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Prosthetic makeup

Prosthetic makeup, which may also be referred to as special make-up effects or FX prosthesis, is the process of using prosthetic sculpting, molding, and casting techniques to create advanced cosmetic effects. Prosthetic makeup draws a straight lineage from the Stagecraft of theater and can be observed at the birth of science fiction cinema with Le Voyage dans La Lune, a 1902 French adventure short film directed by pioneer of special effects Georges Méliès.

The work of makeup artist Jack Pierce furthered pioneered early Hollywood prosthetic work and is best remembered for creating the iconic makeup born by Boris Karloff in Frankenstein, his makeup for Lon Chaney Jr. in The Wolfman.

whose work can be seen in Planet of the Apes.

John Chambers

's work in Little Big Man.

Dick Smith

in An American Werewolf in London, for which he won the 1st ever Oscar in the newly created category.

Rick Baker

in the Terminator series.

Stan Winston

in The Thing.

Rob Bottin

Modern prosthetic makeup was revolutionized by Christopher Tucker whose work on The Elephant Man was considered so ground breaking that when it failed to win any recognition at the 53rd Academy Awards letters of protests argued for it to receive an honorary award – this was ignored but did lead to the creation of the Academy Award for Best Makeup the following year.


Many of the techniques developed during that period are still regularly used in the field today. Additionally, many of these artists taught and inspired the next generation of Special Effects makeup artists, who in turn developed more advanced techniques for effects makeup, including developing different materials, animatronics and incorporating added computer elements.

Conflict with CGI[edit]

As the film/television industry continues to grow, so do the capabilities of the technologies behind it. Since the debut of newer technologies, many have feared that CGI (Computer Generated Imagery) will put practical SFX makeup out of business. CGI can be used to accomplish effects that simply aren't possible when working in practical effects.


Tom Woodruff Jr. and Alec Gillis, two experienced SFX artists from Amalgamated Dynamics near L.A., share what they see as the middle ground on the subject. In an interview, they explain that most movies use (out of necessity) a combination of practical effects and CGI. They see CGI as a tool that can be utilized in a positive or negative way, just like practical effects.[1]Tom Savini (an SFX artist known for his work in Dawn of the Dead and Creepshow) states: "They still use the make-up guys to design the creatures and that’s what they work from. I don’t think you’ll see make-up effects guys hanging out on corners with signs that say: WILL DO EFFECTS FOR FOOD."[2]

Real-world use[edit]

Moulage is a process in which makeup is used to simulate different wounds and trauma in order to prepare medical, emergency, and military personnel for what they could experience in the field and lessen psychological trauma.


Other real-world uses are to create real disguises for Government agencies such as the F.B.I., C.I.A., Department of Justice, used to infiltrate possible terrorist groups. Special effects artists can create and apply special effects makeup prosthetics to undercover agents to gather intelligence for combating international terrorism. Disguises let officers and agents move around as another person to complete undercover work without jeopardizing their actual identity.


Another real word use of prosthetics is the appearance of wounds to emulate death to be used by agencies such as the police departments to make someone appear as the victim of a murder during "hit or murder for hire stings." If a suspect hires a hit-man (killer) to murder someone, the police are able to stage a set of pictures or video to make the suspect believe that the "hit" or murder has been carried out. These situations are made to gather evidence on the suspect before the actual crime of murder has been committed.

(Frankenstein (1931), The Mummy (1932), The Wolf Man (1941)

Jack Pierce

(Planet of the Apes original film series)

John Chambers

(The Elephant Man)

Christopher Tucker

(The Walking Dead)

Gregory Nicotero

(The Chronicles of Narnia film series)

Howard Berger

: stern TV fat makeup (before and after; makeup process).

Nina Bott

: Race Swap and makeup process.

Samantha Fox

: Age Swap and makeup application.

Julie Goodyear

: Harvey Dent/Two-Face in Batman Forever.

Tommy Lee Jones

: Gender Swap and makeup application.

Rebecca Loos

: Drop Dead Fred

Rik Mayall

: several times in his career, but most notably as Hellboy

Ron Perlman

(a.k.a. Jordan): Jordan Gets Even and makeup application.

Katie Price

: as iterations of the Terminator in The Terminator and its sequels Terminator 2: Judgment Day and Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines.

Arnold Schwarzenegger

: Gender Swap and makeup application.

Carol Smillie

: A Will Of Their Own, Back To The Future Part II and Back To The Future (including makeup application).

Lea Thompson

Make-up artist

Special effect

Animatronics

Facial prosthetic

"Prosthetic Makeup". . Discovery Channel.

How It's Made

"Disguise". . Animal Planet.

The Most Extreme

"Truffle Forager and Food Make-Up Artist". . Food Network.

Will Work for Food