Making a splash with SFX make-up
“I just saw myself as a girl playing with make-up. I was also a big movie buff, who loved fantasy and Sci-Fi films, and I was really curious about how SFX make-up or prosthetics for the characters was done. I spent hours watching YouTube videos on SFX make-up for film characters, and later on, I found myself trying out the art with whatever materials I could find at home,” says Gayani Kaushalya Perera.
Gayani Kaushalya Perera : Inspired by Sci-Fi films from a young age
While make-up can be used as a form of self-expression or to highlight or enhance one’s natural beauty, special effects or SFX make-up is one form of make-up where a make-up artist’s creativity and passion for self-expression and make-up itself is elevated, and sometimes even challenged. Make-up artists Oshan Yapa Amarasekera and Gayani are among those who have chosen to explore this nuanced and fascinating world.
When it comes to SFX make-up, makeup artists use make-up and prosthetics to reproduce wounds, deformities, wrinkles or supernatural features and other more dramatic effects.
Gayani has been practising this form of make-up for around seven years now. She works full-time from home for a private company and takes up SFX projects and commissions part-time.
“I started doing it as a hobby, along with cosplaying, in 2015. As I got better at it, I started doing SFX and prosthetic making for commissions. While it is not my full-time job right now, I’m working hard to get there one day,” Gayani says, adding that she never expected to come this far.
Gayani loves experimenting and creating looks from popular video games such as League of Legends and movies such as James Cameron’s Avatar. Check out her Instagram profile @sfxbygayani for more insight into SFX makeup.
28-year-old Oshan Yapa Amarasekara is another up-and-coming SFX make-up artist in the Sri Lankan film and TV industry. Initially self-taught, Oshan learned much more while working on the set of the British TV show Good Karma Hospital, with senior make-up and prosthetics artists.
“Sri Lanka does not have any courses in SFX make-up at the moment. Only glam and bridal make-up courses are available. So what I learned while working on seasons three and four of the Good Karma Hospital helped me improve as an SFX make-up artist,” he said.
From 2018 onwards, Oshan has worked as an SFX make-up artist for several Sri Lankan films, TV shows and music videos. One such TV show is currently in the works and the project is headed by one of the professors of film and television studies at the University of Kelaniya. Oshan attended the University of Kelaniya and studied fine arts.
Looking to bridge the gap in academic knowledge and skills in terms of SFX make-up in Sri Lanka, Oshan also conducts workshops at a few universities and higher education institutes such as the Ratmalana University College and Matara University College.
Dominique Croos Sedra is a full-time make-up artist (MUA) who grew up in the United Arab Emirates and moved to Sri Lanka in 2015. She decided to become an MUA when she was 17.
Though starting out with SFX make-up she branched into bridal make-up, and now only handles these for her clients. “SFX make-up, like conceptual makeup, isn’t a wearable look,” Dominique explains, adding that you wouldn’t typically see people out in public with this type of make-up on. But conceptual and SFX make-up are insanely creative, she adds.
Oshan Yapa Amarasekara
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