Ekaterina Strukova: first-hand information about the work of a make-up artist in cinema

From the outside, the work of a make-up artist seems incredibly interesting and exciting, but few people know how the process of working on an actor’s image actually happens, who works on it and how to transform a person into a full-fledged character in a film. We are talking about all this today with our expert.

Ekaterina Strukova is a makeup and special effects artist in film and television with extensive experience. In 2016, she opened the first work shop in Ukraine for make-up artists, Strukovafx.com, and a store for every specialist in this industry, Makefx.com.ua. Ekaterina is the winner of the “Gold Dziga” award in the category “Best Make-up Artist” for the film “Brahma” in 2019, as well as a member of the jury of our project Pro Beauty Battle: Makeup , which is worth joining right now.

Well, let's begin!

Ekaterina, tell us, what are the main differences between the work of a makeup artist and a makeup artist?

I can say as a person with first education as a makeup artist - this is a beautiful profession that helps make people’s appearance more attractive, emphasize their strengths and hide their flaws.

Make-up does not mean making everyone ugly or theatrical. I would say - this is the science of making characters out of people, when you look at them you can see their character.

What other skills must a makeup artist learn in order to call himself a makeup artist?

It’s difficult to name skills... It’s more about the experience that appears over time. Vision and skills come only through practice, when you start working as a make-up artist, in the make-up department. After all, in cinema there are different departments, and in the make-up department there is at least a make-up artist, an assistant and a make-up artist.

The responsibilities of a makeup artist include: creating and embodying unique images of characters in makeup, based on the tasks set by the director and determined by the script. The main task of a film makeup artist is not just to put makeup on a person, but to transform his face to suit a certain character.

It is very important to monitor the installation of the created makeup options, be able to draw up estimates and reports, find the right contractors and be able to make quick professional decisions.

And most importantly, you need to love what you do. Because cinema is a separate organism. People are either drawn into it, or they categorically cannot come to terms with either the schedule or the fanaticism of people working on one product.

How to make sure that the makeup complements the actor’s image and is not too obvious?

The actor should feel comfortable, and makeup as an additional tool should help the actor play exactly what the director wants from him, based on the script. Makeup as such should not be visible.

If we talk about facial makeup in the frame, what is important for the make-up artist to take into account?

It is important to understand the shooting style. After all, if this is a sketch, there may be bright, exaggerated images in the frame, but if it is a historical film, there may be portrait makeup, or historical accuracy of the shape of the character’s hairstyles and appearance.

When preparing for serious projects, you begin to delve into anatomy, history... For example, for war films you study reliable types of textures from explosions, wounds, etc.

I would say my profession is multifaceted. And I love her very much! And most importantly, it is international. You can go anywhere in the world and work in your profession with knowledge of the language.

What nuances are important to know when creating makeup for indoor and outdoor video shooting?

There are many nuances - for example, in a dark room they use brighter blood. When creating makeup for actors in the interior, it is important to understand what color the walls of the location are. Since the undertone of the foundation will depend on this.

On the street, morning or evening - it's cold or warm light. It is with him that the actors need to be put on makeup in the trailer.

How does the make-up artist collaborate with the rest of the team? Who are you working with?

Any project, be it a feature film or a short film, a TV commercial or a music video, a TV series or a TV show, an award ceremony or a theater performance, a music video or anything else not mentioned that is a visual action, requires a conceptual solution to the image. A team of artists, the number of which can reach fifty, headed by the main artist of the project, is primarily responsible for this.

The concept is the solution to the entire visual series. It includes the space of the frame in which the images are placed, that is, the costume and makeup. The chief artist is responsible for developing the concept.

And the production designer is responsible for the design of the set; by the way, there may be several of them. Accordingly, the costume designer is responsible for the costumes, the makeup artist is, of course, responsible for the makeup, the CG artist is responsible for the effects created in post-production, the props artist is responsible for filling the frame with objects, the SFX artist is responsible for various effects in the frame, for the creation of the storyboard - a storyboard artist.

Filming is a team effort and everyone needs to complement each other. Have you ever seen how a movie is made? There is a playback (table with monitors), near which the director and all heads of departments sit, so that with each take everyone can observe the result of their work. And before the “camera, motor” command, all the nuances are corrected.

Make-up artist and plastic makeup artist. In Ukrainian cinema is it most often one person or two?

I am glad that lately these are still different people, but if the project is simple or there are a small number of actors, then the makeup and SFX artist can handle it himself, with the help of his team.

What tasks on the site are currently most interesting for you to work on?

I'm interested in working with good scripts and unusual stories.

The stars also aligned in such a way that in Ukraine I am one of the few who deal specifically with special effects - my team and I bring these special effects from all over the world.

Four years ago, they opened a small store with different types of blood and other effects like mucus, pus, and so on. By the way, the blood that we have was used during the filming of “Harry Potter” and many other Hollywood films.

And now this store has grown into a famous place, which is known to many of the makeup departments of Ukraine. Our products are used not only in cinema, but also during the filming of TV series and on television.

My message to space - I want an interesting fairy tale, complex, so that you can dream up your imagination in an artistic way. With a good budget for different wigs, prosthetic makeup, etc.!

What film shoots do you remember most in your career?

Every story I worked on had a piece of me in it. It's a small life, honestly!

Over the past 12 years there have been many such stories: novels, all sorts of incidents, successes and defeats. The main thing is not to give up and move forward. And constantly learn, because the world does not stand still and something new appears every day.