Monster Master Class
With Dave Elsey F
amous Monsters must know me pretty well. I’ve always had a soft spot for Werewolves.
I once had great fun on a movie called BLACK SHEEP, which
was about Werewolf Sheep, because I was starting to think I would never get the chance to do a really great Werewolf! Little did I know I would one day win an Oscar with my pal Rick Baker for the makeup work on Benicio del Toro and Anthony Hopkins for Universal’s THE WOLFMAN! I don’t have to tell the readers of this magazine that Rick is a werewolf expert, having created one of the best werewolves in Cinema history on AN AMERICAN WEREWOLF IN LONDON. Like James Bond, nobody does it better than him. Among my favourite Werewolf movies (and I have a lot) is Universal’s badly undervalued WEREWOLF OF LONDON, which was made in 1935. Some of the original design features of this makeup remain strikingly effective. This may have something to do with the fact that the mold was anything but set for Werewolf movies when the movie was made, and it predates THE WOLF MAN by six years. The makeup is very streamlined in WEREWOLF OF
LONDON. To be honest, its star, Henry Hull, had no time for what he considered to be Jack Pierce’s laborious makeup procedures, and wanted something that could be done fairly quickly and didn’t cover his good looks too much. I can only imagine how annoyed the famously prickly Mr. Pierce
must have been when he heard of this, and yet (true to form) Pierce delivered a makeup that was iconic and cool in its own right. The relative simplicity also makes this makeup a great one to emulate without making expensive appliances, etc. As Pierce so often proved, simple doesn’t have to mean boring. Simple can be terrifyingly spectacular! And so, for this makeup demonstration, I wanted to create a look
that pays tribute to Pierce’s groundbreaking makeup. And maybe add a couple of modern tweaks, too. The only problem I faced was how to do this without the right amount of fog-shrouded atmosphere. I don’t know if you’ve noticed this, but many of the best
Werewolf movies take place in the badly-lit streets of England’s capital city. So that’s where I created this monster makeup, on one autumnal evening in London.
For this creation you will need.
1. Pros-Aide glue 2. Cabosil (Fumed Silica)
or Thickend Pros-
Aide (Cabopatch or Bondo) 3. Spirit gum 4. Spirit gum remover 5. Crepe hair/wool (A selection of colors to match your victim’s hair, plus a grey shade to use as a highlight) 6. Paper cups with lids 7. Tongue depressors (From a hobby shop) or just plastic spoons 8. Latex 9. Artist’s Paint brushes 10. Translucent powder, or just Talcum Powder 11. Fake teeth. I used an excellent brand called Werewolf fangs made by Billy Bob. Available from
http://www.billybobteeth-direct.co.uk/
12. Contact lenses (optional). I use some cool red ones from FX eyes. Available from
http://www.fxeyes.com/ 13. Cotton buds 14. False fingernails (If you are going to show the hands) 15. Proclean 16. Hair gel 17. KY Jelly 18. Rubber mask Grease Paint 19. ‘Grunge’ Skin Illustrator Professional makeup pallet, and skin illustrator activator 20. A water Spritzer 21. Scissors 22. A fine tooth comb 23. Mascara Wand
FAMOUS MONSTERS OF FILMLAND • JAN/FEB 2012
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