Hair/makeup/photography Portfolio.

I have spent some time over the last few days adjusting the layout of my images so they are print ready for a portfolio project I am currently undertaking at Uni. Many still need editing or 'perfecting' shall we say, but I thought I'd post a few of my images so that you can see the kind of things I work on for projects.

Tribal inspired feather design.

The brief requirement for the above image was 'Tribal'. Tribal is an extremely broad theme, although to most it denotes body paint and tribal tattoo art, the meaning behind tribal rituals are extremely conceptual and often overlooked for design purposes. I didn't want to recreate a generic tribal image, rather take an element of tribal culture and ritual and incorporate it into a beauty look. Feathers were my chosen symbolic element, with feathers - especially Eagle - used to represent things such as honor, bravery, love and friendship within tribes. With reference to artists such as Lucy McRae http://www.lucymcrae.net/home/, I created a mask like effect on the face of the model for a more powerful image and contrast.

Alice in Wonderland/Fantasy inspired design.

The above image, as you may have guessed is inspired by Alice in Wonderland. I have a passion for fairytale/fantasy when it comes to design concepts so this is something I really got in to, plus what better reason to read the book - again. This project came at the time when Tim Burton had just released his take on Wonderland, and this was something that I didn't want to reflect too heavily in my work. I used reference points from the original illustrations of Alice in the books for styling and hair design and incorporated that with the darker more twisted elements that are often overlooked in such childhood favourites. Blue was a colour theme taken from the colour of Alice's dress, used to enhance features and props as opposed to hiding the character.

Gothic horror inspired design. ('Claudia' - Created for a  'Sci-Fright' themed project)

Gothic horror inspired design. ('Quentin' - Created for a 'Sci-Fright' themed project)

Both of the above images came from a project entitled 'Sci-Fright night'. The brief outlined a narrative plot consisting of about 4 characters, each with an adaptable trait. With free reign of recreating a version of the basic narrative I focused on the Characters Quentin and Claudia. The key concept is difficult to explain in a short post - I only just about managed it through two sketchbooks. But I shall attempt it, in short; Claudia is an agoraphobic who never leaves her house and her only visitors are her neighbour and her boyfriend 'Quentin'. In Claudia's world Quentin is very real, however Quentin died many years ago and the person Claudia see's is actually a ghost. Due to her reclusive behaviour Claudia is addicted to Gothic Horror films, and it was whilst role playing a scene from her favourite vampire film when she killed Quentin - confusing reality with fiction and becoming convinced he was a vampire. Convinced she is a vampire too, Claudia never leaves the house in fear of being exposed.

A bit of a long post so I'll leave the photo sharing for now! I'll post some more at a later date.

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