After weeks of preparation for The International Makeup Artist Trade Show, Cinema Makeup school headed over to Pasadena armed with makeup kits, creativity, and amazingly talented artists ready to take the convention by storm.
The Weekend
The first two days of IMATS were packed with a variety of makeup demos from Magdalena Murrieta’s body paint, Rebecca Vandervort’s special makeup effects 22-piece prosthetic application to special guest artists Vanessa Davis and Fernanda Machado. Day 3 of the convention featured work of new IMATS artist Sarah Contreras, a current CMS student, who below talks about her experience as a first-time demo artist for the convention.
Sarah prepared concept art for an airbrush makeup application for her model “The school and I decided it was going to be a beauty-based look rather than anything scary. So, I went back to some animal references and loved the look of dragonfly wings. I decided to create a newer look from one of my older designs and make it an upper body and back application with airbrush and body paint, as these are the materials that I am most familiar and confident in… The root source of my inspiration was dragonflies, and Queen Amidala from Star Wars.”
To ensure everything went smoothly on the day of application, Sarah completed a test makeup ahead of time where she was able to adjust her look and timing as needed. “One of the most important tasks for a MUA when prepping for something like this is doing a TEST MAKEUP prior to the event. This helped me figure out what works and what doesn’t as well as gain some muscle memory for my application. So that on the event date, you will be prepared, know what to expect and execute your look efficiently.”
With her preparation and test makeup, Sarah was able to make her concept come to life- literally. “My favorite part about my IMATS/Demo experience was simply creating the look. It felt second nature to me. Creating a character that is from your heart is the most satisfying thing to me as a makeup artist.”
Overall, demoing a makeup at a convention as large as IMATS can be nerve-wracking, but worth the time and effort put into the preparation in order to come out with a wonderful makeup that gives the artist an unforgettable experience and the opportunity to meet and showcase their work to industry professionals.
“I would highly recommend this opportunity to another CMS student! You meet and spend great quality time with so many amazing people (like Ve Neill and Leonard Engleman)! It is also a great chance to show the public your skills…If the opportunity arises, trust your gut and go for it. Learning, experimenting, adapting and improving yourself is important as an artist.”
Check out more of Sarah’s work on her Instagram: @misfitsarahmua.
As expected, IMATS was a wonderful experience this year. Special thanks to the CMS crew that made the epic booth possible this year.
Follow us:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cinemamakeupschool/
Facebook: http://fb.com/cinemamakeupschoolfanpage/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/cinemamakeup
E-Mail: [email protected]
