Need to get old really fast? Start your own theatre company I guarantee you’ll age twenty years in the first five minutes! But seriously, age makeup, how do we do it?
First of all you need to decide, how much age do we really need? Is the character just supposed to be a parent but is being played by someone the same age as the child? I suggest using costume, posture, mannerisms, etc. In short makeup will not do your acting for you and if the difference you want is not that great it is probably a question of acting, not makeup.
On the other hand, if you’re playing Methusaleh (oldest man in the Bible recorded as 969 yrs) then makeup is in order. Start with the hair, as it will be easier to whiten the hair without messing up your hard work on the face. Hair white is a makeup product that can be brushed on and maintains a good covering. Other methods include white or silver aerosol hairspray, and cornstarch or baby powder applied over fresh hairspray (to make it stick) followed by a good coat of hairspray(to seal it.)
On to the face. Start with base, always start with base. The base is the foundation for any good makeup application. In order to select the proper base you should test the color on the inside of the wrist of the actor in question. You are looking for a color just a shade lighter than the actual skin tone. Apply this evenly and liberally to all exposed facial skin including the front and back of the neck and the ears. The best applicator is a foam sponge. At this phase you will also need to apply a brown eyeliner or a line of eyebrow pencil to line the eyes. Also lipstick, for women whatever color you would use for this character, for men or a natural un made up look, a red brown color is best. Make sure it has no glitter or sheen, we are looking for a matte finish.
Every good paint job for the stage whether scenery or makeup requires the use of at least three shades, a base, a highlight and a shadow. To find the proper shadow and highlight colors use your base as a reference. You will want a shadow with the same color temperature (warm is more red or brown, cool is more blue or green) as your base, just a shade darker. It may work best to blend a small amount of base with a darker color to get the desired effect. For highlights you may be able to use straight white, or for darker complexions use the above method only going lighter.
Once you have the base in place it is time to sketch out where you want your wrinkles and shadows. Think of it as letting the air out. As we get older our skeleton remains the same but the fatty tissue and the elastic nature of our skin begins to change, causing the skin to hang a little looser. To determine where the wrinkles on a young face will be ask the actor to squint, wrinkle their brow, smile, frown, etc. to find the natural folds in their skin. Line these with a red-brown eyebrow or makeup liner pencil. We will come back to these later.
Shadows belong where shadows already fall, we are just exaggerating them. Along the sides of the nose, under the cheekbones (you can find this line by having the actor suck in their cheeks or make a “fish face”) under the eyes, and along the chin line are places shadows normally occur. Using your pencil draw lines indicating the edge of your shadow. Now fill in the area furthest from the light running up to your line. You can apply this makeup either with a small soft brush, a foam sponge wedge, or my personal favorite, a well cleaned fingertip. Most makeup artists use a combination of those three.
In order to make your wrinkles and shadows appear three dimensional, instead of just looking like dirt, it is necessary to add highlights. In nature, every shadow has a highlight. This is the line where light is most reflected, causing the shadow to have a stronger contrast. With a narrow, semi-stiff brush place a very light line of highlight along the bottom edge of each wrinkle, yes it looks stupid, just trust me! Now place a little heavier line of highlight above each shadowed area.
Almost done. Now, using the makeup sponge wedge from your base step, carefully and gently pat the whole face. This gentle patting motion lifts a little of each color, slightly blending them and softening the lines. Just before it starts to look really good to you up close, stop, step back and squint just slightly. This is a good way to see the basic effect of your work from an audience perspective. Remember this is going to be seen from a distance under intense lights, it needs to be slightly exaggerated.
Now, using translucent powder and a big soft powder brush apply a liberal coat over the whole face, dusting it off gently. Momentarily your lines and shadows will appear less crisp and almost seem to disappear, but if you are using a good TRANSLUCENT powder, the skins natural oils will absorb into the powder in a few minutes bringing your work back to the surface. DO NOT use baby powder, over the counter cosmetic powder, or flesh colored powder with a lot of pigments as these will negatively affect your makeup.
Step back and take a look at your work, you may surprised at how well you have done. If not, don’t worry it’s makeup and it will wash off. Don’t give up, take a break and try again. In no time you’ll be aging actors like a pro.
First of all you need to decide, how much age do we really need? Is the character just supposed to be a parent but is being played by someone the same age as the child? I suggest using costume, posture, mannerisms, etc. In short makeup will not do your acting for you and if the difference you want is not that great it is probably a question of acting, not makeup.
On the other hand, if you’re playing Methusaleh (oldest man in the Bible recorded as 969 yrs) then makeup is in order. Start with the hair, as it will be easier to whiten the hair without messing up your hard work on the face. Hair white is a makeup product that can be brushed on and maintains a good covering. Other methods include white or silver aerosol hairspray, and cornstarch or baby powder applied over fresh hairspray (to make it stick) followed by a good coat of hairspray(to seal it.)
On to the face. Start with base, always start with base. The base is the foundation for any good makeup application. In order to select the proper base you should test the color on the inside of the wrist of the actor in question. You are looking for a color just a shade lighter than the actual skin tone. Apply this evenly and liberally to all exposed facial skin including the front and back of the neck and the ears. The best applicator is a foam sponge. At this phase you will also need to apply a brown eyeliner or a line of eyebrow pencil to line the eyes. Also lipstick, for women whatever color you would use for this character, for men or a natural un made up look, a red brown color is best. Make sure it has no glitter or sheen, we are looking for a matte finish.
Every good paint job for the stage whether scenery or makeup requires the use of at least three shades, a base, a highlight and a shadow. To find the proper shadow and highlight colors use your base as a reference. You will want a shadow with the same color temperature (warm is more red or brown, cool is more blue or green) as your base, just a shade darker. It may work best to blend a small amount of base with a darker color to get the desired effect. For highlights you may be able to use straight white, or for darker complexions use the above method only going lighter.
Once you have the base in place it is time to sketch out where you want your wrinkles and shadows. Think of it as letting the air out. As we get older our skeleton remains the same but the fatty tissue and the elastic nature of our skin begins to change, causing the skin to hang a little looser. To determine where the wrinkles on a young face will be ask the actor to squint, wrinkle their brow, smile, frown, etc. to find the natural folds in their skin. Line these with a red-brown eyebrow or makeup liner pencil. We will come back to these later.
Shadows belong where shadows already fall, we are just exaggerating them. Along the sides of the nose, under the cheekbones (you can find this line by having the actor suck in their cheeks or make a “fish face”) under the eyes, and along the chin line are places shadows normally occur. Using your pencil draw lines indicating the edge of your shadow. Now fill in the area furthest from the light running up to your line. You can apply this makeup either with a small soft brush, a foam sponge wedge, or my personal favorite, a well cleaned fingertip. Most makeup artists use a combination of those three.
In order to make your wrinkles and shadows appear three dimensional, instead of just looking like dirt, it is necessary to add highlights. In nature, every shadow has a highlight. This is the line where light is most reflected, causing the shadow to have a stronger contrast. With a narrow, semi-stiff brush place a very light line of highlight along the bottom edge of each wrinkle, yes it looks stupid, just trust me! Now place a little heavier line of highlight above each shadowed area.
Almost done. Now, using the makeup sponge wedge from your base step, carefully and gently pat the whole face. This gentle patting motion lifts a little of each color, slightly blending them and softening the lines. Just before it starts to look really good to you up close, stop, step back and squint just slightly. This is a good way to see the basic effect of your work from an audience perspective. Remember this is going to be seen from a distance under intense lights, it needs to be slightly exaggerated.
Now, using translucent powder and a big soft powder brush apply a liberal coat over the whole face, dusting it off gently. Momentarily your lines and shadows will appear less crisp and almost seem to disappear, but if you are using a good TRANSLUCENT powder, the skins natural oils will absorb into the powder in a few minutes bringing your work back to the surface. DO NOT use baby powder, over the counter cosmetic powder, or flesh colored powder with a lot of pigments as these will negatively affect your makeup.
Step back and take a look at your work, you may surprised at how well you have done. If not, don’t worry it’s makeup and it will wash off. Don’t give up, take a break and try again. In no time you’ll be aging actors like a pro.
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