Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/636504
33 Opposite page and above left: Glenn Hetrick's design, sculpting and in shop of Tigris. off, we got to work on the tribal patterns. This was tricky stuff because I was adamant about creating a sunk-in tribal scarification look to really make her patterns unique and compelling. We applied the transfer tats to the sculpt, and had Hiroshi Katagiri carefully carve in the facial tat pattern. The facial tattoos were accomplished by first creating the facial tat pattern off scans of a paper pattern from the form sculpt. We digitally rendered all of the tats, laid them out in Photoshop and worked on them there. I have a set of cus- tom brushes and filters I use in all of my tats. (I built many of them while working on Heroes and Lady Gaga's Telephone video that had TONS of tats.) They basically serve to create a subtle variation in the tone of the tattoo inks and include some "fall out" (spots where the ink is not as saturated). I am covered in real tats so I have handy reference when designing our tat transfers. I always endeavor to reflect the reality of ink IN skin. (I hate when tat transfers look like they are drawn ON to the surface of the performer.) We also got a test date on the books and then started running two or three crews per day to expedite the molding and casting process. Once we had some silicone test skins of the facial appliance, we figured out how to best apply the facial tats to the indented scars. This allowed us to get the perfect realistic tat look with the transfers as opposed to painting the tats in on each piece. Ultimately, I ended up doing a skin tone pre-paint to about 75% finish, then Erin Draney applied all the tats on a piece, and finally, I completed the paint job allowing some of the translucent skin tone finish layers to pass over the tats, helping them to look even more synthesized into the skin. We tried a myriad of materials for the metal whiskers and ended up with a nice thin silver wire. Each pros- thetic included 10 Iwata Micron nozzle tips embedded and secured into the silicone around the upper lip as a receptacle for the whiskers, lending it a cool industrial- piercing look. I decided on this approach because I thought it was extremely important to feel like she could remove or unscrew her whiskers at night. I am a huge fan of little details that lend to the utilitarian aspect of a design. Even if no one notices it, I truly believe that this attention to detail and functionality works on a subconscious level, imbuing the work with an added level of realism. As soon as we finished painting (quite literally), I was on a plane to Atlanta. Ve, Dave and I applied the make-up for a camera test the day I arrived and we started shooting "Tigris" the next day! We started by applying all of the tat transfers to her arms, neck, chest and back, then the facial appliance and the prosthetic ears. Lastly, we added the whiskers and teeth, then lenses went in (thanks to Sean, part of the family!). Then off to hair and wardrobe. Both teams were incredible and a huge part of the success of this character. The final result was stunning. Francis and the production team were as thrilled as were we. At the end of it all, something happened that I will never forget. The first day we had her in full make-up, we received the warmest and most sincere compliment that I am likely Clockwise from top left: A burn victim; the Elephant Man-esque Glimmer; the make-up team works on Tigris