Final Evaluation

Project Evaluation

I have really loved working on a Gothic Horror brief this term. I’ve particularly enjoyed looking at the concept in both real life and fantasy. Creating characters from Great Expectations gave me the opportunity to research a different era and very diverse characters and use their varying qualities to create designs. Also, actively incorporating a continuity task within our assessments was something I felt I learnt from considerably. Lots detail in reference material is key to a concise replication in hair and makeup.

Claudia and Quentin was a lot of fun to work on because there was a lot of free reign to explore our initial concepts and ideas. There are so many different ways these characters could be interpreted so it was fun to take the brief into my ideal direction and work with ideas I enjoyed researching and designing.

The techniques I’ve learnt throughout the brief, in both hair and makeup, have been really useful and have definitely expanded my abilities as a hair and makeup artist. I have especially enjoyed the work I’ve done with creating wounds and illnesses as well as the silhouette work in hair classes. 

Quentin Assessment

I am pleased with the outcome of my Quentin. I opted for a dusty grey eyeshadow around the eyes and worked white supra colour into the eyelashes. I also used bronzer to give a stubble like shade around the jaw line.

Claudia Assessment

I am really pleased with the outcome of my Claudia shoot. She really does resemble a psycho little girl who could be ranked along the same lines as Esther or Wednesday.  

Quentin Designs

These are the designs for Quentin. I knew right away from my research, what I wanted to create. Simple makeup with a painted on moustache. Simple sleek hair in a discreet ponytail. 

Claudia Designs

Because my inspiration for Claudia are the characters of two young girls, I am using a young model (14 years old) and am creating a 'little girl look'.

This is my final makeup design.

 This is a hair design idea, I find it's a little too mature looking for a little girls hairstyle.

 This is the final hair design. Ponytails are iconic little girls' hairstyles. I've included ribbon too to emphasis her youth.

 This is another makeup look that I felt was a little too sophisticated/mature for the look I wanted to achieve. 

Quentin

Quentin is simply a figment of Claudia's imagination. He isn't real and his image changes as she pleases. Claudia doesn't socialise with anybody so I imagine she imprints these images of her ideal boyfriend onto her own face. Therefore, I have chosen to use the same model as Claudia to bring a deep rooted connection between the two characters.

For Quentin, I was inspired by Italian style villans in top hats with thin moustaches. For example, Dick Dastardly from Wacky Races and Goob from Meet The Robinsons.

The Bowler Hat Guy-Villain of Meet the Robinsons. 2014. The Bowler Hat Guy-Villain of Meet the Robinsons. [ONLINE] Available at:http://www.disneyvillains.net/BowlerHatGuy. [Accessed 05 May 2014].

Claudia

My horror film inspirations for my idea of Claudia derive from the character Ester in Orphan and Wednesday in The Addams Family. I see Claudia as somebody who suffers from multiple personality disorder which explains her alteration of image according to her favourite horror film. 

Orphan

Orphan is a 2009 American psychological thriller horror film. The plot of the film sees a family adopt a mysterious 9 year old to ease the pain of their deceased unborn child. Esther, the orphan, is well spoken and dresses quite periodically with long sleeves and high neck lines to her outfits. A significant plot twist in the film leads to the revelation that Esther isn’t a child but actually a 33 year old woman who suffers from a hormone disorder that stunted her physical growth. She spends her life posing as a little girl and makes sexual advances on the fathers of her adoptive family. Esther has a murderous past and her conservative outfits are simply to cover the scars from trying to escape her straitjacket. 

Pin by Danika Sandhu on Claudia | Pinterest. 2014. Pin by Danika Sandhu on Claudia | Pinterest. [ONLINE] Available at:http://www.pinterest.com/pin/306455949616433549/. [Accessed 05 May 2014].

The Addams Family

One of my all time favourite series and films, The Addams Family. I adore everything about their creepy, unusual family, especially the daughter, Wednesday Addams. I definitely see her as inspiration for my Claudia character.

1991 film, The Addams Family follows the satirical American family that ooze Gothic horror. The daughter of the family, Wednesday Addams is renowned for her vacant stare, lack of emotion and fascination with death. She’s pale in appearance with dark hair in two tight plaits. She wears black, head to toe and rarely smiles. 

Hello Claudia and Quentin

For the second part of the Gothic Horror brief, I have to design and create two characters for a music video. These characters are Claudia and Quentin.

Claudia has agoraphobia. She spends her time, indoors, fixated on any and every horror film. She takes her horror film obsession to the extreme, changing her image to suit her latest favourite horror star. She also model’s her imaginary boyfriend, Quentin on characters from horror films.

In order to get the design process flowing, I’m going to explore my favourite horror films and other gothic related material.