Costume Design Part 3
Make-up Design
Sometimes make-up is designed by the costumer, sometimes there is aseparate make-up designer, and sometimes actors are responsible for theirown stage make-up. In shows with more complex make-up needs, a make-updesigner is more hired.
Make-up has three purposes on the stage: 1) to make theactor's features visible, 2) to create character, and 3)corrective purposes.
Because stage lights tend to wash out an actor's face and because greaterdistances between spectators and actors makes visibility difficult, allactors wear makeup on stage. A base gives the face color andevens out the facial tones; stage bases may be water-based, greasepaint,or pan sticks. Eyeliner and rouge for the lips andcheeks are also used by all actors. While greater distances callfor more saturated colors, in a smaller theatre actors will use less make-upand colors that resemble their natural tones.
Makeup may also be used to create a character.
Smallercharacter effects include changing the shape of eyes or eyebrows, agingthe face and hands, or adding facial hair. Different countries and timeperiods also had different notions of beauty; by following these with make-updesign, make-up can help to establish period and time for a character.Consider silent film actress Clara Bow's "bow" shaped lips, or the heavyliner and bright colors used on the eyelid by women of the 1950's.Larger effects may be created with putty or prosthetic devices (latexfoam or plastics), such as building up the nose and chin with putty forthe Wicked Witch of the West in The Wizard of Oz, or building entireprosthetic heads and limbs for the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.Other character effects might be bruising, bulletholes, scars, or disfigurements.
Corrective makeup is used to help an actor look his or her beston stage. The actor uses highlight and shadow to enhance the bonestructure and features of the face toward standard proportions.
For both character and corrective makeup, the most common techniquesare highlighting/shadowing and stippling. Highlightedareas will stand out, whether or not they follow the normal structure ofthe face, and shadowed areas will recede from view.
Stipplingis pressing the makeup onto the face rather than wiping it, and it is usedto give texture to the face and to blend together areas that have beenhighlighted and shadowed extensively. Alone, it can be used to createa "5 o'clock shadow." Stippling may be done with sponges or brushes.
End of Costume Designer readings
