same thing for contact lenses.

I had my eyes measured, and learnt how to put them in safely, so I could keep using the same contacts in my eyes and my makeup looks.

In turn, that made it much harder to take photos of myself – I ended up relying on my husband David’s help for that!

Also making sure I was in the frame for filming (lots of time I wasn’t, or it stopped filming, or it was out of focus, and I would only discovered it later while editing). 

How frustrating!

In the last few years I’ve been doing makeup mostly on other people, so it’s much easier.

Being able to get my model to close their eyes so I can work around them or spatter. Like trying to close my eyes while self-applying and hope makeup ended up in the right spot which is stressful!

Being able to see the sides of faces, is so much better!

Plus, now I take my own photos, check the camera is still recording normally. So many things!

Ah, the challenges! They’re always there, no matter the techniques!

I’ve also stopped filming everything I make now, too.

It is very disruptive to the creative flow to have to stop every ten minutes to check that the cameras are still filming.

To have to change your body position or hand positioning (away from something that feels natural). And to make sure that you’re not obscuring the camera’s view, to hinder you being able to see it properly. 

So, now I’ve stopped filming whenever I sculpt or paint things.

That allows me to focus on the processes of sculpting and painting. In turn, that has made it a lot more enjoyable. 

I guess that’s important not to have to contend with the technicalities of documenting these very creative processes.

I can only imagine it would be distracting to your sculpting in particular.

I do get a sense that your true passions are in the shop work; the creating and fabricating of things.

Workshops are fun because I love being around others who are into the same thing as me. I love listening to shop talk, asking questions, I learn a lot.

Plus watching others and having that hands-on experience means I learn so much faster than me doing stuff at home by myself.

Whereas working at home, I am alone. So it’s a bit harder some days to motivate myself to get started. And to then do a whole days work out in the little granny flat workshop by myself.

I pay for all of my materials. And I don’t necessarily always get a guaranteed hourly rate.

If I take on a production job then that’s a different case. But working on my own line of prosthetics, or online classes where nothing is guaranteed then any mistakes are on me and on my bank account.

It takes me a lot longer to improve without others’ input, as to what I could do differently or better. And tips and tricks that come with the experience every single different person has.

But I do get to work on whatever I want to. Take a day off when I need it. 

Now that sounds like the dream job to me!

Ha! Well, coming back to your question, I guess, then, my dream project would probably be in a workshop with a good crew. Working only 9 to 5 and no weekends.

Doing interesting and new stuff where I could mix up sculpting, casting, and painting.

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I think my favourite thing is painting silicone skins.

But even doing solely my favourite thing can get repetitive.

Last year I worked for two months straight. Just painting silicone skins. I got a bit over painting the same thing by the end of it. It became like groundhog day. 

That could also be an ADHD thing. Constantly needing new stimulus while working or else I get a bit over it!

Thanks, Kiana, or shall I say Freakmo!

Stay tuned next week for Part 2 of my interview with Kiana, in Who is Freakmo?

And feel free to drop me a comment in the comments section below, let us know who you’d like to read about next!

Or better still, subscribe to get the latest updates on who I will be talking to next, and all my upcoming blog posts right here!

All Images Courtesy of Freakmo (aka Kiana Jones)

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The post Who is Freakmo? (Part 1) appeared first on The Makeup Refinery.

Except for the fact that it wasn’t a person at all. It was indeed a sculpted, molded, and constructed silicon and polyurethane figure.

And the creator in question is none other than the talented and dedicated Thomas Kuebler.

I first discovered Thomas over 20 years ago. I had invested in my very first computer, and I saved his web address at the top of my screen for years.

Never did I think that one day I would be fortunate enough to meet him.

Or interview him? Ha! Life’s pretty surprising sometimes.

I met Thomas at a massive convention in Atlanta (remember conventions?) many years ago and have followed him through the usual social media channels for all of these years.

Tom has been kind enough to have a little chat with me and revisit his humble beginnings and share how a creative mind and passionate, intergity-filled man manages to succeed as an artist on his own terms.

So without futher ado, ladies and gentlemen, I’m excited to share my recent conversation with Thomas S. Kuebler.

Hi Tom, thanks so much for chatting with me; I know you’re a busy man, so let’s get to it.

I have to ask – was your childhood particularly creative, or was there a singular event that sparked this incredible imagination you have?

Thank you, yes, my childhood was a mixed bag of total disfunction, hilarious awkwardness, and fear punctuated by a lot of wonderfulness. 

Art was one of the very few things I was any good at. 

I had all these undiagnosed learning disabilities as a kid and teachers didn’t know how to deal with me. My parents basically got the message from my school that they might want to encourage me in art, or they’d have a bum on their hands. 

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I think this both delighted them and scared them shitless at the same time. They were of the generation that most of the time the word “artist” had the word “starving” in front of it. 

My mom bought a small ceramics class business from a lady across the street who was moving away. 

We had the whole neighborhood of wives in our basement three nights a week, bitching about their husbands. Telling dirty jokes and painting soup bowls, pencil holders, and Christmas stuff. 

If something broke before it was fired (in the kiln), we put it in a plastic bag and added water to make clay. Lots of stuff broke ‘accidentally.’

Oh wow, that sounds amazing!!! Sounds like creativity was definitely within you from an early age.

The basement was my refuge, and the clay was my therapy.  

Monster movies were my favorite entertainment. Halloween became an event that I started planning for in April. 

I sucked at most sports but played a lot of backyard football. I lived in a neighborhood of free-range kids that roamed parent-free from house to house, and I spent an immense amount of time in the woods around our neighborhood building tree forts with the few friends that could tolerate my weirdness.  

The movie Stand by Me really felt like my childhood. We never saw a dead body in the woods, but the rest of it was authentic to me. We even had warring tribes that would wreck our tree forts and throw rocks and spears. 

What great memories! Well, I’m glad a dead body wasn’t part of your childhood experience!

So, once you were out of school, how did your artistic studies and career begin?

 I got out of high school and got a job at a friend’s dad’s moving company. That lasted less than a year, and mom suggested I look at Kent State University.  

The deal was if I were to go into an art career, I had to go into graphic design, because my parents believed that was a ‘real’ job.  

I hated most of it but learned a lot. I took a jewelry and metal-smithing class as one of my electives and fell in love with it. It wasn’t because I liked jewelry, but because the professor who taught the class covered working with so many other mediums. I could really work with my hands. 

Plastics, glass, wood, and fiber arts were all part of the program that led to me secretly changing my major to Studio Art/Crafts.  

I had no idea how I was going to tell my parents.

This was exactly what they feared I would do, and they might stop helping to fund my education. On the last day of my second year in this new major, I got a phone call from an architecture professor that had seen two of my mixed medium sculptures of fantasy creatures I did for a student show.

He asked what I wanted for them, and I blurted out “$600”. Without hesitation, he told me to come by his office in two hours with the sculptures. 

When my dad and uncle came by the next morning to bring my stuff home for the summer, I handed dad a huge wad of twenties and asked him to hold it for me while I went up for the rest of my stuff.  He looked at me like I was a drug dealer and asked where the hell I got that kind of cash. I told him I just sold a few sculptures.  The look of astonishment was priceless. 

I saw the moment… 

“By the way, I changed my major to studio art.”

“What?!  You can’t do that!” 

“Why not?” I asked. 

“Because there’s no money in it!”  

I then pointed to the wad of bills and casually turned on my heal and bounced back up the dormitory steps to retrieve my record albums.  

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Now I’d love to tell you that I got a job right out of college, but it sucked for at least a year after I graduated, and it was pure dumb luck that I found employment at all. 

There was a local mall gallery that I brought work to.

The owner was an awesome woman named Cindy Deering, and the gallery was named after her. Tom Wilson, the famous cartoonist of ZIGGY fame was kind of a silent partner of sorts and a close friend of Cindy’s.  

I got to know him, and he loved my work and even bought a few pieces. He started a toy division of American Greetings called Those Characters from Cleveland (TCFC, for short). 

He thought I’d make a good fit for the toy industry and tried me out on a freelance basis.  The company liked my weird, wild side and decided to hire me as a concept artist.  That was the beginning of a whole new education.  

Incredible! I wonder where those pieces are now!

I’m happy to hear you had a somewhat positive early experience in the gallery. And that this led to your introduction to the corporate world. Tell us more!

Shortly before my father passed away in 2016, he was sitting and watching me sculpt.  

Out of the blue, he said, “You know, you were never cut out to have a boss.  You always hated being told what to do. That scared the hell out of your Mother and me.”  

At first, I was a little offended, and then I realized he was just telling the truth.

Playing well with others was not my strong suit. I had a difficult time with art-direction, and there seemed to be a hundred art-directors at TCFC changing everything around all the time.  

Yes, I was a greenhorn who did not understand the workings of a creative corporation, and I wasn’t very quiet about it.  

The office I worked in was shared with a wonderful old guy who’d been with American Greetings forever. His name was Elmer Koch. He was the guy that made the prototype toys that would be field-tested with kids for ‘play value.’ 

I really loved this guy and followed him around like a puppy learning everything I could from him. After about a year, he decided he wanted to retire.  

I really wanted to fill his shoes and gently slipped my way in as the ‘shop guy’ while they looked for his replacement, and that search eventually petered out, which was my plan all along. HOOOHAHAaah!!  

I worked at TCFC for four years and made some awesome friends. We had such great times and a lot of laughs.  But I was who I was, and that ‘I gotta be me’ stubbornness wore on my bosses like a crappy pair of shoes.  

When the toy industry started faltering in 1989, TCFC had to thin its ranks. I was probably an easy choice as to who to let go of.  

So toys and corporate business weren’t your cup of tea. I know you worked in the animatronics field at some point as well.

Do you mind me asking when this was? Did you have any involvement with the mechanical aspects as well?

Just around the time my TCFC job was ending, an old friend from Kent state called me to tell me about a guy he met who was doing animatronics for a trade show display company that needed a sculptor.  

Long story short, I called him and started working with him on some things that led to full-time employment.

The display company was having a rough time because their biggest client dropped them and began building their own displays.

Shortly after that, our CEO took his own life, and the guy that hired me bought out the robotics portion of the company, and we started LifeFormations.  

He told me that I was a 10% owner of this new company, and that was the incentive I needed to give it everything I had.  

It was a very tumultuous time in my life. I was going through a divorce and had to relocate to Toledo, Ohio. We started this thing in an unheated warehouse building and built it into a major competitor in the field. I had my share of problems and was drinking and drugging to cope. 

I got sober in 1993 and committed myself to build this company with the best work I could provide.  

When I was a kid, I dreamed of working for Disney, making the stuff I had seen in the Haunted Mansion and Pirates of the Caribbean.  

We did it, too! We made stuff that was every bit as good for other places around the world. 

However, as the company grew, I realized what I thought would be a dream come true was becoming a nightmare.  

My partner had hired some of his former students to help run the company. And, well, let’s just say when you’ve got somebody fifteen years your junior screaming at you in front of your fellow workers you can guess what a guy like me is going to do.  

After almost ten years of growing this company from a few employees in a derelict little building to a big player in the themed attraction market, I was ready to cash in my chips and collect my ownership…which never happened.

I did not have sufficient proof of ownership according to the attorney I hired to persuade my business partner to give me what was promised.  He said we could try but it would be awfully expensive, and I could lose.  

I fought for a short while and realized that I was emotionally drained and had to let it all go and start over.  

On the bright side, I learned that I had no more time to waste. I needed to make a name and money for myself rather than for someone else.

I was determined…and I was TERRIFIED.

Oh my goodness! That sounds hideously traumatic and stressful.

No doubt this was your “aha” moment – when you knew it was time for creative independence?  

Right after I left LifeFormations, I had reunited with an old girlfriend who is now my wife. I started freelancing for a small prop company called GAG Studios.  

It was owned by a wonderful guy who helped get me on my feet after leaving LifeFormations. His name was Dave Gottschalk. He passed away just a few months ago from cancer. He understood me in a way that others did not.

You see, he was the kind of guy that could not have a boss either. Dave started that company in his teens and never had another job. He GOT me. He knew how to talk to me because he was just like me.  

So, I sculpted things that he molded and sold to places like Spencer Gifts and other stores and catalogs. We had some great times. He loved to get his hands dirty and work alongside his employees. 

While all this was going on, I married that girlfriend, and her name is Kara. She worked at a job that she hated to keep us medically insured, and ultimately, she was able to secure private insurance for us. 

Kara also started reading up on things like eBay and the business of art. Kara familiarized herself with learning how to manage a business.  She learned how to do taxes for freelance artists. 

Kara insisted that I needed a website, and she got her friend to build it. 

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Kara sounds like a wonderful, intelligent woman. It’s interesting to read this very natural evolution into you both grasping the ropes of all aspects of a business.

The bottom line is, she got good at everything that I suck at and made it work. 

The first day that I’d officially come out from under the wings of Gag Studios and began building on my own name was a bad day. 

I had destroyed a week’s worth of sculpting through a stupid mold-making mistake.  

Kara heard me screaming at myself and throwing things in my basement studio. I told her that I was afraid I was going to fail miserably, and I didn’t want her to have to carry the load because of me.  

She took my face in her hands and said,

“I believe in you more than you believe in yourself.” 

She then got me to enter those few sculptures that I was bungling that day into Spectrum: The Best in Contemporary Fantastic Art, Volume 11. Those pieces took both the silver and gold awards in the 3D category.  

Shortly after that, both of those sculptures sold for what to us was a small fortune to the CEO of Nike.

Kara knew I’d get into that book, and I thought it would be a waste of time to even enter.

That was my ‘aha’ moment.

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Oh, that’s brilliant! Bravo, Kara! So, that was then, what is an average working day in the life of Tom Kuebler now?  

That’s a tough one.

I get my best work done later in the day, mostly at night. So I tend to sleep in.  

Sometimes I’m on fire with an idea and work at a fever pitch. Other times, I can’t find the energy or get inspired, and I know I’ve got to do something else to recharge. This pandemic, coupled with the political unrest out there, has made that extremely hard. 

I used to work to escape my worries and concerns, but when all you have is work and very few other safe options, it isn’t easy.

The creative life – teetering on the edge of something very fragile.

Do you work to a strict schedule each day or week? Or is it more of a fluid process? 

Oh, it’s definitely a fluid process.

The one thing that I try to do is plan a little of the next day while I’m trying to sleep the night before.  

It helps relax me seeing the process in my head of how I’m going to make something happen.  

I’m not sure how many of your creations are commission based, where you are working for a client with some kind of deadline in mind.

I’m curious – as I know a lot of creative individuals (myself included!) that truly struggle when it comes to making something without any deadline at all.

I guess I’m interested in understanding all about your process!

The older I get, the less I take commissions.  

The main reason is that I want to make what’s in my head while I’m still able to do it.  

I’ve wasted too much time already on someone else’s visions. If I do take a commission, it’s got to be something I really want to do, and I get to do it my way.  

Now I know that sounds a bit like I’m a spoiled brat, but it really does come down to what I want to do with my time above ground.  

I’ve found that when I really get excited about something that I’m working on, I have little trouble selling it later. People can see the positive energy and love put into that work. 

It’s really only “WORK” if you’d rather be doing something else.  

Oh absolutely. I couldn’t agree more. Your pieces have such immediate energy about them. It feels undeniable they come from your heart and soul!

Do you have lab assistants that help with certain aspects of the process? Do you do everything?

Well, like I said, my wife does all the hard stuff…the administrative stuff, and oddly enough, she says she enjoys it.  

She was an art minor in college, so she’s really good at giving me feedback on the figures. If I’m struggling with a likeness and have been looking at it for too long, she can see what I’m missing.  

Kara’s also great at helping me work out clothing and accessories. I do hire a seamstress from time to time. I’m not so good on a sewing machine. 

I do all the art stuff and some of it is a drag, but it’s all got to get done for the big picture, and it’s hard to find someone around here in central Ohio I trust to get it right. Now, if I lived near you that would be a different story and my hair work would be AWESOME! 

Oh boy, Tom! Call me flattered!!! Might I add, your hair work IS awesome!

A running theme of sideshow, carnival, and the macabre runs through your work.

Your Freaks characters are some of your finest and most iconic. Do movies often inspire you for new ideas or characters? 

Yes, they do, but I get inspired from all over the place. The other night, I saw a face in the plaster stucco of our ceiling that I thought was really cool.

Cletus and Shorty were inspired by a very old tombstone I saw on a bike ride with Kara.

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We stopped at an old graveyard, and there was this stone marked Cletus Greeley with his brother’s name on the same stone, but it was weather-worn and illegible. The date of birth and death was the same for both.

Riding home, I conjured these two-headed conjoined twins with a single body, and I actually started working on them when I got off my bike. It hits me that hard sometimes!  

Oh, that’s great! The inception of Cletus and Shorty!

Also, I love antique stores and flea markets. 

I have found items that inspired huge pieces of work. An old cloak, a musical instrument, or an antique wheelchair like the one I found and altered for Doctor Nighty Night has inspired many-a-sculpture!

Lately, Pinterest has been a treasure-trove of inspiration. I LOVE PINTEREST!!

Pinterest is a world unto itself as a reference source right?

What material/s do you prefer to sculpt in?

I really love Super Sculpey. I kind of grew up on it. Yes, there was the clay from mom’s basement, but Super Sculpey was able to take detail like I’d never seen. I didn’t have to keep it damp or anything.

It answers all the problems that my kind of work presents. 

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I like to carve rigid foam armatures and then apply Sculpey over the surface. It works well for me, especially considering the mold. I just heat the surface with a heat gun and paint on a quick thin coat of paste wax, and it’s ready.

That’s a lot of Sculpey! What materials are your characters made from when complete?

For my life-size figures, the skin is made of Dragon Skin Platinum Silicone from Smooth-On. It’s awesome stuff and life-tested to last forever if taken care of. 

I sculpt the larger body parts in Smooth-On Rigid Foam-It. I pour the stuff into a general body mold and let it expand and harden. Then cut, carve, and reposition until I get what I want. And then, I add and subtract foam with everything from a chainsaw to a cheese grater.

It’s a fun, messy, dusty process. When I finish the foam, I coat it with a layer of fiberglass.  I sometimes make the figures so they come apart to clothe them and for easy transit.  

Many of my smaller sculptures are resin.  

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Oh boy, I can just picture that. I hope you wear all your protective gear and respirator!

How do you go about their clothing/accessories? I ask as the level of detail and finishing in each piece is extra-ordinary.

Do you ever use any real parts?

Flea markets, secondhand stores and antique shops are all awesome sources. Lately, with the pandemic, it’s been hours searching on eBay and Etsy.  

As far as real parts, yes, on some of my smaller work, I have used some taxidermy and real animal bones.

Have you ever had to say no to any commission requests?

Yes, if I already have too many projects on my plate for the coming months or if I have no interest in the subject matter of their request, I turn down commissions.  

Sometimes, people want a recreation of something I’ve done and sold maybe ten years ago, and I don’t want to repeat myself.  

I certainly can’t get upset at the people that want these works. 

I’m honored that they like them enough to want to pay for them, but as I said, life is too short to repeat yourself if you want to move on to creating new things.  

Also, for those collectors who do have my work, I like them to know they have something rare that I haven’t made a huge edition of.  

I love that you honor those who own your previous works. That’s awesome.

Speaking of collectors of your works, I have to ask about Guillermo De Toro. Can you tell us more about how he came to own your work?

I believe he has your H. P. Lovecraft and Edgar Allen Poe – is that right? Did I miss anything else?!

Guillermo is a kind and talented man, and he has provided wonderful opportunities to many creative souls.  

He found me when Rue Morgue Magazine did an article on me in 2007. 

He first contacted me asking about my Frankenstein skull. After that, he wanted some life-size characters from the movie “Freaks”. 

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My Schlitzie, Johnny Eck, Hans, and Koo Koo the Bird Girl are in his collection, as well as Lovecraft, Poe, The Elephant Man, and numerous small sculptures.  

He has one of the largest collections of my work.  

Wow, that’s a healthy collection of your pieces.

What is the most challenging piece that you have had to create?

That’s a tough one!  There are several equal contenders for that spot, and for various reasons. 

Poe was hard because I had to make him somewhat poseable to fit comfortably into an overstuffed chair that Guillermo had.  

I also had to fill his butt with cement so that he would sink down in that chair like a real human of his size and weight would. It was a real challenge.  

A piece I’m making currently is a ten foot plus tall giant named Goliath Greeley.  He’s another character of my own that is the largest I’ve ever created. 

Oh my goodness. I bet that has presented an entirely different set of challenges for you.

Can you tell me what the secret is to sculpting such life-like faces?

There is such life in the eyes of your characters. Always. It just blows me away.

Do you always work from reference photos? I am so curious about how you create such magic in the expressions.

Mostly it’s just practice, practice, practice.  

I’ve been sculpting faces more than anything else since I was eight years old.  The thing I always try to tell myself is that I have to insist on getting it right.

There is no such thing as ‘close enough.’

I use as much reference as I can possibly compile on the subject, and I do a lot of grid work using horizontal and vertical lines to make sure I’ve got things right. 

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But, most importantly, the pose has to be fitting of the character I’m sculpting, as does the expression.  

The eyes have to be looking at something and not just staring straight ahead.  This is the stuff that illustrates personality.

Accuracy is only part of the job. The rest is creating that soul through expression and gesture.

Hyper-realism has become incredibly popular and seems to have grown as an art form of its own in the last 10-20 years.

I remember being young and starting in film/tv work, and always looking for inspiration (in the early days of having internet!), which is how I discovered you.

I knew of you and Ron Mueck. Has the industry changed at all for you? Do you think it’s flooded?

I don’t know, I just kind of think of silicone as a newer medium that more artists are starting to discover.  

Like when I was a kid, airbrushes started showing up and everybody was painting everything with airbrushes.  Cars and vans and posters.

Everything looked like it was airbrushed, and all the local artists forgot how to paint with regular camel hair. Then, after a while, it was just another tool in the toolbox and people used it when it best fits the purpose.  

I use resin and epoxy sculpt as often as silicone in my work when I’m making animals, creatures, or oddities.  

I just think when artists discover new mediums, a frenzy of excitement rises and falls with newer discoveries.

Then, that medium just finds its place in the toolbox. 

Can you tell us what you’re currently working on/what you most recently produced?

I’ve got a couple of irons in the fire. 

I’ve got some commissions in the works and some personal projects, too.

The giant I mentioned has been photographed step-by-step for a Smooth-On Master Sculptor Series seminar that will be rescheduled (knock on wood) pending pandemic developments. 

Also, working on a bust of Cousin Eerie of the old Warren comic books fame.  

I loved those magazines as a kid. I think I’m gonna make Uncle Creepy next.

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Oh brilliant! Perhaps Cousin Eerie and Uncle Creepy need to be a set complete!!!

I’d like to ask about the bodies or framework of your full-body characters.

I know they are mostly all clothed. Would you mind telling us about the skeleton or frame underneath? If you are doing a full-sized character, is that where you start first? 

Well, there are a few different approaches I might take. Most of the time, I use a large fiberglass mold I made years ago and I pour rigid 3# density foam into it. 

After it rises and completely hardens, I pop it out and cut it up to reposition it. I sometimes use bamboo barbecue skewers to hold things in place and then add more foam as needed.

There’s a lot of carving and refining and adding and subtracting foam with everything from electric chainsaws on down to sandpaper.  

When I get it where I want it, I coat the whole body with fiberglass.  I like my work to be sturdy.

How long do you tend to spend on each character? Or does it even break down that way?

Do you like to limit say, the amount of time you sculpt on a face or hands for an individual piece?

I’m often working on multiple things at once, and time is something I seldom keep track of when it comes to art. 

I know that most of my life-size stuff has taken anywhere from one-to-three months, but I have a hard time narrowing it down, because when you really enjoy something time kind of gets lost.

For me, that’s part of the point of being an artist; to lose awareness of time.

 At LifeFormations, they had this sheet they wanted the artist to fill out every time you’d start something or finish something down to the hour. 

It used to piss me off, and I quit doing it because my work suffered for it. 

Having to focus on the clock was a distraction that got in the way of the joy of creating. 

I could never make them understand that. 

I always made the deadlines; it’s just that I just didn’t want to have to focus on them. 

The point of art and life is to enjoy it whether you’re getting paid for it or not.

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The wise words of Thomas Kuebler. I couldn’t have summed it up better myself.

Thank you so very much to the ever humble, always inspiring Tom Kuebler for taking the time to chat to me.

What a thrill and an honor, as I have been an admirer of Tom’s work well before I thought I may ever meet him, let alone interview him!

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_{Related post: The Sensational Art of a Turkey Merck}

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If you aren’t familiar with Tom’s works, and these images he has shared have piqued your interest, check out his website and also his Etsy Page for his latest available creations. And if you don’t already, you can follow him on his Facebook Page as well.

Now, if you don’t mind, I need to go and create!!

All images are courtesy of Thomas S. Kuebler.

The post Thomas Kuebler: The Man and Mind Behind the Curiosities appeared first on The Makeup Refinery.

Turkey Merck is not only a catchy and intriguing brand name, but it happens to be quite a unique and massively in-demand small business.

Turkey Merck produces highly detailed, and exquisitely made mugs.

A great deal of which are one-offs, fragile, and beautiful. Rare and one-of-a-kind.

Haunting and horrifying are Turkey Merck’s works of art that folks run faster to obtain than crowds on Black Friday to scoop up whenever and whatever they can.

Turkey Merck mugs can range in themes from some of his favorite movie characters to some of his earliest works: his jug face pieces.

Regardless of the theme, his mugs are in high-demand and sell-out almost instantly online every time he announces a new release.

What makes them so intriguing is that the best way of finding out when they are released is by signing up for the newsletter on his website. I love this.

It makes it feel like you’re part of a secret club, getting the latest awesome, new Turkey Merck mug before the rest of the world does.

It might be worth knowing that each mug has a capacity of between 15 and 33 oz. And despite their high level of detail and the fact they look like priceless works of art, they are entirely functional. They are also microwave and dishwasher safe.

However, Turkey Merck recommends hand washing your precious mugs after use.

I recently picked Kevin’s brain (pun firmly intended) to learn all about how he began in his niche business.

And how it enabled him to quit his ‘day job’ and pursue his passion for sculpture and pottery full-time.

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This post may contain affiliate links, which means I’ll receive a commission if you purchase through my links, at no extra cost to you. Please read full disclosure for more information. Having said that, I only ever recommend products or services that I truly love and stand behind!

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Hi Kevin, Okay, I have to ask, where did “Turkey Merck” come from? How does it relate to mugs?

“Turkey” is an old nickname I was given in high school.

The potter that I studied under called me Turkey. So I started signing my face jugs “Turkey” instead of my name, Kevin, as a joke.

Why, you might ask, did he call me Turkey?

My legs were so skinny he said I looked like I was riding on a turkey.

Well, I guess we have him to thank in some small way. I’m doubtful you’d be called that if you were in school today!

Where was your childhood spent?

I grew up in Gillsville, which is a small town in the northeastern Georgia foothills. We were pretty poor growing up, but my aunt always made sure I had art supplies. She knew how much I loved drawing!

She was also the person that introduced me to the great horror, science-fiction, and fantasy flicks of the ’70s and ’80s.

I was always obsessed with movies that featured interesting makeups and costumes. Many of which still inspire me to this day.

I am currently based in Buford, GA which is just north of Atlanta.

How did you get into sculpting and pottery?

I have been sculpting for 19 years.

In 2001, I visited a friend’s house and saw his dad’s face jugs (pottery jugs sculpted to resemble faces). These caught my eye and piqued my interest in pottery and sculpting.

My friend’s dad, Wayne Hewell, is a Master Potter. And he took me on as his apprentice. I spent the next 5 years working in his shop, learning about working with clay, turning on the wheel, glazing, and kiln firing.

As soon as I got my hands in the clay, I became obsessed with sculpting traditional ceramic forms.

Although I studied under a Master Potter to learn the ceramic process, I suppose I would be considered self-taught as far as sculpting goes.

I’ve researched, studied, and been inspired by the works of various artists over the years.

How do you come up with ideas for your Turkey Merck mugs? 

I have explored various genres that inspired me as a kid; fantasy, science-fiction, and horror.

I’ve also created some nature-inspired art in the past. I really enjoy taking a static object, like a fence post, and incorporating a humorous face into the design to give it some movement and life.

Back in the day, my focus was on fantasy-related art, being a huge fan of horror movies and literature. I would always create a monster/horror-themed mug or jug around Halloween each year.

In October 2015, I decided to create a few zombie mugs, and the images went viral on Facebook.

That led to my current full-time job producing horror-themed ceramics. Your husband was the first person (out of about a thousand) that contacted me that day about purchasing one of the zombie mugs!

I remember that day very well, as I had also seen your image online. I’d never seen anything like a Turkey Merck mug. How did you go keeping up with the demands from then until now?

As I mentioned, I posted an image of my three zombie mugs on Instagram and Facebook in 2015, and that’s when my social media accounts really took off.

The post went viral on Facebook with over 500k viewers. That led to multiple large art accounts sharing my work, which in turn led to more followers.

I was receiving around 500-1000 messages a day from folks wanting to buy a Turkey Merck mug.

I had three mugs, and your husband, Kevin, had already bought one.

That’s when I decided to explore molding and casting options. Which, of course, led me to where I am today.

That’s pretty amazing! Where do you get your ideas from? 

Most of my art has been inspired by the books I read and movies that I watched as a kid.

Classic monster movies like The Creature from the Black Lagoon to 80’s movies like Fright Night, to modern zombie movies like World War Z. Cult movies like these have always had a huge impact on the type of art that I like to create.

There is also a lot of fantasy and sci-fi movies that have inspired me. The Wizard of Oz, The Dark Crystal, Star Wars, and The Lord of the Rings, to name a few.

That’s a diverse grouping of movies, for sure!

How long does one Turkey Merck mug take to produce?

An original mug design takes anywhere from 20-40 hours to produce. The production mugs take a lot less time since I’ve refined the process over the years.

Molding and casting my work has allowed me to produce enough products to make art full-time.

That’s incredible. It’s inspiring to hear of any artist that can turn it into a full-time business.

Would you mind telling us more about your process?

Sure. I usually like to produce a batch of mugs at a time. A batch consists of about 20-30 mugs and takes 3 weeks from start to finish. That is unless issues arise during the firing process. Any setbacks in the firing can add another week or more to the process.

• The first step is to come up with my design.

• And then I sculpt it.

• After the sculpted model is finished, a plaster mold of it is created.

• I take the first mold and create silicone master molds from which I can pour the working plaster molds that we use for production.

• Next, we pour slip clay into those molds. The slip dwells for about 30-40 minutes and then we dump the excess slip back into the slip tank.

• The mug then dries in the plaster mold for another hour until it is hard.

• Once the mug is removed from the plaster mold, my production artists clean up the seam lines and add any detail that was lost during the casting process.

• The handles are cast separately and attached to the mug.

Then comes the kiln!

• Once the mug is bone dry (referred to as greenware), the mugs are fired in an electric kiln for 16 hours (plus another 12+ hours for cool down) to 1800℉.

• The first kiln firing, called the bisque fire, hardens the clay enough where my artists can begin the glaze work, but the mug is still slightly fragile and porous.

• Multiple layers of ceramic glaze are applied with a combination of airbrush and brushes.

• Yet again, the mugs are bisque fired to 1800℉. The second bisque firing ensures that the first layers of glaze will not wipe off when the second layers are applied.

• Next, another round of glazes is then applied.

• After the second layers of glaze are applied, the mugs are fired to cone 6 for 8 hours, to a temperature of 2200℉ which causes the clay to vitrify (all the pores close, and the clay and glaze become watertight).

• The last firing makes the stoneware and glaze-work strong and durable. Some designs require an additional cone 6 firing.

That is quite an intense process. And incredibly time-consuming. What tools do you like to sculpt with?

Ken Banks and Kemper make my favorite tools. I also have a lot of homemade rakes and loop tools that I use. My favorite tool is the mini loop tools that Ken makes.

Oh, that’s great. Here’s a little trivia – my husband actually drew the logo for Ken’s Tools years ago! Small world!

Do you work with strict deadlines? Sometimes being creative and working to a set schedule don’t really go hand in hand.

Yes! It is very challenging to meet deadlines since I have about a million things to take care of in the shop each day!

Also, I have found that the use of a schedule is paramount.

I also set deadlines for projects, but I rarely meet those deadlines. At this point, I think I’m about 2 years behind schedule!

Do you have a hard time with a day to day schedule? What does an average day consist of in your studio? 

I utilize a schedule to keep up with everything. There are so many things that I have to take care of in the shop.

By the same token, ceramics can be such a fickle and difficult medium to work with.

Of course, there are always issues we run into. And they must be addressed as quickly as possible. It is pretty hectic. I work a lot of late nights and weekends.

Have you created any commission pieces?

I don’t work on commission pieces at this time. I’d rather make what I want to make.

I know that in recent years, you have branched out a little more, creatively. Do you have plans to expand in the future?

Well, to keep Turkey Merck running, I must primarily focus on the mugs.

So, working with resin, latex, and silicone is more of a hobby. Sometimes I need a break from the grind of ceramics, and that’s when I play around and explore various materials.

I think it would be cool to branch out and offer a line of latex or silicon masks at some point, but I have to stay focused on the mugs right now.

How has the pandemic affected your business this year? 

There were a few issues with our clay in February, which slowed down production for almost a month. We had to shut down the shop for over a month at the beginning of the pandemic, so sales took a big hit. But slowly, we are catching back up with all the mug designs we had planned to release.

Is producing a Turkey Merck mug a one-man business?

When I first started producing the mugs in 2016 I did everything by myself. It was a serious grind. By the end of the first year, I decided to hire my first employee.

Also, I employ two production artists and an assistant that handles casting, shipping, graphic design, and various other duties.

My wife, Kayla, handles the books.

I love that this has become a family business, as well. Very inspiring!

Is there a favorite character of yours that you haven’t created yet?

I really want to make a werewolf mug.

Oh, I’d love to see that!

Is it difficult or challenging working with such a fragile medium as a Turkey Merck mug? Have you had any casualties?

At the most basic level, ceramics is quite simple. But due to the organic nature of the materials and firing process, it can quickly become extremely complicated. Especially when you try to push the limits of the materials and firing process as we do.

These factors can present a real challenge, but I enjoy problem-solving, which is one of the aspects of ceramics that I find most interesting.

We haven’t had many casualties over the years.

Everyone is very careful with the mugs.

Speaking of casualties, how is the shipping process taken care of? I suspect that would be a cause of huge stress!

I have come up with a pretty good packing system for the mugs so we haven’t had any mugs broken during transit…yet!

The Turkey Merck success story (and your mugs!) are very inspiring.

What kind of advice do you have for creative people who may be unsure how to follow their dreams?

Work hard.

And when you think you are working hard, work harder. Grind it out. Outwork everybody else.

Work when others are playing.

Natural talent can only go so far. Pair your talent with hard work and you can get somewhere.
If you are like me and don’t have much natural talent, research, study, and learn from the masters.

And then practice.

And then practice some more.

Practice until you are tired of practicing. Then practice some more after that.

Make every piece better than the last.

Get over your fears of failure. Just go for it.

Be sure to put out quality work.

Our motto in the shop is, “just make it look cool”.

If you produce quality work that looks cool and get enough eyes on it, you can sell your work.

Once you get your work out there, if it is high-quality and you treat your collectors right, you can continue to sell your work.

Most folks can tell when they buy something with a lot of blood, sweat, tears, and passion behind it. And those things are certainly behind Turkey Merck mugs.

Utilize social media.

I think social media is one of the greatest tools for artists that has ever existed. There’s no better way to get your work seen than social media. However, it can be a real grind due to all of the crazy algorithms.

Stick with it because you never know what can happen with just one post.

Thanks, Turkey Merck! Well said, indeed.

Ultimately, I think what is most refreshing and endearing about Kevin is his total lack of ego. He is an incredibly skilled and naturally gifted sculptor in his own right. And a self-taught sculptor at that.

He also has a wonderful, self-deprecating manner that makes his appeal even more engaging.

We wish him continued success in the future.

If you haven’t seen his work, take a look at his epic social media accounts right here: Turkey Merck is active on Instagram and Facebook. And take a close look for one of my favorite features of his social media presence.

Collectors and fans of Turkey Merck are encouraged to post photos of their mugs in use. It makes for some exciting images online. And is also a great way to create a sense of community relating to the mugs. So much fun!

Do you have a Turkey Merck original mug? Or do you dream of owning one?

Until then, we look forward to your comments below!

Featured Image by Turkey Merck

The post The Sensational Art of a Turkey Merck appeared first on The Makeup Refinery.