How To Be A Makeup Artist Without Gore

Gonzalez's prosthetic creation for the Movie theatre Makeup School // via Kevin Gonzalez

By: Elena Fundamental / Staff Writer

Every year terror takes over Universal Studios with its annual consequence, Halloween Horror Nights (HHN). Makeup creative person Kevin Gonzalez is a role of the team that makes the actors come up to life.

Gonzalez is a 22-year-onetime Dominican makeup artist who moved to LA to follow his dream career of existence a special effects makeup artist.

"It was freshman twelvemonth of high school, I think I was watching goosebumps and it was a weird episode where they were pulling off a mask and I was like holy s—, you can wear things to alter your persona?" said Gonzalez.

Shows such as "FaceOff" gave him validation to go along his passion and helped him recognize that his interest could become a job.

Earlier being a part of the HHN cast, the first makeup wait Gonzalez did was Halloween his freshman year of High School.

"Back so I didn't know much nigh special effects except that you lot use liquid latex and tissues… I bought these already premade latex prosthetics… that were like zombies (a jaw with boney teeth). I pasted it on myself, my brother and my cousin," said Gonzalez.

Years later on, Gonzalez got his Associates Degree in Fine Arts at Broward College and since April 2021 attends the Cinema Makeup School, a Hollywood-based special effects establishment located in Koreatown.

His piece of work for the final in his Character course shaped the beginning of his Hollywood Horror Nights journey.

The essence of his concluding projection was discovered the day of the terminal. "When y'all walk into class, you have to option a random raffle out of a bag, and the description that information technology says down in that location is the makeup that you lot do right off the bag," said Gonzalez.

This format is meant to brand students do things on cue instead of planning their work. Gonzalez explains that this is because one-half the time you're on set, you don't go time to plan.

Gonzalez had to create a full-trunk victim who was theoretically in a Jet Skiing accident.

"I made a leg gash, a fully sunburnt body, the rope burns, and my instructor was… completely amazed by how much I had done… she was kinda speechless and that's not common for instructors," said Gonzalez.

Kevin Gonzalez working on his final projection for his graphic symbol course / via Kevin Gonzalez.

A week afterward, this aforementioned instructor offered him a job for Hollywood Horror Nights. Gonzalez went to administration where they told him that based on his schedule, he would not be able to do both school and a job.

"The whole purpose of going to this school is kind of [to] network, make connections, get jobs… the fact that one came on my door knocking, I could not blow this away," said Gonzalez.

Gonzalez took a exit of absence and began working at HHN on Sept. 9.

The night is not only filled with horror only besides stress when it comes to working on set.

Gonzalez'southward responsibilities expand from his own, information technology also includes working with the other makeup artists and ensuring that COVID-19 guidelines are followed with the scare actors.

"Managing … [COVID-19 protocols] and making sure that yous know we're all staying safe and keeping at least our makeup team safe … and … making sure that they're non tossing … [masks] effectually or … stretching them out," said Gonzalez.

Gonzalez works in "The Purges" scare zone, where many of the actors use masks that they can put on. Every role player has a designated number on their personal mask.

Although making masks is out of Gonzalez's work, he explains that "our FX lab handmakes everything. So … [they] … sculpt, … [they] mold, … [they] cast them with our latex or silicone painted. And if information technology has pilus, … [they] have… [to] pilus punch every single pilus. So those masks have like the blood, sweat and tears of the artists," said Gonzalez.

HHN workers also must follow Los Angeles COVID-19 protocols in the park.

As a makeup creative person, "you either accept to wearable a face shield and one mask … [that] covers …your nose and mouth. Or if you don't clothing a face shield you lot accept to wear goggles with two masks basically," said Gonzalez.

When applying makeup, artists are legally not allowed to employ makeup near the actor's mouth.

In these cases, "I would get… wax paper [and] distribute the makeup… and and then take sponges for them to employ on themselves in the bath because by law manifestly, I cannot exercise it," said Gonzalez.

His typical workday at HHN starts at 4 p.chiliad. and ends at 2 a.thousand.

From iv p.m. to 5:30 p.m. Gonzalez is at the scare zone working with quick looks. "Initially, it tin can be annihilation from… a darkened centre, a black eye, blood on the easily, dirt, anywhere from their confront, cervix, arms or hands," said Gonzalez.

The quick looks must be done from five to ten minutes per character, and each wait depends on what the scare role player's graphic symbol needs.

At 5:30 p.m., Gonzalez and the other makeup artist pack their equipment and head to the shuttle that takes them to their Purge zone where he stays until his section ends.

"I have to exist prepared with all the makeup bags because I'g kind of in accuse of transporting all of the makeup," said Gonzalez.

In that location are approximately 60 to 80 makeup artists and 150 scare actors.

From 1 a.grand. to 2:thirty a.1000., Gonzalez works with his crew removing the makeup of those in the Scare Zone. Along with taking intendance of the people working around him, they are besides the ones that thrill the dark.

"The most exciting office is really working with all of the actors that are there. They're all very cool, genuine people… and then getting to explore all of Universal backside the scenes, you lot can really roam, yous're allowed to kind of just go and cross behind backlots," said Gonzalez.

Scare actors walking on slits on their intermission are one of the instances that amaze Gonzalez'southward workday.

"It'southward about similar a circus that you're walking through with all these similar, whimsical things that it'south just, it's so absurd … being able to witness it backside the scenes, non just performed as a graphic symbol," said Gonzalez.

Source: https://panthernow.com/2021/10/04/makeup-and-gore-all-in-a-days-work/

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