Finalising My Ideas

After my mind map, I wrote down ideas for the concepts that were my favourite from the idea process:

This enabled me to write down the possible looks or techniques I could use for these looks. As visible, some have more possibilities than others, and some intrigued and excited me more than others. 

I looked at some images on google for inspiration for each look:

Tree:

I really liked the look of the roots and bark on the neck going up to the face here, and I could create a prosthetic for this. What I would need to research and practice a lot is the texture of roots and bark. 

I would also put this moss type foliage on the face which would add to the realism and texture of the look. 

Snake:

These images were really inspirational for me when thinking about the snake look. The first image is the kind of thing I would like to create, to replicate the shedding of a snake's skin. More research would need to go into this, however I think that this would be realistic in that the character could still be a hybrid even if it is shedding its human skin, because underneath the snake skin could be another layer of human skin, and this process of shedding and alternating between skins could be a background story. However because I like the second photo so much, I think that I would like to create the peeling skin look on the neck so that I could make the whole face look like a snake. From the first photo, I also like the texture on the eyebrow, which I could incorporate and create a prosthetic out of. 

I really love the makeup elements of the second photo. Especially the black line on the lip, and the scales on the face which is a look I actually tried for my portfolio when applying for university. In the third photo, the inspiration was the hairstyle. I think that this is very reptile-like but also lends to the femininity and human characteristics.

Cat:

If I was to create a cat look, this is what I would do. However I think that this prosthetic would be too complicated to create as it is more 3D than the surface wounds we had to create for the wound project. I am not sure how I would fashion the clay, I think that I would need a different material in order to create this prosthetic and this is not a technique I have learned yet. Therefore this is an interesting idea, however I don't think I will be creating it. 

Whale:

I couldn't find any photos of whale makeup, however my idea is to replicate this under part of the body:

Moreover, the makeup on Bill Turner for 'Pirates of the Caribbean' inspired me and made me want to put barnacles on the face and body but made out of prosthetic in order to create realism, as if the character has been under the deep sea for a while. I would also paint the model blue to replicate a blue whale's exterior. 

My favourite ones were the tree idea, the snake idea and the blue whale idea. I felt as if the cat idea was too simple and would not be very interesting, especially for this 'Brave New World' concept, however still created it on paper to see what it would look like. 

I created some preliminary face charts with an idea for one look each, and whichever one I felt had the most possibilities would be the one I would continue with and create further. 

Face Charts

Tree

Once I put this look on paper, I didn't like it. I don't feel as if I would be able to replicate bark or roots well enough to make them look realistic, and I would like to create a look to the best of my ability and don't think I could do this. I'm sure with the right design it could be a good hybrid idea, however I think that creating a bark prosthetic would be difficult to colour, especially as I found it hard to use the alcohol activated colour palette when creating my wound. I have not decided to go ahead with this design. 

Snake

This was my favourite face chart to create. As soon as I started it I felt excited and had ideas that I really want to create and could visualise in my head and had an idea as to what I wanted to do. When it comes to the neck, I have used this 'Special FX Wax' before (in my portfolio for applying for university) to create this peeling skin look and really enjoyed it and found it relatively easy to use. I think this would be effective and I would use this better than what it would look like when creating a prosthetic, however I will still keep the prosthetic idea in mind and research how likely it is that I can recreate peeling skin realistically with clay and a mould. 

The prosthetic area will be the raised bit on the forehead, with the inside being flat and coloured on top of fishnets to create the scale effect. I have not yet decided whether I will use an eyeshadow or paint for the base, however my idea at the moment is to paint a black base with supracolour or aqua colour, then powder over the top with translucent powder, and then use supracolour or aqua colour again but over the top of fishnet tights to create this multicoloured scale look.

I believe that this is the design I will carry on with because of the excitement and inspiration I got when creating it, and I believe that I have the ability to create the looks that I want without throwing myself into the deep end. I think that the look is also aesthetically pleasing and a sufficient merging of human and snake. 

Cat:

I was not very inspired when creating the cat look. I know that if I was to create this look, I would need to research what type of cat I was creating in order to get the facial features correct and also the hair colour perfect. I felt as if it was not very challenging, and also the fact that I would not be able to create the nose part myself and the only prosthetic part would be the eyebrows meant that I was not utilising the skills I had learnt enough. Moreover, I think that this is a stereotypical look that would not allow a lot of room for unique creation. However I do like the thought of the use of crepe hair to add to the texture and realism. Despite this, I have not chosen this look. 

Blue Whale:

This was also an idea that sounded better than it looked on paper. I don't think that this would be and easy creation as the barnacles would need to be very accurate and detailed, which is not something I feel confident enough in yet. Moreover, I feel as if the mouth area would be too complicated, and I would not be able to create a prosthetic that would go down underneath the chin as the prosthetic needs to be on a flat surface. Moreover, I feel as if painting the whole face blue would not be practical and is too dark of a colour for me to work with at this moment as I feel I would not create an even look on the face and I am not sure how long it would last before it starts to sweat/rub off. Therefore this is not a look I am going to carry on with. 

Reflection:

I found cutting down to my favourite ideas and than breaking them down very helpful in that this was the creating the base for what I wanted and gave me a rough idea of how complicated they would be, what I would like for the look and what I would need for the look, which showed me whether they were plausible. After this, the face charts were so helpful as I was able to put was I was visualising down on paper, and therefore able to see whether what I wanted actually looked good or realistic, and this proved that some did not and therefore enabled me to make a choice as to which idea would be the most sensible and relevant to the brief. Now that I have done this, I can set about researching for my snake look to make sure that it is anatomically correct, and so that I know 100% what materials I need and I can start experimenting with how I am going to create the look and which products are best to use. To begin with, I need to create a hair design, and then I need to start sculpting and moulding as soon as possible.