Makeup
I started my makeup career with a film degree, so my whole emphasis while creating characters is centred around the story. Aesthetics are usually our first experience of any new person, and without ever being taught we interpret a myriad of details to form an opinion before anyone even speaks.
With that weighty foundation, I consider each and every character and breakdown their journey - short or long - through the script. I firmly believe there are no small characters - we may only see them briefly but even a tiny window into their lives can add so much nuance and depth to the world.
I have now been working with actors and directors to create characters for twenty years. I am personable, detailed and have a very good sense of when to hold back and when to push the design further.
Hair
I am a fully qualified hairdresser and barber, and made sure to include full training in African, curly and textured hair types as well as all kinds of straight and Caucasian hair - so essential to be prepared for any actor to sit in my chair. I am able to cut, style, colour and adjust any actors natural hair as well as prepare additional hair pieces for head and face. I like to keep myself up to date on current trends (they will be the period hair of the future!) and I keep my skills on point by taking private clients between filming jobs.
On set my eye is particularly keen on silhouettes - natural untouched styles are great until one rogue piece of hair throws it off. You can say so much about a character’s state of mind with their hair presentation - or even lack of.
Prosthetics and Special Effects
My skillset in prosthetics includes small appliances, sculpting, molding, colouring, hair punching and application in bondo, silicone and gelatin. I've applied ears for Artemis Fowl, medical grade wounds on Silent Witness, fresh war injuries on 1917, and some really gross severed finger stumps and edible fingers (long story) for We Hunt Together 2. | have applied mustard gas injuries for The Kings Man, biblical beatings, whippings and slashes for AD the Bible Continues, and some very nuanced age makeup for actress Winter Avi Zola in Legends among many many others.
Wigs
| am very experienced with wigs, colouring, cutting, preparing, dressing and applying. I can wrap a wig block like a champ and | am very careful and particular about blocking lace fronts correctly so that they lay invisibly on the actors forehead. I have worked in theatre, dressing for a season at the Hampstead Heath Theatre, as well as creating architectural art piece wigs on Jingle Jangle, and cutting and preparing invisibly real wigs on the Oscar winning film, Darkest Hour.
Tattoos
It’s estimated that over one quarter of the UK population is tattooed. Tattoos offer a fantastic snapshot of a life, so useful in story telling. Names of loved ones, youthful choices that have aged badly, celebration of interests beyond the immediate scope of the narrative, cultural significance, pure decoration. I really love the potential for building characters, especially those peripheral characters.
I have extensively researched (which mostly teaches you how very little you already know) the history of tattooing from various countries around the world, and keep a photo journal of tattoos with notes on the ages and details of the person wearing them. I have taught myself how to take an image and adjust the colour and quality to match a tattoo, sometimes for a trendy young person, or an older prisoner, and can create tattoos from inspiration to application. I also offer bespoke tattoos for sale for film productions, please email for requests.
Nails
Very easily forgotten, nails are also a useful detail in creating characters. I trained in manicures and gel application so that I can be as versatile as possible and offer nails where appropriate. Sometimes just ensuring a character is as attractive as the script demands by having clean well maintained hands, sometimes creating really nasty or garish talons.
Running My Team
I have now twenty rich years of amazing diverse talented colleagues and friends to compile a team alongside me. I intend always to have calm and peaceful department where everyone feels valued for their input and is enjoying their work, any corrections are offered with kindness and humilty and the ship is very much travelling in an efficient and professional direction.
Paperwork and Tech
I am very computer literate, capable with timesheets, purchase orders, invoicing, powerpoint, budget balancing and | understand contracts and deal memos. I have wrangled more than one truculent printer into obedience and have taught myself to use three different app based continuity programmes and counting. If there is something new to use I am a very quick study and I very much enjoy discovering better systems and new technologies.
Experience
My design credentials include small feature films, multi episodic dramas, comedy series, pilots, short films, commercials and theatre.
Over twenty years I worked my way up from Trainee on Nowhere Boy with Jeremy Woodhead and Creation with Veronica Brebner, to Artist on Darkest Hour and T2 Trainspotting with Ivana Primorac. I’ve supervised for a lovely variety of very talented designers and friends on shows such as | Hate Suzy, EVE, Silent Witness among many. I’ve also been a personal makeup artist for such talented people as Dawn French, Emilia Fox, Robert Carlyle and others.
I am organised, self motivated and personable, I get on well with and enjoy collaborating with other departments. I especially enjoy creating characters with the actors and directors, offering my own ideas and embracing everything thrown at me.
Research
It all starts here, after reading a script I like to read around the script - if it is based in history, geography, culture for example, it’s fairly self evident. But I also enjoy researching created worlds and any lore being written especially for the project. Concept art and previsualisation are amazing tools and I relish the opportunities to design within that framework. Even with contemporary worlds, I will research for each character to understand where they are arriving from and use that starting point to make any decisions about how they present themselves.
