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Many people are fascinated by the make-up they see in movies and TV
shows, and this interest sometimes becomes a burning desire to do
this kind of exciting creative work themselves. I understand this
intense desire to be a makeup artist; I’ve been one for six decades,
creating everything from old age and character make-ups to monsters
and special make-up effects for countless films and television
productions.
I’ve always enjoyed teaching the art and craft of make-up to others
who share my love of this work. I have personally trained hundreds
of makeup artists, including many of the top professionals in
Hollywood today. My Advanced Professional Make-up Course is
considered to be the most respected course in special makeup
instruction. But that 700 page course is too advanced for most
beginners, so I’ve written a much shorter course to help you “test
drive” this career and to help you get a running start.
What's In The Basic Course?
My
course teaches you the primary, essential form of makeup that a
special makeup effects artist must know: how to transform an
actor’s face three-dimensionally with prosthetic pieces called
“appliances”. With appliances you can turn that actor into an old
person, a monster, an alien or a corpse; the only limit is your
imagination.
The Basic Course covers the 5 basic technical and artistic stages in
the creation of such a makeup:
Making a life mask of the actor.
Sculpting the “character” face on
the life mask (the appliances).
Making molds of these clay
appliances.
Filling the molds with flexible
appliance material.
Gluing on the final appliances and
applying makeup to them.
The Basic Course is sent by mail; you study it at home. My clear,
easy to understand text will walk you through each step along the
way and provide illustrations for perfect clarity. You’ll create a
character or creature that you select from the gallery of odd faces
included in the course, or you can do one of your own designs.
When you have completed the Basic Course by producing a
finished prosthetic makeup, you’ll take pictures of it and send them
to Dick Smith Enterprises. Instructions for doing so are included in
the course. One of my "dream team" faculty of top Hollywood
make-up artists, most of them Oscar winners,
will
look at your work. My colleague will contact you and advise you about your talents, strengths
and areas that need improvement, career options, further schooling
and whatever else concerns you.
This
personal feedback and advice from an Oscar caliber make-up
artist is one of the things that makes my Basic Course uniquely
valuable to anyone who is investigating this career.
How Much Time Will I Need To Take This
Course?
I
think 14 eight hour days would be ample time. Of course, you may
have only weeknights and weekends. That would take a month of 3
hours each weekday evening and 8 hours Saturday and Sunday (this
presumes you are hardworking, dedicated and have zero distractions).
But I want to stress that there is no time limit to complete the
course. You may work at whatever pace is most comfortable for you
and take as long as you like.
Cost Of Materials
All the materials you’ll use are described in the text and listed in
the back of the course, with sources in the U.S. and England. If you
have no makeup to start with, your supplies will cost you
about $300. I’ve arranged for you to get a 20% discount from the
largest supplier. And, since we’ll be
using a foamed gelatin appliance material instead of foam latex,
I’ve saved you the added expense of buying an electric mixer and
scale.
Cost Of The Basic 3-D Make-Up Course
The cost is $350 plus shipping.
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