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.
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
Types of Special Effects Prosthetics Can Create
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.
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.
Revolutionary Full-Service Prosthetic Lab
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.
Each step in the process is a process in itself.
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.