SPECIAL MAKE-UP FX | ANIMATRONICS | BODY & FACE ART ISSUE 4 Summer 2016 £6.95
IN THIS ISSUE… >> Designing
the X-Men Celebrating the mighty
comic book franchise’s makeup FX
>> The Making
of a Maestro
fx Cribs The stud
Inside the career of
double Oscar winner Mark Coulier
io of DDT Efe ctos Especiale s
>> Step-by-
Steps
Pre-painting encapsulated silicone prosthetics, direct application of 3D transfers, colour theory and prosthetic mould making
>> Childhood’s End M.E.G’s Paul Katte and Nick
Nicolaou scope out their tech for ‘Karellen’
Star Trek Beyond Breaking the extraterrestrial mould Joel Harlow on designing 56 new alien races for the brand new Star Trek movie
PROSTHETICS
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CONTENTS
“…we’ve got aliens in spaghetti strap dresses, completely covered in very elaborate prosthetics.” Joel Harlow
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Sofia Boutella plays Jaylah and Simon Pegg plays Scotty in Star Trek Beyond from Paramount Pictures, Skydance, Bad Robot, Sneaky Shark and Perfect Storm Entertainment Photo Credit: Kimberly French © 2015 Paramount Pictures. All Rights Reserved. STAR TREK and all related marks and logos are trademarks of CBS Studios, Inc.
04 WORDS OF WISDOM Damian Martin, Oscar and BAFTA winning co-director of Australia’s Odd Studio sets the scene for this issue 06 THE ALIENS OF BEYOND Joe Nazzaro talks to Academy Award winning makeup designer Joel Harlow about taking alien prosthetics to another level in the newly released Star Trek Beyond
21 PRE-PAINTING ENCAPSULATED SILICONE PROSTHETICS
Leading Swedish prosthetics artist Göran Lundström takes us through his personal method for using cap plastic as a paint medium to paint onto encapsulated silicone appliances
28 THE MAKING OF A MAESTRO
From watching late night horror films as a kid to winning Oscars, Primetime Emmys and BAFTAs; Mark Coulier talks through his incredible career with Neill Gorton
41 DIRECT FABRICATION OF 3D TRANSFERS
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Shaun of the Dead Prosthetics Designer Stuart Conran on the timesaving technique of creating a 3D transfer without the need to sculpt, mould or cast
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DESIGNING THE X-MEN PART 1 Joe Nazzaro takes a look at a decade of the best selling comic book franchise and the wealth of challenges it has created for the FX makeup industry
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COLOUR THEORY Part three of transatlantic educators Stuart Bray and Todd Debreceni’s close examination of colour theory and its importance in prosthetics. In this issue: creating realistic skin tones
64 A DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE Neill Gorton talks makeup, magic and movies with well-known photographer Deverill Weekes – unofficial documenter of the industry’s FX artists
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PROSTHETICS TECH SPEC
Make-up Effects Group’s Paul Katte and Nick Nicolaou share their build of Karellen’s fabulous creature suit and prosthetics for Syfy Channel’s Childhood’s End
80 A BRUSH IS A BRUSH IS NOT A BRUSH
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Synthetic vs sable: which is more able? Siân Richards, award winning makeup artist and founder of London Brush Company evaluates this essential piece of kit
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Summer 2016
Welcome
to issue four of Prosthetics Magazine. Neill suggested I write the introduction for this issue and initially I dismissed the idea, as not being an industry person I felt what I could offer wouldn’t be relevant enough. I later realised this was rather short sighted however, and that if that assessment of my professional stance had come from someone else I may even have found it an affront! I’m never less than thrilled with the material I get to work with on this publication and it’s a genuinely exciting job. This time for example I found myself punching the air at 7am reading an overnight email from Paramount Pictures, approving the images for our piece on Joel Harlow’s incredible work on Star Trek Beyond, whilst helping our six-year old make a guitar out of a shoebox for her school homework before breakfast.
48 89 PROSTHETIC MOULD MAKING
In the second of a two-part tutorial Neill Gorton completes the prosthetic mould making process by casting out a positive and moulding a prosthetic sculpture
95 FX CRIBS
We get serious crib envy as we look at the airy central Barcelona space inhabited by David Martí & Montse Ribé of DDT Efectos Especiales and some large Orcas!
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And that’s the point. I have lived and worked wholeheartedly with the industry now for 16 years and it hasn’t just influenced my life, it’s become my life. I’ve helped Neill set up and build three companies and am representative of so many other people who may not be fibreglassing moulds in a workshop or transforming an actor on a makeup bus, but who play an important role in the industry’s bigger picture. I was reminded of this by Neill’s interview with Deverill Weekes on page 64. I’ve always admired Deverill’s work and hearing about his intense, passionate relationship with the industry and understanding the significance of his contribution to it, resonated clearly with me. This subject is also relevant to my partner in crime, our designer Mike Truscott. We have been close friends for nearly 30 years and Mike had done all the graphic design for our companies to date when we decided to embark on a magazine. Having worked with us for so long, Mike’s understanding of the industry meant no explanation was needed in terms of what we wanted to achieve. His respect for the work we feature shines through his design process and has been the subject of endless compliments from readers, as well as appreciation from the artists themselves. That brings me to the end of my first introduction – I hope you enjoy the contents of issue #4 and will sign off by giving a shout out to all my counterparts who may consider themselves non-industry, but who ‘live it’ in the same way I do! Lisa Gorton Editor
Publisher: Neill Gorton Editor: Lisa Gorton Designer: Mike Truscott Editorial Assistant: Laura Barnes Artwork Assistant: Stuart McDonald Sales: Laura Hargreaves Proofreader: Mary Loveday Edwards Contact: Prosthetics Magazine, Unit 3 Penrose House, Treleigh Industrial Estate, Redruth, Cornwall TR16 4DE Email: info@prostheticsmagazine.co.uk Cover image: ‘J-Nine’ makeup, sculpted by Norman Cabrera and applied by Joel Harlow, on the set of Star Trek Beyond from Paramount Pictures, Skydance, Bad Robot, Sneaky Shark and Perfect Storm Entertainment. Photo Credit: Joel Harlow © 2015 Paramount Pictures. All Rights Reserved. STAR TREK and all related marks and logos are trademarks of CBS Studios, Inc.
Contributors Our sincere thanks to everyone who provided material for this issue and shared their knowledge so generously, in page order: Damian Martin, Joe Nazzaro, Göran Lundström, Mark Coulier, Stuart Conran, Stuart Bray, Todd Debreceni, Deverill Weekes, Paul Katte, Nick Nicolaou, Siân Richards and David Martí. Content, instructional material and advertised products: The publisher is not responsible for unsolicited material, technical/artistic instruction or materials cited or promoted herein and does not endorse, guarantee, provide assurance of or recommend any products advertised or techniques described. PROSTHETICS
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FORWARD
Words of Wisdom An industry leader sets the scene for the issue
Damian Martin, Oscar and BAFTA winning co-director of Australia’s Odd Studio on why research, resourcefulness and attitude are key parts of your kit
T
here’s only one way to start this and it’s with a congratulations and thanks to Neill for making this magazine, it’s such a fantastic resource. Adult me loves it and I’m certain if it had been around when I was a teenager my head would have exploded. I’d like to add a further thank you for the invitation to contribute to this column. There are a couple of thoughts I would like to share here that I have observed and found helpful. Firstly, be resourceful; it’s kind of an abstract goal and as I sat down to write this I realised it is easy to say, but what mechanisms are there to help nurture resourcefulness? One way is to grow up wanting to do prosthetics in Australia in the 80s with scant resources, but there are others. Prosthetic effects has a great history full of amazing artists who created incredible effects before many of the materials common now were available or even known. It’s worth taking the time to find out how effects were achieved and thinking about why they were approached that way. That
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becomes part of your toolkit; the more solutions and ideas you carry the bigger that kit becomes. One day (or more likely many days) a new challenge will arise or something you normally use won’t be around and you’ll need a solution. The more alternative approaches you have up your sleeve the more likely you are to be able to work with what’s available. Even more broadly, finding out about how things are made in other industries can bring new ideas to ours. Also know the basics; learn how to paint foam latex and other non-translucent materials to look like skin. It’s a great way to really think about colour and layering and it’ll make you a stronger artist. Try a sculpt in different plastilines and clays, make sure you can make a decent plaster mould. Materials shouldn’t dictate your craft and being able to create with what’s at hand is such an asset. Secondly, be nice. Prosthetic makeup and filmmaking more broadly is collaboration,
the teamwork and the final result being more than the sum of its parts. We work closely with actors and each other on what are often demanding projects with stressful schedules. The more that everyone involved can create and keep a positive environment and leave out egos and agendas, frees us to concentrate on the work and to create. A good attitude and willingness to learn and grow your craft are great strengths to have. When there are two people with similar folios and skills going for the same job, the decision comes down to who do we want to spend 12+ hours a day with? Who do we want to be in a cramped makeup bus with? We all have our off days but be aware that we are all working together and it’s not about us it’s about the production. We spend a lot of hours working so the more enjoyable it can be the better, there’s always enough drama without crew adding to it. Damian Martin Co-Director of Odd Studio with Adam Johansen
feature
T h e
A l i e n s
o f
Beyond Joel Harlow and his team populate a universe with aliens for the new Star Trek film
FEATURE By Joe Nazzaro
MAIN IMAGE The Jaylah makeup looked simple but was incredibly painstaking. “One mistake on those black lines and you were done!” notes Richie Alonzo. Sofia Boutella plays Jaylah in Star Trek Beyond from Paramount Pictures, Skydance, Bad Robot, Sneaky Shark and Perfect Storm Entertainment. Photo Credit: Kimberly French © 2015 Paramount Pictures. All Rights Reserved. STAR TREK and all related marks and logos are trademarks of CBS Studios, Inc.
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