CLOSE ✕
Get in Touch
Thank you for your interest! Please fill out the form below if you would like to work together.

Thank you! Your submission has been received!

Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form

The Little Mermaid

Recreating The Little Mermaid

The Little Mermaid is a Danish fairy tale written by the well known author Hans Christian Anderson, yet not many people know this version of the story, as it has been clouded by Disney's 1990 remake.

In fact, Anderson's story is much less magical and romantic than Disney's take, and depicts the little mermaid's rejection from the Prince that leaves her heartbroken. She is encouraged by her 'sisters of the sea' to stab the Prince on the night of his wedding to his new bride, but her love for him is stronger than her hate, and so she tosses the knife, and herself, into the sea. She turns into dead sea foam, as agreed of her curse set upon her by the Sea Witch when she exchanged her tail for legs. Just as she looses hope, she looks up to see thousands of air angels, who pick her up to welcome her - she spends the next three thousand years journeying with them to heaven.

The Makeup

This makeup proved to be the most complex out of all three films, and was the most time consuming to achieve on set, taking over three hours to complete one patch on the leg.

I needed to create realistic looking scales, and after testing paints, I realised that textured fabric would be the most efficient and effective way of creating this. I adhered the fabric to the skin using spirit gum, then used nose and scar wax around the fabric to cover the edges and to blend it seamlessly into the skin, leaving the inner section slightly raised to give the impression of peeling flesh. To give more depth and colour to the area I used an array of powder eyeshadows, grease paints and alcohol activated paints on and around the prosthetic with a stippling sponge and my fingers. Finally, fake blood was added to the 'wound', focusing primarily on the edges of lifted flesh to create a realistic peeling effect.

WATCH THE LITTLE MERMAID HERE
Get in Touch.
Contact Me