How do I paint your appliances for photos?

So I’ve noticed in the photos that, despite being blended with make-up, my prosthetic still shows up as notably lighter than my regular skin, which is not a problem for those with naturally lighter skin tones. Is there any way to tint the actual prosthetic darker?

Anie

 

Hey Anie,

When painting your appliance, you have to choose what experience you want to be best served. You also have to be very familiar with the lighting sources at the place you plan on wearing your costume.

In the latest Hobbit movie, they had to paint all appliances with a very red color to match skin tones on film. The funny thing was, on the film camera it looked right, but someone standing right next to that filming on a camcorder, the appliances looked extremely red!

You also have to know the lighting available. If you paint your appliance in a hotel room lit by incandescent or warm bulbs, it will look totally different once out on a Con floor lit by florescent bulbs. At Gencon, we actually take a different set of skin tone make ups because the lighting is so blue at that convention!

As with most things, you have to experiment. Things may not look right the first time, which in our line of costuming, can be a real pain in the ass. If only we had personal make up assistants following us around the con to make sure everything looks perfect!

Thanks,

mike

 

Leave a Comment