Quentin's burns

I wanted to have a look at some YouTube videos before I started creating my own burn to get inspiration and maybe find some new techniques. I was so excited to find the video below because I learned how to make my burn fizz! The girl used tablets that fizz in water and crushed them up, sprinkled them over the burn and then sprayed water over the top to create a beautifully disgusting fizzing/bubbling effect. Below shows how I got on when I experimented with this new technique!

Equipment:
-Liquid latex
-Cotton wool
-Sponges
-Supra colour palette
-Tweezers
-Small flat brush
-Blood paste
-Liquid blood
-Vaseline
-Alka-Seltzer tablets
-Water spray

Step by step:
1. I first applied a layer of liquid latex over the area I wanted the burn to be. I applied the latex with a sponge.
2. I then spread out some cotton wool over the liquid latex to give the burn some texture.
3. I covered the cotton wool with more liquid latex to get rid of the fluffy texture and so seal the cotton wool down.

4. After I let the liquid latex dry completely, I started to pick holes into the latex with tweezers. I did this to give the burn more depth and texture. I found I have to be quite rough with this, especially where the cotton wool was.

5. I used my supra colour palette to colour my burn. I dabbed on some red supra colour with a sponge all over the burn, followed by patches of yellow supra colour.
6. I found that some of the white cotton wool was still showing through, so I used a small flat brush to go over those areas with some foundation colour.

7. I mixed some of the supra colours together to create this brown colour and I used a small flat brush to add it to any of the holes or dents in the burn. I used this colour to give the burn some more depth.

8. I used a cotton bud to apply some blood paste into the holes in the liquid latex.

9. I used a sponge to dread some blood paste round the outside of the burn to blend it into the rest of the surrounding skin. 

10. I then took some fake liquid blood on a cotton bud and dripped it into the holes to give a more wet look.
11. I then used my sponge to blend all the blood into the burn.

12. I spread some vaseline all over the dry patches of the burn, with a cotton bud, to use as an adhesive for the powder going on top.
13. I put some Alka-Seltzer tablets in a plastic bag and crushed them with a rolling pin to create a powder.
14. I then sprinkled this powder all over the burn.
15. I then flicked some water onto the burn with my fingers (because I didn't have anything to spray water from) to make the powder fizz.

Finished burn.

I am really happy with the outcome of the burn. The fizzing of the powder didn't work as well as I'd hoped, but I think this was because I didn't have a water spray so I just had to use my fingers to flick water. I will therefore buy a water spray to see if this works any better. I really like that the edges blend in with the surrounding skin as it makes it look more realistic. I really like how there is so much texture and depth to the burn. I like that I added the brown colour to give the burn further depth. I like that the water gives the burn a wet look as I think this kind of acid burn would be very wet and gooey. 

I think that a different material would work to better to create this burn. In one of my practical lessons, we learned how to create burns with gelatine and I was really happy with how effective and realistic they looked. I think I will purchase this product and experiment with it to see if I can get even better results!

I noticed that when the liquid latex started to dry around the wrist area, it started to go yellow. I am not 100% sure what the cause of this was, but I think it was because she had applied perfume on that area before I applied the latex so I think there was some sort of reaction that made the latex go yellow. This has taught me to always make sure the area I am working on is completely clean and clear of any other chemicals. 

Researching Real Acid Burns

I wanted to look at some real acid burns so that the burn I give Quentin is as realistic looking as possible. Human skin does not react to silver like the vampires' in True Blood so I didn't find any images where skin has burned when touching metal. However I did find some images of when acid had been thrown over skin and the results shocked me. 

http://abcnews.go.com/2020/slideshow?id=9477095&imageid=9485656

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-1351435/Acid-attack-
victim-Katie-Piper-attacked-going-boy-met-Facebook.html

The photos on top show the results, after 43 days, of sulfuric acid being thrown at Katie Piper. Her ex boyfriend got a stranger to attack her outside a cafe in London where he threw sulphuric acid into her face. Katie was rushed to hospital but she was left disfigured. The acid destroyed the skin on her face, neck and hands, she was missing an ear and parts of her nose; it also left her blind in one eye. The second image shows what her skin looked like closer to the date of when the incident took place and her skin is a very rich, bright red colour. It looks very raw and the surface of the skin looks very uneven, but smooth and almost shiny looking. I want to imitate aspects of this burn in Quentin's burn with the colouring and texture as this burn looks still very recent.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1291706/Grandmother-left-h
orrific-facial-burns-household-drain-cleaner-explodes-face.html

Above shows the after math of a chemical burn. The woman put some house hold drain cleaner down her sink and then it exploded back up into her face causing second-degree burns. She reacted very quickly, keeping her eyes shut and she washed her face all the way to the hospital where she was taken to the specialist burns unit to be treated. This burn has many colours to it, with deep red, bright red, black, brown and yellow. The burn looks very uneven in texture as some parts look to have scabbed over and some parts look very shiny. I don't think that Quentin's burns would have had time to scab over because the silver is still 'burning' his skin whilst the image is being taken so it would be very raw; however I will include the same colouring in his burn. 

Resources:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1291706/Grandmother-left-horrific-facial-burns-household-drain-cleaner-explodes-face.html
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-1351435/Acid-attack-victim-Katie-Piper-attacked-going-boy-met-Facebook.html
http://abcnews.go.com/2020/slideshow?id=9477095&imageid=9476966

Quentin's Styling and Hair Charts

Styling
I have decided to dress Quentin in all black because most of the vampires in True Blood wear black and so I thought that Claudia would also imagine her vampire to wear black too. I think a black t-shirt and a black leather jacket would work well because leather jackets give off a sexy, yet hard look. If I feel like the black t-shirt makes the outfit look too flat, then I will have him wear a dark grey top instead. I wanted the styling to be very minimalist as I didn't want it to take any attention away from the makeup and hair. The image below shows the sort of styling I imagined for Quentin. I like how it looks very sexy in a slightly rough and rugged way.

Hair

Idea 1

For my first design I decided to scrape all of the hair backwards with gel. The model that I am hoping to use has mid-long length hair and so I think this hairstyle would work well. I like that this would look very slick and smooth as I think Claudia may have imagined her vampire to look very sophisticated and well groomed. 

Idea 2

This hairstyle is also very slick and smoothed back, however I decided to give him a side parting. I like this because it reminds me of the brylcreem in the 1940/50s which would make me think of an old fashioned gentleman which could have been what Claudia imagined Quentin to be.

Idea 3 (Chosen Design)

I found this design difficult to draw so I have also put a photo that I found of the hairstyle to make it more clear of the look I am going for. This look is still very slick and smooth, but I wanted to give it a more modern twist with the quiff at the top. The hair at the sides would be smoothed and gelled back so that it was almost flat against the head and then the top would be combed upwards into a quiff. I will try to make it so there are no flyways at the sides and not too many of top as I still want the hairstyle to look very sophisticated and well groomed. 

Quentin Face Charts

After looking into the vampires in True Blood and exploring my chosen key word, I decided to create some face charts of my ideas for what I want Quentin's makeup to look like.

Idea 1
I decided to make the skin very pale and I will make sure it is completely even and heavily powdered to make sure it looks very matte and almost dry looking. I will contour the face slightly under the cheek bones and on the temples to add some definition as I don't want the face to look flat. Depending on my model, I will either fill the eyebrows in very slightly or I will leave them completely bare. I will add some wine coloured eyeshadow under the eyes to make them look sore; I will also add some black very close to the lash line to give the eyes more definition. I will add some fake blood in the tear duct and let it fall down the face slightly to look like tears. I will add some red in the very centre of the lips, but fade the colour out to a very light colour. I will add some fangs to give an obvious vampire look to him. I will wrap some silver chains around the neck and add some liquid latex, wax or old age stipple with blood to make it look painful and bloody. I really like this look and will definitely consider it when picking my final makeup look.

Idea 2

I decided to keep the skin very pale and matte looking and I wanted to give him a stronger contour to bring out his bone structure. I didn't want to add any product to the eyebrows because I wanted them to look very natural and fair. I wanted to add some wine coloured eye shadow along the lower lash line to make her eyes look bloody and sore. I kept the lips very pale and natural looking, as if all the blood had been sucked out of them. I wanted the still include fangs as I wanted the audience to recognise that he was a vampire. I decided to add red eye contacts to this look as I thought they would make him look more fierce, intimidating and supernatural and I chose red to represent that vampire are also looking for fresh blood. I added silver chains round the neck to show how Claudia was restraining him and I will add fake blood and other products to make it look like the silver it melting/burning his skin.

Idea 3
I wanted the skin to be very pale and matte looking, with a lot of powder used. I decided on a grey toned bronzer as I thought a brown bronzer would have given too much warm colouring to the complexion. I decided on filling the eye brows in very slightly to give them more definition. I added some wine coloured eye shadow along the lower lash line to give a bloody and sore look. I added some red lipstick to the very centre of the lips, as if he had just sucked someone's blood, and faded the colour out to nothing on the edges of the lips. I added some chains round his neck and also some chains pulled across the centre of his face to show how Claudia was restraining him. I will add some fake blood and other products to make it look like the silver chains are melting/burning his skin. I really like how the chains on his face look and I think it would be more shocking to the audience as the face is so delicate and such a focus point.

How to: Contemporary Victorian Hair (Inspired by American Horror Story)

Equipment:

-Tail comb

-Paddle brush

-Curling tongs

-Hair grips

Step by step:

Prep

1. Put the hair into a side parting using your tail comb, making sure there is some lift at the root. 

2. Starting at the front, take two one inch sections on the side the parting is on and three one inch sections of the other side, and curl them all away from the parting. Make each section about the width of the curling tong. 

3. Secure each of these curls with hair grips, as seen below. 

4. Next, curl the section of hair that is just behind the front curls, about the width of three of the curls in front, i.e about three inches wide. Curl this section horizontally, downwards.

5. Then take a section below that of about t six inches wide, split it into two, and curl both sections. 

6. Repeat the last step below this section created above. 

7. Now curl the hair in three inch wide sections the rest of the way down the middle of the head. 

Bird's eye view.

Side view.

8. Curl the rest of the hair at the sides in sections, going downwards, and secure them all with hair grips. These curls are curled towards the face. 

Front view.

Back view.

 Up-do (Inspired by Moira O'Hara, the maid)
9. When all the hair has been curled and pinned up, let the last curl cool and then remove all the hair grips from the hair, apart from the five curls on the top/front.
10. Use your paddle brush to lightly brush through the curls to make them more managable.
11. Start twisting the hair up upwards, moving from one side to the other in a horizontal line, until you get the look below.
12. Secure the twisted hair with hair grips. Try to make them as hidden as possible.
13. Use your tail comb to lift the hair being pulled back to give it some more body.
14. Take the hair grips out of the curls at the front of the hair and pull the curls out individually to them push them back into the hair to create a wave against the head, and then pin them in place with hair grips.
15. Layer the curls on top of each other to give more body.

Back view.

Front view.

Side view.

Side view.

I was happy with how the look turned out, however I can see that there are areas I need to work on. I like the positioning of the twisted hair at the back, although I could have brushed the hair out more so that the twisted hair looked neater and smoother. I could have also used my tail comb to give the back more body by lifting the hair. I am happy with the positioning of the parting and the height of the curls, however I think I should have brought the curl slightly further forward on the left side so that the curl didn't sit back as much. I really like how the curls are positioned on the left side because there is a lot of volume and it looks very textured. If I did it again, I would have layered the curls on the right side to get the same effect, as I think the right side looks too blocky and heavy, with not much pattern to it.  

Down-do

9. Use a paddle brush to brush out the curls, using a over and under motion to get big, smooth curls to form. 

10. Push the front sections, on both sides of the parting, back so that the hair goes back and then curls back on itself, giving a very glamorous look. 

11. Play around with how the hair falls until you get it how you want it, e.g sweep the top sections down and forwards, and help clump sections together that curl the same direction. 

12. Back comb the roots if any extra volume is desired. 

13. Add a bit of wax or shine spray to your fingers and smooth it over the ends to give a more polished finish. 

I am happy with how the hair either side of the parting is smoothed back and then curled back on itself because it adds a sense of glamour to the look. I like how the fringe is swept down and then curls at the end to mix in with the rest of the curls because it looks very sleek. To make the look more polished I should have used wax or hairspray to smooth down any fly aways and finish off the ends of the hair. 

 Above shows the result of shaking the head up and down; this made the hair look a lot bigger and more voluminous. I like that you can still see the curls in the hair, but they are just looser and more spread out. This hair style is a lot more messy and crazy looking than the other more glamorous and elegant hair style. These would both be suited to very different characters, even though they are, in fact, very similar in technique.

How to: Dark Eyes and Dark Lips

Equipment:

-Cream base

-Medium flat brush

-Blending brush

-Grey, black and light nude eyeshadows

-Small flat brush

-Mascara

-Disposable mascara wand

-Small angled brush

-Lip colour

Step by step:

Eyes

(Tip: Do both eyes at the same time, just incase you are caught short of time and the model needs to rush off.)

1. Apply a cream base with a flat brush all over the eyelids. 

2. Blend the edges of the cream base into the crease with a fluffy brush.

(Tip: Get the model to keep opening her eyes, as different looks work differently on different eye shapes.)

3. Apply a medium grey shade all over the eye lids, over the cream base.

4. Using a medium flat brush, add some medium matte grey into the crease and blend upwards.

5. Add some black eye shadow into the outer crease with a small flat brush and blend it out with a fluffy brush. 

6. Build up the black until you get the intensity you want. 

7. Take some black eye shadow and apply it along the lower lash line with a small flat brush.

8. Apply a highlight colour to the inner corner and brow bone to brighten those areas. 

(Optional)

9. Get some black eyeliner pencil on the back of your hand and use a small angled brush to apply it along the lash line and to a flick. 

10. Apply some gel eyeliner over the top of the black pencil with an eyeliner brush.

11. Smudge the eyeliner using a small flat brush.

12. Use some oil control lotion to remove any excess eyeshadow or eyeliner with a cotton bud. 

13. Using a small, stiff fan brush, apply some mascara to the eyelashes, making sure to get right down to the roots and curling if needed. 

Lips

14. Line the lips with a sharp lip pencil to get a defined, clean line. 

(Tip: Get the model to open her lips slightly and smile to get a smooth line on the bottom lip.)

15. Use a small lip brush or a small angled brush to apply the lipstick all over the lips.

16. Use some concealer on a small flat brush to clean up around the edges if necessary. 

I am happy with how the look came out. I am pleased with how blended the eyeshadow looks and how even both eyes look. However, looking at the images, I noticed that there was a patch on both eyelids where I didn't put very much product and therefore the skin is showing through. Next time, I will need to make sure I ask my model to close their eyes and double check for this. To make this look more dramatic, I would just have to bring the colours further out and blend as I go along. I really like how the eyelids are brighter and have shimmer because I think it really opens up the eyes and adds dimension. I struggled to get the lips to look exactly how I wanted as I found it difficult to get a very smooth and even line around them. I didn't line the lips with a pencil as I didn't have one on me, so I just used my small angled brush to line them and fill them in. I am happy with how smooth I got the line in the end, but I can obviously see it's not perfect. I will need to practise applying lip colour until I feel confident with the outcomes.

How to: Using Moulds to Create Wounds

Equipment:
-Gelatine
-Wound moulds
-Release spray/Vaseline
-Fixer spray
-Microwave
-Pros Aide
-Pros Aide remover
-Witch hazel
-Cotton buds
-Bowl
-Powder brush
-Loose translucent powder
-Small angled brush
-Supra colour palette
-Blood paste
-Fake blood

Step by step:
1. Clean the moulds fully and make sure they are dry.
2. Apply a thin layer of vaseline or release spray onto the mould.
3. Heat up the gelatine and put it into the moulds, making sure they don't overlap each other and that the top of flat.
4. Once the mould has fully set, take it out of the mould and cut it down to the right size.
5. Apply some pros aide, with a cotton bud, to both the wound and the skin, as it is a contact adhesive.
6. Wait until the pros aide drys and goes clear.
7. Press the wound onto the skin and hold firmly to secure it.
8. Apply more pros aide around the edges if necessary.
9. Put some witch hazel in a bowl and, using a cotton bud, rub the witch hazel backwards and forwards along the edges of the wound to melt away the edges and make them look more seamless.
10. Powder well over the top of the wound with some translucent powder and a powder brush.
11. Use a small angled brush and your fingers to apply the supra colour on the wound to suit what look you are trying to achieve.
12. Add some blood paste and fake blood to the wound to make it look more freshly cut.

Wound before any colouring added.

I was excited to experiment with using moulds because it was completely new to me; however I am not particularly happy with how it came out. I was fine with applying the mould onto the skin, but when I came to rubbing the edges with witch hazel and a cotton bud, I found that the gelatine came away from the skin and that it didn't 'melt' the product away very easily. I therefore found that the edges looked very obvious and fake looking. I think if I had loads of time to wear the gelatine away it would have worked better as I think it was working, but just very slowly. I was happy with the colouring, however even after I had coloured the would, the edges still looked very obvious. I like how the blood paste and fake blood gave the wound more depth and how the redness of the wound extended to the surrounding skin, as I think it made the wound look more realistic. If I choose to use this method in either of my character designs, I will have to practise to get it how I wanted it. 

Quentin's Moodboard and Colour Palette

Inspiration from Vampires in True Blood

After choosing my inspirational key words, 'Red rave', and deciding that Quentin was going to be a vampire, I decided to look into what the vampires looked like in True Blood. Claudia could have imagined Quentin to look like any of the vampires she had seen in other horror films, but I think it would translate better and be more clear to the audience if some of the vampire aspects in True Blood were reflected in Quentin. 

True Blood
All the vampires in True Blood seem to have a sexual and sly look about them. They all seem to be very calm and collected the majority of the time, with only flashes of anger. The female vampires seem to wear very provocative, skimpy clothing and the males seem to try and look as intimidating and tough as possible. The male vampire that stood out to me was Liam, the one with the tattoos and bald head as he is one of the vampires that doesn't want to look mainstream, he wants to look fierce and strong. However I don't think Claudia would imagine her boyfriend to look like that as she likes to be in control, so I think the vampire I create should be sexy and touch looking, but not too intimidating or violent.

http://www.trueblood-online.com/wp-content/up
loads/2010/04/TrueBloodseason3-poster.jpg

Screenshot of Liam, from series one of True Blood.

Below shows an image of two vampires and I think they are both good example of how the majority of the vampires in the film look like. They both have very pale, almost translucent skin and it always looks very matte and almost powdery. They don't look like they wear blush, however I think some conturing would have been done to give their faces some depth. The vampires seem to wear black a lot of the time, which makes sense, as the colour black is associated with power, death, evil and mystery. The female vampires usually have red lips, however I noticed that the male vampires don't tend to have much colouring in their lips at all. I found an interview with the head makeup artist for True Blood, Brigette A. Myre and she said that they 'colour in the nail beds with ink and rim the eyes with a wine coloured eye shadow' She also said they they 'use the FX Skin Illustrator Scrapes and Scabs palette for the actor's nail beds' to 'create an aged blood colour'. I will therefore make the eyes look red with this technique and I will add some blood around the nails too to give my vampire the same look as the True Blood vampires. Another thing I noticed when watching the series was that the vampires only had fangs when they were either sexually aroused or about to bite someone, meaning that on a day to day basis their fangs didn't actually show. However I think that I will include fangs in my image of Quentin because I think that Claudia would have imagined him with fangs as this is more vampire like.

The head of the vampires, Eric.
https://tvrecappersanonymous.files.wordpress.com/2010/05/eric-fangtasia.jpg

Image of Eric the vampire.
http://th04.deviantart.net/fs70/PRE/i/2012/24
9/e/4/eric_northman_by_sanxtv-d5dryeq.jpg

A very unique feature that the vampires have over the humans in True Blood is that they cry tears of blood. The head makeup artist for True Blood said that when they are filming she uses the practical effect which is when she will 'literally place a tear next to the actor's tear duct'. I think I should definitely include this in my creation of Quentin as it is such a unique and supernatural aspect of the vampires.

Example of blood tears.
http://s.likes-media.com/img/a4a84cccdf5065900e3d0e7c32affa0d

In Quentin's character profile is states that he is 'long suffering' and that Claudia 'keeps him firmly under her thumb, sometimes restraining him or keeping him prisoner in one of the rooms'. I thought I should definitely show this in my character image and the image below inspired me to have silver chains wrapped round his neck and possibly wrapped round his face to keep him restrained. The vampires in True Blood burn and melt if they come into contact with silver and so this would be the perfect way to use this knowledge of hers against him. I think it is really effective how something so harmless to humans can be used as such a weapon against vampires. 

Vampire Jessica
http://www.scififx.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/babyjessica.jpg

Claudia's Moodboard and Colour Palette