Friday, June 8, 2012

Some Make-up Tutorials

by Zoe

Not to much in the way of theoretical rambling today, but instead a series of eyecandy: make-up tutorials from youtube. I've been passing time by watching these this week: they're fun, and have given me some fun ideas. To be fair, I've seen some Accelerant LARPers who outdo any of these artists, but, for beginners like me, these videos are great for inspiration. If any readers do phenomenal makeup-- and I know some of you do-- I'd be happy to accept tutorials. Also, while most of these artists are women, these could certainly be unisex designs. Enjoy!


Bird Mask: If you have an avian or avian-themed character, this sort of styling could be really dynamic. I love the beak, and the feather colors could be changed to match your preferred bird. I recently did a crow with black and iridescent colors, plus a dark silver beak.

Koi Face: This requires no small amount of artistic talent, but for those brave enough, it would be a good riff on classic "elemental" make-up. Not exactly wonderful for quick NPCs, but for PCs or face NPCs, this would be stellar. Especially if you were playing a game with Japanese themes, this would be an innovative way to do a water elemental.

Mermaid: A longer video, but, I think, worth the effort. The artist teaches you not only how to do the beautiful makeup, but also the accessories (fins and jewelry) to complete the look. The mermaid has an alien, surreal look, which I prefer to the The Little Mermaid alternative.

Rag Doll: Creepy but elegantly done, this would be good in any sort of dark fairytale setting-- or even a steampunk or post-apocalyptic one, depending on your character. This is really complicated, but it could easily be dumbed-down with fewer patches, less complicated designs, and that sort of thing. I think the contacts make it.

1920s Inspired: Fairly simple and effective for anyone doing turn-of-the century LARPs-- I think it could also work well, with some color changes, for a glam villainess.


Cat Makeup: I saw some fantastic cat makeup at Mirror, Mirror-- this video is good, but doesn't quite equal the makeup players had in-game. However, a lot of people like to do cat makeup, and this is a polished look.

Old Age Makeup: Unlike most of the rest of the world, LARPers often wear makeup in order to look like elderly citizens. (And, since LARPing keeps you perennially young, this can be a problem.) Most NPCs will have at least one or two very older characters with significant age-lines, and this is a quick and simple "how-to."

Fairy Makeup: This is a more minimalist look, in the LARP sense, at least, that, I think, gets "fae" across quite nicely. Colors could easily be rearranged depending on your preference.


Zelda Fairy: Being a giant Zelda fan, I couldn't help but include an overly complicated video for everybody's favorite oh-so-glam fairies.


Hope you enjoyed the videos-- or were at least prompted to look for your own. I really think good make-up, especially when it comes to NPCs, can make the difference between a good encounter and a great encounter.

2 comments:

  1. One of my favorite tricks, which I use for the Serpent Mother at Seven Virtues, is to do scales by pulling a fishnet stocking over my head and applying makeup over that. My current technique is as follows:

    Apply base color, if using, and allow to dry.
    Cover base color with barrier spray and allow to dry.
    Pull stocking over head.
    Using a stippling motion with a small brush, apply liquid makeup in highlight areas as desired (I usually do my forehead, cheekbones, eyebrows, and along the sides of my neck). Don't oversaturate, because you don't want your scales to bleed together. I currently use Mehron's metallic powder mixed with mixing liquid to get well-defined golden scales, but I've heard of people just using eyeshadow over bare skin for a more subtle look.
    Allow to dry. Spray everything with barrier spray, and then allow that to dry. Only then should you peel off the stocking.

    The look this creates is pretty arresting, with instantly recognizable well-defined scales, and I'd love to see it catch on for dragons, mermaids, and yes, more evil snake ladies.

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    1. I was dabbling with that look one evening, and was really surprised by how awesome it turned out. I'm excited to try it out in a larp setting-- I was going to do it at a recent event, but ran out of setup time, and had to settle for more boring scales.

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