Special Effects: An Interview with Scarlett Von Teese

Makeup. Something familiar to nearly every society on earth, dates back so far as the Ancient Egyptians. Cosmetics have played a large role in the advancement of society, and is considered to be one of the earliest forms of a ritual in human culture.

Used as a means to heal, enhance, and accentuate one’s appearance, it is believed that it all started when Ancient Egyptians discovered the healing abilities of various scented oils. It became commonplace to use these oils on the skin, and then eyeliners made of copper and lead ore.

The use of cosmetics made their way to Greece, and then Rome. For a period of time women were not considered to be beautiful if they didn’t don their makeup. For a time in Japan, noble women were forbidden to walk in public without full body cosmetic treatment.

During the European Dark Ages, makeup almost disappeared from public knowledge. The majority of the European population abandoned the use of cosmetics, thanks to the tradition of prostitutes to use excessive amounts to hide their age, and exaggerate their beauty. Kings, Queens and even Church officials spread the belief that cosmetics were only used by heathens and satan worshipers, leaving only stage actors using them without harsh judgement.

Makeup was created from copper, lead ore, burnt matches, crushed berries, blood, and even the urine of young boys. In some cultures, women used arsenic, lead, mercury, and even leeches.

Thankfully makeup is now created to be safe and non-toxic. You can find it everywhere, from the grocery store, to the gas station, or even in a retail cosmetic store. You can find makeup artists on the streets, in the salon, in magazines, YouTube, and social media such as Instagram, Pinterest, and Twitter. But not all makeup is used for beauty. As stage actors in the past used cosmetics to help assist them in portraying a character, today we have special effects makeup artists that go above and beyond the typical makeup routine.

Jack Pierce, the makeup artist who turned Boris Karloff into Frankenstein’s monster, once explained, “The sole reason for any makeup, and particularly a character makeup, is not to proclaim the skill of the artist or the actor, but to help tell the story.”

Lon Chaney, one of the greatest actors of the silent era, was famed for doing his own elaborate makeup, which he saw as the ultimate way to reveal the inner lives of his characters. “As a man’s face reveals much that is in his mind and heart, I attempt to show this by the makeup I use,” he once explained. In order to portray a tormented, disfigured wraith who becomes obsessed with a beautiful young opera singer, Chaney altered his cheeks with a combination of cotton and collodion, a viscous liquid that creates the appearance of scarred skin. He also attached a strip of fish skin (a thin, translucent material) to his nose with spirit gum to create an upturned effect, and applied dark eyeliner to give himself a hollow-eyed appearance. The upturned nose was further enhanced by a wire running from the tip of his nose to under his bald cap, which often gave him nosebleeds.

Makeup in the entertainment industry has become its own artform, from making a beauty queen into a monster, to turning a little girl into a demonic, vomit-spewing wraith.

To learn a little more about this craft, we sat down for a chat with up-and-coming special effects artist, Scarlett Von Teese.

SC: How did you first get started with sfx makeup?

SVT: About 8 years ago I was doing a haunted house with my old job. Then I had someone else doing my makeup for me. I decided the next year I wanted to do it myself. Turns out I was not bad at it and from there I taught myself.

SC: Did you ever think your initial interest would take you this far?

SVT: I knew if I put my mind to it my work would get better. But never did I think my makeup would be wanted in movies.

SC: Have you done makeup for some movies? Which ones?

SVT: I have done makeup for one movie that is being finished called, Death Trap and a great more surprises coming this year. It will be in my first podcast on the 19th.

SC: How exciting!

SVT: Nerve racking for someone with anxiety disorders but very exciting. I have been putting this off almost a year.

SC: That is a tremendous accomplishment. I can’t wait to see it!

What was the hardest thing to learn? Do you utilize any prosthetics?

SVT: I think my hardest thing to do still is the blending of the colors into each other.
And prosthetics I rarely use only because they can be expensive.

SC: I’ve seen some other artists making prosthetics. It looks complicated. This is where my ignorance comes in – is the blending mostly skin tones?

SVT: Yes and no getting the right skin tone can be tricky, at least for me, and when I say blending the color I mean like other colors too. Like how people get the purples and blues to blend at the ends.

SC: I see what you mean. To someone like me, who has never dabbled in special effects, or much makeup of any sort, it’s pretty foreign to me.
Since you’re self taught. How are you learning? Do you watch tutorials? Trial and error? Chat with others in the business?

SVT: I watch tutorials and trial and error. I watch a lot of videos and I have a few sfx books as well that help and guide me.

SC: I see you do a lot of work that encompasses human anatomy. Is that aspect something you’ve had to study?

SVT: I try to study it in books I have. Sometimes that can be difficult.

SC: I can imagine. I really liked the foot you did on your husband. It was pretty disgusting, in a good way.

SVT: See I didn’t like it I thought it looked too fake. My best anatomy I think I have ever done was the one of the knee.

SC: I’m not certain I’ve seen that one, I’ll definitely have to take another look.

SVT: Yes you will. That one I did step by step from a study book.

SC: Is this something you do for a living, or more as a hobby?

SVT: I’m hoping to make a career out of it in the long run, and until then I practice and share my work so maybe one day someone will see it.

SC: From where I stand, it looks like you’re doing a great job.

SVT: Thank you, a lot further than I was 7 years ago. I feel that if I would have gotten started on make up sooner, I would have been further in my learning.

SC: That’s possible, but I always remember interviews with some of the best dancers on SYTYCD (my daughter was a competitive dancer for 9 years). Some started dancing straight out of diapers, others started much later, in their 20’s. It’s that internal drive, the inferno that drives you that ultimately determines your success.
Where do you get your inspiration?

SVT: I get it from everywhere, from scrolling through google, from something I see in a movie. Miss Stryx is one if my biggest inspirations when it comes to learning how to make characters.

SC: Miss Stryx is another of my favorites.
Have you ever considered working on any other form of makeup artistry?

SVT: As in ?

SC: Biomechanical/steampunk, illusion, or even the field of beauty?

SVT: Oh yes. I do also do beauty but I keep that to my real Instagram page. I have very low self esteem so I feel I dont pull off beauty well. And I have thought of doing the steampunk; think it’s in the wires for this year.

SC: Excellent, I can’t wait.
What other artists do you look up to?

SVT: Roligore, ry_fx, and eyesobell

SC: What advice would you give to someone interested in becoming a sfx artist?

SVT: Never give up on yourself . Give it everything you have because we are our own worst critics.

SC:That’s fantastic advice. Thank you so much for chatting with me.

SVT: Thank you, and i’ll make sure to tag you in my new work.

If Makeup and special effects interest you, give it a try,  post some pictures on Instagram, shoot a tweet to an artist you look up to. It’s a fantastic community of hard working people, most of whom are happy to share their success stories, and lend a word or two of advice.

Now that you know a little about special effects makeup, how about a story of a man in a mask – Michael Myers – a character that wore a William Shatner mask, painted white.