Ekaterina Strukova: where to apply makeup skills and how to create sculptures?

– Where are different types of makeup and special effects most often used? Where can you apply your skills?

– The skills can be applied everywhere, from wedding images to Halloween. Personally, I mainly use my skills in filmmaking and creating video content.

What’s also cool is that our profession has no boundaries; with knowledge of the language, you can work in any country. And in foreign makeup departments, the work is divided between several masters: hair stylists separately, haircuts separately, make-up artists separately, special effects specialists separately. These are our universal soldiers... Therefore, we have something to develop in Ukraine. (Smiles.)

– You created a sculpture of Leonid Kravchuk for the Modern Innovative Museum of Ukrainian History. Tell us how the process went?

– The process took place in a creative atmosphere, and Leonid Kravchuk turned out to be a very pleasant man. (Smiles.) We were given an interesting task: to make Leonid Makarovich thirty years younger - the same as he was during his presidency. He kindly provided us with literature, archival photos and even his original costume.

We scanned the head and rejuvenated the face based on anatomical proportions. The head sculpture was made using plasticine and tools in two weeks. To make the hands, they took casts of the real Leonid Makarovich. (Smiles.) In general, the production of such a figure takes about a month.

– What other materials did you use to create the figure?

– We used specialized materials for make-up artists – sulfate-free plasticines, platinum-based silicones, special dyes – mostly all materials from the USA. Only hair from Ukraine. The girls implanted one hair at a time into their heads using special needles.

– How did you create sculptures of people who are no longer alive? For example, Nikolai Amosov?

– We do such work from photographs, study archival information on the Internet, collect data from relatives, and so on. The more information we accumulate, the more accurate the portrait likeness will be.

– Do such sculptures need any kind of care in order for them to last for a long period of time?

– No special care is required, but you need to handle them very carefully. To love and cherish. (Smiles.)

The cured material from which the figures are made is certified by an independent laboratory to ISO 10993-10 “Evaluation of the biological effects of medical devices, part 10: Tests for skin irritation and sensitization.” It has a storage temperature of up to +73 °C. The sculptures are also not afraid of the cold.

– How do you improve your own skill level?

– In no case do I rest on my laurels, since in any field something new and interesting constantly appears. And in terms of materials and technologies, I am constantly learning. All my free time between projects I either study or give a workshop to my colleagues to show what I can do.

– Do you have a big professional dream? If yes, which one?

– It is important to turn dreams into goals! So I think I need to gain experience first, because every day there is something new in the world. Well, when I get tired of running around film sets, I’ll open a full-fledged specialized makeup school!