Planning Makeup Curriculum

I don’t know if you knew this or not, but the internet is kind of, well, vast. I could probably spend countless hours on-line researching makeup techniques, watching videos and reading product reviews. In fact, I have spent hours doing just that, only to walk away feeling overwhelmed by what I still need to learn and wondering why it is now 2 a.m.

But as with anything that is new, the key is to stay focused, take it one skill at a time, and fit in as much practice in between. You can’t really expect to learn in a few hours what has taken people years of experience to master. So it’s time to do what I do best: put all my academic skills to good use and study.

I like learning with a purpose, so I had to plan it out. I actually used to be a teacher, and every summer I would take out my calendar and tentatively fill in what I wanted my year to look like. I would then go back and fill in week to week, and eventually day to day as I became more familiar with the curriculum. Below is my projected curriculum:

Sep-Nov: Beauty Makeup (Fundamentals, Modern Looks, Techniques for various mediums)

Dec-Feb: Out of Kit Special Effects (blood and wounds, appliances, characters

March-May: Sketch Work (Faces, Costuming, Sets and Room Perspective,)

June-August: Sewing (Fundamentals, Period Fashion, Major Alterations)

Final Examination: 5 Test shots which combine all three skills. These will be based on character breakdowns from books, scripts, comic book images etc.)

This is obviously still a tentative schedule, but I like having a trajectory. I’ve actually worked out my entire workload week by week. I am sure this schedule will change, as I learn more about each of these mediums and start to see what I need more time on. But for now, I thought I’d show you a little closer look at what each week looks like for September.

Course 1: Beauty Makeup

September-Fundamentals:

Week 1: Face Shapes, Skin types, cheeks and blush placement.

Week 2: Color principles, the color wheel and color correction

Week 3: Foundations, powders, face contouring and highlighting

Week 4: Eye shape, eye lining and eye shadow, eye brows, false eyelashes, mascara

Each week, I will be scouring blogs, forums, books and magazines, researching each topic and then applying the best strategies. I will be sharing what I’ve learned and highlighting how I learned it, as well posting pictures of my progress. So check back often and happy studying!