After the Aries shoot, I pondered on ways I could make my series more visually interesting and detailed, to keep the interest of the audience throughout the display of each final image. I follow an exceptionally skilled costume design/make-up/SFX artist (Vanessa Davis: @the_wigs_and_makeup_manager) whose work I really admire because of how intricate each step of the process is. All the individual details come together to make (most of the time) an incredible fantasy/mystical character and there is so much effort and embodiment involved to get it right.
The first image with the black horns. was initially what attracted me to explore into the idea of make up and costume, as the symbol for Aries (my sign) is the Ram, and it’s horns are used often as a creative representation of the sign. I often see really cool props such as the ones that Vanessa has used on amazon, as well as a lot of other products she uses to bring her looks together: (such as glue guns and spray paints).
I also found some simpler character looks on instagram that actually featured the zodiac signs and this make-up artists interpretations of them. I like that everyone has different visions that come from the same inspirations.
My initial plan was to team up with a make-up artist who would be able to create the look for the face, while I myself would work on the props and headdresses that would bring the look together. I didn’t want something as complicated as Vanessa Davis’ work as that requires a lot of refined skill and dedicated practice over (presumably) a long amount of time, but thanks to her tutorials and generosity in revealing her personal process, I could gather as much information and guidance as possible to source most, if not all the things I would need to create my own character looks.
The 3 images posted above, with the matching lipstick and mascara combination really stood out to me for the make-up artists mood board and referencing. I feel that something so simple really stands out from regular day-to-day or glam make-up looks and gives it more of a theme to go by. This method would make it easier to associate the colours of the zodiac with the portrayal of them on the models.
PHOTOGRAPHY WORKBOOK 