Final Thoughts

I am pleased with this project and especially excited by the way it has encouraged me to step out of my comfort zone. My style is usually very precise and I like everything to be neat and exact. Creating the molten plastic creations spurred me on to be more of a risk taker when it came to creating a makeup look. After all what is the worst that could happen? If I am unsatisfied with a look I can easily create another one. What I found so surprising was how much relying on the random can really pay off. I am pleased with my final images, especially seeing as I have yet to edit them in any way. They are strong images and I feel I really used my research to help form my ideas. I have particularly enjoyed the research for this project as it satisfies my intrigue for all things gore! The argument on plastic surgery is one I have mixed feelings about so it has been interesting, for example, to study and artist who actually praised this so called “art form”.

Had I my time again with this project, I would, as always, be more organised and explored certain areas further. For example there were a couple more artists who caught my interest but too late. I would have also like to have explored more with melting plastic as using cling film and my home oven provided limited results. I think with this project you could really go to town on the styling side of things and I have thought up enough wacky ideas as far as melting a costume together go, but this would require more resources than I had available.

I did actually decide to experiment further with my final images, as you can see in the images below:

I thought it would only be sensible to try out a few extra pieces on my model whilst I had her there in case I wanted to make any drastic last minute changes to my ideas. Here I have experimented with the use of surgery lines, and although I like the idea still, I don't think they were necessary. If I was to include them I would have given more thought as to where as well because I hated the little semi-circle i decided to put on the left hand side of the chin.

Here I also tried to include some of my little plastic creations by sticking one to the face using Duo glue. I like how it brings a new dimension to the image and in this particular photograph is has created a good look. To photograph on the whole though, was trickier as the plastic looked lumpy from other angles. Perhaps I didn't select the best piece of plastic for this but more experimenting would be needed to  show the most effective techniques here. I do however love the the way it creates such a strong jaw line in the picture.

To finish, here is a little video of me creating my final look. Enjoy :)

Final Resuls

Please note that none of these images have been edited or cropped or tampered with in the slightest!

Chosen Design

For my final decision I am going with look number 4!! I really based this looks upon my making of the little plastic creations which I just found so much fun! I couldn't resist re-visiting the random nature and unexpected outcomes that happen when you just pour pigment and let it find it's place. Below is my face chart again, as well as the beauty look I have created to go with this:

I wanted this look to reflect the editorial version by keeping the glamoured-up bruised eye. I will use the same colour pallet as in the original face chart but my challenge will be to confuse the audience. I don't necessarily want it to look like two black eyes, but i dont want it to just look like beautiful makeup either, which is why I have included the yellowy, discoloured area under the eye still. I will also add contouring to the face and body to keep the look slightly gaunt looking. To keep it looking vamp and beautiful, I've opted for bright green brows and large lashes. I think a dark sumptuous lip is necessary to combine this look to form a perfect balance of unhealthy yet beautiful.

For the hair I want a simple, scraped up look to ensure all focus on the face. I will put the models hair into some sort of bun or top-do to heighten the length of the overall appearance and increase the drama!

Face Charts

 1) This face chart incorporates the use of surgery lines as well the bruising I have been  looking at. The right eye will use a mixture of pigments and eye shadows using the more purple and green hues in the bruise colour pallet. I want the rest of the skin to be flawless and porcelain in appearance to give an almost fake look. I have also considered putting Vaseline or oil on the skin to make it shine. For the surgery lines and brow I will use grease based face paint. The left eyebrow will be blocked ant there will be no emphasis on lashes on that side. The right will be contoured using purple, pink and green shades, giving two really separate looks on either side of the face. For the lips a dark purple. I like how this look ended up looking quite futuristic.

2) For this look I decided to come up with something that would look cross between facial bruising and melted plastic all rolled into one! I would start with a fresh, neutral base, working up colour on the right hand side using supra pallet and pigments. I looked at the surface of my melted plastic creations to decide where to place colour, hence the random appearance. For those creations I used quite a bit of glitter too As I have previously mentioned in one of my very early posts about one of my colours being "night sky", I thought this would give me good excuse to incorporate some glitter into my looks, giving a "starry" appearance. I chose classic red lips to keep this beautiful and I would accentuate the left eye using dark lashes, perhaps blue and here I have also included globules of green, which I would add to the tips of the lashes to look like molten plastic.

 3) This look is based directly on one of my little plastic creations. I studied the movement of colour throughout one piece and translated it to the face. I think I would use grease based face paint to create this merging of colours as they move so much smoother over the skin. For the right hand side of the face i would like to have the cheekbone really contoured, here I have chosen the colour red to keep the look dramatic. For the lips I chose to do an "ombre" look, with the dark fading to the lighter purple/pink shades. This is just to mirror the merging of colours that occur on the melted plastic. As this look would be bold and sharp, I decided not to clutter it with lashes and eye makeup but to keep the focus on the colour and design.

4) This look is again based upon the plastic creations, but this more so the process of creating them. Alongside this inspiration I want to include the bruised aspect from a post surgery face. I aim to create a glamorous bruised eye using some dark pigments in purples, yellows and greens (bruise colour pallet once again!) Even though the colour hasn't showed up so strongly in the picture, I would have the eyes dark. As there will be a lot of colour in this look I want the skin to be porcelain. I would like to illuminate the skin also by blowing fine glitter all over the face. Where I have dropped ink on the image represents my use of pigment in this look. When creating my plastic creating I poured powdered pigment onto the plastic and blew it to spread the colour. I would repeat this process exactly onto the face, so the outcome could be a little random! Red glittered lips to add even more drama to this look and minimal eye makeup.

5) This look is based upon two aspects of my research. Yeo's paintings that I discussed earlier, inspired the brush like application of colour to the face whilst also giving it a more plastic appearance. My colour pallet has been inspired colourful bruises. For this look I wanted a really thick application, so I'm not sure what product would be best to use so this could do with a little more research. I have chosen thick night-sky lips covered in big glitter to really make the pop from the busy background. Again, with the lashes I wanted to add blobs of green, for these i would probably use nail varnish or fabric paint on the end of a pair of lashes.

Something On My Face

I decided to have a little play around with the little melted plastic things I made. Instead of using these to create some sort of clothing (some areas of the plastic are very hard and I think using a sewing machine on these could be a little dangerous) I thought they could be used on the face. 

Here is what I got up to:

Recreating Bruises

I definitely want my final outcome to include eyes that could suggest the face has taken a bit of a battering, so I have looked at re-creating a bruise using grease based face paint. If you look at a bruise, it goes through various different stages and colours before disappearing completely. Below is a chart to show this process, and also the kind of colours I have used:

Below are my recreations:

Bruises are often referred to as "shiners" and having the surface of the bruised area appearing slightly light-reflective, does make the injury look more genuine. Even though the grease based paint does give this effect, I still added some Vaseline around the eye to really bring out the colour.

Lines

I mentioned already how I liked the lines left on the face from surgery. After looking at Jonathan Yeo's work I've decided to look at a few ways in which I could include these into a makeup look. Below are a few of my own interpretations of these markings: 

These designs are only loosely based upon what I've seen through my research but I think I would definitely like to try and incorporate these markings into a final look. 

Plastic Skin

After looking at distressed skin from surgery, I wondered if I could come up with something incorporating an actual 'plastic' element to create this look. Inspired by my cling film creations, I started wrapping parts of the body in clingfilm. It wasn't really sticking as much as I'd hoped though and required layer after layer of messy clingfilm to stay put. This really wasn't the kind of look I was after especially for use on the face, but thankfully had a bit of a eureka moment on discovering an old bottle of PVA in my room. 

Here you can see my friend Tyler, being painted with PVA. I layered it quite thickly, so some areas took a lot longer to dry than the others. I started to play around with the looks whilst I waited!

On the right is a close up of my second model. This photo shows much clearer the final outcome. I have allowed the PVA to dry completely which has pulled the skin nice and taught in some areas and wrinkling it in others. I picked at some areas with a pin to make it come loose from the skin and where I have done this I have also a pink blush pigment to make the skin appear sore. I added this where I saw fit, but this was really only a basic experiment. The PVA creates really nice texture and this could be worked into a lot more with a whole range of colours.

Here is the final look on the whole. As you can see I carried the blush colour up around the temples and added a little eye makeup just to bring it together a bit. I like the effect of PVA on this skin however I am not sure if it is really the kind of outcome I had wanted for my final look, as it seems to drift slightly from the brief. I want my model to look a little more bruised, not covered in rash!

Plastic Surgery Bruising

In an earlier post where I discussed my friends makeup look based around plastic surgery procedure, I said I wanted to explore the 'messy' side of surgery, the grotesque and blooded healing process before the unveiling. Below is a mood board created taking a look at this:

I love the colours that naturally occur in bruising. Out of these images I would say the top left hand corner and bottom right are the most dramatic and I particularly like how the markings from the surgeons pen prior to surgery are still visible. 

Melting Plastic

After finding the imagery online rather dull when searching for plastic that had been melted, reformed or 'bruised' I decided to have my own go at creating something a little more exciting visually. I initially planned on melting down plastic bottle lids, but realised this would be difficult to get them to fuse together just under an oven's grill and would be more likely to poison my housemate with toxic fumes. So instead, I tried out a few other ways, using less heavy-duty plastic.

First, I started by layering a baking tray in grease proof paper and layering strips of different coloured plastic bag. This didn't really work as everything just kind of shriveled into a weird lumpy ball in the middle so I decided to trap the pieces of plastic bag between two pieces of clingfilm. I knew clingfilm would melt faster so hopefully hold everything together. It worked!!

After my first couple of using just plastic, I chose to add dazzle dust and glitter in between the clingfilm.

Above are some before they made it into the oven. Below, are my results :)

As you can see the results from this were pretty varied but I love the difference in appearance from each one. The only thing i was slightly disappointed with was the size of the pieces, which shrunk to a lot smaller than the size of the tray. I did have some vague idea of creating a body suit for my model from these pieces but I am sure I'll find a way to incorporate them into my work. Anyway, this mini project has given some really nice visuals to work with.

You're Only Young Twice

Well known artist Johnathan Yeo has explored the way in which surgery is perceived by the general public and how it is portrayed by the media, in his words, often with "judgmental finger-wagging". However, surgery is on the rise and Yeo likes to point out that it is only the kind of Artist that has changed. Portrait artists for many years were required to make their subject's appearance ring true to that of beauty ideals that were around at the time. Now this is the responsibility of surgeons as the lines between portraiture and medical procedure become increasingly blurred.

Yeo's photorealistic imagery, all in nude, beige and brown tones, give the viewer an almost confusing message. The painting seem almost serene in their colour pallet and stillness of the subjects, yet they show a grotesque reality of the procedures being done. All his works show face work and breast enhancements as on a whole, these are the two areas of surgery we are most fascinated by. I love the markings on the images and feel inspired to include these markings in some of my face charts.