Tuesday 18 December 2012

Editorial: Final images

Below shows my two final images for my editorial shoot. I am really pleased with the looks that I created and feel that my design really showed through on my application. I was also really pleased with the headdress/crown that I used and felt that it worked well within the shoot. I think that my makeup application was good before the shoot because I was really pleased with the blending and the way that the colours really stood out on the face. I was also able to use the bracelets that I had made too, so this added another accessory to the image.



Monday 17 December 2012

Catwalk: Final Images

Below show my two final images from my catwalk shoot. I am really pleased with the way that they turned out, and that they did not require much editing, as I was already pleased with the whole makeup look including the models skin and the lighting etc.  This image focusses more on makeup, and the below image focusses more on hair. I think that this is important to show the two different focus points on the image and it gives a different perspective on the look.



Friday 14 December 2012

Editorial & Catwalk: Styling decisions

Catwalk: 

As my shoot was inspired by the Inuit tribe, I wanted to continue the cold, icy look throughout my styling decisions. I did however, want to make this more interesting and have a fashion edge to it. I therefore chose a fur stole draped across my model's chest with a fox-like effect to it, but have the rest of the body bare. I think that this would provide a twist to the look and it would keep to the Catwalk requirements and ideas.
The actual stole that I will use is shown below, however I plan to place it backwards on the model so that it is more covering the shoulders than the neck and chest. 


Editorial:

The biggest part of my styling for the shoot is the headdress that I have made. I have also made some small bracelets from beads and plastic threads that I am not so pleased with but will try when I am shooting my images. As I will have a face mask/fullers earth over part of my models chest, I would like my model to have a strapless dress of brightly coloured material on. I also would like to experiment with tying the material at the front although I am unsure whether the knot will stick out too much and look scruffy as I have tried this on myself and struggled with the look. A clean, straight front may look better and less busy with my look, as some parts have detail already. I have bought the material that I will be using within the shoot and think that the colours and design really match and will work so well with my shoot.


Thursday 13 December 2012

Editorial: Face mask/fullers earth?

I have experimented with the face mask on my arm to see the effect that I would get and whether it was the same as fullers earth but much kinder to the skin. The answer is yes it was, I was really pleased with the results and I am glad that I will be able to use something much gentler for the model which gives the same result for me. 

I have photographed the facemask both when I first applied it to my hand and after a while when the product had dried:




Editorial: Creating the accessories

To reference the Surma and Mursi tribe, I wanted to create a headdress for my model to wear which included natural materials such as grasses, twigs and wooden sticks and flowers/other greenery. 

Surma and Mursi tribe (as previously referenced):




I began by gathering different materials that I thought may work within the look, I made sure that the materials were not too heavy as I needed to ensure that these were comfortable on my models head, however I still kept in mind that this was for my Editorial shoot. This means that I will not need to think about it's mobility and security on the models head, it will only need to be safe and steady during the shoot.

The below image shows the materials that I gathered, a selection of different dried grasses, flowers and wooden materials. I made sure that the wooden items were flexible enough to create a crown like piece and that everything that I bought was easy to disassemble and create something new would not require me to cut it all up.


I began by bending a selection of the twigs together and tied them with some fine wire. The curl of the twigs actually helped me because this meant that the crown would sit on the models head rather than act as a headband. I then began entwining grasses and parts of the flowers which I had collected. These were not fastened in but woven into the wood, as I did not want any fastenings to show on camera during the shoot.


I kept trying on the headdress as I did not want it to be too uncomfortable or loose for my models head. I also made sure that no parts were actually sticking into the inner part of the crown stopping it from sitting properly. 


I continued to add the grasses, small flowers and more twigs to the headdress until I was happy with the look. I also used my moodboard for references through this process and ensured that I looked at the images I had found from the Surma and Mursi tribe photographed by Hans Silvester. 


This image below shows the final look of the headdress on myself to check the positioning and security of the piece. 

Monday 10 December 2012

Catwalk: Describing the look

I wanted to post about my catwalk look before I talk about the Editorial any further. I need to link to technical lessons that I have been involved in and use the methods that I have learned within the sessions. These are listed below and how I have used the skills:

- Creating structure within the hair (using hair extensions & hair pieces within the plait, backcombing and creating texture within the hair)

- Plaiting the hair (within my whole hair design, learning different plaits and teaching myself new techniques too)

- Tattooing and freehand drawing (with the eyebrows within my look, levelling them out and making sure that they are symmetrical even when drawing freehand)

If I were to create a list of 10 keywords describing this look, I would say:

cold, fresh, dewy, striking, harsh, detailed, textured, flawless, glossy and crisp. 

These words may remind me in my shoot with the direction that I am headed, also having copies of my facechart and moodboard will really help to keep me on track with my look. 

Catwalk: My final design


Final Inuit facechart design: Catwalk



Because of all of the instruction written onto the facechart, it will be perfect for me to give to my 'buddy'. This will be for our timed assessments where we are given a facechart of someone else's look and have to recreate their look. Giving Hannah (my 'buddy') as much information as possible will really help her and meeting her before will also answer any questions that we both may have.

Listed below are details of the look for my own reference:

Skin: Dewy, cold looking, cold tones, use satin primer and minimal amounts of powder for the dewy, fresh, athletic look.

Cheeks: Flushed with pink on the apples of the cheeks, as though the model has just come inside from very cold weather. The cheeks are contoured underneath with a fine silver powder, and the whole face is highlighted with a Topshop highlighter powder in 'Crescent Moon'.

Lips: I will attempt to place crushed sugar on the lips as experimented in my next post, however I am unsure if this will work and will be using just vaseline on the lips if this does not. 

Eyes: Vaseline is placed on the eyelids lightly for a glistening effect emphasising the dewy effect. Eyelashes are coated in MAC Lipmix in White with a disposable mascara wand. This will give a frozen effect as previously researched.

Eyebrows: The eyebrows are the main focus of this look, alongside the hair. The eyebrows will be lined and coloured with an eyeliner pencil in an aquamarine-blue colour. From the previous trial of the makeup where I used aquacolours, I have learned that it will be difficult to get the eyebrows completely even and may take me some time. I will need to ensure that I have plenty of time left and maybe take a template for a backup that I can draw onto the eyebrows.

Hair: The hair will consist of 3 plaits going around the head in the same direction as a crown on the head. The first plait will begin as a 'dutch braid' where the french plait is reversed and the plait is on the outside of the head. I have posted some videos that I watched to practice for this as it can be very tricky especially when doing it on another person.

Styling: The styling will reflect the inuit inspiration and the model will wear a faux fur stole with a fox like colouring and a long haired texture. I thought about a white fur however I did not want the look to seem cheap and I thought that white fur would do this. 

Friday 7 December 2012

Catwalk: Experimenting with sugar

I wanted to experiment making a frosty look on my lips, and to see whether it would work on camera/as a catwalk look. I decided to use the flat squared cake decorating sugar and wanted to create an effect similar to this: 







I began with a sprinkling of the sugar, some vaseline and the sugar pot. I rolled the pot over the sugar which began to crush and make the sugar finer and more like that of the image above. 




I used the chunky sugar first and coated my lips with vaseline and then pressed my lips into the sugar creating this effect. The sugar is too chunky and it was not sticking because of the heaviness. I would not feel confident in using this on my model as she would have to keep so still and this would not work well in a catwalk situation anyway. 


I then used the finer sugar and placed this on my lips in the same way. This looks much better in my opinion although it was still not as effective as I had wanted and I was worried that the look would be too full on with the eyebrows being blue and other ideas I had had. I will try this on my shoot as it was fairly easy to clean off and will not effect my time too much. 

Catwalk: Hair Inspiration: Learning the dutch plait (Catwalk)



As you can see from previous posts, my moodboard reflects that I will be using plaiting within my final catwalk look. After an unsuccessful trial, I am glad that I have decided to try something more complex and I am excited to learn a new technique.I have looked at video tutorials to teach me how to start the dutch braid, and I have been practicing very much to get it right! Other images/videos that have helped me are shown below:





 

Depending on the length and thickness of my model's hair, I will need to use hair extensions and added hair pieces to create the full thickness and volume that satisfies my design ideas. I think that it will be important to use a blonde haired model, because of the tones that I will be able to see within the hair, and think that the plaits will show up more in lighter hair rather than dark. 

Tuesday 4 December 2012

Editorial: Final design

Below shows my final makeup design for my look, I think that using the different colours from Illamasqua will blend well and create a very warm look. I need to ensure that the colours blend well and don't jump from one to the other easily. The white highlights under the eyebrows and white block on the lips reference to other tribes and I think that these will stand out on camera. 



I wanted to show my designs for the neck and chest, with scarification on the neck with a design that I have drawn below and fullers earth/face mask on the chest of my model. I think that using a face mask will be much more gentler on my models skin, as from previous experience of using fullers earth it can leave a large red mark and irritation. If I can use a face mask that gives off the same effect when dried then I will definitely use this. I will document these experiments as I go along. 


Editorial: facecharts

I have begun designing my facecharts for my editorial look after some research that I have done, including my moodboard and gathering other images together for inspiration.


I really like the idea of using an ombre effect within my look, reflecting the images of the sky that I saw in the landscape images from the Tribal Asia book. Using the white block across the mouth also references my moodboard with the fashion image that was used, also the image of the Wodaabe men with their white face paint. Underlining the eyebrows is also a concept that I have not tried before, I think that it will give an interesting look referencing the tribes too.


This image also uses a lot of fading and contouring the face using colour in the shades of the sky that I wanted to reference. I think that this image has too much shading within the lips, then the cheeks, even some under the brows. I think that this would be too overpowering and would not work well.


I really like this facechart, the block on the lips would look effective on camera and I like the shape of the contouring on the face, also the idea of having white highlighting and detailing the face.  


This image uses the shape of the contouring above but I also included the black lips within the look to reference the Wodaabe men again, as I did in my moodboard.

The images that I have referenced within my description of the facecharts are shown below: 





Monday 3 December 2012

Editorial: Moodboard

My editorial moodboard pulls all of the inspiration that I have had together in one board and really motivates and inspires me with my designs and the direction that I want to go in. 



The moodboard references different tribes, also textures and colours that I want to use in my work, including the ombre sky and the grasses which I want to use in the hair - referencing the Surma and Mursi tribe. 

Wednesday 21 November 2012

Catwalk: Hair and Makeup reviewed designs

< These are my designs that I have produced for my second attempt at the Inuit Catwalk look. I really like the idea of using jewels in the hair, and thinking more about a colder face rather than it being very warm like before. I will also style my model with a lot of fur and textures in these.

< This is another design I have produced, I actually prefer the above image, but I want to show it in the process with my considerations of different looks and ideas.
< Before I design any more hair looks, I want to try this one out to see if it will work. I really like the idea of using a plait/fishtail plait to create my look. I want to use jewels in the hair, either as a headband or individual gems placed in the hair. I think that considering catwalk it would be better to use a single headband for fastening it and keeping them secure.













Other ideas I have had:

Glitter dusted all over the face and hair (could use glitter spray)
Small gems within the hair all around the front, back and top
Using Vaseline to create a wet sheen on the eye lids and on parts of the lips.
Using larger grains of sugar and pressing them on the lips to create a frosted effect. 

Catwalk: Inuit Storyboard


Above shows my Storyboard for the Inuit piece. I think that this will really help me to create more designs and use more inspiration to effect my look. I need to remember that the image is for CATWALK and so the makeup needs to be visible for the duration on the fashion show and have a 360ยบ interesting view. 

I will now draw up some more designs reflecting upon the comments I was given in the trial shoot.

Catwalk: First attempt

I have tried out my Inuit look, and I was so disappointed by the outcome! I have had a lot of points for improvement and they are listed below:

- Create a more cold skin tone, the face here is too warm.

- Make the cheeks slightly pinker - think about where the cold                          would hit and effect the face.

- The eyelashes need to be either whitened all over or obviously put just on the tips.

- The hair needs to be a bigger plait on the top, I could maybe entwine the whole hair onto the top of the head.

- Overall just create a more cold look, bluey skin tones and whiter colours.

- The eyebrows were a good concept however they were not big enough and I will need to create a template to ensure that I will work quickly but efficiently. I found that when I added blue on the eyebrows if I went wrong it would stain the face and create a blue mark where I wrongly drew the blue. 

- Styling needs to be thought about. Bring in lots of fur pieces and winter clothing, also I need to think about some jewellery - will my model have any? 

Here are some images I took from the look that I designed based on face and hair charts: 

 

 

I would like the hair if it was longer and the plait across the top of the hair was tighter and larger, but I think that I will redesign the hair into something a bit more creative rather than a side plait. 

I really dislike the eyebrows as they are now, I think I will make them lighter blue/nearly white and make them bigger and more exact. 

I like the idea of the lips being drawn as they are, but in reality these really do not work!

I obviously need to think about styling and accessories, and how I will use them within my look. 

Catwalk: Cold faces

I found this image while on the internet and it triggered my thoughts into looking at how I could make the face frosty looking. The lips and eyelashes here are effective in my opinion, the rest of the image looks a bit powdery and like flour almost!


Creating a very dry yet plump lip with a white wash over them is what I am aiming to do, using vaseline to create a light sheen over them. I will also use white mascara on the eyelashes either on the tips or on the full lash to create a frosted effect. I know that when I have been skiing you do actually get a frosty eyelash when on the chairlifts! 


This image is a bit extreme, however this is the concept that I mean. I also like the pinkness of the cheeks as it looks like the cheeks have almost been burnt by the cold! This will be entwined within my look to create a very cold and frosty look, referencing to the Inuit tribe. 


Tuesday 20 November 2012

Editorial: Ombre Ombre Ombre

Ombre is a big trend this year, and I think that showing it in my look would not only reflect fashion and current trends but also thinking about the landscapes of Tribal Africa and the colours of the skies in images I have seen.

^ I want to show a variation of colours shaded and contoured around the face. This will give references to the landscape and look really effective on camera in my opinion.
^ Here shows another image from the Sahara desert, Africa, and the colours that can be created in the sky, giving me ideas for the colours that I could use within my look.


I also want to look at other Ombre images, from fashion and makeup to give me more ideas on what colours/techniques that I could use within my look.

< These are my own nails and I used a sponge to create this ombre effect. The clashing colours work really well together and I like that they fade into one another really well. Using these colours on the cheeks may make it a bit too pale and pastel-like, however using brighter colours with this method would look really effective in my opinion.





< The shading here is also blended really well, I think that I need to do the designing of my makeup fairly subtly though, as I don't want this to over-power the image.













Friday 16 November 2012

Editorial: Imagery for Editorial look

Collecting images from different sources has really helped my ideas and given me more inspiration. So, I want to gather different images for the editorial look too, as I have not began properly designing these looks yet. 


I want this look to be more of a mix of different tribes within Africa, being very colourful with lots of different textures, detailing and makeup effects on the face. 



< The use of colours is going to be very predominant in my look, I want to use different products on the face and body to express a range of colours and textures. I will also use very bright accessories for example bracelets like these and string necklaces that have a tribal feel




< The colours within this image are also very interesting. I love the contrast on the black where the shadows of the elephants are and the way that the sun creates an orange cast all over the sky. 





                                < The textures within this image are really interesting, the use of dried grass could be visually exciting within my piece, maybe intertwined with parts of the hair? Also the painting that has been put on the face gives me ideas of shapes that I could replicate in my own way.

< Again, another image of dried grasses I really like the idea of using grass within the hair to create texture and an interesting effect on the hair. 















                    
< This image shows a really good use of colours and materials. I love the shapes that have been created in the hair, and I would like to try this in my own look somehow. The use of accessories for this tribe is also really interesting and the string across the chest gives movement within the look, making it really interesting to look at!

                                 < I put this image in to show the varied uses of fabrics that I could show within my look, using it as styling or hair pieces or something similar. I want to go to a fabric shop and look at my different options with the styling of my shoot. Because this is for an editorial look, I can be more imaginative with the styling and not need to worry about the ease of movement etc. 

< I just wanted to add this image for the use of styling and the accessories within this image. I like how the whole styling choices flow with one an other from the headdress to the necklaces and then the cloth at the bottom, they all seem to work really well together.


 < The use of feathers also gives a really nice effect within the image. If grass does not work well for my, or if I need something else within the hair, I want to look at using a variety of colours of feathers to add to the hair.






< The hair in this image is really inspiring for me. I love the use of thread within the hair and the way that it has been wrapped to create structure and an interesting shape. The use of red within the image really stands out and gives so many connotations of love, danger, anger etc., while the gold gives thoughts of money, 'richness', and luxury.