Overall, I actually really enjoyed this project as a whole, even more so than the previous unit. I feel that I have learnt many more skills and techniques, ranging from special effects and prosthetics, to learning fairly toned down styles from the Victorian era. Most importantly, I feel that I am improving as a make-up and hair artist.
I feel throughout the What The Dickens unit I learnt a very important concept about the idea of continuity - it made me realise how difficult, but yet how important it is to ensure that all characters remain the same throughout a scene/film, and I often now find myself looking more closely into films and TV series to see if this is the case. I enjoyed the challenge of having to create your own look for Miss Havisham and Estella, although at first I was slightly apprehensive because I felt that everyone's was going to look the same, but as you watched people's ideas develop, I soon realised that this was not the case. I liked the fact that we could pick any part of the book to create Miss Havisham from, and I tried to think outside the box by creating her just before she was actually introduced in the book. I was very satisfied with the final look of Miss Havisham, and I feel that through the practising and different techniques, I managed to get the ageing part of the make-up just right, which is something that I originally struggled with (by over doing it, or under doing it), and I liked the idea of incorporating bridal make-up into this.
I thoroughly enjoyed the second part of the project - I loved the idea that we had to pick a TV series and create characters that had to fit into it; I think this potentially may have made the whole project slightly more different because you had to twist and work your ideas into someone else's perception, but I definitely enjoyed the challenge. I really liked how we had a brief that consisted of just written words, because this meant there was no previous ideas/perceptions of what the character should perhaps look like, and I feel that this gave me more freedom, and actually confidence, in what I was doing, because I knew that there was no 'wrong' solution. I feel that I really got involved in this project because I love The Walking Dead, so this actually encouraged me to do research into how things were done and created, because it is something that I was curious about beforehand anyway, and the fact that I got to create my own interpretation of a character was just a bonus! My main concern in this project was that my zombie character would not look authentic enough, however, upon reviewing my final outcome, I think it actually fits in with the series quite well, and it allowed me to expand and experiment with many new special effects and techniques, and therefore pushed me into a confident decision of my chosen option next year. With my Mrs Laderman character, I would add a slightly more green/darker tone to skin, because it appeared slightly lighter and skin-coloured on camera, and I would apply more products to the neck; but this has just enforced and emphasised this as a key message to me about how make-up reacts on camera. And as for my Claudia character, I was very pleased with how she came out - I feel as though she genuinely looks like she is going through a zombie apocalypse and the smudged make-up, messy hair, combined with sweat all over, makes this very apparent.
Overall, I have definitely enjoyed this project as a whole, and it has made me more enthusiastic about new eras - at first I was not sure about the theme 'Gothic Horror', but as time has gone on I have grown to really like it. I am pleased with all of my outcomes that I have created, and I am very excited to proceed with next year and broaden/expand my knowledge and technical abilities and skills!
