A Student entry for the Character/Prosthetic Mythological Creatures Theme Competition.

On Day 2 of IMATS, there was a second student competition that explored more of the elaborate side of makeup. Sunday's competition was focused on the theme of Fantasy Beauty. Student finalists had three hours to transform their models from mere mortals into their crazy fantasy vision. I was incredibly impressed with the work that these artists were doing. Also, I was taken back by the patience of their models!

A student at work.

All prosthetics were homemade by the students.

Backstage working on their models.

Airbrushing

Every detail of thought of... even the nails.

The finished models!

This model was really in character.

Amazing! This is straight out of a fantasy movie!

Everyone was amazing talented, and I could never do what they do. Have you ever thought about fantasy makeup? If you were going to create a mythological creature look... what would it be?

E with her new friend at IMATS

One thing that I've mentioned that I love about IMATS compared to other trade shows I've attended is its focus on makeup artistry in industry. How are people pushing the boundaries of makeup for professional purposes? The best place to think about where these limits are being constantly tested is in movies and TV. With increasingly better technology, the scrutiny over the makeup artist's work is intense, to put it mildly. You know you gotta be good.

I loved how on the first floor as you walked in, there was a mini-museum with some amazing examples of makeup work for seriously theatrical purposes. The displays ranged from chins and cheeks to create a distinctive character... to full blown twitching and bleeding mutilated hearthrobes that are wired to work at a push of a button.

All great examples of how makeup can be so much more than just making someone look pretty. The ideas are seriously limitless! And it was all very inspiring!