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Solent Student
Studying Hair and Make Up Design
Bruises: Body
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Taken from my 'Black Eye' Blog Post
I'd argue this is one of the more difficult parts of special effects because a bad black truly looks awful. There is a requirement of having a basic understanding biology when constructing bruises because the colours used are related the healing period of a bruise. The more yellow a bruise is, the older it is. It shows that it has nearly healed. The edges of a bruise can be yellowish because this means this area of the skin didn't receive as much trauma.
It's paying close attention to minuscule details like this that make your work better. I've photographed my bruises from of the years, because I obtain a lot of them in the most random of ways because no two bruises are the same. It's good to work from a photograph. It helps you create realism.
Bruisewheels are treated just like greasepaints.
Much like a black eye, creating bruises on the body is very similar. From my own observations I have noticed that bruises on the body tend to be less shiny. I think is to do with how our thick on skin is on various places on our body and what has caused the bruise. When I dislocated my knee, my knee turned black. This is because of the amount of trauma my knee received. Swelling also contributes to how bruises form.
Growing up with a semi professional paintballer as a father, I saw many types of bruising. Whether it was from where he'd banged himself on something out in the field or some an absolute pelting he'd taken while playing. They are things I think back to when creating bruises. It's always important to remember that when creating bruises to do it in stages, while it's still fairly to remove it's better to try and not do it otherwise you'll upset the layers underneath what you've already applied.
Another to consider is the age of the person you're putting a bruise on. Elderly people are more prone to bruises because their skin is thinner and the tissue underneath is more likely to become more damaged. Skin tones are very important too. If someone has a medium skin tone there are going to be more yellow tones in it.
Here I have created a bruise on someone who is pale but has yellow undertones to her skin. I made sure that I looked at what bruises look like on her skin tone before I started. This made it easier and there was less of a margin for error because I'd done my research before hand. I had never tried to create a bruise using isopropyl before and I have to say it's now my favourite method. I still go in with greasepaints from time to time but I think that it 'sits' better on the skin if it's been ' watered ' down in the manner I've described in this post.
I'd argue this is one of the more difficult parts of special effects because a bad black truly looks awful. There is a requirement of having a basic understanding biology when constructing bruises because the colours used are related the healing period of a bruise. The more yellow a bruise is, the older it is. It shows that it has nearly healed. The edges of a bruise can be yellowish because this means this area of the skin didn't receive as much trauma.
It's paying close attention to minuscule details like this that make your work better. I've photographed my bruises from of the years, because I obtain a lot of them in the most random of ways because no two bruises are the same. It's good to work from a photograph. It helps you create realism.
Bruisewheels are treated just like greasepaints.
Much like a black eye, creating bruises on the body is very similar. From my own observations I have noticed that bruises on the body tend to be less shiny. I think is to do with how our thick on skin is on various places on our body and what has caused the bruise. When I dislocated my knee, my knee turned black. This is because of the amount of trauma my knee received. Swelling also contributes to how bruises form.
Growing up with a semi professional paintballer as a father, I saw many types of bruising. Whether it was from where he'd banged himself on something out in the field or some an absolute pelting he'd taken while playing. They are things I think back to when creating bruises. It's always important to remember that when creating bruises to do it in stages, while it's still fairly to remove it's better to try and not do it otherwise you'll upset the layers underneath what you've already applied.
Another to consider is the age of the person you're putting a bruise on. Elderly people are more prone to bruises because their skin is thinner and the tissue underneath is more likely to become more damaged. Skin tones are very important too. If someone has a medium skin tone there are going to be more yellow tones in it.
Tools:
- Bruise Wheel
- Supra Colour
- Stipple Sponge
- Palette
- Isopropyl Alcohol
Method:
- Take some of the colour you are starting with and mix this with Isopropyl Alcohol. This 'waters' down the product and makes it easier to build up colour. Greasepaints blend really easily but they are really pigmented and this can work against you.
- Using a latex sponge, stipple this Isopropyl mixture onto the skin where you are creating the bruise. I like this because the sponge holds the mixture well and distributes the colour well.
- Repeat this step with the other colours that you are going to use.
- When you are completely happy with your bruise, take a small piece of black stippling sponge and apply some of a dark red/maroon sparsely onto your bruise. This gives the illusion of broken capillaries.
Here I have created a bruise on someone who is pale but has yellow undertones to her skin. I made sure that I looked at what bruises look like on her skin tone before I started. This made it easier and there was less of a margin for error because I'd done my research before hand. I had never tried to create a bruise using isopropyl before and I have to say it's now my favourite method. I still go in with greasepaints from time to time but I think that it 'sits' better on the skin if it's been ' watered ' down in the manner I've described in this post.
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