Chronicles of a Makeup Artist

I'm Lisa, an aspiring hollywood makeup artist exploring the film and entertainment industry in and around Vancouver, Canada.

I have this wild imagination and passion for creating complex, beautiful, funny or downright appalling characters. My kitchen doubles as my effects lab where I work with foam latex, gelatin, and other magical materials to bring these elaborate fantasies to life. Right now most of my days are filled with desiging my own projects or searching for work on independant or student film productions while living in downtown Vancouver with my boyfriend.

I'm very excited that I've decided to San Diego's Comic Con International 2011, and I can sense that it is going to be pivotal. It'll be my first Comic Con (one of the worlds largest pop culture events) and I've got very big (and possibly career-boosting) plans for that weekend.

This year my two major goals are to become unionized and to build up my YouTube channel. All large-scale film and TV productions are under a union - and to work on those sets, you need to be a member of said union. There are two unions here in Vancouver. One is A.C.F.C. (The Association of Canadian Film Craftspeople), and the other is I.A.T.S.E. (International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees). In order to apply for union membership, you need to have set experience and pass a written exam. This means collecting lot of independent work to build up your resume plus you have to know the details of your craft as well as the politics of working on set. In an industry where it's all about who you know, it can be hard when you don't really know anybody yet.

On the other hand my YouTube channel is more of a personal endeavor. I just can't get enough of what I do. I keep coming up with ideas that I just have to bring to life. I love filming, documenting, and editing. So far I've only made one video. It was a 'test run' of sorts. I did my friend up in a bodypaint modeled after my Witch Elf character, Lisabeth, from Warhammer Online. I played for a year, kicking butt doing medieval quests in skimpy little outfits and riding my dinosaur around. I didn't enjoy the PVP (player vs. player) that much though. When I became too high of a level it was all about PVP, so I started playing Oblivion instead. Anyways, I finished the bodypaint at 2 am and went downtown with a couple friends to videotape people's reactions. You can watch our little excursion here:

It's an exciting time and my mind is racing with ideas and projects, some more formed than others, and I'm just beginning to work them into reality. My next project I plan to turn my mom into a 21-year-old again using prosthetic makeup. I'm sculpting the prosthetic at this point, and the video should be released by Valentine's day!

Ciao <3

Lisa