Claudia Designs

First Design

The Claudia I would like to portray is a Femme Fatale. She is dominant, sexy and alluring. I would like to give her dramatic eyes and dark lips. I chose a darker burgundy lip rather than a dark red for this look, as I wanted to appeal to more of her darker side, than vampy side. I will keep the rest of the face quite simple, with clean skin and some contouring, so that the eyes and lips are the main focus.

Music Video Inspiration- Claudia and Quentin

Whilst researching some horror themed music videos for Claudia and Quentin, I came across a few that really helped with my character inspiration and the mood I would like to go for. 

The Pretty Reckless- 'Make Me Wanna Die'
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dYeGw-bo430
The main character in this video immediately makes me think of Claudia stuck in her apartment with nothing to do but dress herself up and get lost in her thoughts.

The Pretty Reckless- 'Heaven Knows'
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rHBxJCq99jA
Again, the main character of this video's dominant, dangerous character is an inspiration for Claudia for me.

Fall Out Boy 'Young Volcanoes' 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ZvHkOAtUYQ&list=PLDsQc3LACReXL7RrJ6eIBnDosVu_SZ9oE

Fall Out Boy 'Alone Together'
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LFhEBmNwX_E&list=PLDsQc3LACReXL7RrJ6eIBnDosVu_SZ9oE

Both of these videos have elements of Claudia and Quentin for me. There are the femme fatales who go from nurturing the boys even though they are prisoner (in the 'Young Volcanoes' video), to torturing them ('Alone Together' video). This relationship is exactly how I would like to portray Claudia and Quentin.

Quentin Inspiration

Some words I think of when I think of Quentin are: submissive, repressed, trapped. He is not only a figment of Claudia's imagination, he is trapped in her mind, a slave to whatever mood she is in. The Quentin I would like to portray is quite a submissive one. He has been kept prisoner by Claudia for a few days, perhaps after an argument and he is tired, hungry and not in his best shape. 

Claudia Inspiration

When I read the description of Claudia, I can't help but think of her as a "femme fatale". Femme Fatale literally means "fatal woman". 

femme fatale

ˌfam fəˈtɑːl/

noun

1. an attractive and seductive woman, especially one who will ultimately cause distress to a man who becomes involved with her.

I imagine Claudia to have similar characteristics to Alex Forrest (played by Glenn Close) in 'Fatal Attraction'

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e3oF8Po4qWc

In terms of makeup, hair and styling, the classic Femme Fatale look is full of sex appeal, but it is always understated. It is sexy, but never slutty. The Femme Fatale captures her victims using her eyes, lips, and charm, not her body. For this reason, Femme Fatale's always have accentuated eyes and/or lips, clean, clear skin, and very simple hair that is often extremely sleek or slicked back. There is a definite air of mystery around the Femme Fatale and this is part of her fatal attraction.

Introducing Claudia and Quentin

Meet Claudia. 

Claudia is a young girl in her twenties who is a little...different from your average twenty-something year old. As a child, Claudia was left alone for hours on end with no parental guidance. Due to this, Claudia developed an unhealthy relationship with television and movies, and through this, discovered a genre that she felt she resonated with the most- horror. She watches endless horror films until she starts to believe that this is the way life really is. Claudia is agoraphobic, kept in touch with the outside world only by her neighbours bringing her everyday requirements. Claudia changes her mood and style based on the horror film she is obsessed with at the time. She is often the main character, or will pay homage to the main character of the film in some way. There is a sense of uncertainty around Claudia as she is quite psycotic, and although she is content in the world she has built for herself, there is always an air of danger around her as you never know when she is going to snap.

Meet Quentin

One of the most important aspects of Claudia's imaginary world is Quentin. Quentin is Claudia's imaginary boyfriend. Claudia and Quentin don't live together, but Quentin visits her often and when he can't be there, they will talk on the phone for hours at a time. This isn't enough for Claudia, and she is always extremely paranoid that he is having multiple affairs behind her back. Because of this, Claudia likes to keep him under her thumb, often restraining him, or keeping him locked in one of her rooms. As Quentin is part of Claudia's imagination, he changes appearance according to the mood she is in, going from the most attractive man oozing sex appeal, to the most unappealing, lazy couch potato. 

Creating 'Evil' Eye Makeup

In our lesson today, Sharon got us to create an 'Evil Eye Makeup' look, using characteristics seen in many villains over the years. These may include an extremely exaggerated arched brow, and slanted eyes such as:

Cruella Deville (101 Dalmations)

Maleficent (Sleeping Beauty)

Ursula (The Little Mermaid)

These characterictics even work on male characters, such as Jafar (Aladdin),

Even animal villains such as Scar (The Lion King).

Here is the look I created on myself, using some of these traits:

Dirtying down, how to break down an artist/models make-up. Dirt, stained teeth, and dirty hair

Dirtying the skin

Dirtying down your model includes getting dirt in the creases of the face, hands and under the nails. There's also a really easy way of making the teeth look unbrushed and dirty.

Equipment used:

-Greasepaints (black, brown & red)

-Krylon Tooth enamel

-Brill Cream (to give hair a greasy appearance)

-Colored hair spray

-Dry shampoo

-Cotton buds

-Makeup brushes

-Methylated spirits (removal of tooth enamel)

Using Tooth Enamel

•     Have your model open their mouth and dry the tooth with a cotton bud.

•     Apply either the black, brown tooth enamel onto the tooth and keep the lip raised to allow the color to dry.

•     Next shade around the edges of the teeth to create a 3D, more realistic effect

•     Always check the teeth throughout the shoot and have toothpicks and cotton buds on set so that you can correct the teeth.

•     For removal take a small amount of methylated spirit onto a cotton bud and gently roll on the tooth.

Dirtying Down

•     Start by applying a moisturizer to areas that you want to appear the dirtiest on the skin.

•     Next spray colored hairspray to make the area darker on the skin or you could use some grease paints (remember to use the correct color of “dirt” for the surroundings that you are shooting in).

•     Then apply brill cream to make the roots of the hair appear greasy, as this is the area that becomes greasy first.

•     Spray a very small amount of dry shampoo on the middle and ends of the model’s hair to make it look dull. 

•     Always make sure you have dirtied down any areas of clothing or other body parts such as neck, chest, hands, forearms and possibly feet that need to be dirtied down to create a really authentic look.