By Ray Shaffer

Recently, I was lucky enough to sit as a model at the International Makeup Artist Trade Show for a combined demonstration of Rob Burman’s generic foamed latex appliances (called “Rubber Wear“) and Fred Blau’s “Reel Colors” line of alcohol-based pigments. Rob and Fred conducted the lecture personally.

Fred Blau has been a makeup artist for more than fifty years. He applied Kate Jackson’s makeup in “Charlie’s Angels” and handled Roddy McDowell’s prosthetics in the television series “Planet of the Apes”. Rob Burman has been in the FX industry for more than twenty-five years. His credits include “Terminator 2″, “The Thing”, “The Fly” and “Cat People”.

The objective of the class was to show the audience the possibilities of quick “mix-and-match” creature creation. We often use the term “Westmore Alien” to describe such makeups. The twist in this case was that Mike Westmore, the head of Star Trek’s makeup department, was actually sitting in the audience throwing empty beer cans at us. Nothing like a little pressure! So as Rob double-fisted antacid tablets and Fred took hits off a hookah, the two tag-teamed me like a pair of professional wrestlers.

Robert began by selecting some horn appliances along with a demon forehead, a pair of nasalabial folds, and a chin. He adhered the pieces with Telesis 5 and blended the edges out with Duo latex eyelash adhesive. Fred then stepped in to apply alcohol colors with an airbrush. The makeup was finished with some hand-painted accents and I was off to be photographed by hordes of Asian cuties attractive foreign attendees.

In the end, I was probably the only person at IMATS ‘08 whose appearance was actually improved by a lizard makeup.