Monday, 14 December 2015

Bibliography



Films-
'Elizabeth' 23th of october, 1998 directed by Shekhar Kapur- watched on 27/09/2015
‘Horrible histories-terrible tudors’  BBC- 2009-2013
‘Elizabeth: The golden age’- 2007 written by William Nicholson and directed by Shekhar Kapur

Books-
'The eyebrow'- by Robyn Cosio. Regan books- Harper Collins- 1975
‘The artificial face- a history of cosmetics’ by Fenja Gunn. Printed in the UK. Published by Hippocrene Books in 1983
‘Face paint: the story of make up’ by Lisa Eldridge- ABRAMS Image (13 Oct. 2015)
‘Beauty and cosmetics: 1550- 1950’ Shire Publications (10 Feb. 2012)
Alex box published by rankin photography on the 8th of October 2009 







Friday, 11 December 2015

Overall evaluation



This unit has been such a good learning experience for me, everything has been really valuable. I can’t believe how quickly it has gone! I have learnt various new techniques and added to my creative skill set.  I have learnt that communication is key when working with a partner, and I feel there are times where both of us could have been bit more forthcoming and honest with each other about our progress.


I did find it quite strange working with someone else’s design and I did feel very pressured to get it just right as I knew Marianne had spent a lot of time working on it. I struggled with her design initially as there was lots of straight lines and intricate detail. However, Marianne was very cooperative and let me practice as many times as I needed to before the assessment. Lots of practice combined with playing around with different materials and stencil options meant that I felt confident in time for the assessment.


As a designer, there are definitely things I would have done differently to improve my design. Although I am not completely happy with the final images, I am happy with how i combined Elizabethan and contemporary elements whilst always making links back to my lady in waiting, Elizabeth Brydges.


Although there have been elements of this project that I found really hard, I have genuinely really enjoyed combing new skills with Elizabethan and contemporary influences to create my very first  make up design.

Evaluation as designer



My design:
My design has changed a lot since pitching my ideas to the group.  I went away and tweaked in, keeping in mind the advice I had been given and also that my partner only had a certain amount of time to complete it. In one of my original designs, I blocked out the eyebrow and then drew on a thin black line to create a frowning brow. I eventually decided to remove it from the design as it was too time consuming and I didn’t want to put my partner under too much pressure. When Marianne tried my design for the first time, she took quite a lot of time on in so I was certain I had made the right decision with removing the eyebrow detail. But as time went on and Marianne became more confident, she was completing my design with time to spare. By this point it was only a week before the assessment and I felt it would have been cruel to add in the eyebrow detail. Next time I will hand over my ‘ideal’ final design, and then I could always make adjustments after my partner has had a go at it and given me feedback.


Looking back, I am not entirely happy with my final images. In hindsight, I wold have gone for a thinner layer of skin base. I did want a dramatic look to suit my lady in waiting (Elizabeth Brydges), but I feel that I could have toned down the base to accommodate for the rest of the detail. I really loved the gold lips with the red and black eyes, im so pleased that I stuck with my original colour scheme. I was originally inspired by the colours in Elizabeth’s famous coronation portrait and wanted to incorporate this into my design. I am also really happy with the detail on the neck, I wanted to create something that represented the deterioration of Elizabeth Brydges’ wealth, social status and mental state. I chose to do white streaks on the neck as pale skin was essential for the noblewomen, so by doing this it shows that her status and wealth is fading. 

For the hair, I wanted half of it loosely off my face and then the rest of it to be heavily backcombed for a really messy look.This is because I felt it was fitting for my character- however looking back at the pictures, i have realised i should have tied it all up so that the detail on the neck was visible from every angle.  There are some things that I would change about my design, but I am pleased with my ideology behind it and how every feature was linked back to my lady in waiting.


The assessment-


Me and Marianne had really good communication throughout this unit. We were constantly in contact via facebook and we did a lot of practice in our own time. However, when it was my turn to be the make up artist, I was so desperate to get as many practises in as possible before my assessment. I wanted to make sure that I was confident with every aspect of marianne’s design. I felt a lot of pressure doing someone elses design and I wanted to make sure that my application was perfect as she had obviously put a lot of effort into creating it. I was quite disappointed that Marianne only wanted to do a couple of practises prior to the assessment. I understand that people work differently, and perhaps I just worry more than others! She obviously was very confident with my design which was good, but I would have liked it if she had wanted to practice a bit more to perfect certain areas. When she did practice, she struggled with the evenness and blending around the eyes and down the face. I would have liked  the red eyeshadow to have been blended better, so that it faded into the white nicely.  The only other area I wasn’t 100% happy with, was the lines going down the nose, I would have liked them to have been a bit harsher and defined. I was really happy with her lip, eyelash and eyebrow application. I know that she initially struggled with coating the eyebrow without touching the skin, but I was really happy with how they looked in the assessment.  I know that she would have been able to perfect all areas if she had practiced more, but other than that I was happy with the overall application. Based on this, if I was to give her a grade, I would give her a C1.


This unit has definitely been a challenge but I have really enjoyed adding to my skill set and broadening my creativity. I loved combining new techniques with contemporary and historical influences. 







Thursday, 10 December 2015

Alex box by rankin

I can't believe I have only just discovered this book! Although it only consists of pictures, it is amazing for flicking through and finding some inspiration. When looking through it today, I found a few images that had Elizabethan influences.

Although this is clearly a very dramatic look, it definitely has Elizabethan elements. Firstly, the White base. Secondly, although the blush is a lot more vibrant than it would have been, it is applied in the same way- just sapped onto the apples of the cheeks. Lastly, the eyebrows are blocked out and replaced with a thin line further up the forehead which gives an Elizabethan feel. 


I thought this one looked very Elizabethan. It is as if Alex box created her own 'new Elizabethan'. White base, blocked out eyebrows and white lashes are the Classic Elizabethan features she has used. It looks as though she has used some kind of lace to stencil on the pink pattern- lace was extremely popular during the Elizabethan era and it is as if she has taken inspiration from Elizabethan clothes and accessories to inspire this look. To finish it all off, the model has fair hair and it is styled in a way that creates a high forehead, which was very fashionable. 

Here is the last image that I found. I love that minimal colours are used, but the use of texture is really inspiring. Anything with a white base automatically has an Elizabethan feel. I love how other than white she has only used a bronze/ gold colour and has shaped the face using them. Although it wasn't used in make up, gold was very popular in clothes and accessories. I can't tell what it is she's used to cover the hair, but it could almost be a contemporary representation of how the Elizabethans went to great lengths to create a high forehead.

Alex box published by rankin photography on the 8th of October 2009 



Wednesday, 9 December 2015

Evaluation as a make up artist



When we first swapped our final designs, I really struggled with Marianne’s design and didn’t think I would be able to do it for the assessment. There were so may intricate straight lines and shapes that had to be perfect. Marianne wanted the lines to be dead straight, which we soon discovered was extremely difficult due to the way the face curves round. We tried using card as a stencil for the straight lines, but I found that this would pick up product or smudge and in the end I decided I was better off and more confident doing it freehand.


Another problem we faced was the product used around the eyes. In Marianne’s design, she had used a mixture of red and orange from the supra colour palette as she wanted to create a a really vibrant colour. But as supra colour is oil based, the heat from the eyes meant that it melted and started to run quite quickly. To amend this, we played around with some other products, but we found that the best solution was to wet the red eyeshadow from the krayolan palette. Using a powder product meant that it wouldn’t melt in the same way that the oil product did. However, the red eyeshadow alone was to dull and was the wrong texture for doing all the elongated flicks that were in the design. We then added a small amount of water to the eyeshadow, which intensified the colour and created the perfect texture.


The other tricky part was the gold lines around the eyes- I struggled to get them perfectly straight  to begin with, but after a lot of practice I managed to do it without a stencil.

I initially found doing someone else’s design very strange and I felt very pressured as I wanted to get it perfect not only for myself, but for my partner as it was her design that she had worked really hard on. Marianne was very cooperative and let me practice on her as many times as I wanted to before the assessment. I always knew that practice was key when it came to make up, but this project taught me just how important it really is! The only thing that enabled me to execute Marianne’s design in the assessment was good communication constant practice leading up to it.



Products used-
Protective gown
Satin primer
Skin base 001 
Krayolan eyeshadow palette (add water) 
White supra colour 
Gold liquid metal palette
Krayolan eyeshadow palette 
Foundation brush 
Kabuki brush
Flat eyeshadow brush 
Square, flat brush 
Disposable mascara wands
Loose powder
Powder puff

model: marianne simpkins
age:19
skin conditions: none
allergies: none
contact lenses: no


 Health and safety:

  • Before I do anything, I make sure that my brushes have been sufficiently cleaned with  Isopropyl alcohol to prevent bacteria spreading.
  • I covered my work station with couch roll to ensure that I had a clean space to put all my products andtools onto.
  •   I covered my model with a gown so that no product would fall  onto her clothing.
  •   Before starting the makeup I asked my model if she had any skin diseases or medical conditions that i should be aware of. I also asked if she was wearing contact lenses, as some products will irritate them.
  •  I washed my hands with soap and waterto prevent bacteria transferring.
  • I decanted any product onto the back of my clean hand, to prevent double dipping and again preventing any bacteria from the models face being transferred into my make up.