SFX from a Novice Perspective

Break the rules, break every damn one of them. When it comes to SFX, I tend to believe in the power of learning a skill on your own. As you can see in the above pics, this is a very shitty job. I'm not going to lie and say that I'm Rob Bottin or Rick Baker. I only just started learning SFX just this year after I told myself it was time to learn latex.

One thing that I have learned on this small journey of mine, is that cotton balls and tissues are your best friend. Latex is obviously an extremely important thing to have, yes, but texturally, I've found that paper products are the make or break to a pretty realistic looking dead thing.

When it comes to SFX, don't worry about being a Hollywood effects artist. I'm not saying don't shoot for that goal, but realistically, those people have gone through extensive schooling, and have been in the business longer than I've been alive. When it comes to beginners SFX, I've learned that diving right in is honestly the best way of learning.

Besides the simple tutorials I've done on here, there isn't much you have to bother yourself with except mental creativity. Cotton balls have been such help in terms of creating puffy, bloated appearances. Because cotton balls are a malleable, easy-to-use product, you can basically shape and contort anyway you want on the face. I do like tissues if you are doing a basic gash wound, but in my person opinion, I try to avoid gash wounds for the simple fact that it's been overdone to death. (Ha!)

My preference is a misshapen, disgusting blob of whatever the fuck comes out of my mind. As you saw with my nun cosplay for Order, I just did simple stretching of the cotton ball and spread it all over my face. The key is applying after each layer to create not only a stable surface for painting, shading, and contouring, but it gives the appearance of skin being extremely fucked up.

(Don't worry about how good it looks, you're going to paint over it later on.)

Another random trick that I find to be easier for me in the editing process, is applying very light layers of corn syrup. Yes, it's extremely uncomfortable and extremely annoying if you have long hair like me, but when it comes to editing, the sheen can produce some brilliant results.

Spackle on a light layer of corn syrup on the forehead, cheeks, and a TINY amount around the eyelids. If you're using Facetune or Snapseed, the sheen from the corn syrup will be amplified applying the DETAIL effect.

(Also, if you have not read my tutorials on Facetune, please do so to understand what I'm saying.)

So, these are just some not so wise words from a very novice artist, but, somehow--it works. Happy creating, my friends, and never give up on your dreams.