Be a hit on Halloween: Makeup and costume tips from Alabama special effects experts
Halloween is less than a slow zombie stride away. If you're looking to step up your costume game to something more than a store-bought superhero or droopy unicorn outfit, it's not too late.
The Advertiser has enlisted a couple of Alabama native special effects and makeup artists to offer a few tips — Montgomery's Jonathan Thornton of Southern Fried Monsters FX and Georgia resident Roy Wooley of Roy Wooley FX. Both work in TV and film, and grew up making their own costumes. You can see a lot of their works in action at Netherworld, a super scary haunted house attraction in Stone Mountain, Ga.
What to put on your face
Mask or makeup? What you choose kind of depends on the situation and commitment to the character.
When it comes to making masks, there are many fear factors. Along with the project’s theme and look, there's the material and how it’ll actually work and move on top of a living, breathing human’s skin.
If you want to step up your game and create appliances, or even your own mask, Thornton recommends using GM Foam Latex or Monster Makers Foam Latex. For silicone creations, he’d recommend PlatSil Gel-10.
He sculpts masks on top of an average-size head — a model one. Then he molds it with foam latex, latex or silicone, from where it gets painted, trimmed and all the finishing touches added.
More: Montgomery monster maker: Jonathan Thornton has 'twisted imagination'
“I would rather do it with silicone, because it looks more believable and they’re easier to pour up and pop out of the mold,” Thornton said. A few years ago, he made silicone masks for an Alabama Shakespeare Festival production of “Dracula.”
“The problem with that is that silicone is not porous. It doesn’t breathe with your skin, and it’s heavy,” Thornton said.
That’s why foam latex is used for his Netherworld masks — they’re porous, they breathe, they’re lightweight.
The tradeoff is that foam latex creations are more difficult to make, and difficulty increases with size.
The world of makeup is different. Makeup effects are essential if the creature is going to be on video. Thornton said masks don’t do well on high definition cameras.
“You have to design to do a breakdown with multiple pieces so it will adhere to the flesh better and move with the actor so they can emote through it,” Thornton said.
For prosthetics, having the right kind of adhesive is key. For attaching latex type appliances, he recommends Pros-Aide, a water-based adhesive that he says is safe for skin, holds well and comes off easily with Super Solv. For silicone attachments, he’d recommend Telesis.
“Never, never use spirit gum,” Thornton said. “It gets hot. It dries. It gets gummy. It crystalizes. Nothing good comes from it.”
More: From the MCU to slasher flicks: Alabama's Roy Wooley knows the art of movies
Wooley said transfers are becoming standard for many facial builds he creates.
"When I first started, you would use wax and things like that to do a build up for a black eye or for a cut, or sculpt out a prosthetic," Wooley said. "Now we have these little transfers that are basically like a glue that you just press on and they're good go to go. You put a little makeup on it and it'll last all day long."
Thornton said he uses skin illustrator palettes for coloring silicone appliances. Ben Nye Cream makeup is good for foam latex appliances.
Step up your costume game with these tips
For costume makers young and old who are preparing for this season — and for cosplay whenever Montgomery finally gets another comic convention — here are a few tips from Thornton and Wooley:
Keep your designs lightweight.
Make your costume easy to move around in.
Make it breathable. You don’t want to overheat.
Don't break the bank starting out. Wooley said you can work with what you've got. "Start small," Wooley said. "You don't have to make something huge your very first try."
If you’re going to be wearing your costume for hours, make it so you can still sit down, eat, drink and, yes, go to the bathroom.
Learn from others. There also a virtual world full of new generation FX creators offering tutorials on places like YouTube.
A few extra tips from the National Safety Council are to make costumes flame resistant, include reflective tape or glowsticks, and to test makeup first to make sure there’s no allergic reaction.
You can't make a good costume without this
A key ingredient for making a costume is something almost everyone forgets: Time.
Thornton said he gets calls from last-minute costume makers all the time asking for help. “With makeup and designs and costumes, you pretty much have to plan things out way in advance, or you’re going to be left in the cold if you want to do something really good for Halloween.”
Even if you decide to go the store-bought route for masks, Thornton said to do it early. Otherwise, you’ll be left with stuff everyone else has picked over.
If you order specialty pieces like Thornton and Wooley make, plan it out several months in advance.
“You cannot wait until a couple of days before Halloween and expect to order that,” Thornton said.
Montgomery Advertiser reporter Shannon Heupel covers things to do in the River Region. Contact him at sheupel@gannett.com
This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: Be a hit on Halloween: Alabama special effects experts offer tips
