Dramatic Context
Georgia Brown
Experimentation | Paints and colour:
Mixing foundations:
I will be applying a green/yellow undertone to take away redness in my models cheeks.
Davis, G. and Hall, M. (2008). THE MAKE UP ARTIST HANDBOOK. Burlington, USA. Focal Press: Elsevier Inc. Below: Pages 40 and 41.
The sitter in the portrait (Sir Nicholas Poyntz) has very pale skin, it almost lookes marbled. Whether or not this is due to the age of the painting, I will try to create a skin base which resembles the paintwork. White will be used to highlight areas and pale down/soften different colours.
Corey, I. (1991). THE FACE IS A CANVAS, The: Design and Technique of Theatrical Make-up. (n/a) U.S. Anchorage P. Above: Page 48.
Above: Cropped close up image taken from my portrait.
National Portrait Gallery (1983). Sir Nicholas Poyntz. [online] Available from: http://www.npg.org.uk/collections/search/portraitLarge/mw07809/Sir-Nicholas-Poyntz [Accessed 11 October 2014]
Buffing the colours together:
I closely examined my models face and noticed he had yellow undertones with red pigment in his cheeks. I held different foundations and concealers next to his face and tested out colours along his cheek and jawline which I thought were the closest match. His exact shade was a mix of MAC nw20 studio fix foundation and Inglot concealer in shade 94. The two colours buffed together looked flawless on his skin. I wasnted to find my models exact foundation match before I started using different paints on his face, this way I could depict which colours would look too grey/ cold, how to warm them up and how much product to apply.
The contouring round the sitters eyes is shades of grey and hints of brown, rather than dark brown or bronze. They are natural creases and therefore the colours are darker shades of his natural skin tone.
The sitter has a very pale complextion with cold undertones, I can see shades of: yellow, green and blue. The texture of the skin looks marbled and I can re-create this using a layering effect with paints.
Colours in the cheeks and lips: Orange, peach, red/light brown.
The circles indicate which colours I used from the grease palette.
Grease Palette:
The skin looks too cold, I used too much blue and green paint to shade areas and because of the grease texture, all of the colours merged together and made the skin look bruised. More white/peach paints are required for highlighting areas of the face. The grease paints are too naturally blendable and I couldnt create the necessary texture of a 'marbled effect' with them alone, I will not use grease alone on the final make up application because the colours slide and detailing is lost where they smudge together.
Illustrator Palette:
The marbled skin texture is acheiveable with the illustrator palette, the technique was effective and the skin looked textured with a lot of highlight. However, I found it was easy to over apply with the illustrator palette and the colour didnt particularly budge once it had set on the skin. Mistakes can be easily made and therefore the paint must be applied with patients. I also found it difficult to create shadows and fine lines with this palette, the whole application was time consuming and I for this reason I wont use the illustrators alone on the final make up.
Combining both palettes:
I used a mix of:grey/ silver, white, peach and a very small amount of blue from the grease palette on top of the illustrators. I tried to add natural shadows in areas with greys and blue whilst highlighting by mixing the white and peach together. I was starting to reach a closer skin match to the sitter in the portrait. However, the grease paint smudged again and the mixed colours merged together making the whole face look too cold. I needed to add a heavy lower eyelid with shadow and the lines werent defined enough.
To take away the white base I'd applied on top of the illustrators I used a large buffer brush to remove excess and began mixing new colours. I added more peach, a small amount of white and avoided adding the grey/silver colours. Once I was satisfied with the colours I defined the shading around his eyes and brows with light brown and grey mixed.
Aqua Colour Palette:
I tried to take away the grey/blue tones in the paint by adding in warmer colours but the result wasnt as I'd expected. The paint looked thin and although the skin looked marbled and textured there was an element of bruising or illness in the make up. The grease palette isn't appropriate for my portrait and I will not use any grease/cream base for the final make up.
MAKE-UP ARTIST. (2014). Make-Up Artist Magazine. Issue 108. U.S.: Michael Key. Page 47.
Make up artist who creates artworks on naked bodies. She uses body paints on the naked skin and acrylics to paint clothes. Her bodypainting series almost looks historic and the painting style is similar to which I need to create for my final make up application. However, my portrait isnt as 2D and I wont use the paint as heavy, the brushstrokes will be smaller and less contrasted. After numerous colour tests I had to look at artists work for inspiration and this artist along side Alexa Meade inspired me to use Aqua/Body paints over grease and illistrator.
Regina, R. (n/a). [online image]. Available from:http://www.reginareyes.com/resume.html[Accessed 20 November 2014]
Alexa meade is an artist who works with acrylic paints, she selects a topic and paints it, literally. She is a fantastic concept artist and her skill set is inspirational, she is able to turn anything into a 2D painting, perfecting highlight and shadow.
Meade, A. (n/a). [online image]. Available from:http://alexameade.com/l[Accessed 21 November 2014]
Water paints leave a 3D texture on the face and body if they are painted on thick enough. I find that because they have a quick drying time you can gradually add paint in a layering effect, the model can be made to look completely 2D if put into context and because I am replicating a painting I would like to use a similar technique with the Aqua palette. I think the Aqua paints will give me the marbled/pale discolouration I need during application and because the paints are activated with water, I can add/take away detail without stress.
In the
style of:
Alexa
Meade
Above: Water based paints I have previously experimented with.
Experimentation | Aqua Palette: Colour matching
Using the Aqua palette I dotted primary colours on the back of my hand and began mixing them together with water. I used a lot of water initially because I wanted the colour to look translucent rather than opaque. Rather than disguising my skin they altered its natural pigment and changed my skintone. I added thicker brushstrokes to see how the paints would look if I added layers. I didnt allow the first layer to dry before adding colour on top and therefore they blended together, I wont make the same mistake during the make up application on my models face.
Formative Assessment | Aqua Palette:
I tested the Aqua palette on my models skin for the first time during my Formative assessment and the colouring was in correct. The colours matched the sitters skin tone to an extent but I need to add yellows and more white to take out some of the colour in his cheeks. The pink needed to have been a coral/orange colour with grey/brown shadows and the shadows underneath his eyes are too contoured. However, I'm happy with the shading around his brows and the brown/grey colours I used for shadowing his features, the contouring would have been accurate if I had of worked lighter with the paints. My model didnt look 2D enough after the finished application and to resolve this I will work thicker with the 'base' paints in the final assessment.
After the formative assessment I studied the portrait again, concentrating on the colours used for the sitters skin tone and figuring out how to replicate them on my fodels face, without smudging colour together and making him look ill/ bruised but keeping the cold flesh tones. I found that If I dabbed small amounts of paint on his skin (lightest colours first) and allowed them to dry in between layering colours, the results were accurate. The detailing around his eyes and chin needs to be finer. However, I am happy with the skin base and cheek/lip colour. The colours are cool and he has yellow undertones without looking theatrical or ill. I will take my time adding in detail around his eyes during my final assessment and keep the skin base similar in colour.
Click on each of the above images to enlarge them.