Make-Up Artist

By Chloe Gurney

Money

• To start off you get £15,000

• As you get more experienced you can earn up to £45,000 a year

Qualifications

• Most make-up artists start by taking a relevant course in make-up or beauty therapy and building up their practical experience.

• Specialist media make-up courses include:• BTEC National Certificate or Diploma in Production Arts (Make-up) • VTCT Level 3 Diploma in Theatrical and Media Make-up • ITEC Level 3 Diploma in Fashion, Theatre and Media Make-up • foundation degrees, BTEC HNCs/HNDs and degrees in media

make-up, intensive courses at private make-up schools. • For some of these, you may need to have taken a course in general

beauty therapy and hairdressing such as an NVQ level 2 – you should check entry requirements with course providers.

Jobs in a normal day• Make-up artists prepare make-up and hair for anyone appearing in front of a camera

or a live audience in film, television, theatre, concerts, photographic shoots or fashion shows.

• As a make-up artist, you could create anything from a straightforward natural look to period wigs and make-up, or special effects such as scars and prosthetics.

• You could work alone, as an assistant to a senior colleague or as part of a larger hair and make-up design team. Depending on the job, your tasks might include:

• researching and designing make-up and hairstyles to suit the production • working to detailed notes or a rough design brief • applying 'corrective' make-up for a natural look • hair tidying and styling • fitting wigs, hairpieces and 'bald caps' • applying prosthetic make-up to completely change a performer's appearance • making notes and taking photographs to keep continuity • standing by on set to re-do make-up and hair • keeping work areas and equipment clean and tidy.

Promotion prospects

• Depending on the nature of the job, make-up artists work alone, as assistants to a more senior colleague or as part of a make-up design team.

Other Interesting Aspects• As well as taking a relevant make-up course, you should gain

practical experience, build a portfolio of your work to show to employers, and develop a network of contacts in the industry.

• You can get useful experience in various ways, such as:• backstage in amateur theatre • student film, theatre and photography projects • charity or student fashion shows • work experience with established make-up artists and

photographers. • Once you have built up some experience and made some contacts,

your first paid work in film or TV may be as a trainee or assistant to the make-up team. You might also find casual work as a 'daily', doing the make-up and hair for extras in crowd scenes