• Announcing Fall 2019 Character & Special FX Instructors

    • September 27, 2019
    • Author | Celena Rubin

    Each time we offer our Character & Special FX Makeup 7-week certificate program it is uniquely special as we search for some of the top makeup artists in the industry, no matter where they live, and invite them to Portland to share their knowledge.  We are very excited to announce our instructors for our upcoming Oct 21, 2019 session! 

    Michael Key

    Students taking our upcoming program will have the rare opportunity to be taught aging makeup in our Character Aging Makeup class by two time Emmy Award winning makeup artist, and the creator of both Make-Up Artist Magazine and IMATS  (International Make-up Artist Trade Show), Michael Key.

    Michael has worked as a make-up artist for some memorable film productions such as How the Grinch Stole Christmas, Planet of the Apes, and Star Trek Generations. With 4 Emmy nominations and 2 wins for Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993 & 1995), Michael has been pushing the industry standard while unveiling the secrets to the mystery of makeup transformation. In 1996 Michael published the first film industry professional make-up artist magazine, called simply Make-Up Artist Magazine. Over the last 23 years, thousands of the top artists in the industry working on the latest and biggest block buster films have been interviewed, showing their work and explaining their process. As if this extraordinary accomplishment wasn’t enough, the following year Michael started the first ever makeup artist trade show which quickly became an international success and the largest celebration of makeup artists in the world. Each year thousands of aspiring and successful makeup artists gather across the globe at each IMATS where the best of the best lecture and demonstrate their passion for their art. Michael is a truly inspiring human being and I can’t even express how lucky we are to have him!

    Rachael Wagner

    Rachael Wagner

    The largest and most challenging portion of the program, Prosthetic Design, Fabrication & Application as well as Working FX, Bald Cap Fabrication, and Lifecasting will be taught by skilled sculptor and prosthetic fabricator, and internationally known Face Off celebrity makeup artist, Rachael Wagner. Rachael competed in Syfy’s Face Off Season 7: Life and Death, and after becoming a fan favorite she got invited back to compete for a second time on Season 11, All Stars. She was trained at New York’s Makeup Designory  where she discovered her natural skill and passion for prosthetic makeup. She was a finalist in multiple IMATS Battle of the Brushes SFX competitions, and has worked with many diverse clientele including: Fall Out Boy, Hyundai, National Geographic, SyFy, Nerdist Industries, MGMT, The Metropolitan Opera, Girl Scouts of America, Disney, Target, and Universal Studios. As Project Supervisor of Global Effects Inc. she had the pleasure of working with ANOVOS and their Star Wars License, Agents of SHIELD, Spielberg’s Bridge of Spies, Castle, Doctor Who, Orbital Outfitters, and Solar City to name a few. She also enjoyed a tenure at Xiao Jin FX located in Beijing, China where she taught FX, Sculpting, and Shop Class for four months. Most recently, she has been enjoying creating creature suits and fake body parts for the movie Annabelle.

    This program is curated to meet top industry standards for theatre, film and television, using the latest technology, supplies, and skills currently used on award winning films and television shows.  This requires extensive knowledge and experience to educate our students in this intensive 7 week program covering skills needed to be a highly sought after working makeup artist. We want our students to feel confident and be prepared to work on a real film set, which is why we seek and hire the best instructors available, near and far. This program covers everything from theatrical makeup fundamentals, aging techniques, making and applying bald caps, hand hair laying and tying, creating a lifecast, sculpting and mold making, realistic working FX, creating silicone, gelatin, and foam latex prosthetics, and so much more!  Rachael Wagner Portfolio

    We have a few spots left if you still want to jump in! Email us at info@artofmakeup.com for more info and a tour, or submit your application here

    Read more about our Special Effects program at www.artofmakeup.com/fx

    Sarah Prevo

    Sarah Prevo

    Sarah Prevo will be teaching the Out of the Kit FX II portion of the program.  Sarah has worked on well over 30 film productions in the last 7 years, with skills in both beauty and special fx makeup.  She has collaborated with many other local Portland artists to create a strong team and community of artists that share work and hire each other.  Between gigs, she has also been teaching at The Art of Makeup School for the last 4 years, adding promising students she meets to her working team.  You would never know upon meeting Sarah with her sweet gentle demeanor that she is not afraid to roll up her sleeves and get gory!

    Marcia Willard

    Starting off the program we introduce students to Wig Master and Theatre Makeup Designer, Marcia Willard. Marcia earned her MFA in Wig and Makeup Design from the University of Cincinnati- CCM. Marcia was Wig Master at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, as well as Wig Master for Barter Theatre, Utah Shakespeare Festival, Hale Centre Theater and Portland Center Stage.  She was also the makeup designer for numerous theatrical productions such as The Wizard of Oz, My Fair Lady, Les Miserables, and La Mancha. Marcia is an expert ventilator, wig maker and hair designer with additional skills in creating and applying prosthetics. After working intensely on well over 2 dozen shows in the span of 6 years, Marcia has started her own wig making company, ConHair Wigs specializing in Cosplay and Theatrical wigs.