What do hair and makeup artists do?
Makeup designer is responsible for the visual appearance of the actors and works closely with costume designer to support the looks for each actor that visually support their character. Hair designers also work with costume design and like costume design must analyse the work and create hairstyles appropriate to the theme and setting. Hair designers will typically work with the costume designer to create an appropriate style for each character, working with each other on what they're willing to change. Hair and makeup designers each play an important role in any production, designing hair and makeup for the performers in a way that's appropriate to the characters and production.
- Makeup artists responsibilities:
- Enhancing facial features.
- Consulting with clients and creating custom looks based on their specifications.
- Taking lighting and setting into account when applying makeup.
- Working with costume designers, set designers, and stylist to ensure consistency.
- Hair designers responsibilities:
- Making sure that the hair design matches the theme and setting of the performance.
- Like Makeup artists consulting clients and creating custom looks based on their specifications.
- provide designs that meet the production.
- Attend rehearsals to make future adjustments to designs.
- Skills both hair and makeup artists need:
- Research skills.
- Understanding the process of characterisation using visual appearance to portray the characters.
- An artistic eye with the ability to sketch ideas.
- Ability to work in teams with others.
- Ability to meet deadlines and schedules.
Process
The process for hair and makeup designers involves looking and carefully analyising the script, discussions with the costume designers and to research, sketch and take notes on design. Afterwards, the designers will meet with the performers to come up for a look for the performance, and once approved, will be used as a template for all the performers. Designers will often go through step by step through the styling or application process. After going through step by step and has been approved it would then be the hair and makeup artist job to handle and create the style along with the help of costume design to complete the full look for the performance.
Similarities with other productions
Hair and makeup designers aren't only just in theatre productions it also in others such as film and tv productions. While Film and tv hair and makeup have their differences (film and tv have are more subtle in makeup and hair as the actors perform more close on camera while theatre hair and makeup is used to make the hair and features more visible from a distance). Both designers need to make sure that the makeup and hair is suitable for the theme and setting for their performances as well as that look into and understanding the characterisation using visual appearance to portray the character. For both stage and tv/film, makeup can be used to hide flaws and make certain features of the actor's face more noticable and can be used to create the character, for example, adding features or aging the actor.
This goes the same for hair designers and how for stage and tv/film both take into account how the hair design matches with the theme and setting of the scene as well as that work with costume and makeup design and how they can match and add more detail to the actors appearance to match the theme of the performance and what to make more noticeable for the audience to see or what to make more subtle to match the character and to do that be able to work together on what they want their design to look like and making sure that it is ready for the performance.
