I promised to show you my TAINT

One of the most original, tongue-in-cheek, gore fest flicks I've seen this year has to be THE TAINT. You can read my review of it over at BloodSprayer.com. It's the type of film I love introducing to friends because of how over the top it is; it basically is the style of cinema that will determine if we'll be friends or not.

For those unfamiliar with this film, here's the NSFW trailer:

I showed the film to some friends and one of them, Kevin Polyak, instantly fell in love with it. He wondered if I was capable of producing a mask from this film for his Halloween costume. Basically a drunken gauntlet was thrown down in my mind and I was determined to make his challenge a reality. The mask he wanted was from a flashback sequence when a character is forced to duct tape their own ripped off face back onto their head.

Reference Still from THE TAINT

I decided to take the look of the mask a bit further. I brainstormed what this face would look like for the possible sequel to this film. I wanted to show the skin in a bloody, leathery state; contorted and disturbing. This would be my own version of Film Fan Art. What I envisioned was a cross between Freddy Kreuger, the Cropsey Maniac, Leslie Vernon and when actor Lou Perryman gets his face ripped of in TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE II. Basically all the terribly wonderful things that delightfully taunt my imagination and memories.

I knew that this was going to be my first attempt at making a mask so I wanted it to be special, I wanted it to be custom, I wanted it to be one of a kind. I decided that I wasn't going to go about the traditional means of sculpting and pouring a mold. I was going to do a layer by layer build up of liquid latex from a Ultra-Cal casting of my own face.

I gobbed on the latex knowing it would take longer to dry this way, but give me a rippled foundation that I would make look like fat. It would be later that I would augment it further.

Here you can see the first layer dry. Not a bad start, very Toxic Avenger, but that's not what I was going for...

I had previously poured strips of liquid latex on my arm and as it dried, I would peel off these layers and stretch them over the face. I would definitely do thinner strips if I made this same mask the same way again, but that ship already sailed. Still it had a very distinct look versus if I had made it appear droopy and saggy. I wanted HUMAN BEEF JERKEY!

I filled in cracks and crevices with sponges and brushes, making sure not to lose the basic elements of the face underneath my half-cocked scheme of a technique. You have to make sure you have your ability to see, speak, and breathe with a mask, and if you know Kevin that means drinking too.

The mask was really taking shape with over a dozen layers of liquid latex cured throughout. It was now time to peel away and start the process of painting.

Here is the pull of the mask from the front view.....

.....and here is the back/inside of the mask.

I trimmed the edges with scissors to scale down some of my excess, but the idea was that this mask was to cover a good sized chunk of the face so I made sure there was a little extra along the top of the forehead and beneath the chin. My version of old school Trick 'r Treating theater if you will.

I started painting with pinks and purples, knowing that this would be the basis of what I would build and blend from in regards to shadow and composition.

I soon started adding more reds and browns to the mix, darkening certain areas and bringing the colors more to my liking.

I blended and blended, but I knew I would need some highlight to make the piece really punch. My secret weapon? Nail polish. Yup. I used a clear pearl glaze to add a sheen of viscous and sliminess and I used fire engine red for blood, which looked fresh and tacky even when completely dried. I added a couple layers of blending on top of this to tone it down and push forward.

To hold the mask in place I created a band from stretch elastic ribbon you can buy at any craft store. But I also wanted to hide this as well as utilize this necessity. I used grey Gaff tape, instead of Duct tape and folded it over top of itself and slipped the elastic through all the way around the mask. I chose the Gaff tape because it is porous enough to accept paint and aging where Duct tape would wipe right off.

A closer look shows how the "tape" hides the band.

Here I am wearing my own creation, moments after completion. It's definitely a face only a mother could love either way.

And like any good artist you have to make sure you sign your work. I probably would've stamped into the mask for this, but a black Sharpie has never failed me before.


Here are a few pics I would update Face Book with via my phone and the camera application Little Photo.

It was quite fun to see the changes the process took as this project came to a close. I learned several new techniques and ways to go about creating the look I want and how to avoid the look I don't want. I now plan on tackling the craft of mask making on a larger scale with a sculpt and mold in the near future to produce a limited run of original creations.

Kevin completely forgot that I had promised to make him this mask. It arrived just in time for him to enjoy the Halloween weekend and not be completely lame without a costume. And that's what you should walk away with if anything from this article; not wearing a costume on Halloween means you are super-mega lame. That and always keep your promises.



Here's a couple of pics of Kevin in all his glory Halloween weekend.

And you thought the rats were the scariest part of the NY Subway...

Kevin and his special lady friend

Now here's hoping that they do make a sequel to THE TAINT!!

With Time comes Creation

So I'm currently researching materials and supplies to attempt my hand at BFX's Melting Face effect.



I'm hoping to recreate the iconic Belloq face melt from Raiders of the Lost Ark for a project with some friends. This will be my first major parlay back into special effects makeup in a while. I am eager for the challenge.



I'm confident it can work, it's just a matter of finding the time to pull it off. It's been done before...

The Sarah Silverman Program	Thursday, 12am / 11c
Odds 'N' Ends - Sarah's Baby's Birth
http://www.comedycentral.com/
Joke of the Day Stand-Up Comedy Free Online Games

I am also trying to find the time to catch the Tim Burton exhibit at the Museum of Modern Art before it closes soon. It's hard to believe spring is in the air. I could use the jolt of inspiration.



I have been organizing some of my source material for my projects. Old sketches, newspaper clippings, dilapidated comic books and a slew of other oddities. You can see some of that here. I am hoping some reorganization can produce a more conducive working environment as well as help me realize how much crap I have laying around.

I am also in the midst of crafting an art project for Carl of I Like Horror Movies. He won my 2nd contest give away on Z for Zombies. His requested piece centers on Dario Argento's horror classic OPERA. He also wanted a comic book look of pointillism though I'm not very adept at that style. I'm toying with the notion of fabricating a mini-bust, but the ideas are still coming to me.




And as talks of projects on the horizon come to a close, here's the closing of my storyboards as promised.



It's entitled "REVENGE" and was supposed to showcase the play of colors and lighting for the short film, particularly with the ending. It's probably my favorite of the series, especially the expression on the victim's face.

I hope you enjoyed them as much as I enjoyed sharing them.

A Fork in the Road

I recently received the news that SVA is not going to offer the Advanced Special Effects Make-Up class that I was hoping to enroll in. Unfortunately, they didn't get enough students interested to warrant offering the class. My one option is to enroll in the Basic class again and work off to the side with a few of the other folks that expressed interest.

That being said, I don't think I can quite afford the whole bundle and time commitment again. I think with some discipline I can take what I've learned and continue to experiment with what I've previously taught myself by using the money and time I would've invested in SVA into new tools and materials for my own projects. I've taken a few short tutorials at Compleat Sculptor before and I am considering it again. Pictured are the workshops I'm considering.

The tricky thing is that for all the artistry and methodical techniques I've encountered and continue to learn, it's all a bit of fun and games to me. I look at action figures and overpriced sculpted busts in toy stores and comic shops and can't help think, "I can make that." I've found myself pausing the carnage and sci-fi elements of all my DVDs lately to critique the craftsmanship. Basically, I'm saying, I'm just having fun with this, and I'm not entirely sure which way to take it. I'm note sure if I will ever be paid to do what I'm crafting, but I'm not sure if it's art either. I like to draw and paint and craft things from bits of trash I find. I like to cut things up and put them together again. This is just a classic case of good intentions coupled with manic energy meeting a lack of direction. I just hope it doesn't develop into regret and further frustration. I am realizing I need a new project to take me to the next plateau.

I recently unearthed a few story boards I did for a friend. He was crafting a short film about mobsters, hit men, and a zombie's revenge. Looking over them I realised I should revisit some of these. If not for the story that died on the vine, but maybe to help someone else with their vision; to offer what talent others think I have to birth their visions. Perhaps that is where I'll figure out what comes next.

I used pen, sharpie, and water color to craft the storyboards on heavy stock paper that's roughly 5" by 7". It's style was very fueled by Brian Azzarello's 100 Bullets drawn by Eduardo Risso. I'll post one storyboard now and use it as motivation to draw for other projects. I will continue to post more storyboards until you all have the entire series I did for the short.

Here he is; BOSS MAN.

He's definitely got a Paul Sorvino as a Teamster vibe. Maybe you think it's crap, but I have to hope it can only get better from here.

More to come.

My Zombie Girlfriend and Finals

It's been quite a journey to get to this point.

For my final project, I wanted to do a full face prosthetic appliance. I've shown the steps of life casting my girlfriend's face, and now is the moment to show what I learned and gained from my first round of schooling in special effects make-up. This would be the ultimate test of how far I could push myself to deliver a quality look, unassisted, in three hours.

I wanted to create a Zombie, but I also wanted to put my own spin on it. Something horrifying, but not yet repulsive. Like scary magic. I decided to draw inspiration from Michael Jackson's THRILLER and the cult film classic EVIL DEAD 2. I wanted to marry the sunken lifelessness of Michael with the over exaggerated horror of a Deadite. Using this as a template I embarked on many sculptings of how to make this happen.

The perfect inspiration.

The perfect model; a clean face with no make-up or acne treatments present. Some acne treatments have been known to cause an adverse burning sensation when working in these special effects make-up scenarios.

I begin applying the latex face piece by first brushing a border of Pros-Aide on the inside edges of the appliance. Working from the middle of the nose and the forehead, I secured the piece. I secured further along the cheeks and temples.

I designed the piece to be two parts; a face piece and a chin cap. This would allow for full range of the mouth for snarls, eating/breathing, etc. This was important in keeping a very humanistic look to my creature design. Ideally I would have loved to have also crafted a set of fangs/jagged teeth, but time was against me with only having two weeks to execute this entire set of materials. You do know I've never done any of this before right?

When pouring my liquid latex to craft the appliance the weather was dipping below freezing. This added quit a bit of time to the cuing process. I initially did a dump pour to build my layers, but in hindsight, if I would have had the extra time I would have brushed on the latex in layers to insure more even flow to the piece, particularly the edges.

In the end the appliance is about 2x too thick, but I countered the stiff edges by using additional liquid latex to adhere torn strips of Kleenex to bridge the appliance to the skin.

I used this tissue method along the mouth and the eyelids as well. This helped blend the look of the upper face piece and the lower chin cap.

I then began the time consuming process of painting the entire latex appliance. Next time I would definitely cast in gelatin to cut down on the weight of the piece and the tedious process of painting. It would add a bit more flexibility as well when gluing it down.

This was a worthwhile lesson as I learned to take my time and work the colors.

I always have a difficult time matching skin tone with grease paints. They recommend a mix of three colors to balance it out, but I always find myself using 4-5. The trick is playing with light and shadow and using those colors to create that. It all comes from blending....

...Blending....

....shading & blending darker....

...and darker.

For the eyes, I went with a three toned purple. It lends a sense of disturbing feminity to it I think.

Here I added a bit of black to the nose cavity, lips and neckline. The neck is key as the eyes wander and takes in objects as a whole to perceive an image. Rewatch the original DAWN OF THE DEAD and almost all the zombie make-up you see stops at the chin line. That'll save time and materials, but you never want to do anything half-assed.

Here are a few make-up designs from some of my fellow classmates.

A whipped lacerated back was created by Erin Ausfeld. She also did the gory nail-gun accident depicted below.

 Jacqueline Olszewski - She crafted these fantastic boils by dropping liquid gelatin on tin foil and letting it cure. Amazing results!



Cindy Sanabria did up a piece of wax work that recalls the glory days of CANNIBAL FEROX.


Kevin English crafted a skinned hand, full of tendons and gore.


Here's a few snapshots of my finished results. To hide the seams along the hairline that I wasn't able to cover with Eva's natural hair, I thought quickly on my feet and pulled off my ski mask for her to wear. Instant fix.





From start to finish I used every second of our 3 hour class to achieve this look. I feel I really pushed myself and was able to significantly capture what I had planned in my mind's eye.

Clean up was a gentle peeling away of the latex, and a few baby wipes to take off the color.

I love the remnant piece left behind. It looks like it came straight from the set of TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE. I can now attach some elastic bands and have a half mask. I would probably deconstruct the jawline for better stability.

BEFORE -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------AFTER

I want to give a big thank you to Eva for being a trooper. I now know what tattoo artists refer to when they say their clients "sat like a champ". A big thank you to all my classmates that made learning fun. It honestly played like group therapy for horror junkies. And a big thank you to Carl Paulino, my instructor. I truly hope that they offer the ADVANCED SPECIAL EFFECTS MAKE-UP class so I can continue this new passion.

Stay tuned as I have several new projects on the horizon.