Testing for Claudia's make-up

 Here are some tests I did before doing Claudia's make-up. I only did the face and the head part, not on the neck too because this was just a test. I wanted to see if I don't have a bald cap to put on my head to cover my hair from the gelatine and I use bubble wrap instead will work and it did, so that's the method I'm going to use when shooting Claudia. I pinned the bubble wrap securely onto my hair with bobby pins and then put gelatine on top of it. I also glued if with a special nose glue to make it stick on the skin surface, but that I have done only on the face not on the hair haha. Then I've created the shape I wanted on the face with the gelatine that I've made myself (ASDA gelatine with foundation to give pigment) and then put blood on top and coloured with supracolour a bit. Then I've left out some of the hairs and that's the look! Pretty! :))

Contemporary Victorian Hairstyles inspired by 'American Horror Story'

PRODUCTS USED: 

• Styling foam;
• Hairspray.

Other products that can be used: 

• Heat protector.

TOOLS USED: 

• Heated rollers;
• Roller pins;
• Hairpins;
• Pintail comb;
• Hairbrush.

HOW TO: 

1. Start by sectioning the hair in three sections and then do a centre parting at the front section;
2. Insert the red rollers on the sides of the centre parting, doing medium lenght pieces of hair rolled on them;
3. Clip the rollers in place;
   
   
4. Start doing brickwork with the second section of the hair with the blue rollers in the direction of the hair, starting with one or two bricks and ending with three or four;
5. Clip the rollers;
6. Roll the back and the last section of the hair on the white rollers upwards;
7. Clip the hair;
   
   
   
   
8. Once set, let the hair down;
9. Pin the front section, we will need it later;
10. Backcomb the crown section;
11. Roll the remaining hair upwards just as we did with the white rollers to create something like a pretzel bun;
    
12. Comb the front section and place the end of the hairs, curled, on the sides;
13. Finish with hairspray.
    

REMOVING: 
Simply remove the hairpins and brush the hair.

MY RESULTS: 

REFLECTION:
Loved this hairstyle! Whish I had more time to work at it but I will definitely do it again!

Creating scars using moulds

These days I've been really ill and I've missed some classes but I came today at Sue's lesson because I really didn't want to miss the technical stuff as I don't think I'll make it to the catch up session due to a collaboration with Winchester School of Art. Today could have been way more fun if I wouldn't have been late, but I tried to do my best in the time that was left.

PRODUCTS USED: 

• Gelatine mould (can be filled with gelatin/silicone);
• Petrolese - a release spray that you need to spray the mould before;
• Pros-aide: prosthetic glue;
• Pro-clean: special remover;
• Witch hazel;
• Powder;
• Supracolour;
• Isopropyl alcohol;
• Dark blood;
• Wound filler.

TOOLS USED: 

• Baby buds;
• Scissors;
• Brushes;
• Fibrous orange sponge;
• Bowls;
• Powder brush/puff.

HEALTH AND SAFETY: 

• Always gown the model to prevent dirt on the clothes or accidentally spilling of blood;
• Ask your model if she/he is allergic to one of the prducts, especially the glue (latex).

Other information: 

• To blend the edges, use witch hazel on a baby bud in downwards motions.
• You may have to trim the edges of the mould slightly. It's better to have some rough edges as they won't show up as much on camera in comparison to straight edges;

HOW TO: 

1. Apply glue on both the place where it's going to be stuck and the back of the mould (it is a contact glue);
2. Make sure that both sides are dry - they will be completely clear;
3. Stick the mould on the skin - you have to press hard to make sure it is completely stuck on the skin;
4. Blend the edges with a baby bud with witch hazel (or with latex);
5. Powder the area to see what edges need melting away;
6. Clean away any excess glue around the edges, making sure not to go under the mould as it will cause it to unstick;
7. Colour the wound. Make sure that the colour is translucent and not heavy. If the edges are too hard, bring lightly over the edge;
8. Apply supracolour to colour the scar, you can dillute it with IPA;
9. Play with colouring (add black into the hole);
10. Add wound filler into the hole;
11. Apply generous amounts of blood and let the hand hangind down a bit so the blood will look like it was flowing naturally.

REMOVING: 

• Easily gently peel of the mould and then use make-up cleanser to remove anything left.

MY RESULTS: 

REFLECTION:
I know. I know. My results don't look real or anything and it just looks like a bad joke but I haven't got enough time to blend the edges as I was really late to the lesson. Next time I will focus more and do my best, this time was just a failed trial.

Final hair chart for Quentin

This is the final hairchart for Quentin, he will have mud and blood on his hair especially on his fringe, which will be longer than the rest of the hair. He will have kinda messy hair because he founght with Mrs. Laderman before he killed her.

Final face chart for Quentin

So this is my final facechart for Quentin. He will still look beautiful but sinister and creepy, he will have blood splatters and finger traces with blood on his face from the victim (Mrs. Laderman). He will be dirty with mud on his face/hair and especially on his hands wich will be the main focus of the make-up, because my character supposedly killed Mrs. Laderman stabbing her and then buried her with his own hands in the forest. He will have very dark inner corners to suggest that he was very upsed and didn't sleep a lot and he will have tears in his eyes made with glycerin. For the mud I will use fuller's earth and other colourants such as hairspray, food colouring, fake blood etc. I will use a perfume-spray like to spray the blood onto his face and clothes, because the clothes have to be dirty too. He will have nice eyebrows and blue eyes though, because he is Claudia's imaginary boyfriend and he has to look still nice.

Final hair chart for Claudia

Final face chart for Claudia

I've changed a bit my design and I will continue with the acid burn slightly on her neck and chest too. She will pose in a very dark background, She will have half a face perfect and another half horrible. On the "beautiful"part of her face she cried and you could almost see that she was in pain because of the look that she's giving the audience. Her lips will be rosy and eventually faded. She will have a smokey-neutral cut crease and she will be almost ready!

Claudia, Quentin & Mrs Laderman final moodboards

Claudia Moodboard

Quentin Moodboard

Mrs. Laderman Moodboard

Claudia, Quentin and Mrs. Laderman characters, final story and inspirational words UPDATE

Claudia - Glass prison

Claudia is a girl in her twenties, suffering from multiple mental disorders: she is agoraphobic and schizophrenic. Because she never leaves her home, there aren't many people who know about her problems and who she is friend with. She knows that something isn't quite right with her. She often feels like she is trapped in her own apartment, in her own mind and body, like in a glass prison, but she tries to ignore those feelings and keeps living her life in constant fear and anxiety.
Even though she is agoraphobic and schizophrenic, she has a beautiful soul and beautiful phisycal features as well. She lives in big city and that makes her more anxious and fearful that if she will go outside to discover Miami, something bad will happen to her. Despite of that, she talks with a few of her neighbours whom she considers to be her friends, but only two of those people know about her problems. One of them is Debrah Morgan, Dexter Morgan's sister, who knows about her struggles and wants to help her by being close to her. But the only person which she considers to be her friend and confidant is Mrs. Laderman, her neighbour.


Mrs. Laderman - White rose

She is a lovely lady in her 40's who always gives good advice, cooks nice food and is keeping Claudia in touch with the outside world. Or that's just what Claudia thinks of her...

Claudia doesn't have a boyfriend, as she never leaves the apartments she's living in, but she imagined herself one.

Quentin -  The woods

She named him Quentin and he does whatever she wants and loves her unconditionally. His appearance changes to suit her moods, but he is most of the time tall, blonde, with beautiful blue eyes and smart dressed. Because Claudia imagines him being really handsome, she often thinks that other women see him like that too, and every woman who meets him falls in love with him instantly. He is, though, just a project of Claudia's imagination and no one else but Claudia can see him. He is real just to her, while to others it doesn't exist.

Claudia only talks to him on the telephone and lets him visit her only at night, when everybody else is sleeping, so no one can see him. She doesn't know that this happens only in her dreams at night and she believes all this to be real. She once told Mrs. Laderman about him, about how nice he is, but now she regrets it deeply. She thinks that since then, Mrs. Laderman's attitude towards her has changed, and that maybe that's because she and Quentin are secretly seeing each other.
In fact, Mrs. Laderman had designs on Claudia, but she never admitted this. Since she found that Claudia has a "boyfriend", she started feeling betrayed and heartbroken and she stopped visiting Claudia that often.
One day, she finally decided to express her feelings towards Claudia and visited her, bringing a beautiful bouquet of white roses, as a sign to express her "pure" love towards her.
When she entered Claudia's room, she found her talking at the phone with Quentin, and, surprised, dropped the bouquet. When Claudia saw her, she thought that she was secretly stalking her talking with Quentin, and started yelling at Mrs. Laderman to leave her house. Mrs. Laderman felt rejected and betrayed again, and promised herself to never visit Claudia again. She left her house and didn't pick up the white roses though, hoping that Claudia will see them and come to thank her and that they could reconciliate.
Claudia's thought that Mrs. Laderman and Quentin have a secret relationship grew bigger and bigger and she started hating her. She throw the bouquet of roses on the window right after Mrs. Laderman left, so she can see that she doesn't need her attention and she doesn't want to be close to her again...
Left with no other friend to talk to, Claudia started confessing to Debra about what happened, but she didn't really took her seriously.
Time has passed and she forgot Mrs. Laderman. She actually started missing her, so she phoned her to invite her over.
Meanwhile, Mrs. Laderman's feelings of love mutated into hate, and she kept building a plan in her mind to destroy the love between Claudia and Quentin. She didn't know that Quentin wasn't real...
As soon as she received Claudia's call, she started planning how to mutilate her so Quentin will no longer love her. She bought a bottle of acid and went straight to Claudia's home.
Mrs. Laderman rang the bell. Claudia, excited to see her, opened the door straight away, and Mrs. Laderman threw the bottle of acid on her face, reaching half of it and the shoulder and leaving her to fall on the floor. Happy that her plan succeeded, she yelled to Claudia: "So you'll never see Quentin again!" and left, leaving her devastated.
Claudia was left there, blinded and scarred by the acid that was burning her face slowly. She lost her consciousness and fell down...
Soon after this, Debra came over and found her lying on the floor, in the door. She immediately took her to the hospital and started investigating what happened with her. Claudia was unable to talk for days, but Debrah remember all that she said about the incident with Mrs. Laderman and started questioning her. She investigated the case with help from her brother, Dexter, and found Mrs. Laderman guilty, but they couldn't imprison her and and left her free despite the frustration and the obviousness of the case. There were no witnesses. Mrs. Laderman's younger brother was a successful lawyer who managed to help her escape the sentence, with the reason that Claudia's mental health was precarious.
Dexter saw the injustice and couldn't bear it. He decided to go himself after Mrs. Laderman and punish her for what she did. And he did so. He killed Mrs. Laderman a night before the morning when Claudia killed her in her hallucination, in her dream, from her mind.
Meanwhile, Claudia was slowly recovering but her mental state became more unstable. She was hospitalized in a mental health centre, where doctors were taking care of her. But she couldn't find her peace. She wanted revenge. She wanted to tell Quentin what happened, but she only could "speak" to him on the phone. Luckily, Debra came to visit her and brought her a few of her belongings, her lapton, her favourite pillow and her phone.
That night she finally could call Quentin. She hid herself in the hospital's bathroom and "called" him, telling him everything that had happened. She felt that he was the only one that believed her. And he was, because, he was in her mind. He existed there and he knew everything that she knew. He was completely real, but only in her mind. So he wanted to show her how much he loves her and seek her revenge. That morning, Quentin killed Mrs. Laderman and buried her in the woods outside of the hospital. That was the last thing that Claudia saw, and the last morning sunshine that she felt through the hospital bathroom windows. Right after she "saw" this, she couldn't take it anymore and she killed herself taking all the medications that she had for her mental illness and her acid burns. She was found dead on the bathroom floor by a nurse. Did she die, or did she just escape from the glass prison where she was captive all her life?

Collage photos from both timed assessments

When comparing the pictures in a collage, just like in did in this blog post, I started to feel really sorry about not taking notes about the camera settings and the lighting setups at the first assessment. The outcome looks a bit different just because of how the photo looks which may affect the viewer's perception about the make-up and the hair overall. The poses were quite different too, but I hope that wouldn't affect much. And the styling of the clothing, especially with the back shot, is different because when I first took the pictures at the first assessment the model was wearing a scarf, but I decided to go without it and take another shots, and I forgot to take a back shot as well without the scarf... This is to remeber next time when I have to work to maintain continuity. Overall I am satisfied with the result althought I could have done it better... but it's the first time, I should be more indulgent with myself, right? No, I know I shouldn't... but at least this makes me feel less guilty.

Left picture: first assessment. Right picture: second assessment.

Claudia, Quentin, Mrs Laderman second hair charts

Claudia, Quentin, Mrs Laderman second face charts

Claudia:

After updating/changing the story I think that it's time to change the facecharts too. Claudia will have half of the face burned by acid, with her earsn and half of the nose too. On the still beautiful side of her face, she had beautiful eyeliner with soft smokey eye but then she started crying and smudged the make-up on the lower eyelid. Her eyebrows can be full and her lips slowly fading from deep pink to pale pink at the edges of the lips.

Mrs. Laderman:

Mrs Laderman will be stabbed by Quentin in Claudia's dream and buried in the woods, that's what explains the mud and dirt on the edges of the facechart and even on its face. She will look beaten and she will bleed from her mouth, nose and neck stab too. Her eyebrows are bushy but pretty and their colour will be grey.

Quentin:

He is Claudia's imaginary boyfriend and he killed Mrs. Laderman because she wanted "revenge". He had beautiful blue eyes with beautiful eyebrows as well. Stains on his face are made by the victim who was helplessy trying to escape and fight the attacked - Quentin. He has blood and mud in some plces, including his hair. He will be very contoured to make him look prettier.

Claudia, Quentin, Mrs Laderman first hair charts

Sorry for the bad drawings but I had no patience left at all to do tomething prettier. The description of the hair ideas is noted on the hairchart, there is nothing too complicated that cannot be achieved.

Really sorry for this Quentin.

Claudia, Quentin, Mrs Laderman first face charts

CLAUDIA:

Claudia is a beautiful girl with nice eyebrows and blue eyes. This facechart represents her after she stabbed Mrs. Laderman, with blood splashes on her neck and face and with tears running down her face. The eyeliner underneath will be a bit smudged and she will have a soft smokey eye. Her lips will be pink and faded from interior to exterior. Her face will be contoured. The tears can be made with glycerin and the blood splashed with a paint brush.

MRS. LADERMAN:

Mrs. Laderman is in her '40s but looks older than she actually is. She has fine but visible wrinkles at her eyes and on the forehead. She has her face contoured downwards to create the illusion of older, saggy face. Her eyebrows are bushy and have a grey/brown/ashy tint. Her lips are mixed pink with brown and she has her lips wrinkled a little bit. Her eyes are brown. The stab would can be on her neck and she will also have blood sprinkles on her face. and chest and obviously blood running out of her neck.

QUENTIN:

He will be portrayed as a monster that returned from hell. He has fire in his eyes and he is full of dirt and mud, he has blackeyes and his mouth is full of blood with rottenteeth and creepy overall.

Timed assessment 2

Ok, so the second timed assessment is finally over. That means that the timed assessments are over. That means that I am happy. Happy for that and happy that almost everything went well. I liked how the result turned out the second time except for the hair which I felt that didn't look 100% exactly the same, but anyway you couldn't tell the difference without having multiple looks at the first assessment picture and the second. I followed the exact same steps as I did at the previous exam when it comes to the make-up application, except that I used a different foundation because in the meantime I ran out of the Make Up Forever HD one. But Kryolan worked well though I couldn't mixt it with anything else as this one is a grease-based foundation (really good looking on a dry skin) and the other ones I've got (and the moisturizers as well) were water based. About the photography, because I didn't take lighting setups at the previous assessment, I just used whatever setup it was at the moment and it turned out to be a bit different but that's it. At least the make-up was completely the same. And the brows, oh, the brows...

Dexter TV series moodboard

Yesterday I have wrote about my ideas of developing two characters inspired by a TV series. Well, I've looked again at the story and although I really like it and it would be good, I think that it's not so representative of the TV series as the TV series is more reality-like and there is not so much spooky, supernatural stuff but more criminal investigations etc etc. So I have thought about re-writing the story in a different manner to fit with the TV series style as well.
Actually that's the primary reason why I have chosen it, because I didn't know that I was capable imagining and actually sleeping after so much supernatural stuff going on in my head. So yeah, because it was more easy to watch considering this perspective.
The action is taking place in Miami and everything seems to be pretty normal until we get into Dexter's head and see how he really is like.

Claudia, Quentin & Mrs Laderman character profiles and first story ideas

Character profiles

Claudia
Claudia is a girl in her twenties. As a child she was left alone to develop with little parental guidance and through her relationship with T.V. movies developed an unhealthy relationship with Horror films, believing this to be the way life really is.

All the scenes take place in various parts of Claudia’s apartment, which is European in style with
a great deal of kitsch décor. She is agoraphobic and is kept in touch with the outside world by her neighbours who provide her with her every day requirements.  She models herself on a variety of girls often twisting her look to suit whichever film she is watching at the time and there is often
a nod to the main character in the current film within her appearance.

The script portrays her as psychotic and there is always the feeling that although her character is scripted/can be seen as humorous, danger is just around the corner.   However all this is normal to Claudia and she is of a cheerful disposition in this mad world of hers.

Quentin
Claudia has an imaginary boyfriend, Quentin, who is long suffering and a constant disappointment to her. They don’t live together but he visits regularly and they talk on the telephone if he can’t get in to see her. As he is part of her imagination his appearance changes to suit her mood. Sometimes he will be a David Beckham looking guy, whilst in another scene he will appear as a Pete Docherty type, Daniel Craig type or a Hollyoaks Babe. If she is having a bad day he will morph into an uncouth couch potato chav with all that brings with it.

He is as into the horror film genre as she and into role-playing to suit her whims and moods.
Claudia has a paranoid suspicion that he is constantly having affairs behind her back and keeps him firmly under her thumb, sometimes restraining him or keeping him prisoner in one of the rooms.

Mrs Laderman
Claudia’s neighbour in her 40’s. She alternately changes into a variety alter egos and is Claudia’s friend and confidant. Living in the apartment opposite, she was Claudia’s only link to the outside world. Although they are friends there is suspicion that Mrs L’, has designs on Quentin. In fact she has designs on Claudia.

Here are my ideas for the three characters, along with the three words I want to use to help with the characterisation:

Claudia - White rose:

I have thought about creating Claudia as a girl in her twenties having mental disorders because she was left alone as a child and the only example in life that she had were horror films. She is agoraphobic and she never leaves her home, that's why she hasn't got any friends and she doesn't even know how the real world looks like. When she thinks about the sun shining, she thinks that the sun will burn her skin... when she thinks about the forest, she doesn't think about the green woods that w usually think about, but instead about dark, gloomy trees and foggy places. She has a sick mind, but her neighbours pity her and try to help her as much as they can. 

Why I thought about a white rose in relation with Claudia is because the story behind this involves symbolic meanings of this beautiful flower. Referring to historical facts and going back in the 19th century, in the Victorian times, when language of flowers was popular and gothic horror literature was born, the rose had another meanings besides the meanings we know to be true today. A white rose symbolises purity, untainted beauty, morality, everything that is sacre and beautiful in the world. "Now, the opposite of a white rose, is a black rose. This may mean the opposite of what the white rose signifies, meaning impurity or immorality, revenge, and ugliness. Unlike the promise of new beginnings, the black rose may say otherwise, as signifying no return, or no hope."(Wikia)
You might say yes, this could be true, but it has nothing to do with Claudia's story. Not right. You'll see reading further.

Claudia couldn't leave her apartment even if she wanted to. She felt that she will leave, all the demons that were waiting outside will come to get her. She constantly had nightmares about her going out and never being able to come home alive... because her parents left the house one day when she was younger and never returned. She thought that there were monsters outside ready to kill her. She was insane. That's merely why she couldn't make any friendships and the ones that she got were based on other feelings or just pity for her situation. She spoke only with two of her neighbours, Mrs. Laderman and Debrah Morgan, although she only considered Mrs. Laderman as a friend and Debra just someone who used to visit her from time to time and ask her if she's okay. Last time Debra visited she was really nice bringing her a bouquet of white roses which Claudia really cherished. When her other friend and neighbour visited, Mrs. Laderman, she also complimented the bouquet even though she seemed to have an unusual smile on her face doing that. She felt that something is not quite right with her friend but they kept talking and she told her about Quentin. She spoke about him as if he was real and although he wasn't, Mrs. Laderman believed to be so, and didn't know that it's just the result of Claudia's sickness.


Quentin - The woods:

Quentin exists only in relation with Claudia. Quentin is Claudia's imaginary boyfriend and they have never seen each other in her apartment. Due to Claudia's obsession with horror films, she always portrays him in a dark forest, him being the only living creature that seems to be actually alive in the whole picture. But still, this is changeable by Claudia's mood. If she feels happy, he will be full of life and loving. If she feels sad or frustrated, he will be constantly worrying about her and looking desperate. If she feels miserable, he will look miserable as well. And if she feels dead, he will look like a monster, like a zombie who just returned from the dead. He exists as long as Claudia thinks about him and no one else can see him, although that she feels that he is very real. Maybe it's just the schizophrenia, or is Quentin really an invisible entity?

Mrs. Laderman - Door:

Mrs. Laderman is the middle-aged lady next door to Claudia. Claudia considered her her friend until a point, because Mrs. Laderman was her confidant and always there to listen to her problems when she felt like complaining. And she was complaining a lot. Mrs. Laderman was there for her since she was 13 years old and struggling with adolescence in the ugliest way possible: being agoraphobic and schizophrenic and not being able to go out and make friends and actually experience life. Mrs. Laderman loved Claudia, because Claudia was her only friend too. Well, she had another neighbour who talked to, and that was Debra, but they weren't so close as she just moved nearby. Was Mrs. Laderman's love for Claudia just a pure, friendly love? Or was it something else?
The truth is, since Claudia grew up things have changed between them. She started feeling something unusual towards her, and she started suspecting that Claudia is seeing with a boy. She felt incredibly irritated when she found out that Claudia is really in love with Quentin, that's why after Claudia confessed, she stopped coming over Claudia's home.
Claudia noticed that Mrs. Laderman is not how she used to be, and this happened right after she told her about Quentin. She started thinking that Mrs. Laderman had designs on Quentin, and stopped trying to reach her by the phone or anything.
One day, Mrs. Laderman wanted reconciliation because she missed Claudia and wanted to clarify her feelings towards her. She went and knocked on Claudia's door. She opened, and when she saw Mrs. Laderman, she had a nervous breakdown. She was really angry at her because all the time they haven't seen each other she was alone and devastated by her own thoughts. Instead of reconciliating, they started fighting. Mrs. Laderman wanted to let her guard down, but Claudia felt the weakness and stabbed her to death. When realising what she just did, she felt extremely guilty and scared and wanted to run away. But she couldn't. She was trapped in her own fears, trapped in her life and in her apartment. She felt like her own life was falling apart and she couldn't deal with this no more. She desperately called for Quentin's help but he was nowhere to be found. She panicked and she remembered about the pills that the doctor gave her to take when she felt like she couldn't deal with life anymore. She took them all in a desperate attempt to escape... and she escaped, in the end. In her last minutes she could see Quentin lying over her disfigured, with fire in his eyes and laughing with his teeth almost falling out of his big, mutillated mouth. He then told her: "I've been waiting for so long for you in Hell, next to our parents whom I've killed. I am so happy that our family is finally reuinted. You thought that I am your boyfriend? No, little sister, I am your stepbrother, killed by your mother at birth. She was having an affair with another man while being with our father... he found out about that while she was pregnant and thought that I am not his child. He discussed with mother about this and they both agreed to give a second chance to their marriage but to do so, they had to kill me at birth because they were't even sure that I was their child! They have killed me with cold blood and I wanted revenge. You know that you only could imagine me in the woods? There's where they have buried me as a newborn. There's where I have kept for years some space next to me for my beloved parents and for you, you second chance! There's where you belong, my dear sister, in the ground next to me and the whole family. You were right when you feared that going out of the apartment will harm you. Outside are another dead souls ready to eat yours alive. You have to pay for your parents sins, and you will with your own life. That's why I did everything I could to push you to take your own life and write yourself the sentence to Hell. That's where you belong and now I can finally find my soul rest knowing that I had revenge, even though I will burn in Hell for an eternity along with my family.".

The other charachter I have imagined is Debrah Morgan, Dexter's sister. She is a very compassionate girl, always wanting to help others, and that's why when she has time she visits Claudia, knowing that she suffers from a mental illness. She called Claudia that night to see if the roses that she gave her were still fresh, because she just bought another bouquet and wanted to give them to her. Claudia didn't answer the phone. Neither did Mrs. Laderman. She kept calling but nobody was answering and she felt that something must be wrong with them. She decided to visit Claudia to see if everything's fine and because her brother was staying at her that night, she took him with her. When they got to Claudia's home, they have seen the terrible scene with Mrs. Laderman on the ground, stabbed and in a puddle of blood and Claudia lying on the floor, with her eyes open, dead and cold. They started investigating the case looking for a murderer, because something was not right with their story. Looking at the roses from the window sill, Debrah noticed that they weren't white anymore. They turned black, and both her and her brother felt that here is something more than just a murder.  There is a dark mistery that they have to reveal.

References:

• Wikia (no date) Black rose. Available at: http://symbolism.wikia.com/wiki/Black_Rose (Accessed: 6 March 2016).

Gender and horror

In the horror genre there are lots of debates of how the women are portrayed. They used to be portrayed as weak and waiting for help from a male presence, and being nothing but helpless and powerless without it. But as the times are changing and feminism becoming more present in the modern society, the approach on women's roles became to evolve and finally to be reconsidered, even in the slightest. Even though today women are portrayed as having their "revenge" because they have been shown in more powerful roles, not only playing the "victim" role, (Donahue 2014) there still exists gender inequality in the distribution of the powerful roles.

From the Victorian times up to the present century, women have been neglected in the horror and gothic literature, theatre, film etc. and were attributed weaker roles or roles in which they were depending on a man. Even if they had more powerful roles, they were still limited in a wolrd where all that mattered was how their bodies look and not what they feel of think. "One cultural tradition, older than Victorians but nonetheless proeminent within the late nineteenth century, identifies women as entities defined by and entrapped within their bodies, in contrast to the man, who is governed by rationality and capable of transcending the fact of his embodiment. In nineteenth century social medicine in particular, women were theorized as incomplete human subjects.[...] They possess the intellectual qualities that distinguish Man from brute only in the most limited and imperfect sense" (Hurley 1997).

No wonder that nowadays horror literature and film still perpetuate the idea that women are still not capable of being in a powerful position - the roots of horror as a genre is in the Victorian times and some of the mentalities are not so easily changeable.

Although these are some sad facts, the idea that the world is continuously changing doesn't bother me at all. Maybe there will be some good changes in the end, who knows?

References:

• Donahue, A.T. (2014) Women in horror: The revenge. Available at: http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/commentisfree/2014/oct/17/women-in-horror-the-revenge (Accessed: 6 March 2016).
• Hurley, K., Hurley and Beer, G. (1997) The gothic body: Sexuality, materialism, and degeneration at the fin de siècle. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Dexter TV series

For the second part of my semester I have chosen Dexter TV series to create my characters. When we were given the list of the TV series which we should have watched I was really worried that I couldn't watch any of them as I am really not into the horror film genre and watching a horror film is a terrible nightmare for me. I have to admit that I didn't watch any of the TV series before and I was afraid even to look at trailers to see which one I could watch... but I have spoken with Kat about this and she advised me about which ones will be for "horror beginners" like me and I decided on Dexter, as it was more about killers and murders and not creepy horror stuff that I really couldn't watch. 

I liked the idea that everything takes place nowadays and that I could create a more-reality like story for my characters, and this boosted my inspiration.

The key words I have chosen to further inspire my characters are: white rose, the woods and door. I have a vague idea of whom I will attribute these words to but I am not sure yet and I will discuss this in one of the future blog posts.

(mondozilla 2013)

"Dexter is an American television drama series first aired October 1, 2006 on Showtime. The series centers on Dexter Morgan (Michael C. Hall), a blood spatter pattern analyst for a fictional Miami Metro Police Department who also leads a secret life as a serial killer.

Set in Miami, the show’s first season was largely based on the novel Darkly Dreaming Dexter (2004), the first of the Dexter series novels by Jeff Lindsay. It was adapted for television by screenwriter James Manos, Jr., who wrote the first episode. Subsequent seasons have evolved independently of Lindsay’s works.

The series has enjoyed wide critical acclaim and popularity. Season 4 aired its season finale on December 13, 2009 to a record-breaking audience of 2.6 million viewers, making it the most-watched original series episode ever on Showtime. Michael C. Hall has received several awards and nominations for his portrayal of Dexter, including a Golden Globe. The Season 8 premiere was the most watched Dexter episode ever with over 3 million viewers.

Besides Michael C. Hall playing the title character, the show’s supporting cast includes Jennifer Carpenter as Dexter’s adoptive sister and co-worker (and later boss) Debra, and James Remar as Dexter’s adoptive father, Harry. Dexter’s co-workers include Lauren Vélez as Lieutenant (later Captain) María LaGuerta, Dexter and Debra’s supervisor, David Zayas as Detective Sergeant Angel Juan Marcos Batista, and C. S. Lee as lab tech Vince Masuka."(mondozilla 2013)


References:

• mondozilla (2013) Dexter – TV series. Available at: https://horrorpedia.com/2013/07/29/dexter-tv-series/ (Accessed: 4 March 2016).

Continuity notes for TA - Updated

Make-up

1. Cleanse (Garnier micellar water), tone (studio toner), moisturize (Simple moisturizer), moisturize the lips (Carmex);
2. Apply eye cream (Balea);
3. Apply more moisturizing cream instead of mattifying face base, because the finish should be more natural and the model's skin is a little bit dry;
4. Color correcting: green for red spots and orange for dark circles (Parisax color correcting concealer palette);
5. Foundation: mix 5 pumps of MUFE HD with 1 pump of Paris Berlin waterproof and 1 pump of Paese mattifying base. Apply with a flat brush and dab with a beautyblender;
6. Apply highlighting cream on the areas to be highlighted (Inglot) with a micro mini beautyblender;
7. Apply concealer (Astor 24H) under the eye, blend with micro mini;
8. Set the under eye area with loose powder (Ben Nye) and a flat natural bristled brush. Be careful to set only under the eyes;
9. Cream contouring: Kryolan palette shades L0 and 6650 mixed: the cheekbones, the forehead, the nose, the jawline. Blend everything with a beautyblender;
10. Apply cream blusher (MUFE HD) with a stippling brush and blend;
11. Highlight with a powder highlighter (The Balm Mary Loumanizer) the cheekbones and the nose bridge;
12. Apply a small amount of loose powder all over the face;
13. Eyebrows: contour lightly with the lightest shade in the Essence brow kit, brush upwards and set with Anastasia Beverly Hills clear brow gel;
14. Apply MAC taupe eyeshadow in the inner corner of the eyebrows to the nose with a fluffy blending brush;
15. Apply Ga-de Creme Matte eyeshadow in the inner corner and on the browbone;
16. Curl the eyelashes, apply Anastasia Beverly Hills clear gel instead of Rimmel mascara to set the eyelashes;
17. Lips: wipe the foundation with a baby bud and apply more Carmex lip balm, then apply a bit of gloss on top (Avon).

Hair

1. Comb the hair;
2. Create the centre parting with a sharp-ended comb;
3. Apply small amount of green hairgel from the studio on both sides and at the back;
4. Comb and re-arrange the hairs;
5. Curl with a medium tong the fringe on the forehead;
6. Set with second layer of gel;
7. Apply hairspray and set with the hands.

Timed assessment 1

I am pretty excited about how this assessment went. Everything was good, I had enough time to finish the look, my model helped me a lot with caring for his skin to look its best, everything was carefully planned and prepared and I think that the result is beautiful too. I think I've managed to recreate Dorian Gray as he would have been in the late-Victorian era, young, charming and with attitude (except for the fact that in the book he had longer hair, but this could have been him after a visit to the barber). 

I took continuity notes during the assesment as well because I have changed some stuff during the assessment because I thought that this would look better. 

The only regret I have is that I didn't take continuity notes for the photography to make sure that next time it will look the same... but to be honest people were waiting in the queue for me to finish taking pictures after the assessment and I was too nervous to remember taking notes. 

That's how the finished result looks: