6
Manipulating the Bone Structure

Highlight and shadow are used to manipulate the bone structure of your face for a number of reasons. Many people feel that they have slight imperfections, such as crooked nose or a receding chin, and want to make corrections. An actor may be playing a character that is described in the play as having a specific type of feature or look that she needs to replicate. A performer may want to accentuate or deemphasize features to support the type of character he is playing, perhaps a larger forehead for a pedantic professor, or a strong, square jawline for a classical Greek hero.

In this chapter, the same highlight and shadow techniques used in Chapter 4 will be used to change the appearance of the shape of your features.

Manipulating the Forehead

In Chapter 4 highlight Was applied to the ridges of the forehead. The highlight extended horizontally just until the edge of the temples. To widen the forehead, extend the highlight on the ridges out onto the temples.

Apply the shadow in between the ridges at the same length as the highlight. Apply the shadow on the temples, beginning further out than you normally would.

To narrow the forehead, apply shorter swaths of highlight to the ridges and a shorter swath of shadow to the depression in between. Apply shadows to the temples closer in on the forehead.

To make the forehead appear shorter or lower, apply swaths of highlight slightly below the upper ridge.

Apply shadow in between the ridges and on the temples as for normal contouring. Apply shadow above the top ridge, just below the hairline.

Manipulating the Cheekbones

Making your cheekbones appear higher will give your face a narrower or sunken in look. Instead of applying the highlight to the vertical, outward-facing plane of the cheekbones, apply the highlight slightly above that, partially on top of the cheekbone. Be careful not to intrude into the eye socket.

Apply the shadow a little higher than you normally would.

If your face is wide, and you want to make it look narrower, you can shorten your cheekbones by leaving space between the beginning of your highlight and the front of your ear.

You can apply shadow just in front of your ear to make the end of the cheekbone recede. Apply shadow under the cheekbone.

Manipulating the Nose

To make your nose appear longer and thinner, use your thin flat brush. Apply highlight down the center of the nose beginning on the lower ridge of your forehead and extending beyond the tip of your nose.

Apply a swath of shadow on either side of the bridge of the nose, extending down over the, nares and to the tip. Leave room to blend. There will be less room in between the highlight and shadow than for normal contouring. Blend.

To make the nose appear shorter and wider, use the flat side of your wide flat brush. Apply highlight down the center of the nose beginning on the bridge and stopping before you get to the tip.

Apply a swath of shadow on either side of the bridge of the nose, ending at and surrounding the nares, leaving some room to blend. Apply a short swath of shadow just above the bridge of the nose and under the tip of the nose. Blend.

Shadowing under the tip of the nose will also make it appear shorter.

To make the nose appear upturned, use your medium flat brush. Apply highlight down the center of the nose beginning on the bridge and stopping before the ball of the nose. Apply a dot of highlight above the center of the ball of the nose.

Shadow the sides as normal. Apply a short swath of shadow just above the bridge of the nose. Apply an arc of shadow under the tip of the nose. Shadow in between the bottom of the center highlight on the bridge, and the dot of highlight on the ball of the nose. Blend.

To make the nose appear broken, apply the highlight in a crooked shape. Frame the crooked highlight shape with shadow. Blend.

Manipulating the Jawline

You can make a square jawline curved or a curved jawline square by applying highlight in the shape you want and framing it with shadow underneath. Make sure you leave some room to blend out your edges.

You can make the face appear narrower by beginning the highlight on the jawline further in on the face.

Apply the shadow right behind it, in front of the bottom of the ear. Shadowing down onto the neck will help it recede and the jawline stand out.

For those who have reached the age where the jawline had begun to sag, careful contouring can bring back a bit of youth. Apply the highlight with a slight, upward curve.

Apply shadow following the same curve. Blend.

A similar technique can be used with bronzing powder or powder shadow in a very small theatre space or even for everyday wear.

Manipulating the Chin

You can make the chin look rounder by putting a dot of highlight just above the middle and blending it out in a spiral manner. Apply an arc of shadow around the bottom of the chin. Blend.

You can make the large chin look smaller by moving the shadow up higher, closer to the dot of highlight.

You can make the small chin look larger by moving the shadow lower and wider.

You can make the chin look long and pointy by applying a line of highlight and a "V" of shadow.