 A basic bruise
can be created by using makeup alone and mixing some of the more common colors available and until you get
a nice looking bruise in various stages of healing. The degree of the bruise that you choose to portray will
depend on your actual skin tone (or your characters skin tone) and the stage of healing that you want to show.
The lighter colors of the stages of healing in a bruise may not show up on a person of a darker complexion
and likewise a very pale complexion will show nearly all of the colors of the stages of a bruise.
To get a bruise in the later stages of healing you will want to add a base of yellow to the "bruised" area
and add a small amount of a royal type of blue using either an eyebrow pencil or a very fine paint brush
and cake makeup to create the illusion of a few broken capillaries.You may also want to add a few very subtle
patches of a light blue to indicate areas that haven't quite healed to the yellowed stage yet. Be sure to
blend the colors together in some areas to get a more natural look.
To get a fresh bruise you will want to go with a VERY subtle base of yellow, just slightly contrasting to
your actual skin color. and add patches of purple and red to indicate freshly broken capillaries. Your stipple
sponge might be a good thing to use to get the fresh crisp lines that are usually associated with a fresh
bruise.
In order to achieve the results of a very traumatic bruise, the stage where the damage is at it's worst
and the healing has not yet begun; you will want to go for the traditional "BLACK AND BLUE" bruise,
or more accurately a purple and blue bruise. Start with a base of a light blue that is randomly splattered
or covering the affected area and follow up with essentially highlighting this blue base with small areas
of a nice purple to give the effect of the most damaged areas.Be sure to blend the colors together in some
areas to get a more natural look. The colors of purple that and blue that you choose will indicate how extensive
the damage is...the deeper the hue of the color the more damaged that area is... Keep in mind when creating
these bruises that a bruise is not a solid concentration of color, it is more scattered across the surface
of the skin in sink with the object that caused the bruise. (ie: a bruise from a punch, the traditional black
eye, does not cover the entire area, the damage will be the worst where the knuckles made contact and did
the most damage.) So there should be variations in the color so it doesn't look like your bruise is painted
on.
|
A scar is a relatively
simple thing to do...The best way to create a good scar is to use plain old nose putty or effects gel on top
of a latex under coating and cover with flesh/character tones accordingly. First take the liquid latex and
put on a very thin coat using a cotton ball to aid in removing the "scar" after the fact.Be sure
to cover only the area that the scar will be covering. Let that coat dry, and add a second thin coat. Now the
reason you don't want the latex to go beyond the actual scar is for the purpose of applying the makeup and
blending into your actual skin. Next take your nose putty and apply a small amount to the area that you want
to create the scar on top of the latex. Using your modeling tool smooth the lump of nose putty into a small
hill or bump and smooth the edges out to your actual skin.Inconsistencies in the putty are okay...scars almost
always have a few pits and valleys in them. If you are doing this with the effects gel you will want to add
slowly in layers until you get the desired height for the scar. You may want to add a few subtle cross stitches
to the texture of the scar to indicate where former stitches might have been...after all if the wound was bad
enough to leave a scar it probably should have stitches in it at some point.
A basic cut
is formed with essentially the same methods as a scar, the only key differnce being in the way that the makeup
is applied as well as the form of the material. In order to achieve a "nice" cut you need to begin
with the latex under coating as mentioned above, then apply a generous amount of modeling material whether
it be the nose putty or the special effects gels. To create the cut you will want to use your modeling tool
and drag through the material to simulate the damage caused by the original item which caused the cut or wound.
If you are creating a cut you will want the edges to be clean looking. If you are creating a wound you will
want them to be more ragged or torn looking on the outer edges of the wound. This effect can be achieved with
the modeling tool and a slight upturning or whipping motion at the end of the stroke. Once you have formed
your cut or wound according to your tastes you will again want to apply one or two coats of the liquid latex
to protect it from damage. Using your creme or water based make ups begins to color the damaged area accordingly
to match the skin. A more fresh wound will have a slight amount of red in the center (or a lot for a gaping
wound) with fairly normal looking skin on the outside edges and possibly some white on the very lips of the
wound. Then apply a small amount of stage blood for fresh bleeding. If you want to create an older wound that
looks really infected and disgusting you will want to apply a small amount of deeper colors in the center of
wound such as darker reds, browns, dark blues, purples, greens, and even black to make it look infected. Another
way might be to actually place some medical adhesive or spirit gum in the "wound" and actually apply
some loose gravel, dirt, or other contaminants to make it look extra bad. For the finishing touches on the
wound and to really make it look like it is oozing with pain, apply a small amount of thick blood to the wound
using a cotton swab. Thick blood is more like a gel than normal old stage blood.