It has been some time since I shared anything from my days working in the makeup effect industry in Los Angeles in the early 2000s. To be honest, I am shocked I still have things to share. After nearly twenty years, you would think I would have shared it all, but you would be wrong. From the archives, I present to you from season 5 of Angel, episode 20, the Lackey Demons.
Before I get too far into this, I must remind everyone that this work is a collaboration of many talented artists and technicians. I was but one of many that brought these things to life. This time around, I dealt with the seaming and painting of the makeup for the male butler Lackey Demon. After twenty years, I have a vague memory of who designed, sculpted, molded, cast, and made the hair for this demon, but I am likely to get names wrong, so forgive the lack of credit to the rest of the work.
These two were a rush job if I remember correctly. There was not a lot going on for us in this episode, and these were a late addition. This is not gospel, just my memories. As badly as I had wanted to be part of the design phase of these two, I was not allowed to. Things were already souring for me at the shop, and the rising friction that led to me leaving LA was already manifesting. Here are the Lackey Demons on set in the makeup trailer.
Lackey Demons from season 5 of Angel, episode 20 - The Girl in Question
(Look at all those secrets and Easter Eggs on the wall behind these two)
I do not have the designs for these in my archives. Which is a pity since they were fun designs. If I recall, there were not that many designs, and I don't think there were any revisions or changes, Production saw them, approved them, and we started working on them. We had to have done a life cast of the actors, but I don't have any photos from the process (which was one of my jobs - oops). Once there was a form to sculpt on, the sculptor got to work.
The face sculpt of the male Lackey Demon near completion.
One of the reasons I still have so many images of all the steps in the process of these makeups and effects was that it was my responsibility to document EVERYTHING that happened in the shop. Which is fun and all, but you would think I had murdered someone if one image was missing.
Once the sculpting was completed and approved, the different pieces were molded and cast in foam latex. The female Lackey Demon was cast in silicone, because reasons. Now that there was an object for me to work on, I got to work seaming the cowl, cleaning up the cowl and face, and painting.
Not the most inspiring of my work, but it got the job done.
If I recall, as usual, I had about three seconds to paint this, which is always fun, not stressful and allowed me to do my best work.
Do not forget about the cowl.
For every makeup, there are two: the face piece and the cowl - no more, no less (not really).
This cowl got an even faster paint job than usual.
Once you put the two pieces together, you can see the monster coming together. It was always challenging to paint two objects that were meant to eventually be one. Especially when you needed to ensure the face piece kept a clean thin edge for blending and attaching. This was more of a challenge when the monster had a complex pattern or design. This one was a lot more fleshy and straightforward.
Face piece and cowl together at last. RAWR!
You might have noticed from the first image that the final demon has a mustache, hair, and comb over. This was all created by our amazing hair person, and she always did a fantastic job. Here is the painted makeup with the hair elements placed so you can get a feel for how it would look. We often would send images like this with the makeup to set, just in case one of us was not around to guide the person applying the makeup. You would be amazed at what some of them would do if you were not watching.
Face piece, cowl, and hair! You nearly have a demon now.
I didn't go to set with these, and I have never seen this episode, so I have no idea how they turned out on the show. One day I really need to go back and watch all the shows and movies I worked on to see if we did a good job or not. Here again, is a nothing image of the Lackey Demons on set in the makeup trailer.
I feel so judged by the way they are looking at me.
Somehow, there are still more things I have tucked away in the archives that I can share. I will bring you them as soon as I can find the time.
That is all for another exciting Wednesday on the blog. See you back here on Freiday. Until then...
