A Real Professional at Work

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  “I always scoop my rubber mask grease colors out of the main container with a metal palette knife onto a palette. Then, using a side-to-side motion, soften it up a little with friction so it’s not too stiff. When applying rubber mask grease over foam appliances, it’s best to seal the foam skin prior to application with Pro Adhesive. This keeps the castor oil from seeping into the foam.”

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  “To create washes of color, add a couple of drops of isopropyl alcohol (99% type) to your rubber mask grease mixed on a pallet. The wash may be stippled on for dimension or texture with a natural sea sponge. Do not apply this mixture around the eyes due to the alcohol content. If you wish to airbrush on top of your rubber mask grease makeup, first set the makeup with powder. Dust off the excess. Then seal the makeup with Setting Spray. This will form a barrier to which the airbrushing can adhere.”

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  “I’ll use stencils when I need to repeat a given pattern in a makeup that needs to be re-applied to the same character each day, for several days, so that there will be continuity to the design. But as a general rule, I believe that freehand airbrushing gives a more organic look to the finished makeup.”

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  “The key to creating believable makeups while airbrushing is to use freehand spraying to establish the forms of the character. Don’t forget the use of color theory when exploring the creation of a character makeup. Using cool colors for the shadows and warm colors for the highlights will give you a much stronger finished makeup.”

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  Pro tips and makeup by Brad Look. Model is Clayton Stang.
  Special thanks to both Clayton and Brad for their efforts on this project.

Brad Look, Hollywood makeup artist, often found himself on the cutting edge of makeup technology as he worked on the hit series “STAR TREK – ENTERPRISE.” Here he applies Graftobian Rubber Mask Grease (RMG) and F/X Aire™ Airbrush Makeup to complete an alien he developed especially for Graftobian for a seminar he taught at a makeup artist trade show.