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Most of you know that I started out my career in the Makeup Effects side of the business. It’s been over a decade since I made the transition into computers.
This doesn’t mean I have given up one of my greatest love affairs. I still dabble with makeup from time to time and luckily see my eldest son enjoying it as a hobby now.
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Many of my friends heroically battled though what seemed like the dark ages over the past ten years and continue practicing this wonderful craft. One such friend emailed me about a book he had just gotten his hands on, the title, “Special Makeup Effects for Stage and Screen ( Making and Applying Prosthetics), by Todd Debreceni.”
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Now you have to understand this friend of mine, to understand my curiosity about this book. This is an individual who pretty much is resigned to hating everything. So when he raved about Todd’s book, well curiosity got the better of me.
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Luckily Todd and I run in similar circles and before long we we’re emailing back and forth, within a few short weeks I had the text in hand and while on an international flight between Toronto and Rio de Janeiro Brazil, I hunkered down to familiarize myself with it. It wasn’t long before I understood my friends enthusiasm for this text. I found myself flipping through the pages quite excitedly and before I knew it I had landed in Rio and couldn’t tear my self away. I finished the book over the few days and then sat down to write this review.
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The book which is released in paperback format by Focal Press and is 324 pages long. It looks and feels very much like a text book . This is no doubt by design. It is a text meant the be thrown around the shop, doused with chemicals and foam, which is why Todd and Focal Press have released it with a companion DVD. This DVD holds all of the tutorials in the book so even if you accidently splash polyfoam all over the most important part of a recipe you are creating you can still pull it up on the DVD.
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Thankfully the book begins at what I deem the most important aspect of our craft, that of anatomy. It is the anatomy that breathes believability to any creature we dare to imagine. By making this an early focal point of the Book , Todd reinforces this message to the novice who hopefully will take this calling to heart as he or she moves forward through the text.
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The actually Makeup side of the book deals with a vast amount of subjects, whether it be the most import, safety and health tips, to proper professional behavior. But what really sings for me is the clarity of the steps of each and everyone of the tutorials.
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This book covers the entire process from face casting , mold making, casting methods using various materials, hair ventilation, wig making, to the newest craze 3D prosthetic transfers. I only wish this book had been available when I first got into Makeup in the early eighties.
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I do not say this lightly, but I think Todd has managed to write a book that would be a great preface to Dick Smith’s Professional Makeup Course. In fact I believe Todd has managed to write a heart felt introductory to everything that is great about the Makeup Effects craft. This is not to say that Todd has not touched on advanced Makeup techniques. This is not the case, he certainly has. However I felt that the overall tone of this book is geared to the new comer and weekend warrior wanting to learn about makeup craft.
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This is clearly Todd’s love letter to the craft of Special Makeup Effects, anyone interested in the thought process of sculpture and or the magic that goes into making believable characters for film this text is for you.
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Drop on by Amazon.com and pick up a copy.
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