The special effects industry is huge with thousands of artists with expertise in a multitude of different areas. I reached out to Lars Carlsson a Special Effects Makeup Artist from Gothenburg, Sweden who has been working within the industry since 1989 and has run his own company, Makeup-FX, with his wife Heather since 1990. I found Lars through doing my own research, his website has a plethora of extremely useful information such as tutorials, advice for other artists and a gallery of previous works along with his shop. I sent Lars an email with some questions for an interview and was lucky enough to get a response from him. 

 

How long did it take you to reach the standard you are at today?

 

“I have done this for more than 30 years and I am still in training! Once you feel that you know something you start forgetting it. And even now the tech in video is moving so quickly so I feel that I am not good enough more or less daily...

So it is a constant struggle to stay good enough. 

When I first started I mainly did theatre and then I saw my skills good enough to start calling myself a makeup artist/wig maker after three years at the theatre. But I still see myself as self taught since no-one at the theatre would give me a minute of their time to teach me anything. That is one of the reasons why I have always been passionate about teaching others. I didn't want to be like the ones I first met!”

 

Do you stick to the same techniques you learnt when you first began or has your technique or even style changed?

 

“Never!! I don't think I have ever done a project in the same way as I have done before.

I need to keep developing every day!”

 

What has been your favourite project to work on so far?

 

“I have many favourites in different fields. I loved working on the "Tom of Finland" film since I got to transform the lead from 30- to 70 years old. I had a lot of other fun effects on that film too. But there is always a negative side too.

I wasn't allowed by the director to age him as much as I wanted for the last scenes and that still hurts when I see the film now.
For theatre I have been allowed to do my own versions of some big musicals like the Phantom and Beauty and the beast (twice!) and that has been great fun! But I’ve also done some really cool opera work that has made me take leaps in my own development.”

 

Is there a difference between the makeup you do for the theatre and makeup you do for video/film? Is one more difficult than the other (in your opinion)?

 

“They are soooo different! I do find that makeup artists trained in theatre are better equipped to move to film than the other way round.

In the theatre you need to understand facial form seen from a distance! In film it is all about small details. But I love to use my feel for form on film and just dial it down a bit and add details. Then I can get an awesome character that works in all lights. If you are coming from the film world and try to make your details bigger for theatre it just doesn't work.

But if your details as a theatre artist are not good enough you will not be able to work on film… So basically you can't win.. But you have to keep trying since it's fun!”

 

You mentioned in your FAQ that you can tell if a potential employee will be suited to makeup artistry by looking at their hands, is there anything else you look for and why do you look for this?

 

“I do have a little secret trick when I interview someone to test their creative skills and interest. But I can't reveal this! It would kill my sneaky test that they never knew I put them through! 

I of course look at their portfolio too and see what they can do. Then I tell them to remove all the pictures that they have done under teacher supervision and then gotten great shots in the school studio.  The pictures that are left should have been done in their spare time for fun or on projects they have worked on. Those pictures tell me 1000% more than any school pictures.

But since this is also a very social trade (sometimes even more than technical or artistic) I need to feel at ease with the person that I interview. I need to know that this person can be put in a room with actors and directors and will not cause any problems or make their own problems to everyone else's. We need to be creative but at the same time invisible!”

 

I am extremely fortunate to have been in contact with Lars Carlsson and appreciate the generosity of him to take the time to reply to my emails. You can find so much more information about Lars  - and see some of the work he has done and other questions he has answered on his website: http://www.makeup-fx.com/karakeng.html.