3. Cuts, Scratches, Bruises and the Perfect black eye

Products:

• Palette knife
• wax
• latex
• wound filler
• blood
• sealer
• supra colour palette 
• bruise wheel
• stipple sponge
• foundation palette
• spirit gum
• translucent loose powder

Firstly we started by watching a demonstration by our make-up teacher Sue, she firstly showed us how to create a cut with wax, scratches with blood and a bruised eye. This variety of techniques can really help you in the TV and film industry when asked to create wounds for the actors. Sue always told us to look in the mirror at what we have created because this is what it would look like on camera as the eye portrays it different. 

 

Teachers demo

How I created the wound:

Firstly I started with making sure the skin area was clean so getting my model to wash her hands and up one arm slightly and also washing my own hands ready. Next I grabbed a chunk of wax and started by molding it into a shape which probably was the size of my little finger. I then started pressing the edges down as this is where it will blend into the skin. I then put some spirit gum onto the skin and waited for it to go slightly tacky and then put the wax on top and started blending it out with a spatula. I then used a sealer around the edges of the wax to hold it in place. I then used the thin end of the spatula to use it to create the cut in the wax which gives the dimension of the wound. I basically used the tool to cut into the wax. Next I poured a small amount of latex in a bowl and then put the latex over the whole of the wax wound, this helps seal the whole wound and helps it blend into the skin and its easier to work on.

Now the base of the wound is done its just adding the colour and blood to create the full effect. I started with using the foundation palette and just touching up on the skin colour so the whole area blend together, I then used the supra colour palette and painted the middle of the wound a deep red where I cut it open with the spatula. I then used the wound filler and a small wooden spatula to fill the wound in, around the edge of the would I wanted some bruising so I used the Ben Bye bruise wheel and used the colours red/blue to make a purple colour and slightly yellow around the edge. I then added to the wound by pouring liquid blood over the area and letting it drip down the arm for effect, with the extra blood I used a stipple sponge and dipped the corner in blood and brushed it around the deep cut so it looks like its surrounded with scratches.

Facial Bruising:

Firstly I started with the base colour which I used a red from the Ben Nye bruise wheel palette. I created this slightly around the eye and down on the cheekbone, instead of a fresh dark blue and purple/black bruise I wanted to create a slightly older bruise which is slightly different in colour. Once the base red colour was done I then applied a blue colour in the center which creates the main colour of the bruise, when a bruises is starting to heel it starts going yellow around the edge so I applied the yellow bruise colour around the edge of the bruise and in the corner of the eye.

I really enjoyed this studio session creating the wounds and bruising, I found it really interesting to learning different ways to create things and new things each week. I think to start will I found it quite difficult to create the wound, this is just because its hard to create it looking realistic and making sure all the edges are blended so you cant see it stuck onto the skin. I'm very pleased with how the cut turned out I think for my first attempt in creating a cut for a while it went pretty well. The bruising i'm pleased the colours I used as I worked with a variety of colours for a certain aged bruise. 

Health and safety-

• Make sure model is latex patch tested (which we previously all were)
• keep product clean and tidy
• make sure you place the lid straight back on products 
• keep model covered to protect clothing for products 
• don't run in the studio
• keep bags away tidy