Evaluation

For the Gothic horror urban legends project I decided to look at the urban legend of the clown statue/clown doll. I initially choose the legend as I felt I could explore and develop moving ideas towards a final look with an interesting outcome. I also thought it would be exciting with me not being keen on dolls myself to produce something that could make me feel discomfort and also the audience. When starting my initial research I looked at all options that could be explored with this urban legend looking at dolls, puppets and clowns. After briefly researching all three possibilities I decided that dolls were defiantly going to be my root of interest and what I wanted my two final ideas to be based on. I decided I wanted to have my two final images based on the same character and have my model play the role of having schizophrenia making her have a personality disorder thinking that her china doll talks to her and that she is this doll in reality. When producing my final ideas for both looks I felt that my research linked and really helped me to understand and develop my designs towards both my characters concepts. I feel my shoots also went pretty well for both ideas even though at times within both shoots I felt slightly unprepared and came across problems. The biggest problem I faced was with my first idea and shoot based on the schizophrenic. The putty I was placing on my model spine to create an exaggerated effect would not work resulting in me slightly changing my original idea. If I could re do both my shoots I would defiantly practise both my ideas more and also shoot them abit earlier as it was abit of a rush in the studio with lots of people and a rush to get them edited. Overall I am happy with the end result of both my shoots and feel that they link to my ideas developed.

Final images look 2 'The Doll'

 

 

 

 LOOK 2 'The Doll'

Model- Rachel Hogg

Make up, Hair, Styling & Photography- Lily Mills

 

Look 2 the doll i feel turnt out well i really enjoyed creating this look and turning my model into a real life doll making her and the china doll i had look so alike. The styling hair and make up looked how i planned and referenced the actual china dolls make up, i added make up to the china doll also so i could get a realistic effect and match of model and doll for my final outcome. The make up wasn't so fashion looking as i had previously planned as i feel that this wouldn't add to the story behind the images and ideas and wouldn't look so realistic and match the look of the actual china doll.

 If i was to re do these images i think i would also place my model for this in better positions and poses as i felt i didn't really reference the doll pose within these images. I also feel i could of expanded and made the hair alot more exciting that what it was even though i like the final look of the hair and overall image i would of exaggerated this slightly to create a better make up and hair image as an end result. Overall i am happy with these final images and i feel reflect my ideas of 'the doll' and all the influences looked at and my idea behind both images and how they relate.

 

Final images Look 1 'The schizophrenic'

 

 

 

 LOOK 1 'The Schizophrenic'

Model- Rachel Hogg

Make-up, Hair, Styling & Photography- Lily Mills

 

I feel these images for my first look 'The Schizophrenic' turnt out well considering the problems i had with the back and creating an effect on the spine it didn't turn out to bad. I feel the movements created in the images along with only being able to see her back and then the front of the china doll make the images creepy. Having the china doll in the image and facing the camera i feel makes it look like shes in charge of my character and model which is the case. As my original ideas was to have my models spine stuck out to add to the effect of her being disturbed, unhealthy and mentally drained and this didn't work i had to change my idea slightly. I feel the spine does look slightly exaggerated but the putty has made it look slightly scar like more than my original idea which is fine as it still adds to the effect and makes you wonder.
If i was to re shoot these images i think i would possibly place my model in more exaggerated positions and possibly take and image of my models head turnt for one so you could see her face slightly but have it shadowed just to see how this could work and create an effect in the picture also. Overall i am happy with my final look of this first image and enjoyed being able to design and create a character like this i also feel this look could work within a music video or a horror film.

Ideas for final images

LOOK 1 'The Schizoprehnic'

The Final ideas for look 1 of my project is to create an image where you can only see the back of my model. I wanted to create this sort of image as in horror films when you see the back of a person you always wonder and anticipate what is going to happen which makes the viewer feel uneasy and adds to the effect of the drama as to what they are going to look like. The first character image is based from the clown statue/clown doll urban lengendbut i have changed the idea and made it my own. My character is based around a china doll in which is her friend and talks to her driving her mad and making her do insane things. This china doll plays with her mind and has done from a young age making my character quite a lonely one and slightly mad. This china doll has made her believe that she is her in a human form. I wanted my character to look dark and to reflect being alone and also look drained and skinny and slightly unhealthy by not really having a life. This is why i wanted to make my models spine stick out to add to the horror effect and also show what having her lifestyle has done to her. This is how my character looks in reality to the viewer but in her mind she thinks she is and looks like the china doll when really she is frail and drained of life.

LOOK 2 'The Doll'

The final ideas for look 2 of my project is to create my character alter ego and other identity carrying on from look 1 'The schizophrenic.' Within this look i want to portray my characters other identity of what she sees herself as which is the china doll when in reality she actually looks how i have made her in look 1. I want my final look to look creepy also i want my model to look like an exact replicate of the china doll that is in the images also as this is what she think she looks like. I think this could work well and follow on from my first images showing the strong link between both looks
and showing my characters personalities and the horror side to this also with the doll theme.

sketches

'The back'

When coming to shoot my first look 'The schizophrenic' I firstly done the hair and everything which i needed to do first before i had to do the back as i knew this wouldn't stay on long from previous practise. Once i had finished the hair and the china dolls, and got my model dressed in what i wanted her to wear i could start placing the putty down the spine. To get the putty so it was softer i had to place it on my hand and smooth it out ready to place and mould onto the back. I started of my smoothing a line of putty down the back right down the spine so i knew were i had to start moulding and could make sure it was in the right place. After doing this i started to mould the putty into small bump as if the spine was sticking out this was quite hard to do as each time i moved the putty and moulded it it would crack so i had to try and work quite quickly. Once i had got the back all done with a little help i applied sealer over the top of this to hopefully help the putty stop cracking and smooth/blend out the edges and keep it on long enough. After letting the putty dry for a few minutes i was then able to work over the top of this with some foundation to try blend this into the back and make it look more realistic. The foundation started to go funny over the sealer as the back had started to crack already even with some powder placed on top of this, this was because my model had to move and it was also a hot day not helping the situation. I was not happy with the look of this anyway everything applied and done made it look unrealistic and just was not working together. I took this all of and started again applying less putty and working quicker with some help again i wasn't happy and the product was not working over such a large area. With the putty not working i decided to try out gelatine and see if i could possibly get a better result with this not wanting to give up with the idea i had planned for this look. The gelatine was hard to apply and because i had not used or tested it before found this also hard to apply in this area down the back. The gelatine with some time did not give me the result i wanted either and was alot harder to actually apply onto the back in the position i wanted. After this i wanted to give up with this idea but was determined to do something which could reflect my characters personality. I went back to the putty knowing i had to some how make this work. I decided to apply this even lighter down the back than i had previously in both other attempts and apply moisturise around the edge this did start to look better and did add an effect to the spine. In the end i let the putty slightly crack and worked over the top of this with foundation and powder blending this all in on the back. I decided that if this didn't look like a boney spine than i could possibly create it to make it look like a scar along with having a boney spine as this would still reflect my characters personality. I feel that as an end result it turnt out alot better than i expected when i first started but if i was to do it again i would practise this alot more and potentially find a product suitable for a larger area.

Final Hair

Here are some pictures for look one and some of looks twos final hair styles. This hairstyle will also be the same for look twos 'The doll' just the buns in  the hair will be brought forward so you can see them at the front when taking a front on shot and also some of the hair will be down with some curls coming from the back. As you can see from the bottom picture for both looks i will also be styling the china dolls hair as she plays a big part in both my photographs and final looks. I decided on the hairstyles of buns especially for look 1'The schizophrenic' as the picture is based on the back of the head and also focusing on the back which meant i really had to have the hair up so you can see the back. I could of choose to have the hair just in ponytails but wanted something more interesting than that so decided on curling the hair and styling these into buns and pulling some of the curls from the buns out so they fall onto the top of the back. For the second image i will be creating based on looking like the doll itself i will move the buns forward so you can see them more at the front of the head and will have some hair down coming from the back falling over the shoulders in curls, I will also have the china dolls hair styled the same as this for look 2.

Hair style influences and ideas...

These are some fashion based hair images which i have looked at and used as influences towards my final hair designs for both my looks. I have considered many hairstyles for both shoots from wearing the hair down to putting it all up. Which ever style i use it has to have an influence of dolls and look doll styled but also look quite fashion based also. Below are a range of images from big long hair to up styles which are very dolly like but also very fashion forward and work on catwalks and would work in music videos along with a doll look. For look one i had decided to have the hair up as the back of my model has to be seen and the hair had to play a big part in the styling of this meaning i have to put it up in a style. For look twoi could play around with having the hair either up or down as this image will be of the front of my model meaning there is nothing it cant cover.

 

 

 

The pictures to the side are images of hair which i have styled recently. These images were not specifically for the project but were done along side. I feel this hairstyle could work well with a doll styled image as the hair is long and thick with a messy up do making it quite fashion like but along with make up and clothing i feel could work well in my images. This image could only work with my second look as the first one the hair has to be up. I think this look could work well but possibly it could be refined a little more to make it more dolly looking.

'The' China Doll

This is the china doll that i will be using in both my final shoots influencing both my characters personalities and traits. I choose to use a china doll in my image to really show the story behind my characters. The doll plays a big part in my story and in both my characters lifes so i wanted to find a doll which looks and matches the look of my actual model. This is the doll out of all the ones i have managed to gather that looked like my model the most by having blue eyes and long blonde hair. when creating the looks for both my characters and both different images i decided i will have the doll in both images and that i will also style the china doll to match the look of my model by styling her hair the same as my models for both shoots. For my second shoot 'The Doll' this is where i want to make both my model and doll look exactly like each other even down to similar clothing.

 

Story board look 2 'The doll come to life'

 

Story board for my second look.
This look is my second one which involves the same character the 'Schizophrenic'. This idea is basically my first character as the china doll. In reality my character looks and is how i base her in the first concept and in the second idea and images will be how she sees herself as the doll that talks to her. This shows my character as two characters but actually in reality being the same person who just has two personality traits.

Story board look 1 'The schizophrenic'

 

This is my story board for my first character look which is based on my character having schizophrenia. This character is lonely and thinks that her china doll talks to her and persuades her to do things shes not meant to which drives her crazy. From having this china doll talk to her from a young age this has driven her crazy causing her to distance herself from real world.

facecharts look 2 (The doll)

 

These are my face charts for my second look referring to the china doll. The bottom look is a more fashion based make up idea which also could be made to look quite doll like. The face chart above is a more typical doll looking design with pink rosy cheeks and long eyelashes with flawless skin.

 

More china dolls ........

Here are some more photos of different china dolls that i managed to find from friends. All three are completely different but they all still have that creepy look especially within there eyes even though they can look cute and innocent. Once of the various china dolls i have photographed i will also use within my shoots i want to use a doll that looks most like my model i will use for my shoot.

Music video's with doll influences, fashion and horror movements ...

All three of these music videos i feel have refrences towards aspects i will produce for my characters. The first two music videos both have refences to dolls and also have doll like movements and poses. The last video of Rhianna has references towards physio thriller films such as the exorcist etc and references being slightly mad. There are also parts throughout the music video where she is many different characters.

Quick Practise Make up look

Above is a doll inspired make up look i tested i wanted to see how all the elements that dolls usually have worked together on the face. I created what i thought to be a typical doll look including a flawless pale face with rosy cheeks, long eyelashes and coloured lips. When creating the look i used over the top long separated eyelashes to make the eyes stand out and give a hint of fashion within the look. This look was created very quickly as an idea for my second look for this project focusing more on the make up and the doll side to the story. When photographing the look i wanted to see how material applied either wrapped of draped over the face looked with this look and also if you could still capture the make up threw this. I wanted to trial using material as i thought it could give an interesting twist to the photographs when capturing them close up and also make it seem as if my models trapped in this doll like world for my second character, showcasing that she thinks she is the china doll that talks to her in reality.

moulding ./.?

For my first look which is based on dolls and schizophrenia I wanted to make my model look distressed and mad from the voices she here's which are driving her crazy and making her believe she is something she is not. Ive thought and looked at potentially creating an final image focusing on the back of my model and not actually being able to see her face. This is where the idea of making her look distressed and almost controlled by this doll came from in taking it out on her back making her bones stand out and focusing on her positioning and hair. Thinking about this idea meant i either had to find a model who's spine stood out a lot or i had to create this allusion myself on my model. The second option was the only one i found i could do as i already had a model in mind who had all the other elements i needed for my final images. I started looking at products that could create this effect, the top image shows some not very great quality photos of trying out putty on the skin. This putty is moulded and then applied to the skin where you can mould it into a shape and then smooth it down and work on top of. I practised using this on the wrist bone and placing it on the back where it seemed like it could work. This was a very quick practise so i wasn't sure if on the day it would actually 100% work or look right, but knew that if it did it could look really good in showcasing my characters identity.

Quick practise hair up-do

 

This was a quick practise hairstyle i done for one of the images for my first shoot which is going to be focused on the back of the head and the naked back of my model. I wanted to practise this style on real hair and see how the style would sit on the back of the head a photograph. This was put up very roughly and my model here has a lot shorter hair than the model i will be using. When doing it properly it will be neater in a sense but also more messy and in the way its put up with a perfectly straight parting line.

Japanese Horror

Here are some images from Japanese based horror films such as the grudge and the ring, which the Japanese version is called 'Ringu.' The film Ringu is a 1998 Japanese horror film Hideo Nakata, adapted from the novel ring by Kōji Suzuki. This film is considered the most frightening horror film in Japan according to a survey. These films i feel have a link to dolls and how i could design a doll inspired look/shoot with the long hair over the face, pale skin and big eyes etc. The two images at the bottom are not based from Japanese horror films but reminded me of these kind of horror films still with a girl placed in the corner of a room with her face covered making you anticipate the unknowing of what she will look like. The bottom image I love, I like the whole movement within the photo. Even though it doesn't show anything creepy or scary it has that element of fear with how the hair has been blown out, the angle and the styling of the girl within it.

Films/programmes featuring dolls ..

Korean Horror Film

The Doll Master

 

 

Criminal Minds

The Uncanny valley

'Dolls'

Schizophrenia

Schizophrenia is something many people suffer from and is a serious mental illness. Schizophrenia is something i want to look at as idea towards the final designs for my two characters for my Gothic horror project based on dolls/puppets. Instead of creating two characters i wanted to look at creating one character with a alter ego/Schizophrenia making them into two people. I feel this could be an interesting prospective to look at for a character and a photo portraying them as two people when actually being one person. This wont be my judgement of what i feel schizophrenia is in case it insults people it is purely just for creating a characters identity for a project that i can use not what i feel schizophrenic people are like etc. All images from below have been collected of google.

 

Poses and Movements

Image from pinterest

Image from Makeup is art book.

Image from pinterest

image from pinterest





The Doll's House by Remi Rebillard

Here are a few images i have gathered for inspiration for my Gothic horror character shoots. These images showcase different poses and movements that could possibly be used within a shoot inspired by doll like movements. These images also have reference to fashion inspired photographs like the top two images, and more subject mattered images such as the rest focusing more on dolls and there mannerisms. I have used many sources to gather these images from as i wanted a range of different human doll like imagery. The bottom image is from a set of images called The Dolls House by Remi Rebillard where she has captured many different images of this girl posed in different doll like looking positions it chronicles a day in the life of a living doll.

Hair Design

Here are some quick Practise hair styles inspired by my Gothic horror dolls theme. There is a few different hairstyles that I played around with here on my dolly head. I wanted to experiment with keeping the hair quite girly and dolly looking how you would see a typical china doll hair etc. Most dolls have there hair curled, so I firstly curled the hair on my dolly head i then experimented with putting the hair up and backcombing it slightly. For my hair look i want it to have a similar look of dolls hair so i really need for my model to have long hair like most dolls. Keeping with the dolls theme i also at the same time want the hair to be contemporary and fashion like as it is being styled for a horror inspired music video.

Dolls heads ..

Caroline Saulnier By Rankin.

These are images from the Caroline Saulnier by Rankin book. These images link perfectly towards my clown statue/doll urban legends with the fact that these images have been made to look like dolly heads. This is shown within the make up and neck cut of and especially the hair where it has been edited to look like dolls hair especially around the hair line. These images have a hint of creepiness but also a touch of beauty show casing how dolls do have an underlying beauty with the lovely porcelain skin and usually thick hair.