Illusion

The image on the left is a man from the People of Kau. The woman in the right image is from the Surma Tribe. I think that their face painting creates an illusion as if those patterns have been dented into the face. They are both quite different patterns in comparison as well as the left image has a lot of paint on and the right has paint on that makes it look ver earthy, like her skin is mud.

Scale Textures

I think looking at textures for this project will help make the design look as in-depth as possible. I thought I'd look at snake skin scales because the texture of their skin is so detailed. The image above shows some really sharp skin on these snakes. If I used this texture for my design i think it would be a challenging approach and would probably be a complicated and time consuming one as well. I'd need to think about what products I'd need too as wax could be an option but I'd need to practice a lot to get this right.

Undersea Textures

When I experimented with chickpeas and Fuller's Earth to make texture on the skin, it reminded me of the textures of coral because the result looked quite bumpy. I think the images above show a variety of different textures that coral has. I chose this two images to research as they have one colour with many tones to it which is how my design should look - skin tone colour. I can also relate this back to creating a design by using this type of texture in my design. I can still keep the design anthropological as well if I make a pattern that looks tribal.

Alexander McQueen Spring/Summer 2010

This video is of Alexander McQueen's 2010 Spring/Summer Fashion Show. This show included many abnormal modifications of the face as well as the designs changing the body shapes too. As seen in the images the model's faces were altered by applying prosthetics. Their eyebrows were blocked out, the ridge of the nose was changed to look sharper and flatter and the cheek bones are also sticking out of the face like ridges. McQueen's fashion line had a snake theme so I think the face was altered this way to make the model's have snake elements in their facial features. I do this worked so well, especially making the nose look more flatter as a snakes nose is flat to it's face so this would make sense. These changes completed the whole concept of his show even more than if he had just left the face normal. The show as seen in the video above is quite extravagant so it would only make sense to do something so dramatic and make the face look more snake like. His designs change the shape of the body also because the hips look wider and the shoes are an illusion to make the feet look round.

http://www.vogue.co.uk/fashion/spring-summer-2010/ready-to-wear/alexander-mcqueen

Alexander McQueen Fall Winter 2009-2010

In this video is Alexander McQueen's Fall/Winter 2009-2010 Fashion Show. I thought I should include this in my research because of the use of makeup in the show. The lips have been overly done up with lipstick, making them look larger and stranger. The eyebrows have also been blocked out. The changes of these two features completely change the face. Even just changing one of these features makes such a huge impact on the face. I think by these changes the face now looks quite alien and the red coloured lips look very striking and eye catching against the pale skin. As there are no eyebrows it is hard to not look at those supposedly huge lips. It took a second look for me to realise that the eyebrows had disappeared because i was so focused on the dramatic change of the lips. By blocking out the eyebrows and making the lips into a large, round, red shape, it shows just how such alterations can make a difference in how the face looks.

Surma and Mursi Tribe and Yacouber Dancer

These two images are of people from the Surma and Mursi Tribe. The tribe lives in Ethiopa's Omo Valley. I absolutely love their face paintings, especially in the second image - the use of colour contrasting with the dark skin brightens it so beautifully and looks sharp in the image. I also like the detail of pattern in the face paint and makes me think how something so simple as drawing circles on the face can ooh so artistic and creative.In the 1st image I think the face painting is cool but the head accessory of dead leaves is what does it for me. I think it develops and completes the idea of their body art and could symbolise them wanting to look like a lion - larger, majestic, proud of their tribe. The way the white paint has dried on their face has cracked and creased but I like how this has happened as it shows different tones of the white.

 This image is of a Yacouba dancer in Africa. I think this face painting shows how striking white against dark skin can look striking. The white is very block which is what makes this face art so sharp. I think this image relates to the collages I made as it has similar patterns.

Pat McGrath - Changing Eyebrow Textures

These eyebrows were designed by Pat Mcgrath for a Dior runway fashion show. I thought I'd include this in my research because I love how he has completely changed the shape and texture of the eyebrows. He has made them look so subtly real and I think they look delicate to touch and so cool to style. By making the eyebrows fluffy, thick and long it looks like the she is turning into a wolf or a bird.

Foil and Metallic

Coming across this photo on Pinterest made me think of using foil as an option for my low tech prosthetics look. In this image the use of metallics has made quite an effect in changing the body from looking normal to something alien. The model looks quite statue and stiff like now that she is gold and foil looks like the real skin underneath rather than looking like it's on top of the skin.

Low Tech Design Makeup Chart

This is my Low Tech chart design. The colour is inspired by Avatar references of their skin colour. I really liked my mosaic idea but thought I should use a material that would stick to the face better so I decided to use a shiny white organza-like material. I've stuck them onto the face in triangle shapes and in the mosaic shape I wanted. To complete the look the eyebrows, eyelashes and lips are white. I created this design as I think it will transform the face and make it look more like an alien than a human face.

Creating My Low Tech Design

This is an image of my low tech design. As this was a timed assessment I finished the main part of the design. If I did have more time I would have also covered my model’s shoulders in blue and purple as well because when the photos are taken it would look more realistic and finished. I also realise that I should have painted the colours further into her hair line as you can still see her normal skin colour. I also didn’t want the latex to show patches on the fabric as I was hoping this would be see through. I have to redo this shoot though as I didn't quite follow what the brief of the assessment was. My mistakes were not keeping the colour a natural skin tone swell as already pointing out the hairline, neck and shoulders not being covered.

Maleficent - Rick Baker

mtv.co.uk

In the film 'Maleficent' 2014, Angelina Jolie stars as the title character. Her makeup as maleficent involves gel-filled cheekbone highlights placed onto her actual cheekbones. Everyday it took 4 hours for the makeup artists to finish her look when the film was being made. It's amazing to one simple feature change has made her look so striking and really brought the character of Maleficent more alive than ever. If her cheekbones hadn't been altered she wouldn't look as striking and sharp. I also think the fact that her cheekbones look sharp can relate back to Maleficent because they could represent how dangerous she is. I quite like the way the outline of her horns follow down and into her cheekbones as if they are connected.

Orlan

Orlan is a french performance artist who uses her own body as art. She records plastic surgery procedures as art and the plastic surgery she has is art. She had an ectopic pregnancy in 1978 and had a film crew video her surgery of having the non-viable foetus removed from her body while remaining conscious throughout. This is what inspired the future of her body of work. In 1990-1993 Orlan had 9 plastic surgery operations that were a recreation of western art. The procedures were performed infront of a live audience and Orlan was also conscious throughout. Her mouth was altered to mimic Francois Boucher's 'Europa'. Her chin was changed to look like Botticelli's 'Venice' and the most famous part she changed was her eyebrows which were protruded to look like Leonardo Davinci's 'Mona Lisa'.
I think Orlan's work opens a controversial door as well as an open mind to see the lengths and artist will go to represent what is art and the meanings of it. I find her work intriguing and unique as she expresses art by using her own body to be changed and altered.

Avatar

In the film 'Avatar' (2009) the creatures called Na'vi are described to be a 10 foot tall, blue skinned sapient humanoids. They are also described as indigenous creatures. I think this film shows such a great example of what our project is about and what I could be working towards because the Na'vi aliens have a combination of being hybrids and an indigenous tribe. Their skin looks like tiger stripes in two blue shades but this also reminds me of the scarification of tribes have on their skin too. They have animalistic features as well as being tall but still have human features making them hybrid aliens. It's interesting to see this combination for an alien in film and how well it all works together because like tribes, these aliens have a culture and are very different from humans which is also in comparison to what tribes and everyone else in real life is like.

Scarification

Scarifcation is a process of cutting the skin open and healing it to become a permanent scar. Many tribes use scarification as symbolism. They can use it as a form of communication or as a recognition of who each other are. African tribes used scarification as a symbol of strength and courage in pain for both men and women.
I think scarification in tribalism really shows just how culture can go to such extremes that they want to draw their beliefs into their skin. It shows bravery and commitment to the tribe.

The image above is of a young boy with scarification marks on his face. I find his scars really striking because they are raised so far up from his skin and stand out in changing the shape of his face. It makes me think of the pain he had to go through and how hard it must have been but the results were most likely worth it for him as they are very noticeable.

To Do List

I am finding it quite difficult to keep up with the work and being able to post regularly about this project. I think it would be useful to write down a to-do list and try and get a couple of these things done everyday.

1. Publish my draft posts.
2. Post about the mould I have made.
3. Post research for mould.
4. Post research for new low tech design - tribal faces etc.
5. Post about what was right and wrong about first low tech design.
6. Post more collages if I make more.
7. Post 3 designs of new low tech design.
8. Post development/experimentation.
9. Post final outcomes of both assessments.
10. Finish drawings - skull, portraits

Collages

For this collage I cut out a page of a splattered puddle into pieces and stuck them onto the face. I don't feel that I was being significant with this, I was more experimenting with what the puddle would like if I cut it up and puzzled it differently on the face. I think it looks like the collage is metal parts of the skin and is melting. I've left some of the skin exposed so that the viewer could still see that the image is part human. I think looking at it now I would have covered the whole face with collage as the collage looks quite stiff and not fluid on the face. If all the pieces were connected instead of separated it would look more fluid.

 The cut out pieces were originally a magazine page of a black beaded dress. I never really collage with just one colour, if I do then it has to be a variety of shades of that colour. If you look closer, each black piece has different shades on it. The colour black is significant to what I wanted to portray in this collage because I wanted it to look tribal and black is a common colour used to make tribal patterns. It's quite obvious there is a human face underneath but I want this to be shown in the collage otherwise the pattern and whole idea wouldn't really work. If I wanted it to be unrecognizable then I would have coloured the skin white or an earthy colour and then placed the tribal pattern on top. I think keeping the face appearing works better though because it still looks altered with the pattern - I think the face looks more animalistic. It reminds me of how tigers it's own pattern of stripes, now I've made a face have it's own pattern too.

This collage is made up of a whole page of eyelashes from a magazine. I way I have collaged on this face is significant as I wanted to fade the the colour throughout the face. I did this by cutting out the darkest parts of the page and sticking them around the edge of the face along the hairline and jawline. I started sticking parts of the page where the eyelashes aren't as thick towards the centre of the page. I also drew thick black lines on the eyebrows, eyelid area and ear to fill in the skin and add contrast as if the collage isn't the only feature this creature has. I wanted to cover the face fully to see what the outcome would be. I think I was more experimenting and trying to see if this idea would work more than anything. I do think it looks tribalistic because of the earthy colours and patterns of thin straight lines I have done along the face.

Introduction

For this project I am going to be experimenting with materials and special effects equipment applied to the skin to create a design that looks inhuman or alien. The title of this project is inspired by Aldous Huxley's novel 'Brave New World' because the book is about a futuristic world where reproduction is a completely different story which can reflect to the type of design I am creating - a human that was made differently in a futuristic parallel world.
Learning about special effects is a new page for me and I look forward to trying something new. I will be learning about the health and safety of prosthetics and how important it is to be focused and concentrate when creating a special effects look as well as preparations and patience.
I will also be taking an anthropological approach to prosthetics by learning about Scarification in Tribalism.