Careers

Hire a Makeup Artist

We have many talented Certificate Program graduates well trained in all areas of makeup artistry located throughout Oregon, Washington and beyond. Please contact us or fill out the below Hire a Makeup Artist form if you are interested in retaining a makeup artist or collaborating with The Art of Makeup School.

Job Board

Through a network of industry relationships, The Art of Makeup assists student certificate program graduates obtain work and experience through exclusive membership on the AofM Job Board. Login required via designated username or email address for AofM graduates only. Please contact us for additional info.

Academy Award for Best Makeup and Hairstyling
1964 – 2022

Respect the Craft

Working as a Makeup Artist

Makeup artistry is a separate profession outside of cosmetology or esthetics that requires very different training and comes with a different set of professional goals and opportunities. For example, awards given for the makeup artistry profession in the entertainment industry include the Academy Awards, Emmy Awards, and the Golden Globes for Best Makeup. Cosmetology and esthetician schools provide little to no makeup training. Cosmetology school graduates might work in salon, skin care and medical spa environments.

A makeup artist does everything from make Jennifer Lopez look completely flawless to turning Anthony Hopkins into Alfred Hitchcock and transforming Meryl Streep into one of her many Oscar winning character roles. Makeup artistry is an essential part of the entertainment industry as it helps breathe life into a character by making them more three dimensional.

An actor has a much easier time being able to commit to a role if they truly believe that they have been transformed into the character they are playing. This belief is mandatory for the audience as well. For the audience to believe the story, they need to believe that there is actually a robot under Schwarzenegger’s skin, or that actors look like Hobbits from Middle Earth. The best makeup artists are those whose work you never really notice, it is a true art form.

Makeup Industry Types

Fashion
Makeup artists collaborate with photographers and models in one of the most broad areas of makeup artistry work. There are thousands of newspapers, magazines, billboards, album covers, company brochures, advertising collateral, posters and catalogs printed annually, and millions of photographs on the web. Fashion makeup artists are also key players in the production of runway shows, pageants, and other special events. Avant-garde and fantasy makeup are applicable techniques used for projects that require experimentation and unique themes.

Television
This includes newscasts, talk shows, drama series, sitcoms, reality shows, soap operas, game shows, commercials and infomercials. To work on today’s television drama series, like film, a makeup artist must know ‘character makeup’ and be able to simulate injuries and create other effects. There are hundreds of television and production companies filming every day.

Theatrical Makeup
Stage makeup is used to highlight and contour the actors’ faces in order to make expressions visible to the audience from large distances. This includes emphasizing important facial features.

Airbrushing
Airbrush makeup has recently been popularized by the use of HD and digital photography, where the camera focuses on detail. Liquid foundations that are high in pigment but thin in texture are applied with the airbrush for full coverage without a heavy build-up of product.

Bridal
Makeup Artists who specialize in Bridal Makeup are always in demand. The wedding market is an enormous year round market, and very profitable. This work involves conducting bridal preview appointments and going on location the day of the wedding- applying makeup on the bride and wedding party. Freelance Artists that do weddings also do makeup for special events, pageants, dance performances, parties, award ceremonies, proms, etc.

Film
Since the 1920s, the film industry has grossed more money every year. In 2019, the global box office for all films released in each country around the world topped $100 billion for the first time (theatrical, home and mobile entertainment combined). The U.S./Canada theatrical box office in 2019 was $11.4 billion, while the international theatrical box office was $42.2 billion in U.S. dollars up one percent over previous year. *

Makeup artists transform actors and background extras into whatever the script demands. They use special makeup effects to simulate injuries, age a character, apply facial hair, tattoos, and bald caps. Membership in the IATSE Union (International Alliance of the Theatrical Stage Employees) offers benefits and helps protect the rights of makeup artists.

Special FX Makeup (AKA Special Effects Makeup, SFX, FX)
A special effects make-up artist uses wigs, make-up, prosthetics and other tools to create the desired look on a live performer or a special effects prop. This line of work is typically found in the entertainment industry, so special effects make-up artists may be hired by theaters, film and television productions, theme parks, cruise ships or avant-garde fashion designers. The job of a special effects make-up artist can be as simple as aging the face of a young actor or as complicated as creating a never-before-seen alien monster.

Retail
Retail cosmetics is a huge international industry. The worldwide cosmetics and perfume industry in 2020 generated $483 billion.* Many makeup artists work in a retail store, a salon, a doctor’s office, or makeup studio applying makeup, teaching makeup lessons and selling a cosmetic line. For entrepreneurial artists, the high profit margin offered by many private label cosmetic lines provides a very lucrative avenue of income. Because of a loyal consumer market, the industry remains recession-proof, despite an ailing economy.

There are different jobs in a film/TV makeup department depending on project needs and budget:

Head Makeup Artist: They are in charge of the makeup department. They collaborate with the director and writer to design the look for each actor, apply makeup on principal actors, and hire a team of makeup artists to assist.

Key Makeup Artist: They are in charge of a team of makeup artists working on a production.

Makeup Artist: They work the magic and are part of a team that applies the makeup.

Makeup Assistant: They help the more established makeup artists with extras or on set touch ups for example.

Special FX Artist: They design and create special make up effects using for example makeup products, prosthetics, and latex.

Oregon is a Creative Destination

Oregon continues to be a destination for creative media producers from around the world. From Emmy winning television productions, to Oscar nominated feature films; world class animation to award winning interactive games, Oregon is a brand unto itself. Crew. Cast. Locations. (Source: Oregon Governor’s Office of Film & Television).

Oregon Film History

Oregon Film Oregon Made

Job Resources in Oregon

Production in Washington

Washington has one of the nation’s most competitive markets for independent film and commercial production. With The Art of Makeup’s convenient location near the Washington border, the opportunities and chances for success are boundless. Washington offers incentive programs nationwide and prides itself on understanding what’s most important to the industry. Washington Filmworks, a non- profit organization, offers funding assistance for qualified in-state expenditures of up to 30% for motion pictures and episodic series with less than six episodes and up to 35% for episodic series with at least six episodes. Funding assistance for commercials is allocated through the Commercial Business Development Plan.

Qualified in-state expenditures include resident labor including fringe as well as goods and services provided by Washington based businesses. (Source: Washington FilmWorks)

Northwest State-By-State Film Contributions

Economic Impact of the Industry:

2020: The motion picture and television industry is responsible for 8,900 direct jobs and $470+ million in wages in Oregon, including both production and distribution-related jobs. 3,440 of the jobs are production related.*

Movie & TV Production Spotlight:

2019-2020: Movies include Wendell and Wild, Metal Lords, Pinocchio, Pig, The Rental, The Water Man. TV series include Shrill, Documentary Now!, Ax Men, The OA.*

Production Incentive:

Oregon’s incentives to production include rebates on 20% of a production’s Oregon-based goods and services and additional cash rebate of up to 16.2% of wages paid to production personnel. The annual cap on rebates is $7.5M per fiscal year.*

History of Major Productions Filmed on Location in Oregon State

Economic Impact of the Industry:

2020: The motion picture and television industry is responsible for 14,500 direct jobs and $1.19+ billion in wages in Washington, including both production and distribution-related jobs. 2,940 of the jobs are production-related.*

Movie & TV Production Spotlight:

2019-2020: Movies include Saturn, Little Fish. TV series include Ax Men, Raising Wild, Dr. Oakley: Yukon Vet, Station 19.*

Production Incentive:

Washington’s designated production-assistance organization, Washington FilmWorks, offers funding assistance of up to 35% of total in-state qualified expenditures (including labor and talent who are Washington state residents) to commercial, television and feature film productions. The production company must meet certain in-state spending thresholds.**

History of Major Productions Filmed on Location in Washington State

Economic Impact of the Industry:

2020: The motion picture and television industry is responsible for 2,820 direct jobs and $110+ million in wages in Idaho, including both production and distribution-related jobs. 430 of the jobs are production-related.*

Movie & TV Production Spotlight:

2019-2020: Movies include Mass, American Romance, An Unkindness of Ravens. TV Shows include Boise Boys, MeatEater, River of No Return.*

Production Incentive:

Idaho provides for a rebate of the 6% sales tax on tangible personal property when $200,000 is spent on a wide variety of qualifying expenses. Idaho’s Motion Media Rebate Program was passed on March 25, 2008, offering a 20% rebate for qualifying productions on all goods and services purchased in Idaho if at least $200,000 is spent in Idaho and at least 20% of crew is Idaho residents.*

History of Major Productions Filmed on Location in Idaho State

Economic Impact of the Industry:

2020: The motion picture and television industry is responsible for 2,070 direct jobs and $120+ million in wages in Alaska, including both production and distribution-related jobs. 100+ of the jobs are production related*

Movie & TV Production Spotlight:

2019-2020: TV series include Deadliest Catch, Mountain Men, Alaska: The Last Frontier, Bering Sea Gold, Life Below Zero.*

History of Major Productions Filmed on Location in Alaska State

Sources

* Most recent data reported online by The Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA). The MPAA serves as the voice and advocate of the American motion picture, home video and television industries in the United States.

** Source: Washington FilmWorks
*** Source: Oregon Governor’s Office of Film & Television

Skip to content