Design for Stage + Screen Character
MakeUp Design

This course is no longer open for applications. However, BA (Hons) in Design for Film offers Character MakeUp Design as a pathway from Year 2 after a shared first year.

A make-up/prosthetics designer works on feature films, television dramas, television commercials, music videos, and theatre, opera and dance performances.

What will I do?

Learn how to focus on a performer’s body and create appropriate characters based on a given script using make-up, postiche, wigs and prosthetics.
Experience how to liaise with the director and the rest of the design team to discuss the interpretation of the script.
Get the necessary skills to work on feature films, television dramas, television commercials, music videos, and theatre, opera and dance performances.

What will I study?

Common Year 1

Year 2

Four common modules: Photography + Documentation | Exploration + Experimentation | Critical + Cultural Studies 2 | Faculty Elective | Technical Skills Studies focus on materials, techniques and processes used to create characters suitable for theatre and film. This includes character, period, ageing, climatic effects, injury simulation, facial hair/postiche and wig dressing. It also includes the design, making and application of prosthetic pieces. Students apply these skills to text-based design projects in modules Makeup Design for Screen and a Personal Design Project 2.

Year 3

Work Placement/Practical Experience | Professional Studies | Critical + Contextual Studies | Collaboration Project (Across Course) | Core discipline skills are explored further in Advanced Discipline Practice using Makeup and Prosthetics to design a range of characters for a specific text.

Year 4

Directed minor project | Self-selected major project | Business + Entrepreneurship module (culminates in Graduate Showcase) | Dissertation and/or documented research project.

Course and Portfolio Information

We are looking for good Art/Design portfolios that demonstrate an ability to draw from life – portraits, full bodies, objects. Use of diverse art materials to demonstrate a good sense of colour and an understanding of light, shade, textures is expected. Evidence of three dimensional skills such as sculpting can be included as photographic images.

Makeup work may be included to demonstrate your specific interest in stage and screen characters. However, we are not looking for candidates only interested in Makeup and this is not a beauty Makeup course, it focuses on character creation with the use of Makeup and prosthetics. A Makeup portfolio alone WILL NOT demonstrate the above.

We recommend that you come visit the college on our open days. You can come speak with staff and students and we provide lectures on the courses and application process and can answer any additional questions. Please check our News + Events page for details on future open days.

Requirements

Course Code DL830 - Level 8
Portfolio Yes