As an aspiring makeup artist, I surprisingly haven't been able to practice as much as I'd like too. Mostly because special effects products can be pretty expensive, and as of right now I'm trying to get myself through school, paying rent, and eating cup o' noodles for dinner every night. Though I'm not complaining, I know it'll all pay off in the end.
From bruise wheels, to fake blood, to latex, to prosthetics... you usually need a vast majority, and a large amount, of these products just to make one look. I've got a Ben Nye starter kit, and I'm slowly adding to my collection; but as of right now I can only do a few things. For any makeup artist just starting in the special effects field, I'd recommend starting off small with some bruising. It's a basic necessity and skill for almost any wounded look, and there are various ways to make a bruise depending on how old, or fresh, it is.
When a bruise is brand new, it will appear reddish due to the the blood that has leaked from the capillaries under the skin, it wouldn't hurt to add a few miniscule broken blood vessels to this bruise.
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| Photo Credit: Freakmo-SFX on Deviantart (Makeup) |
At one or two days old, the bruise will be bluish or purple in color. The swelling at the site of the bruise will cut off the oxygen, and the hemoglobin will turn blue.
At five to six days old, a bruise will turn a greenish, yellow color as the area begins to heal itself.
At eight to nine days old, a bruise will then turn mostly yellow, or brown. This is the final stage of the bruise.
It is important to know of the changes of color in bruising over time. If you aren't aware of these stages of bruising, it could make your character look unrealistic or inaccurate. For example, you don't want to put a green/yellow bruise on a character who had been in a fight earlier in the day, or even the day before. You also don't want to put a fresh red/purple/blue bruise on a character who had been in a car accident a week or two before.
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| The Walking Dead // Fight Club |
Bruising is definitely an important part of special effects makeup, and like I said above, its the perfect place to begin practicing! Here are some examples of bruising I've done on my own with a Ben Nye Master Bruise Wheel, a nylon stipple sponge, a simple synthetic sponge, thick (fake) blood, and some q-tips!
Some Tips: Use a patting or stippling motion to give a blotchy or uneven look, try to make it look irregular and inflamed. You don't want to only use red while trying to recreate a bruise; this can create a rashy or burned look. You can avoid this by adding purple, blue, yellow, or green, depending on the stage of the bruise. Raised or swollen areas of the bruise should be high lighted in yellow, in most cases. For example, the cheek usually appears swollen at the high point of the cheek bone, as shown above. Use the nylon sponge and a reddish color to create the illusion of broken blood vessels. You can also use the nylon sponge to add blood to a scrape or cut near or on the bruise.
And that, my friends, is an intro to SFX bruising! If you have any questions, comments, concerns, advice; or you'd even like to share your own bruise creations, I'd love to see them! Please feel free to comment below!
