THE HALLOWEEN SFX MAKEUP WORKSHOP

Create gruesome scars, burns, wounds, and horribly convincing injuries. Come looking healthy. Leave looking terrible. How do makeup artists turn perfectly normal skin into a horrible burn? How do you create a convincing scar, an open wound or a nasty-looking injury that makes people instinctively look away? And what makes one fake wound look disturbingly real while another simply looks painted on? The Halloween SFX Makeup Workshop is a practical, hands-on introduction to the world of special-effects makeup, led by Mariajo Labrador, Head of Makeup and Wardrobe at IPA Productions, who has also worked professionally in film and television. With Halloween approaching, this is your chance to learn some of the techniques used by professional makeup artists to create convincing injuries, scars, burns, and other gruesome effects. No previous makeup experience is necessary. Just bring your creativity - and a reasonably strong stomach. What will we work on? During the workshop, Mariajo will introduce you to some of the fundamental techniques behind special-effects makeup. Depending on the effects being created, you’ll explore areas such as: • Creating realistic scars • Building cuts and wounds • Creating burns and damaged-looking skin • Adding texture to the skin • Using colour to make an injury look believable • Developing your own Halloween makeup ideas • The emphasis is on learning techniques you can experiment with yourself. How will the workshop work? This is a hands-on practical workshop. Mariajo will demonstrate techniques and explain what she is doing - but you won’t spend the morning simply watching her work. You’ll have the opportunity to try techniques for yourself, experiment with different effects, and discover how small details can make a huge difference to the finished result. The objective isn’t necessarily to create one complicated masterpiece. It’s to understand some of the tricks, materials, and techniques that allow you to start creating convincing special-effects makeup of your own. And because it’s almost Halloween, we have the perfect excuse to make things particularly unpleasant. Who is it for? This workshop is for anyone curious about special-effects makeup. It could be particularly interesting for: • Actors and performers • Drama students • Teachers involved in theatre or performance • Amateur theatre groups • Cosplayers • Halloween enthusiasts • People interested in makeup, film or television • Anyone who has ever looked at a convincing movie injury and wondered, “How did they do that?” You don’t need to be a professional makeup artist. You don’t even need previous makeup experience. You just need to be willing to experiment. What will I take away? By the end of the workshop, you should have: • A better understanding of how special-effects makeup is constructed • Practical techniques for creating wounds, scars and burns • Greater confidence using colour and texture • An understanding of how to make an injury look more realistic • Ideas for developing your own Halloween effects • Techniques you can continue practising afterwards • A new appreciation of just how much work goes into making someone look truly awful And quite possibly some photographs that will worry your friends and family. Your workshop leader Mariajo Labrador is Head of Makeup and Wardrobe at IPA Productions. Alongside her extensive work in theatre, Mariajo has professional experience working in film and television, where makeup needs to withstand particularly close scrutiny. At IPA Productions, she is responsible for helping create the visual appearance of a wide range of characters and productions. In this workshop, Mariajo will take techniques from the professional makeup artist’s toolkit and make them accessible to participants who want to experiment with special effects for themselves. About IPA Productions IPA Productions is an educational theatre company based in Barcelona, established in 1997. We perform around 1,000 educational theatre productions every year, involving actors, directors, costume, wardrobe, makeup and technical teams. Alongside our performances, we run practical workshops drawing on the skills used every day in professional theatre and performance. Our philosophy is simple: The best way to learn a practical skill is to try it. Our workshops are active, supportive and participative, allowing you to experiment, ask questions and learn directly from experienced theatre professionals.