FAQs

Neill Gorton’s Beginners’ Advice

If you’re interested in the world of prosthetics and makeup FX, the first question is: do you want to learn as the first steps towards a career, or learn for fun?

This matters because what you do next and how you approach your learning is different depending on which path you go down. Let’s look at each and why…

As a hobby: people who do makeup FX and prosthetics as a hobby will use their skills to create cosplay costumes or for Halloween events and parties. It’s all for your own pleasure and you create the things you want to create in the way you want to create them. This means the subject matter tends to involve more visually impactful creations such as blood and gore FX or re-creations of famous characters. There’s a lot more out-of-the-kit type makeup involved and most people will work off their kitchen table using easily available materials.

As a career: the key difference in doing makeup FX and prosthetics as a career is you work to someone else’s brief and to meet the needs of your employer or a client. Rarely will you be required to reproduce an already famous character, and blood and gore FX make up only a very small portion of the work you would be expected to do. It tends to involve far less time actually doing makeup and far more time in workshops making moulds and executing processes that are more akin to fine art.

Starting out

So how does this affect you when you’re starting out and seeking ways to learn? The most obvious first steps are to learn from free online resources such as YouTube. Some tutorials are very good and some are very, VERY bad. If you’re looking to learn however, this is still a great way to start – see the next section, ‘Is YouTube a good place to learn?’ – and the way these tutorials usually show someone applying makeup to themselves is the way you’re most likely to start learning. I know my first makeups were done on myself while looking in a mirror.

What YouTube offers

As mentioned in the previous section, the most obvious first steps are to learn from free online resources such as YouTube. Some tutorials are very good and some are very, VERY bad. If you’re looking to learn however, this is still a great way to start and the way these tutorials usually show someone applying makeup to themselves is the way you’re most likely to start learning.

Although hugely varied in quality, some YouTube tutorials can be handy. Keep in mind though that these ‘free’ tutorials do come with a price. Those YouTubers earn money by having you click on their links, so rather than focus on core skills that are useful to a professional, they’re instead going to focus on eye-catching and simple tutorials that mostly involve creating gore FX using out-of-the-kit makeup. While the results are fun and serve the purpose of being noticeable for online tutorials, the results are not film quality and the techniques are far too basic and fragile to be used for a professional film shoot. The reality is that professional prosthetics and makeup FX tend to take a lot more time to create than could ever be crammed into a 30-minute online tutorial. In fact, a professional prosthetic will usually take a number of weeks to prepare and involve a lot of technical processes that will make for far less exciting viewing on YouTube.

So if what you see on YouTube is the fun stuff you want to do as a hobby then certainly use that as your mode of learning. Should you wish to advance your hobby further or want to pursue this as a career however, then you’ll want to take a step up.

Neill Gorton’s essential advice

So here’s the one piece of absolutely essential and pivotal advice I give everyone starting out about how to get hired:

We hire TALENT AND SKILLS.

That’s it. There’s no caveats to this, there’s no ‘it’s not what you know it’s who you know’, there’s no lottery or competition you can win that can get you a job and I certainly don’t employ people because of the number of likes and retweets they get, or because they have lots of followers on Instagram. I also don’t hire because you have certificates or qualifications. I hire…

TALENT AND SKILLS.

How do you show you have talent and skills? With a portfolio. With pictures of your creations. Detailed, clean, crisp pictures of your work and not just finished pieces; photographs of a process – moulds and sculptures and designs. All of that presented cleanly and in a manner that a potential employer can see and evaluate.

Neill’s quick-fire tips to help you on your way

• Prosthetics is about learning to change the face in 3D, but first understand how the face can be shaped in 2D with theatrical highlighting and shadowing techniques and this will provide you with a very solid foundation on which to build. This requires nothing more complicated than a couple of art brushes and some black and white face paint to achieve.

• Understanding anatomy is hugely important. Artists creating even the most fantastical creations have drawn inspiration from real anatomy to produce convincing creatures. You’ll find inexpensive anatomy books for artists in almost any bookshop; look for a local life study class or night school to join.

• Stay away from blood and gore.

• Find avenues for practising your skills. Volunteer for local theatre groups, help out on student films, or see if any of the scare attractions near you need help with basic makeup during the Halloween season. There may not be any money in it but you’ll be working to a brief and a deadline and you’ll also be applying makeup to people other than yourself, which is a skill in itself.

• In a similar vein, a part time job in a hairdressing salon is a good place to develop some fundamental skills. Prosthetic makeup artists need to know how to work with people, make them feel comfortable and confident. Even if it’s just washing the hair of someone you’ve only just met, there are a lot of parallels to the way a prosthetic makeup artist might deal with an actor who is being life cast or is having prosthetics applied.

• Learn some basic photography skills and buy a decent point and shoot camera with a good lens. Photographs taken on a phone tend to be poor quality and get compressed in weird ways, which makes them hard to produce as good quality prints to go in a portfolio. There’s no point putting lots of time, effort and money into creating a great portfolio piece only to take a bad photograph of it!

There are many, many different resources out there. Here are some we’re involved in and that we recommend:

Neill Gorton’s Makeup FX 911 group on Facebook. An invaluable source of advice for technical queries with many professional prosthetics artists on hand to share tips. It’s a closed group to prevent spammers, so please ask to join and you will be accepted

Neill’s Materials’ ‘how to’ videos: great demonstrations on how to use useful products

MFX Warehouse DVDs: step-by-step tutorials from Neill with online streaming options

Prosthetics Magazine: a collection of 23 full-colour magazines full of invaluable tutorials and industry features from the best in the business. Most issues available to buy in print, and online subscriptions to view the entire digital library are £4.50 per month

The Prosthetics Event: annual educational event in Coventry, UK every November – featuring back-to-back classes on two stages, demonstrations, specialist retail, career advice, exhibits and prize draws

Books: there are many helpful books out there – here are some examples:

No Strings Attached – The Inside Story of Jim Henson’s Creature Shop
Matt Bacon, published by Virgin 1997

Making a Monster – The Creation of Screen Characters
Al Taylor and Sue Roy, published by Crown 1980

Making Faces Playing God – Identity and the Art of Transformational Makeup
Thomas Morawetz, published by the University of Texas Press 2001

Special Effects – An Oral History
Pascal Pinteau, published by Abrams 2003

Sculpting a Galaxy – Inside the Star Wars Model Shop
Lorne Peterson, published by Insight Editions 2006

Special Makeup Effects for Stage and Screen: Making and Applying Prosthetics
Todd Debreceni, published by Focal Press, 3rd edition 2018

The Monstrous Make-up Manual
Mike Spatolla, 2 books available 2019

There are now many places to study prosthetics, either as an individual subject or part of a broader course. Choosing what kind of course is right for you will depend on your career objectives, but here are some basic pointers that could help you find the right place to study:

Subject range: make sure this is relevant to the job you’re aiming to do; if you want to be a straight makeup artist you’ll probably only need a basic knowledge of prosthetics and this may be taught in one short module. If you want to be a prosthetics technician however, you’ll need a course that focuses on that rather than diluting it with a lot of other subjects you don’t really need. If you’re unsure, consider a general course in media makeup which will introduce you to all the disciplines involved before you choose what to specialise in.

Environment: it’s important you feel comfortable at the study venue, especially if your course involves being away from home. Go and visit it beforehand to make sure it’s the right kind of environment for you.

Tutors: you need to be sure your money is being spent on tutors who really know their subject – are you confident the school, college or uni has staff with the correct, up-to-date skills to pass on to you? Ask for examples and check their professional credits on the industry’s online database IMDB.

Promises of work: be wary of courses that say you’re guaranteed work at the end of them – they are likely to be deceiving you. Courses can give you the skills to equip you for work; however getting that work will be down to your talent, dedication and determination alone.

Alumni achievements: how well have past students from the course done professionally? Is there evidence of them being successful once they’ve graduated?

Qualifications: the most valuable thing you leave a course with in terms of starting a career in screen prosthetics is a portfolio that shows photographs of your work. Certificates and letters after your name have their place; however it’s the visual examples of your skills that will really mean something to prospective employers, so choose a course on the merit of its practical content and quality of teaching first and foremost.

The film industry changes fast and you need to know the most up-to-date techniques and materials to stand the best chance of getting work. It also behaves differently to other industries, so you need to learn how it functions.

The most effective way to learn these essentials is at a school that has direct contact with the industry, so you can learn them first-hand. This can be through tutors who also work professionally themselves, or through access to a professional working environment. We are closely linked to multi-award winning industry company Millennium FX which was founded by Neill in 1999, and all our tutors also work in film and TV, giving us the strongest industry links available.

There is no standard prescription for this, but prosthetics artists need practical skills and the best way to acquire and develop these is by taking practical subjects. These could be subjects whose curricula include the following, all of which are relevant skills that tangibly translate into the world of special effects:

Art and design: drawing, painting, sculpture, life study, pottery, fine art, craft, metalwork and engineering, woodwork, needlework and costuming, model making, design technology.

Digital: The craft of prosthetics is using an increasing amount of digital processes and software in its everyday practice, so being adept in the digital realm is also an advantage and subjects like IT and computer technology will be beneficial to you.

Science: From another perspective, if you’re interested in science then chemistry is always useful as it will help you understand how the materials used in prosthetic manufacture work. This can be learnt at a later stage, but a head start is never a bad thing.

This course is suitable for those with a background in model, prop-making and prosthetics who wish to enhance their skills and introduce digital design and manufacturing processes into their workflow, and those who have worked solely in the world of 3D and digital modelling who wish to progress into physical manufacturing.

It is also a good option for makeup artists who want to improve or expand their skills in special makeup effects using the most up-to-date techniques, and craftspeople from different backgrounds who wish to diversify into prosthetics.

We welcome applications from those with relevant equivalent Level 6 qualifications, or relevant equivalent experience, and a demonstrable interest in the subject.

We’ll also welcome your application if you have formal or ‘certified’ learning (such as training courses not run by universities or colleges) and learning from work experience or self-study. This is called Accreditation of Prior Learning (APL) and should have been gained within the last five years, and be equivalent to the learning outcomes of our minimum entry qualifications.

APL applicants using experience to apply should note there is a £200 application fee for entry with advanced standing or with exemption from specific modules or credit.

STUDENT REGULATIONS

Please refer to Falmouth University’s regulations, policies and procedures here

LANGUAGE REQUIREMENTS

If English isn’t your first language, you’ll need to demonstrate English language skills that are sufficiently developed for the successful completion of your studies. The university accepts a range of recognised English language qualifications that are equivalent to the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) Academic minimum score of 6.5 overall, with a minimum of 6.0 in Reading, Writing, Speaking, and Listening.

International applicants who require a Tier 4 student visa to study in the UK must take an approved Secure English Language Test (SELT) to fulfill government visa requirements or have a recognised language test approved and vouched for by the university.

The university’s Applicant Services team can help with any questions you may have about study visas or suitable language tests, please email them or call on +44 1326 213 730.

Neill was heavily involved in the conception and development of the course. You will see him weekly for lectures, demonstrations and one-to-one support.

There will be three scheduled visits to Millennium FX’s South West workshop in Redruth, Cornwall, in study block 2. There you’ll see Neill and his team in their working environment, get insight into their approach to professional jobs, and observe the techniques they use. There won’t be unlimited access however, as Millennium is a busy, time-pressured workshop.

Find out current tuition fees and typical additional costs here.

You will also need to pay for your accommodation and living costs. Find guidance about those outgoings here.

When you study a Master of Arts (MA) or Master of Science (MSc) you are studying at postgraduate level. The majority of postgraduate students fund their studies with a Master’s Loan. Eligible students can also apply for scholarships and awards.

Explore your funding opportunities here, learn about postgraduate scholarships and award at Falmouth University here, make enquiries via email here, or call the student funding team on +44 1326 213744 or +44 1326 255159.

Yes! Sitting within a small coastal town yet internationally recognised as a hub of creative innovation; Falmouth needs to be experienced to be believed. Find out what the university, location and students are made of by attending an in-person campus tour, online event or visit their Virtual Experience page.

Find out more by calling the university on +44 1326 254350 or use this online enquiry form.

Please call applicant services at the university on +44 1326 213730, email them at applicantservices@falmouth.ac.uk or use this enquiry form.

It isn’t absolutely necessary to do any preparatory work, but the more knowledge you have before you arrive the better as the course is intensive, and hitting the ground running will ensure you make the most of your time.

Practising some sculpture before the course starts is an advantage; while we do teach the subject on the course to an extent, it’s a great help if you are already a little familiar with the materials and the basics of anatomical sculpture when you arrive. When you’re first starting out it takes some time to get used to the feel of the clay and what it’s like to work with. It can take time to really get familiar with it and it’s far better for you to do this before the course. Clays are quite inexpensive and easy to source, so you can experiment with this material at your own pace and on your own time. Then, when you start the course, you’ll get a lot more out of the tuition than if you’d never previously handled these materials.

This can be done simply using regular pottery clay and books such as the following, which we have quoted the International Standard Book Number for, so you can find them online and in shops:

• Modeling the Head in Clay – Margit Malmstrom. ISBN 10: 0823030997
• Modeling in Clay – Dorothy Arthur, ISBN 10: 0713667494

Also, have a look at books and YouTube videos by sculptor Philippe Faraut.

Our Online Course’s are an excellent source for technical skill gathering prior to attending the course.

Finding our about prosthetics in the context of the film industry is also good preparation; a digital subscription to Prosthetics Magazine for a month is only £4.50 for access to a library of 23 issues, offering a cost-effective way to familiarise yourself with the industry.

The photos we take of your work will be made available to you. You will also leave with all your moulds, casts, and finished pieces of work.

No, and any course that says it will is likely to be misleading you. What we can guarantee is the best standard of education of its kind available, the most relevant to the industry, and in the most up-to-the minute techniques.

Because we are affiliated to Millennium FX which is an employer, we fully understand what employers are looking for and can therefore equip you with the correct information to point you in the right direction to seek work. Actually getting work however will be down to your talent, dedication and determination.

Please visit the university’s accommodation office website, call them on +44 1326 253639, or email accommodation@falmouth.ac.uk

Yes! Our online courses cover a whole range of subjects within the field of prosthetics and makeup FX in the form of individual lesson videos accessed via a monthly subscription.

The content is arranged so you can study the PROCESSES that are the technical and artistic steps we take to make a prosthetic or makeup effect, and follow learning PATHWAYS that take you on a creative journey with a beginning, middle and end.

Whether your aim is to produce your first basic flat mould prosthetic appliance or an extensive multi-piece silicone makeup, mask or character bust, the information you need is presented by Neill Gorton in a clear, concise way.

Find more information here.

PROCESSES are the technical and artistic steps we take to manufacture a prosthetic or makeup effect. There’s no simple way to divide our processes with very clean lines between subject matter. Painting for example: painting on skin is a makeup process whereas painting on silicone for a dummy head comes under art finishing. At their hearts these processes follow the same basic principles of colour applied with a brush or airbrush, but for our purposes they would happen in different departments in the FX studio or on the film set, so we have divided them into processes following the lines we find in our working life.

Our industry also employs a lot of specialists and some of you using this resource will be interested in a specific area and developing specific skill sets, so our division of classes into processes allows you to focus more easily on your area of interest.

Our pathways combine a number of processes to take you on a creative journey with a beginning, middle and end; whether it’s producing your first basic flat mould prosthetic appliance or an extensive multi-piece silicone character makeup, there’s a pathway that will guide you along every step of the way.

Our PATHWAYS are modelled on the content of the most popular courses we’ve taught in person at Gorton Studio over the years. The initial focus of those was always on teaching technical skills and then guiding students into applying those skills to their personal projects. In our processes described above, we will cover many core skills that can then be applied to multiple pathways. This means we won’t keep repeating the same information time and time again, allowing you to navigate a pathway more quickly and concisely.

£18.99 per month. This includes all the video lessons currently on the site plus any new ones added while you’re subscribed, as well as two useful downloads to accompany each lesson.

Find more info here.

A subscription gives you unlimited access to all the online learning content on the site plus any new videos added while you’re subscribed, as well as two PDF downloads to accompany each lesson:

1. A materials list with alternative products suggested for international customers where possible
2. The voiceover in writing; ideal for future reference and translating into other languages (using Google translate for example)

Our online content is available worldwide and can be accessed via computer, phone or tablet.

No. There is no commitment with a subscription; you can cancel it at any time and your access will remain available until the date your next payment is due, when it will cease and that next payment won’t be taken.

Once you have cancelled your subscription, the status will show as ‘pending cancellation’ until the date your next payment would have been taken, when it will then change to ‘cancelled’.

1. Log in to your account
2. Click on SUBSCRIPTIONS in the left hand menu on the My Account screen
3. In the top section of information (above SUBSCRIPTION TOTALS), in the Actions line, click on the CANCEL button

Once you have cancelled your subscription, the status will show as ‘pending cancellation’ until the date your next payment would have been taken, when it will then change to ‘cancelled’.

Once you have cancelled your subscription, the status will show as ‘pending cancellation’ until the date your next payment would have been taken, when it will then change to ‘cancelled’.

This is so you have access to the content for the whole month you’ve paid for in advance, rather than your access stopping on the day you cancel you subscription.

If you wish to practice the techniques shown in the video lessons rather than just watching them, you will need some materials.

There are a large number of lessons that cover a range of projects all using different materials, and once you’re signed up, you will have access to a PDF download of the materials used in each individual lesson.

The courses are designed to offer something for everyone’s budget. The lessons aimed at beginners and those with less experience only use clay, latex and plaster for example, which are the cheapest materials available. There are also some showing more advanced techniques that use more expensive materials.

To view the lesson videos you must be logged in to your account.

How to log in to your account
1. Click ‘My Account’ in the top right corner of the website (this appears on every screen)
2. Enter either the username found in the ‘Welcome to Gorton Studio’ email you received when you created your account or the email address you used to register and the password you created when registering

How to view the lesson videos
1. Once logged in, hover the cursor over the ‘Online Courses’ button in the website’s main navigation bar and click on ‘Learning Pathways’ or ‘Learning Processes’ as desired
2. Click on the image or title of the Process or Pathway you wish to view
3. Click on the title of the individual video lesson you wish to view
4. Click the ‘play’ arrow in the title box in the centre of the main image on the screen

How to log out of your account
1. Click ‘My Account’ in the top right corner of the website
2. Click LOG OUT at the bottom of the menu on the left of the My Account screen

Once logged out, you will only be able to view the 30-second trailers for the lesson videos rather than the videos themselves.

Please watch the troubleshooting video in the FAQ above and try these troubleshooting tips:

1. Check you’re logged in to your account; you won’t be able to view the videos if you’re logged out
2. Check your subscription is still active
3. Ensure your Internet connection or Wi-Fi signal is adequate for streaming
4. If the videos seem to continually buffer, try reducing the video quality using the settings icon on the right of the menu at the bottom of the video display screen
5. Try refreshing your browser (this may require you to log back into your account afterwards)
6. Clear your browser’s cache or history

If none of these tips works, please contact us.

You can reset your password by clicking ‘My Account’ in the top right corner of the website (this shows on all screens), then clicking ‘Lost your password’ at the bottom of the login screen and following the instructions.

Your subscription includes access to two PDF downloads that accompany each lesson video. One is a materials list, the other contains the entire voiceover in writing. These voiceover transcripts are ideal for translating into any language using online translation tools; Google translate is free to use for example.

Please email us at info@gortonstudio.co.uk and tell us what you’d like our help with. We will then discuss this with you, explore the options for a consultation, and provide you with a quote for your preferred course of action.

Please email us at admin@gortonstudio.co.uk with the following information:

• Whether you’d like a subscription for our online courses, Prosthetics Magazine‘s digital library of 23 issues, or a combined package of both
• How many students you would like access for
• The length of time you’d like the subscription to run for

We will then be able to respond to your email with a quote

Yes, each subscription is bespoke to the establishment, catered to fit the number of students, the length of the course, and how the students can access the content.

Yes, you can subscribe your group to just the online courses, just Prosthetics Magazine, or both. When  contacting us, please specify which content you would like a quote for.

Yes, these subscriptions can be provided with seamless access for users from authorised IP addresses and is compatible with solutions such as EZproxy (with appropriate bandwidth control) and Shibboleth, or own own sign-in system.

Yes, these subscriptions can be provided with seamless access for users from authorised IP addresses and is compatible with solutions such as EZproxy and Shibboleth, or own own sign-in system.

Yes, we can set up individual or group accounts for them to view the online courses and/or magazines on our websites.

Yes, your subscription includes access to two PDF downloads for every lesson, one of which is a list of the materials used, with alternative product suggestions for international users where possible.

Your subscription includes access to two PDF downloads that accompany each lesson video. One contains the entire voiceover in writing. These voiceover transcripts are ideal for translating into any language using online translation tools; Google translate is free to use for example.

You can reset your password by clicking ‘My Account’ in the top right corner of the website (this shows on all screens), then clicking ‘Lost your password’ at the bottom of the login screen and following the instructions.

1. Please choose a 1, 3, 6, or 12-month subscription from the dropdown on the product page or contact us if you would like a bespoke duration.
2. Please enter the recipient’s name and email address in the required fields in the purchase section of that page so we can set the subscription up to begin on the date of your choice.
3. Click ADD TO BASKET and go to the checkout to make the payment
4. You will need to agree to our terms and conditions which are shown before you complete the purchase; our terms and conditions can also be found in the footer of every page under Customer Care
5. Your booking confirmation email will show the subscription details. If you need to contact us about your order, please quote the order number in your email
6. As the buyer of the product it is you who will receive information about the gift subscription. You will receive an email from us on the working day following your purchase; these emails are sent manually. The email will contain the account login information and user instructions. You can then pass on this information to the recipient of your gift at the appropriate time.

You will receive an email from admin@gortonstudio.co.uk or info@gortonstudio.co.uk containing the account login information and user instructions to pass on to the recipient of your gift. These emails are sent manually on the working day after you make the purchase.

Yes, if you’d like something other than the 1, 3, 6 or 12 month options shown, please get in touch on info@gortonstudio.co.uk to discuss this.

Yes, the last order date is displayed in the product description on the purchase page in the run-up to Christmas. During our Christmas closure period, you can still place an order, but no gift subscriptions will be set up or emails containing login and user information sent during that period.

When you purchase an online subscription you will need to create an account by providing some basic information about yourself such as your name and address.

Any future course bookings you make or subscriptions you take out will be bought through this account.

No, there is only one type of account.

How to log in to your account

1. Click ‘My Account’ in the top right corner of the website (this appears on every screen)
2. Enter either the username found in the ‘Welcome to Gorton Studio’ email you received when you created your account or the email address you used to register, and the password you created when registering

How to log out of your account

1. Click ‘My Account’ in the top right corner of the website
2. Click LOG OUT at the bottom of the menu on the left of the My Account screen

How to reset your password

Click ‘My Account’ in the top right corner of the website and click on ‘Lost your password’ at the bottom of the login screen.

In your account you will find information about:

1. Your orders, including dates, statuses and amounts
2. Details about your active online subscriptions including when the next payments are due
3. Your saved billing address
4. Any saved payment methods (you are not required to save any)
5. Your account details such as name and address