Makeup School: Day 50 - Special Effects with Wax

Recreating Billy the Saw doll

In all honesty I'm not much of a special effects girl. I'll do it and I can do it well, but I just prefer to make people pretty.

Or creepy. I like creepy. It's a much more subtle and effective to give that skin crawling feeling rather than an all out, puke-everywhere-gross look.

And what's more creepy than the Saw doll? :D I have no stomach for scary movies, although I don't mind the Saw series. Apparently, seeing people manipulated, mind-f**ked and tortured doesn't disturb me or trigger any phobias. But seeing a CG ghost on screen will keep me up all night. Go figure.

Given the lack of readily available latex prosthetics, we were taught how to mould wax to the skin and change facial features.

In this instance, I've added wax prosthetics on the eyebrows, cheeks and chin. I had no red contact lenses handy so I just painted the eyes directly on the model's eyelids and asked her to close them to recreate the staring gaze of Billy.

Half-half look created with airbrush, wax, and ageing with creams

Wax is also a pain to work with. If you touch it too much it goes too soft, sticks to everything, and won't hold its shape. The heat of the skin also makes it peel off after a while, so it'll only be good for about an hour or two. Wax is also not recommended for continuity unless you can get the application on exactly the same every time. But for a quick mock-up, it's pretty good.

Tip: Cover your fingers with Vaseline or Pawpaw ointment before handling the wax. This prevents it sticking to your fingers and makes it easier to smooth out fingerprints.

xxEva