In a different group, someone posted about how surprised they were that most makeup artists don’t know much about Color theory. I agreed and spent a lot of time trying to articulate my thoughts on all forms of color usage for makeup artistry because color theory is just a portion of it. So I thought I would share it with my group. Color Theory is simply the science of color. It’s true that anyone interested could Google or read a book about it. HOWEVER, the many ways that color theory is actually meant to be utilized in makeup artistry is FAR MORE COMPLEX and you wont find anything about it in a book or via Google that is in-depth as it should be or even correct for that matter. I agree with you Sonia Roselli, It is surprising how many artist do not know much about color theory. I teach Master Classes all over the world an I’ve come to find out that the majority of artists don’t know much more than what colors are across from others on the color wheel… which is only about 10% of what’s necessary to master our craft. In hairstyling, the color wheel is typically only used if a clients hair color goes wrong, so the stylist knows how to fix it... Whereas in makeup, multi-layers of how color needs to be understood and used to master our craft. we have choices for neutralizing, concealing or camouflaging with concealer. For each clients complexion, we have to interpret their undertones as well as their surface tones to custom mix their best foundation and powders, decide what to use for our eye makeup color selection to enhance their eyes the most OR to change their eye color when possible and necessary, plus we should determine the best lip & cheek color based on the clients skin tone… AND know how to alter her best colors accordingly each time she changes her hair color… Because our best colors often look like shit once the hair color has been altered. In addition to all that, as makeup artists we also have to understand how our colors appear differently for TV, video, film and print. And to make things more complex, we need to know how differently our color selections look in all those different mediums based on if the client is indoor or outdoor… If indoor, of course that varies on the type of lighting used. And for outdoor, what time of day?! Because the sun reflects differently at different times of day altering the colors. So it is all about figuring out what makeup colors to actually use in the lighting the client will be seen in, within the right medium so that the colors will APPEAR to be the colors you actually want/need. And don’t forget that it’s also important to understand how to determine a clients best wardrobe colors as well as knowing what to avoid… Often newbie artists are asked to help with wardrobe and many unknowingly recommend undesirable colors that make the clients complexion look tired, sallow, unflattering or just bad all together. Often we do not get a say in the wardrobe, but we still need to know what is great, what is bad and more importantly, how to over compensate when the client is wearing a non-flattering color because colors reflect and do alter the complexion…. And sometimes the set itself can alter the clients complexion & makeup so artists that see it on monitor and do not know how to fix it… well, that is a problem. And I haven’t even mentioned the importance of a print job or magazine cover, artists will typically be told what color the masthead will be (the magazine title) which needs to be taken into consideration when determining all the makeup colors utilized by the artist. As well as understanding how the concept of the photo shoot or script and scene may also play into the color selection. So as makeup artists, we have the following to deal with and need to make the best decisions about. DISCOLORATION SURFACE TONES UNDERTONES LIGHTNESS / DARKNESS OF THE SKIN EYE COLOR HAIR COLOR WHAT MEDIUM MUST IT LOOK BEST IN? (TV, FILM, VIDEO, H.D. or NOT? PRINT, STAGE) TYPE OF LIGHTING USED TIME OF DAY IF OUTDOOR IF DAYLIGHT, OVERCAST OR SUNNY IF PRINT, SHOOTING DIGITAL OR FILM IF FILM, AMERICAN OR JAPANESE BRAND WARDROBE SET DESIGN & COLORS BACKDROP COLOR MASTHEAD MOOD OR ILLUSION DESIRED I feel that the problem in our industry is more about the quote I always say... You dont know what you dont know, until someone enlightens you about something... that you didnt know. For anyone that desires to master color as a makeup artist, I have a 5-Day, 25-Hour class coming up at my facility in Costa Mesa $950 and will also be teaching a 2-Day, 16-Hour class in Sydney Australia in March for $895usd.
Posted on: Sun, 25 Jan 2015 11:42:36 +0000
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015