Cyborg
Cyborgs are found in many aspects of performance as there is much interest in the unknown, many sci-fi films explore this concept in differing surroundings and situations. It is an interesting field of makeup to look at, as there are many different approaches that can be taken to create a cyborg. Cyborgs are a combination of mechanical and biological elements combined to create one being. The mechanical elements may or may not be visible, whereas the biological elements are generally always visible. There are many examples of cyborgs within performance, some examples are The Terminator, Ex Machina, David from Prometheus, Ash from the film Alien to name a few.
This area of the makeup design will be particularly interesting to explore as it combines both the mechanical with the human. Much of the experimentation and exploration will include the design and approach to creating realistic metal components. However a large aspect of cyborg makeup is taking the human being and altering it very slightly in order to create a being that looks mostly human with elements that create the idea of something being slightly wrong. The "perfect" human is also a large aspect of cyborg makeup to consider as machienes are generally designed to have the most desired features to make them look appealing.
Brick in the Yard Mold Supply (2013) Lifecasting Gel-10 Headcast Available From: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7GHvuqDHpec Date Accessed: 27/01/2015
Perfect Human
An initial concept for a makeup design was to create a 'Perfect Human'. This would involve very subtle prosthetic pieces to slightly alter the face to make it symmetrical and well structured. To create a prosthetic piece that has no visible edges with a perfectly flawless finish it would be necessary to create an entire face piece that applied smoothly in one. This is due to the edges that would be visible if placed in smaller pieces on the face. Looking into existing films concerning cyborgs it is noticeable that the faces have thick skin which is not quite the consistency of human flesh and the structure of the face is more precise and angular. It would be necessary to alter the shaping of cheekbones and the jaw to create a smooth finish as no one person has a perfectly even face. Films such as Ex Machina, Terminator, I Robot and Westworld, among many have cyborgs which have very defined and flawless faces. To create a makeup that worked effectively the whole process must be completed to an extremely high standard with very neat finishes. Another element of the design would be to create a back to the head, in order to create a full, cohesive final look. There are many ways in which this could be completed, these have been described later on this page.
This article from Empire Magazine concerning the new film Ex Machina details the advancement in technology and the materials and capabilities to which artificial intelligence is reaching. Cyborgs are no longer primarily made of metal as it is not flexible and has a shelf life before it starts to decay. Within the film Ava, the cyborg's brain is mafe of a '"structured gel" rather than circuitry'. 'If we are going to achieve this is the near future, it's going to require something dramatically different, in terms of how you can pack the necessay amount of switching elements into a small amount of matter'. (Salisbury.M, 2015) This matter of materials is worth considering as technology advances the cyborgs will be made of more technological materials making them smaller and become more advanced in abilites.
Looking in articles concerning makeup with extremely smooth finishes, one which revealed itself is the makeup that was applied for Angelina Jolie in Maleficent. There have been five small pieces applied to her face in order to create an eerie, slightly altered version of herself. This look creates more pronounced cheekbones, a ridge in the nose and two pointed ears. The pieces are extremely subtle and work very effectivly. This enforces the idea that subtly can work more powerfully than extreme, bold makeup. This would be a perfect exmple to base a "Perfect Human" makeup upon as the final result has an extremely powerful visual effect. Rick Baker designed the makeup to specifically only alter the face in slight twists, he wanted Jolie to remain recogniseable but with elements of magic and fairytales.
Goodwin. J. (2013) Robots Find Love in Winston-Designed 'Heartbeeps', Makeup Artist Magazine, No. 101 April/May, Pg 72-73
A very important aspect of cyborg to consider is the fine line between cyborg and body enhancement through technology, this could be classified as body modification. The idea is that a cyborg is a mechanical being created from scratch with biological elements added to the frame, however at what point does a biological being with mechanical elements added become cyborg. Most would be inclined to say that it must be a base of the mechanical such as Terminator and Alien, however there are examples such as the Cybermen in Doctor Who which are humans with mechanics merged with their bodies. There is one episode in which a reccurent character gets turned into a cyberman, we see the inside of the helmet, he has be fused with the metal to become one. This is a prime example of Cyborg. The makeup is also interesting to look at, as the structure of the helment makes the face have a structured shaping contouring the face with stong lines. The face has also been distorted by the mechanical elements that have fused with his flesh. The points are located on the bone structure of the actor, this makes it seem more believable as the helment needs to attach on to a point of strength in the skull. The colour scheme is interesting as it is relativly simple, with dark rings around the eyes, using a base tone of the metallic element of the machiene to create a coheisve look. The skin also has slight colouration and shadowing to emphasis the machine merging with skin. This design has been created for pre watershed television and therefore cannot be too visually scarring and scary. This has reached a good level, as it conveys the brutality of the situation however the final look is not harrowing enough to haunt children.
Salisbury.M. (2015) Human Cyborg Relations, Empire Magazine, No. 104 February, Pg 110-113
Bielik.A. (2014) Tv Minute 'Metal' Make-up, Makeup Artist Magazine, No. 111 October/November, Pg 24
Koseluk.C. (2014) From 'X' to 'Evil' Summer movies of 2014, Makeup Artist Magazine, No. 109 August/September, Pg 58-62
There is an article in the Makeup Artist Magazine that details the use of undercuts to create a successful mould. The general idea is that an ice cube tray is filled with silicone and allowed to set. These blocks are then used in the mould making process. When applying the silicone to the face. First Apply the detail layer to the face to pick up all of the detail, apply the second thicker layer to the face, while this is drying and becomes tacky stick the cubes into the silicone. Place evenly, apply more silicone over these to make sure that they are thoroguhly attached to the mould. Finally apply the final layer of plaster bandage over the silicone make sure to get the plaster tightly around the protrusions and allow to set. when removed from the face the silicone will fit perfectly into the plaster making sure that it goes back to its original position perfectly each time. There is a scanned copy of the article precisely detailing the process. Turi. J. (2013) Using Undercuts to Your Advantage, Makeup Artist Magazine, No. 104 October/November, Pg 78 Although this was researched in the actual lifecast of the face they were not used as the silicone was very thin and therefore would not support the weight of the pieces.
Lifecasting In Silicone
These photographs display the process of creating a lifecast using silicone. For this application pro gel 10 was used, the first layer was completed simply as a thin layer, the second the silicone was mixed with polyfibers to create a thicker substance that set quicker and did not run as much on the face. The only issue that occured through this process was that the silicone stuck to the hairs on the model's face, although vaselined the hairs stuck. To rectify this process in the future one must make sure to apply excessive amount of vaseline to the model's hair in order to ensure that the silicone comes off the skin smoothly.
WonderlexxFossshape (2012) II - Using Fossshape [Online] Available From: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZlVPimbJfSg Date Accessed: 01/02/2015
It is important to research into existing makeups that have previously be created to understand other artist's techniques and concepts, as this could help to improve anothers skill. There is an article in Makeup Artist Magazine details a television series 'Metal Hurlant Chronicles' in the article it is described what the designer was looking for within his team, also the idea that 'Metal Makeup' needs to be precise and formulated in order to create a realistic metal looking design. Another component that was crucial to the design was creativity, thinking outside of the box in order to produce the most effective final result. It is crucial to create a smooth finish on a metal makeup in order for it to believeable therefore this is an important asepct to focus on in the sculpting stage of the process.
Fullerton.H (2014) Doctor Who, Danny Pink: In Memorium [Online Image] Available From: http://www.radiotimes.com/uploads/images/original/61314.png Date Accessed: 15/02/2015
As mentioned earlier the Perfect Human was an intitial design idea. To create the whole look a structured face would have been sculpted and cast as a singular full face piece, however the back of the head would have remained as it was. Therefore to make the whole look more effective research was conducted into the creation of a cowl. The intial idea was to take a cast of the models head covered in a bald cap to ensure the final result fit perfectly. This would be cast in alignate and the plaster. From this a vacume formed shell could have been created which could be cut down to size and fit perfectly around the model's head. This could then be coloured with a black base layer and silver paint layered on top. This could be created with acrylic paint or a spray paintcan of metallic colouring, the black base layer helps to block out any colour that may come from beneath (the colour of the hair) it also helps to make the top colour stand out better. This was the initial concept. Another was to create a fibreglass shell, this would have been created in a similar method, taking the cast of the head, however either in silicone, or alginate and moulding over the plaster positive with silicone and fibreglassing into this silicone mould. However this would be a very rigid structure. It would however be lightweight and can be pigmented in the process. It would be important to ensure that the outer edge was smooth as this wil be the final finish on the shell.
Lifecasting Materials
There are many ways to cast a lifecast on a person, there are a great many materials that can be used. The primary material is to use alginate in which you can cast a plaster face. However after one running of plaster, the alginate is likely to rip or break which therefore means that it can only be run once. Other ways in which you can mould a face are to use lifecasting silicone, such as Go Cast, which is a material that can be applied directly to the face and picks up all the minute details of the face. However there is another way of creating silicone lifecasts, which uses Pro Gel 10. This video to the right displays the tehnique of creating a lifecast with this material. It is not the conventional method for creating a lifecast, however it works out slightly cheaper than the Go Cast silicone moulding kit. When creating a silicone mould it is possible to fibreglass straight into the cast to produce a fibreglass positive. This therefore cuts out the process of casting the aliginate, then plaster and finally the silicone before being able to make a fibreglass positive of the face. The dilema is that it costs more to create a direct silicone cast of the face than the alginate method, however the alginate method is much more time consuming.
The third methodology that could be used to create a shell for the head would be to use a soft material or fabric that represents the concept of a mechanical shell. This is due to the fact that progressing technologies require easier movement in the cyborg, this may mean that thin, lightweight interlinking materials could be used to create the shell. A mettalic coloured fabric could be used over a shell, such as the vacum formed shell to create the illusion of a moveable material The final methodology that was found used a material call Fossshape, it is a fabric that can be heated and shrinks to the shape it is formed around and becomes hard. The video above displays the process of using the material. If one were to get a block the size of the model's head and place pieces of the material on it, sew these together and heat with a heat gun they would form a shell, that is ridgid, yet realitvely soft for the model to wear. This could then be painted to resemble a mettalic material. However there may be a problem with stray hairs, this material appears to be like felt and therefore may have slight hairs that stick out of the shape, this would therefore not be suitable for film or television as the cameras would pick up the minute details, however it could be used for theatre or fashion shoots.
The Fifth Element
The film the Fifth Element is set in outer space with many characters that have exciting designs and concepts. Some of these concepts involve robotics and cyborg-like elements. They provide great inspiration as to potential designs and ways in which machienery can be utlized for productive use. These designs have been chosen for their concepts and potentiallity for further designs.
Wendy Smith (2011) A very Human-like Robot Invented by Japanese Scientists [Online] Available From: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MaTfzYDZG8c Date Accessed: 27/01/2015
First Ever Human Robots Invented by Japanese Scientists,Spirit Scienece and Metaphysics (N.D.) Available From: http://www.spiritscienceandmetaphysics.com/first-ever-human-robots-invented-by-japanese-scientists/ Date Accessed: 27/01/2015
Exisiting Examples of the Cyborg
Obviously robots are not cyorgs, however their movement and appearance is similar to a cyborg. Robotics have developed in technology extortionatly over the past decade and the abilities of those creating them have also increase with this. This is partly due to advanced machinery but also knowledge. This video to the right displays a robot that has been created by Japanese scientists, it has a human-like flesh that covers the surface, with hair and eyes to match a real human being. This can be the basis for development of a cyborg creation, to note their abilities or lack thereof and build upwards from this point. The robots are unable to do many things that a real human can do such as blush however technology is progressing to allow it to complete regualr tasks at extraordinary levels. Movement is becoming more fluid and speech moree lifelike. The Japanese suggest that 'We'll see robots take over repetative tasks and data management' implicating that robots are becoming more reliable and useful. It is important to note their physical attributes, location of certain equipment to replicate in a cyborg design.
Cyberware
There are some people who have used advanced technologies to further advance their bodies in order for them to have certain abilities or be able to record sets of data. Cyberware is the act of inserting hardware or machinery into a human being. Various companies are working on creating a hands-free mouse or keyboard, the technology uses brain signals to control computer functions. These interfaces are called Brain-Machine Interfaces. At the current time, these technologies are very expensive and therefore is progressing very slowly. The technology has reached a point where limited control over a computer is possible. A quadriplegic man was able to compose and check his emails using a cyberkinetic chip called BrainGate created by a company in massachusetts. A type of cyberware included prosthetic pieces, with their intentions to create a natural functionality and appearance. Experiments have been conducted where microprocessors are capable of controlling movements of an artificial limb through being attached to severed nerve endings in the subject. (Scientific American (1996) Controlling Computers with Neural Signals [Online] Available From: http://www.nature.com/scientificamerican/journal/v275/n4/pdf/scientificamerican1096-82.pdf; Date Accessed: 05/01/2015
MotherBoard (2013) Experimenting with Biochip Implants [Online] Available From: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=clIiP1H3Opw Date Accessed: 15/01/2015
Cyborg Sculpts
Designs
The First step in the porcess of creating prosthetic pieces is to create desigs from which to work, in order to produce the most effective and visually striking overall look possible. Creating a series of designs allows one to select the elements which work best from each design and merge them together to produce the most effective result. It is important to take note of anatomy when designing a character for example: the mechanical elements cannot be screwed into flesh they should be mounted on bone. These are some of the designs created for the cyborg makeup and the progession through the stages.
Another aspect of creating a realistic final metallic makeup is to look at reference, look at machienes and existing materials that inspiration can be drawn from. It is also important to consider the development of technology and materials, as these new materials and techniques will be used to create the future designs and allow for more advanced concpets to come to life. Makeup Artist Magazine has an article 'Robots Find Love in Winston- Designed 'Heartbeeps'' in this article there are images of robotic sculpts and designs, they are clearly mechanically based, with structured shapes and contours and components such as bolts to hold the pieces together. However this film was created in 1981 and is therefore extremely dated considering the technology available at the time. This therefore means that although a good starting point for research the makeups that are designs are dated and should only be used for sculpting technique inspiration and concept. The structured face shapes are an interesting idea, however would have to be adapted to fit the concept of cybrog as it is a human/machine combination and therefore would need to fit together cohesively.
Running the Pieces
The pieces were run in both silicone and gelatin in order to experiment and see which came out the best. It also allows one to see which apply the better and have a smoother and more professional finish to the overall application. This mould was run multiple times in gelatin to try to create successful edges for application, however it seems the original casting was the best result. These are show below. Photogrpahs were not taken of the other pieces as they were immediately remelted and cast again. The pieces that were applied to the face csated model were silicone for the wound piece and eye piece and the chin was made from gelatin. The silicone had many issues when trying to run the piece, it proved much harder to inject the silicone than originally thought, it required mutliple people, however there was no extra help available. The cap plastic remained in the negative fibreglass mould meaning that no detail was picked up on the silicone piece and there was no encapsulating layer. This could hav occured for many reasons from too much cap plastic, a bad batch of cap plastic, the fibreglass being too fresh and therefore containing many chemicals which needed to be baked out or the silicone was an issue causing the cap plastic to detach from the silicone. The results of both experiments can be seen below.
Colouring Silicone
An important part of the makeup is to make sure that the final result looks like genuine machinery has been attached and implanted into the face, therefore it is necessary to explore the different technique for colouration and finish. There are many ways in which it can be coloured, from pigmenting the material before running the piece, to colouration afterwards with varying products, such as greaspaint, aquacolour, alcohol activated paints and various other materials. These photographs display the experiments conducted into finding the most effective colouration technique.
Applying the Pieces
These photographs show the final application of the pieces, with the colouration. There are three pieces which have been applied to the head, using prosaide glue, having recently worked on an extra-curricular film where snappy G was used it is now apparent that this is a much better adhesive for prosthetic application. This would therefore be the desired product to use, however it was unavailable for use at the time of application. Overall this first experimentation was unsuccessful, the pieces did not blend into the skin, due to the issue with the cap plastic as mentioned previously, the colour worked for some elements of the piece and the genuine metallic pieces created a realistic effect, but generally warrented a second attempt at the makeup.
This video displays a man implanting a device into his arm in order to record the temperature of his body and transfer this data to his computer. The machine is rechargeable through the skin, it has a coil that passes over the flesh to recharge the device. Although this is very basic technology it is a starting point for the development of machine implantation. It allows for the potential of an extrordinary range of possibilities. This video gives an overview of what is trying to be achieved, before and after the surgery and various information on the general subject of cyberware. It is an interesting video with lots of facts about the culture and why people believe in this adaptation of the body. It also shows the extremes that some individuals are willing to go through in order for 'progress'. It also provides a visual reference for genuine procedures and the way in which they are conducted and how they are placed after implantation. It opens a wide range of ideas as to the potential adaptations of the human body. This subject crosses over to body modification as the man in question has modified his body with machinery, which also means that it fits into the category of cyborg.
Besson.L, (1997) L'Histoire du Cinquieme Element Paris: Intervista
For a final experiment with the cyborg makeup a photoshop edit was conducted to see if the edges could be removed and made to loo more realistic and effective. The result of that experiment is shown to the right, with the original above. This shows that any makeup can be altered to produce a powerful result that looks professional and successful. The edges of the gelatin flatpiece have been removed aswell as the colouration of the photograph edited to create a more powerful contrast in colours. Overall this experimentation with the programme Photoshop has helped to understand the digital elements that can be used within the makeup allowing the piece to be used in any format.
Cyborg Experiment Two
Cyborg Examples
These photographs show a wide variety of films displaying a cyborg character within them, some have obvious mechanical elements, whereas others are more human-like with very little styling to distinguish them from another human being. It has been extremely helpful to research exisitng examples to see the way in which the designs have been approached, similarly the difference in style through the decades. The more recent the film, the higher tech the cyborg is, with more advanced materials. For example Ex Machina in comparison to Metropolis has extreme differences. Ex Machina is made from moveable materials with a hyper realistic face whereas Metropolis is made from metal components with very little movement except for at the joints. The shaping is also important to consider as the older cyborgs have harsher, straight lines, Whereas the more recent have smooth joints that conform to the body shape making them seem more realistic.
Injecting Silicone
To inject silisonce into the mould there must be two holes, these can be drilled into the fibreglass, one is to insert the end of the injection tube and the other is to allow air to escape the mould. These are called bleeder holes (they are mentioned on the foam latex page). The syringe must not have a latex rubber end on the plunger as this will inhibit the cure of the silicone causing it to fail. Make sure that release agent has ben thoroughl applied to the fibreglass to ensure that it detaches after casting. A mixture of IPA and Cap Plastic (Super Baldiez) in a ratio of 3:1 should be applied to the mould, with two or three layers. Once complete the injection process can begin. First the mould shold be closed with bolts tightened halfway. in order to allow the air to escape the mould. Mix the silicone, adding deadener if desired to get the consistnecy correct. Pour this mixture into the syringes, making sure to pour from a height to remove as many air bubbles as possible. Insert into the hole and push the silicone into the mould, try not to push the excess air from the syringe into the mould as this will create an air pocket in the piece. Leave the syringe in the top of the mould to prevent any air being sucked in. At this point tighten the bolts to fully close the mould. This completes the process, once cured after around 45 minutes open the mould, applying more IPA/Cap Plastic (Super Baldiez) to encapsulate the piece. Talcum powder and remove carefully. (Special Makeup Effects, Debreceni.T, Pg 165-166) Examples of this process being implimented can be found further down the page.
