Ah the glamour of working in makeup! Flying first-class everywhere, working in amazing tropical locations, working with the stars, getting your face in flashy magazines…..
If you think that is what being a makeup artist is about, then think on! Being a successful makeup artist is a combination of many factors, skills, talent, aptitude, personality and luck. Ultimately, it is a tough industry – and many people who set out to do makeup as a career will fail.
Reality Check
Most people who do a makeup course will never succeed as a makeup artist. It’s basic economics: supply of jobs = low; demand for work = high. Makeup is massively oversubscribed and lack of solid paid work often forces people to rethink and go and do something else. If you’re not fussed about working in film/TV, then the bridal, beauty and those sorts of markets may have more opportunity, if you have the business acumen and people skills for working in the service industry.
Working in film and TV involves long hours (social life… er, eh?) in the heat/cold/rain, sometimes in cramped conditions, fierce competition for few jobs, and lots of arseholes. Oops, there – we’ve said it! To be fair there are lots of lovely people too, but sadly lots of big egos, attitude and backstabbing. A cornucopia of duplicitous toss pots!
Of course, you have talent. You are determined, like makeup and films, and you can draw with lipstick. You have no friends, so the social thing is fine! And you are not afraid of toss pots! Bravo!
Sure, one in a squillion (possibly a made up number) will make it into the media industry and have a career. Of course, you are going to try – and why not? Trying is better than not trying. We knew this cold reality when we started and still tried. It could be you! You could win the makeup artist lottery!
Where Do I Start?
Do you really have the aptitude, stamina, skills and ability? Ask yourself some tough questions and give yourself honest answers:
- Am I truly artistic? Do I really have talent?
- Do I understand colour and light; am I prepared to read all about this “boring stuff”?
- Do I want to practice, practice, practice in my own time to get better?
- Can I deal rationally and calmly with lots of different people who may be a) nice; b) not nice; c) nice then not nice then nice again; d) 100% arsehole?
- Have I the stamina to do a 14-hour day, six days a week and not complain endlessly about it?
- Can I survive mentally and financially between makeup jobs?
- Have I the aptitude and good grace to be able to start at the beginning as a trainee and work my way, slowly, up the makeup ladder?
- Am I really a team player? Can I work well with others, take instruction and do it to the letter with skill, calmness and humour and without moaning to everyone?
- If I was left on my own, can I be trusted to work and pay attention and not sit on my fat arse and check Facebook?
- Can I get up at 5am in the morning, drive to a location in the rain and dark and arrive not only perfectly on time, but amazingly cheerful every time?
If you can answer yes honestly to these questions, then maybe, one day, you could be a makeup artist. So, do you still want to be a makeup artist? Then read on!
Sign Me Up! Where Do I Start?
Training, Grasshopper, training! You need some basic training. The commonest way to get this initial training is via a media makeup course (and by also doing a basic hair qualification, if relevant to the area of makeup you wish to go into), but it all depends on what area of makeup you wish to go into. Whether you start with a course, or are self-taught, you will ultimately need to work with experienced and talented people to really progress.
- Read more about How to Choose a Makeup Course
Hairdressing
Being able to work with hair is often an essential part of working as a media makeup artist – it really depends what area you want to work in. For example, prosthetics dudes don’t normally twiddle hair, and major feature films often have separate hair and makeup departments. We know a few people who work just as hairdressers, and others who work just in makeup. But they are bloody good at what they do, been doing it for years, get the work and don’t need to do anything else. A rare breed.
For many media jobs, you’ll be expected to be able to do both hair and makeup. You should get a hairdressing qualification (in the UK, an NVQ level 2 or equivalent) and then back this up with solid relevant experience e.g. wig work and period hairstyling to be useful to a wide range of film/TV productions.
“So… I have done my makeup and hair training. I can wash my hands before a makeup, make an eye bag, trim hair and know that red and blue makes purple. Ooh la la! I am a makeup artist! What happens now?”
Career Progression
Doing a makeup course DOES NOT make you a makeup artist and it sure as hell doesn’t make you a designer.
Tweaking a bit of hair or washing a few wigs DOES NOT make you a hair artist either.
Fiddling with latex in your basement DOES NOT make you a special effects makeup guru!
You are a trainee with much to learn Grasshopper! It doesn’t matter whether you’ve practiced with makeup at home, done a short intensive course or spent three years getting a fancy qualification – you are a trainee. You have no/little experience of working in the real professional world of media, with a ton of stuff still to learn.
Trainee
A good trainee is the oil that keeps the makeup department engine running: you clear up, get drinks, run errands, sort out continuity and whatever else is required of you.
Please don’t ever think this is beneath you! A job as a trainee puts you in a great position to watch experienced people at work, maybe help with background artistes, assist on set – and you slowly learn and develop your skills and understanding. If you’re good, have left the attitude at home, are willing to help and learn without getting under people’s feet – who knows, the team may use you again.
Too many trainees we’ve some across think it’s beneath them and have a little bit of “I’ve been to college know it all” attitude. LOSE IT!
- Read Skillset’s guide to being a Trainee
Assistant
The next step up. You’re given more responsibility – what this is depends on who you’re working for and how well they know your skills, plus the size of the production can dictate how much you’ll have to be able to do.
- Read Skillset’s guide to being an Assistant
Artist
So you’ve been at it for a few years getting good solid experience on a variety of productions. You’ve learnt more, you’ve put into practice what you covered at college over and over again. It’s time for a fanfare…. you have made it. You are a makeup artist. If you’ve had lots of hair experience, you are a hair artist.
- Read Skillset’s guide to being a Hair and Makeup Artist
Designer / Chief
A good (notice we slipped the word “good” in right at the start?) head of department (the designer, key or chief) has years of professional experience working their way up from the bottom and lots of other key skills like: organisation, knowing how to look after and manage a team, having a good eye for detail and continuity, understanding and implementing good health and safety, able to research for special effects or historical periods, liaising with other departments, able to break down a script – and so on.
From starting as a trainee, you’ll gradually build up these skills, and build them well over time, with lots of practice in various situations. “Don’t run before you can walk”, some wise ass once said.
Not everyone wants to be, or is cut out to be, a designer – and that’s fine. Some are happy being part of a team and letting someone else have the responsibility of being the head of department.
- Read Skillset’s guide to being a Designer
Getting Work
This is the tricky part at any level of experience. You’re constantly looking for the next job. As mentioned, there are six million makeup people and two jobs. OK, we exaggerate, but getting work is not easy. Again, there aren’t enough paid jobs in film and TV for everyone. Only a handful of people work regularly, a few people who work now and then – and the majority will endlessly chase jobs and eventually give up, as living on nothing is pretty difficult.
Media makeup jobs come about mainly through contacts, and many jobs have gone before the word is out. Again, competition. So, what else can you do? You could:
- Check online media job sites (sadly lots of unpaid “work” on these);
- Send out your CV to designers (note: they get loads of CVs);
- Promote yourself online via social networks and websites;
- Get an agent once you have good experience and skills they can market (i.e. not fresh out of college).
Wages have not always increased over the years, they’ve stagnated or even decreased. Again – competition, too many people and the state of the economy.
Working for a low rate or even for nothing just devalues the craft of makeup. If you think that working for free will lead to paid work, think about it: lots of makeup people (some with much better CVs and contacts than you) and few paid jobs. The ones with proper credits and paid experience (and contacts) are in a better position. It is tough.
The Learning Never Stops!
There’s always more to learn and reasons for continuing your learning include:
- Refreshing makeup and hair skills, or learning brand new ones.
- Technological changes, like HD, putting new demands on makeup techniques and products.
- New makeup products and ingredients are released daily it seems.
- You pick up tips and tricks – time and budget constraints often impact the makeup department, calling for resourcefulness and creativity all round.
There are lots of ways to keep your skills current and, therefore, valuable: short courses, online resources, attend trade fares, read books – and practice, practice, practice.
So, do you still want to be a makeup artist? If yes, then good for you. One tip – if you do end up working in the industry and ever think you know it all, why Grasshopper, it’s probably time to get another job!
Find Out More:
- How to Choose a Makeup Course
- Creative Skillset’s look at the hair and makeup department in film
- Creative Skillset’s look at hair and makeup roles in television
