PROSTHETICS

PROSTHETICS

If you want to make an extreme change to the appearance of your performers’ faces, heads or bodies, you’ll want us to use prosthetics. 

Prosthetics are devices that are placed on performers to change the physical shape of their faces or bodies. Makeup seamlessly blends prosthetics into the surrounding areas.

Types of Special Effects Prosthetics Can Create

Special effects makeup layers prosthetics on top of a performer’s skin to create extreme effects.

We can create any prosthetic special effects your productions may need, including:

  • Missing parts of the face, such as eyes, nose, ears or mouth
  • Sunken features
  • Swollen/distorted features or body parts
  • Changes to the shape of features to look like something else
  • Cuts, burns and scars
  • Aging and weight gain
  • Objects, such as a knife or rebar, jutting out of a body part
  • Things lying underneath the skin
  • Objects attached to the skin
  • Creature/Monster heads or body parts

Actor-Friendly Prosthetics

Although wearing makeup is part of the actor’s job and most actors will work with what they are given, how comfortable they are directly affects the quality of the production.

Thick, heavy prosthetics are tiring to wear. They weigh down the actor, limiting freedom and suppressing creativity.

StevieFX prosthetics are noticeably different. They’re thinner and lighter, literally taking the weight off your actors to allow them to perform to their true potential.

Actors who have worn StevieFX prosthetics prefer them to traditional prosthetics.

Revolutionary Full-Service Prosthetic Lab

At StevieFX, we are prosthetic specialists. We can create prosthetics from:

  • Silicone
  • Foam latex
  • Gelatin
  • Bondo

We also make custom prosthetic teeth to fit the look of the character.

The materials that we choose to make our prosthetic molds is key to having them stand up to the demands of production.

We have 20+ years of experience in the traditional process of creating prosthetic makeup, as detailed on this website, as well as our own Out of Kit system, which is unique to us.

They can, of course, be used separately. But for truly spectacular results, we combine them together to create a look that no other studio can match.

Prosthetic System Comparison

Traditional Process

The traditional process can produce any effect with unique custom prosthetics that fit the performer like a second skin.

Advantages:

  • Custom look
  • Custom fit

Disadvantages:

  • Time intensive
  • Can’t make changes after the sculpting phase without starting over
  • Limited in the amount of material that can be added before looking too bulky

Out of Kit System

Out of Kit maximizes the quality of effects that makeup artists can create without slowing the production timeline.

Advantages:

  • Speeds up design and application process
  • More comfortable for performers
  • Adaptable to changes in vision
  • One-step application can be performed on set, if needed

Disadvantages:

  • Some limitations on effects

Hybrid process

Combining traditional and Out of Kit systems unlocks an entirely new range of incredibly realistic possibilities.

Advantages:

  • More comfortable for actors
  • Moves in a more realistic way
  • More streamlined, less bulky
  • Greater flexibility for changes
  • Looks real, even close up

Disadvantages:

  • None

Our Process Keep Pace with Demand

As the industry gets faster and faster, if makeup can’t keep up, it will slow down production and increase costs.

Our revolutionary process completely changes the game. We never compromise quality. We get incredibly realistic effects that are more comfortable and lightweight for the actors at an unbeatable speed.

Spectrograph Color Matching

Color is one of the most important considerations in special effects makeup. Nothing screams “fake” more than an applied prosthetic that is even a slightly different color than the performer’s skin. For that reason, we take precise spectrograph readings of performers for a perfect match, every time.

Silicone Prosthetics

Although we will always use the best material for the job, we make most of our prosthetics using silicone.

Silicone is amazing stuff and is very adaptable to different needs.

We can make it springy to simulate young flesh. Or less dense to simulate aging skin. We can dye it to any color to perfectly match any skin tone. And it holds an extremely high level of detail to create close-up worthy effects.

The Creative Process at Stevie FX

Building Prosthetics is part of a larger creative process at StevieFX, generally consisting of:

See Tattoos to find out about the Creative Process for Tattoos.

Like most creative processes, this is not always linear. Some productions jump in at different phases of the process and there may be multiple iterations of any steps, if needed.

Each step in the process is a process in itself.

Like most creative processes, this is not always linear. Some productions jump in at different phases of the process and there may be multiple iterations of any steps, if needed.

Want to learn more about how we can make your vision become a reality?

CONTACT STEVIEFX