Monthly Archives: June 2023

Classes, Distance Education, Makeup Designs for Theatre & Film, Stage Makeup Class

STAGE MAKEUP CLASS PAGES 25: Optional Extra Credit: Making Your Face Outline Sheets for Makeup Renderings: Part 2 – Drawing – 10 points possible

[This page is part of a mirror of my Canvas learning system pages I created for my Drama 112 Intro Stage Makeup class at DVC.  If you want to use this content for another Canvas class shell you can find it in Canvas Commons by searching for “Tara Maginnis” and you can download all or part of this directly into your shell with all the extra cool formatting of colored divider lines, right side embedded Giphy animations, etc. already put in, if you are working with a different system, it is ok to copy and paste from here, and then customize the pages as you need  for your classes].

Step 1: Make lines on your selfie 

Tara's face in high contrast B&W
Drawing lines onto the face

Using a very narrow black pen or sharp pencil (Don’t use a regular Sharpie!) take your 8.5×11 printer paper selfie print and mark edges that may be hard to define once the paper is flipped.  Mark the bottom edge of chin, eyebrow outline, and details of the eyes. If your hair is close to your skin color mark your hairline also. 

Details of the outlining of the nose and eyes

(Special note: if you have a tablet and love the free app You Doodle (or another similar app) you can do this process on that app.  You also are allowed, but not required, to do makeup renderings on your computer.)

On the nose go around the outer curl of the nostrils as shown, and do the gull wing “V” line of the tip of the nose.  Do not join the nostril curls and “V” line either here or later on the other side, or your nose will look weird and knobby on your Outline Sheet.  Finally mark the bridge of your nose by running lines slightly inside the two sides of the shadows on the sides of your nose as shown here, don’t connect to the nostril curls, or this will look odd:

Step 2: Flip your photo

Take your photo and flip it around to the blank side and tape it to a window (or lay it on a light board if you own one). This will make your face outline sheet a backwards version of your face, the same way you see your face in the mirror. If you are making a face outline for you doing makeup on a friend/actor put a sheet of paper over the front of the photo and tape both sheets to the window so the sheet comes out frontways.

Picture taped to window print side to glass.
Drawing the eye

Step 3: Draw outlines & eyes

Draw a simple outline on the back of the photo for the outline of the face.  Put in light, vague suggestions of hair, neck and shoulders.  Put in details of the eyes, but don’t put in heavy lines or every single eyelash.  Put a light dotted line where the outline of the eyebrow was drawn on the other side.  When you do makeup you may  cover and “move” your eyebrows, so a dotted line will make your makeup renderings avoid having two obvious sets of eyebrows

Drawing a dotted line on the eyebrow

Step 4: Draw the nose and mouth

Drawing the nose

Draw the lines of the nose as you did them on the other side.  Remember not to join the curls of the nostril to the “V” of the tip of the nose.  You want minimal lines.   Lips are another area that moves with makeup. Draw another dotted line around the lips, (or a very thin line) where you marked your guideline on the other side so if you increase or decrease the shape of your mouth, you don’t get the outline lips to overpower your lip color/outline on your Makeup Renderings.

Drawing a dotted line around the lips

Step 5: Scan your outline

Finished outline sheet

Take the page off of the window and scan it so you can make more copies.  If you don’t have a printer/scanner, there are lots of free and easy phone scanner apps you can use. I photographed this one on my phone (see at right) then ran it through the free version of of the Adobe Scan app to make a more high contrast PDF that is easy to send to a printer:

You can send a jpg, gif,  or a pdf in the next step.

Finished Face outline sheet for Tara

Step 6:  Upload

Upload a copy of your face outline sheet below for points

Step 7: Make Copies

For your own use in class you will want to have multiple copies of these for your projects (at least 15).  And most weeks thereafter, you will do a makeup rendering (color sketch) using one of these sheets before you do your makeup.   I recommend printing copies on card stock in beige, white, tan or “brown paper” color depending on your preference.

Click “Next” to go on

Classes, Distance Education, Makeup Designs for Theatre & Film, Stage Makeup Class

STAGE MAKEUP CLASS PAGES 24: Examples: Face Outline Sheets

[This page is part of a mirror of my Canvas learning system pages I created for my Drama 112 Intro Stage Makeup class at DVC.  If you want to use this content for another Canvas class shell you can find it in Canvas Commons by searching for “Tara Maginnis” and you can download all or part of this directly into your shell with all the extra cool formatting of colored divider lines, right side embedded Giphy animations, etc. already put in, if you are working with a different system, it is ok to copy and paste from here, and then customize the pages as you need  for your classes].

These are a small sample of hundreds of face outline sheets I have made for the face to face class.  On the first day of the F2F class I take a hideous “deer in headlights” photo of  the student that I print in B&W and trace from the reverse side to make an outline.  You can print one of these if you have an emergency where your toddler chews on all your copies, or you dog poos on them, or vice versa. You can also see how wildly different face shapes, eye shapes, eyebrows, noses etc are and why it often really helps to do your makeup plans on a sheet that looks like you, instead of looking like this.

                                      

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STAGE MAKEUP CLASS PAGES 23: Another Optional Extra Credit Assignment: Make Your Alien Replicant Twins for 10 extra points! 

[This page is part of a mirror of my Canvas learning system pages I created for my Drama 112 Intro Stage Makeup class at DVC.  If you want to use this content for another Canvas class shell you can find it in Canvas Commons by searching for “Tara Maginnis” and you can download all or part of this directly into your shell with all the extra cool formatting of colored divider lines, right side embedded Giphy animations, etc. already put in, if you are working with a different system, it is ok to copy and paste from here, and then customize the pages as you need  for your classes].

The Master Plan For World Domination:

For this project you will again use a phone app to do something that is both useful and very silly looking.  You will take your photo straight on (no tilting or you will look more “Space Alien” than you intend) on your smart phone, and process it in MirrorPhoto  (or another photo mirror type app) then manipulate it in the app to make two new “Alien Replicant” versions of your face with the two right sides repeated on one, and the two left sides on another:

Tara Face with 2 Right Sides
Tara face straight on
Tara's face with two left sides

As you can see this makes slight asymmetries in your face easier to see.  When we do “Corrective” makeup it will let you see which areas you may wish to try to even out. 

Step 1:

If you use an iPhone, download the free MirrorPhoto App.  

NOTE: If you are on Android or another system, just go to your system app store and check out a few of the hundreds of available free “photo mirror” apps that are out there, till you find one that lets you do what you want.  I tried 3 apps in the Apple system before I found the easiest one for iPhone, but unfortunately I don’t have the other types of phones to test.  However, if my own experience holds true you may find some fun free apps that while they wont let you make an alien twin they can do other fun things with your photos, so your time is not wasted.

Step 2:

Take your photo with your phone.  Try to get your face to take up most of the frame, and not to tilt one way or other, take photos till you get one that does this.

Photographing Tara's face in the app.
Tara's face photographed straight front

Step 3:

Save the face to your phone by using the up arrow at the top of the screen.  Hitting the up key opens options for saving and/or sharing including a down arrow key button at left. Hit that button to save to your phone. The image will show a Save Success rectangle on the photo when it saves correctly.

The app showing "Save Success"

Step 4:

The face doubled by the app
The two faces merged into one
Tara's face with two left sides

NEW! Video with more detailed updated explanation:

Hit the first mirror key in the app (shown here as blue) to mirror-double the face.  Then drag the image towards the center till the sides merge into a single face.  Save the face to your phone.

Step 5:

Merging the faces in the app
Tara Face with 2 Right Sides

Click the next mirror key which will show the other side of the face.  Adjust the position of the face to look normal.  Save the image to your phone.

Step 6:

Upload your three pictures below:

Tara Face with 2 Right Sides
Tara face straight on
Tara's face with two left sides

Optional Step 7:

Play with your face and the app to do fun silly stuff to share with your friends.  (Or not.)

Weird 3-eyed Tara image #1  Up-down-side up Tara faces I like the 3 eyed photo so much I use it as my identity photo on Portfolium!

Classes, Distance Education, Makeup Designs for Theatre & Film, Stage Makeup Class

STAGE MAKEUP CLASS PAGES 22: Optional Extra Credit: Photograph Your Funny Faces for up to 10 extra points 

[This page is part of a mirror of my Canvas learning system pages I created for my Drama 112 Intro Stage Makeup class at DVC.  If you want to use this content for another Canvas class shell you can find it in Canvas Commons by searching for “Tara Maginnis” and you can download all or part of this directly into your shell with all the extra cool formatting of colored divider lines, right side embedded Giphy animations, etc. already put in, if you are working with a different system, it is ok to copy and paste from here, and then customize the pages as you need  for your classes].

Making a collage:

Once you have practiced making funny faces for a while you can make an extra credit PicCollage. of your faces and get  up to 10 points for it.  This is not required, this is just a fun way to get spare points.  

PicCollage of Tara doing 12 Different Emotions

You can choose to do a series of exaggerated emotions like the set I do here, ————->

or you can do a series of face stretches where you focus on the particular muscles that move the parts of your face. 

Need Help with Face Stretching?

If you are still having trouble doing face stretches there are two European acting teachers in the video below who will teach you how to flex your face like putty (this is a funny video, but you mainly need it if you are having difficulty with flexing your face and want to learn more of how to do this):

This type of exercise can let you make all sorts of face muscle stretches like this:

Collage of Tara stretching the muscles of the face.

How to do this project:

Take your phone and take a lot of pictures of your face as you try to pull each of the muscles of your face as far as you can.  Try to:

  • Raise both your eyebrows as high as they can go
  • Lift one eyebrow
  • Crunch your brows close together like you have a terrible headache
  • Make you eyes wide and big as possible
  • Crunch up your nose like you smell something very bad
  • Raise one nostril
  • Grin as wide as you can with teeth clenched
  • Pull your lips into a small pucker
  • Try to touch your nose with your upper lip
  • Pull the corners of your mouth down and your lower lip out
  • Try to crinkle the corners of your eyes.

Don’t beat yourself up if you don’t do movement as extreme as I do.  I am now over 60 and I have been practicing pulling faces in the mirror since I was 2 (and I still can’t lift just one eyebrow).  Results will vary by where you grew up, who you grew up with, your temperament, your family, your facial expression recognition, your friends, your genes, and your age. Most of all it will vary by practice.  The more you do it the better you will get at it.

If on the other hand, you are still having fun:

I suggest you watch Jason Hewlett, a man who has made a very successful performing career built on the foundation of being able to do this (Watch this one even if you don’t think you “need” it, as it will teach you face tricks you likely have not seen before, with an explanation of how to eventually do them):

His motivational speaker talks are even better.  But now it is time to…

Take photos of emotions:

Then do a series of photos where you try to show the most extreme emotion you can show.  There is a list below to give you ideas. If you have a neurological difficulty recognizing just facial expressions, you can try copying them from this awesome Emotions and Facial Expressions chart.

There is also a handy lecture on the 7 “Universal” facial expressions, that will demonstrate them for you.  While most of you are lucky enough to just understand intuitively what they mean, it is very helpful for actors and for life in general if you know exactly what muscles you need to move to correctly to “fake” these emotions on cue.  One of the most important skills to learn in life, and one most people do not learn, is how to “fake” the smile of genuine enjoyment on cue, simply by doing the correct eye-crinkle.  Being able to flash this at people when they need reassurance (or on stage) is a great way for getting people to like you.  The best bit is when you do it, it bio-feedbacks to your own brain as well and actually makes you feel a little bit good too:

However, you need more than 7 emotions for a good face grid, so to try to do:

  • Joy
  • Fear
  • Anger
  • Sadness
  • Confusion
  • Contempt
  • Disgust
  • Smugness
  • Surprise
  • WTF?
  • Amusement
  • Annoyance
  • Dislike
  • etc.

Choose your collage theme:

Look through the photos and decide which of the two groups you want to use for your collage:

Phone Gallery of face images

Making the collage on your phone:

Download the free version of the phone app PicCollage, or any other free (and easy to use) collage-maker app you can find to work with your phone, tablet or laptop. 

 In PicCollage, open Grids:

PicCollage Opening Screen

Pick a grid  with space for at least 9 images.

Grid chosing screen on PicCollage

Select the photos to put into the grid.

Selecting images in PicCollage

Arrange the photos to taste and click on the check mark to go to Save or Share Screen. 

Finished Collage with face pictures

On the Save or Share Screen, save the finished Collage to your Library. 

Uploading Your Photos to Canvas:

Then go to the share options below, and clip on the lower right hand circle with three black dots for “More”

Save & Share Screen on PicCollage

This will make the screen show you all the apps you can share with, including Canvas Student.  Select Canvas Student.

The PicCollage Screen for "More"

Choose Introduction to Stage Makeup, followed by the name of this assignment:  “Photograph Your Funny Faces” and upload to turn in.

PicCollage screen showing your Classes in Canvas

And for your amusement..,

Grumpy Cat Emotion chart. A grid of identical cat faces ironically labeled with different emotions.

Funny Face Grid

CriteriaRatingsPts
This criterion is linked to a Learning Outcome:
Did you follow instructions?
Did you Finish?
Were you putting sincere effort into being silly?		10 pts There are 9 or more pictures, you are doing your best to be funny (or stretchy), and the pictures are in a grid.

6 pts 9 or more does not mean 8 or less. Your faces are legit funny, but there are not 9 or more of them.

2 pts OK I get the joke but, that is not the assignment This assignment should not resemble the “Grumpy Cat Emotion Chart”
10 pts
Total Points: 10
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STAGE MAKEUP CLASS PAGES 21: “Corrective”/Straight Makeup [Assignment}

[This page is part of a mirror of my Canvas learning system pages I created for my Drama 112 Intro Stage Makeup class at DVC.  If you want to use this content for another Canvas class shell you can find it in Canvas Commons by searching for “Tara Maginnis” and you can download all or part of this directly into your shell with all the extra cool formatting of colored divider lines, right side embedded Giphy animations, etc. already put in, if you are working with a different system, it is ok to copy and paste from here, and then customize the pages as you need  for your classes].

Handsome DVC Makeup Class student with beautifully contoured "Corrective" makeup.

After you have watched the videos in class or online, and done your research on “corrective” makeup, come to class and do your makeup with help from me and the Makeup TA’s.  Tara will do your photo shoot.   Tell me if you are OK with just picking them up from the general Drama 112 Stage Makeup Fall 2022  Google Photo Album, or if you prefer, I text or email them to you privately. After you get the photos, pick a few you like best and post them here for credit.  This will remind your fearless instructor to give you points!

If for some reason you can’t be in class, do the assignment at home as soon as possible and post stuff here also for credit.   

Late assignments do not lose points in this class, but repeated procrastination messes up your life and often your work quality. 

Classes, Distance Education, Makeup Designs for Theatre & Film, Stage Makeup Class, STAGE MAKEUP CLASS PAGES

STAGE MAKEUP CLASS PAGES 20: How to Take Great Photos of Your Makeup!

[This page is part of a mirror of my Canvas learning system pages I created for my Drama 112 Intro Stage Makeup class at DVC.  If you want to use this content for another Canvas class shell you can find it in Canvas Commons by searching for “Tara Maginnis” and you can download all or part of this directly into your shell with all the extra cool formatting of colored divider lines, right side embedded Giphy animations, etc. already put in, if you are working with a different system, it is ok to copy and paste from here, and then customize the pages as you need  for your classes].

In class I (and eventually the TA’s)  will take your photos for you in the hallway.  However, if at some point you miss a week and need to catch up at home, you should come back here and re-watch this video, or if a member of your household will mostly take your photos, make them watch this too:

If you know you will be doing several projects at home, try to find some of of the useful objects (black t-shirt, etc) that may help you to make better pictures in the coming weeks. 

Here is an optional video on how to make a good acting head shot:

Classes, Distance Education, Makeup Designs for Theatre & Film, Stage Makeup Class, STAGE MAKEUP CLASS PAGES

STAGE MAKEUP CLASS PAGES 19: Corrective Makeup Research: Contour for Your Face Shape [Assignment]

[This page is part of a mirror of my Canvas learning system pages I created for my Drama 112 Intro Stage Makeup class at DVC.  If you want to use this content for another Canvas class shell you can find it in Canvas Commons by searching for “Tara Maginnis” and you can download all or part of this directly into your shell with all the extra cool formatting of colored divider lines, right side embedded Giphy animations, etc. already put in, if you are working with a different system, it is ok to copy and paste from here, and then customize the pages as you need  for your classes].

By this week you conveniently have a copy of your face outline sheet.  This outline can help you to work out what is your face shape. Compare your face shape to the following tutorials:

Link to: Common face shapes for men,

When you think you know your face shape, do an online search for “How to contour for a  fill in the blank  shape face. ”  You can also try looking at Pinterest Contouring Tutorials.  Gather together face chart source material  for inspiration.    The internet is filled with TONS of great how to pages and videos on this topic so you can easily learn more. Copy a part of your research (photo, link, etc) and submit below  to get credit. Remember afterwards to also to save your research for putting  in your Makeup Morgue Assignment so you build up your morgue gradually and easily over the course of the semester.  Use information from your search for contour advice/charts to inform your plans for your “corrective” makeup.

Classes, Distance Education, How-to, Makeup Designs for Theatre & Film, Stage Makeup Class, STAGE MAKEUP CLASS PAGES

STAGE MAKEUP CLASS PAGES 18: Watch “Corrective”/Straight Makeup Video(s)!

[This page is part of a mirror of my Canvas learning system pages I created for my Drama 112 Intro Stage Makeup class at DVC.  If you want to use this content for another Canvas class shell you can find it in Canvas Commons by searching for “Tara Maginnis” and you can download all or part of this directly into your shell with all the extra cool formatting of colored divider lines, right side embedded Giphy animations, etc. already put in, if you are working with a different system, it is ok to copy and paste from here, and then customize the pages as you need  for your classes].

This is the official class how-to video, naturally, it is an awesome how-to for a “corrective” style makeup for a white woman in her late 40s, with a rectangular face, short nose, and scary eyebrows (me when I recorded it).  However, if you are not these things, you may well wish to watch other videos, either in addition to, or in place of this official one:

Happily, I have found a number of other videos of different sorts of basic theatrical makeup for different types of performance and different types of faces!  Scroll down to see if you find any you think you’d like to watch!

Not enough videos?  These and more are at my Corrective/Straight Theatrical Makeup Playlist.

Classes, Distance Education, Makeup Designs for Theatre & Film, Stage Makeup Class, STAGE MAKEUP CLASS PAGES

STAGE MAKEUP CLASS PAGES 17: Activities: “Corrective” Makeup

What is “Corrective “Makeup?

[This page is part of a mirror of my Canvas learning system pages I created for my Drama 112 Intro Stage Makeup class at DVC.  If you want to use this content for another Canvas class shell you can find it in Canvas Commons by searching for “Tara Maginnis” and you can download all or part of this directly into your shell with all the extra cool formatting of colored divider lines, right side embedded Giphy animations, etc. already put in, if you are working with a different system, it is ok to copy and paste from here, and then customize the pages as you need  for your classes].

Handsome young man from a past DVC Makeup class with simple but deftly applied contour to look even more fabulous while on stage and seen at a distance.

This week you will be learning how to do “Corrective” Makeup , sometimes called Straight Makeup. This is the makeup you do when you are on stage and just trying to look generally nice, and not doing a lot of aging or character work to look a great deal different from yourself.  You will be highlighting and shadowing a bit, and “correcting” things that are distinctive enough about your face that they could make you stand out too much in a chorus line. 

Before we do this, I wish to again remind you, THERE IS NOTHING WRONG WITH YOUR FACE.  “Corrective” makeup “fixes” things that might make you stand out too much in the back of the chorus.  You won’t be using it if you are blessed by playing Martha in Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf, or Gloucester in Richard III, the Fool in Lear, or Mrs Lovett in Sweeney Todd. “Corrective” makeup is for looking bland, pretty and young.  It is super useful for that (especially as you get older), but it is not fixing something “wrong”, it is making you look bland, pretty and young.  That’s it.

While this video is not actually a tutorial on contour/”corrective” makeup, it is a pretty splendid, occasionally profane comedy riff on what “contour” is for in the real world.

 This week you will watch a video in class or online where I show you how I do my “corrective” makeup, or IF YOU CHOOSE, you may instead (or in addition to) select one or more other videos I have linked here online where people closer to your age, gender identity or coloration do their Straight Makeup or “Corrective” Makeup. 

You will then be assigned to go online and research “corrective” makeup tips especially helpful for faces in your shape, gender identity, and skin color range.   To help with this, I have made a page of useful links and videos that you can use to start mining for much of the information you need. 

If you are in Group 1 you will do a “Corrective” makeup in class on Wednesday, if in group 2 you will do it the following Monday.  Have me take your photos before you leave, which I will post to the group album or text to you as you request. 

If for any reason you need to do your makeup at home you should watch my video on how to take photos of your makeupLinks to an external site. so that your selfies look fabulous.

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Classes, Distance Education, Makeup Designs for Theatre & Film, Stage Makeup Class, STAGE MAKEUP CLASS PAGES

STAGE MAKEUP CLASS PAGES 16: Learning Objectives: Straight or “Corrective” Makeup Week

[This page is part of a mirror of my Canvas learning system pages I created for my Drama 112 Intro Stage Makeup class at DVC.  If you want to use this content for another Canvas class shell you can find it in Canvas Commons by searching for “Tara Maginnis” and you can download all or part of this directly into your shell with all the extra cool formatting of colored divider lines, right side embedded Giphy animations, etc. already put in, if you are working with a different system, it is ok to copy and paste from here, and then customize the pages as you need  for your classes].

This Week’s Learning Objectives:Outcomes we will use to get there:
Learn basic straight/”corrective” makeup needed for many stage roles. Learn to take better photos for your portfolio. Bond with your fellow students in a less tedious way than class zooms or message boards. Start to develop a portfolio for job-hunting.Do a straight/”corrective” makeup on your face (or that of a volunteer). Watch how-to videos and take headshots based on the lessons. Start making and sharing “Pass-the-Brush” videos. Post your projects to Portfolium.
Mona Lisa Slideshow