Blood, sweat and patina

This blog post is dedicated to all things fabulously bloody, sweaty, stained, dirty and worn out.

Doing blood work is, in my opinion, one of the most creative aspects of being an On-Set Costume Supervisor.  However there is also a knowledge required in terms of blood colour and the direction it will take when flowing down a body.  Blood pumping above the heart is bright red because it has lots of oxygen in it, whereas below the heart it is darker (as seen in the photos).  These are samples of my handy work at creating realistic effects of SPFX blood for nose bleeds, supernatural/knife/bullet wounds.

"The blood is the life." ~ Bram Stoker/Dracula

One of my favorite past times for film work is adding character to clothing to give them an honest, used look.  There is nothing worse to me than watching a film or television show with the actors wearing pristine, shiny new, pressed perfect costumes.  They look flat and unbelievable.  I want it to look as if the clothing has been lived in.  Unless of course it is required that the garment looks freshly new.  These are samples of distress I have done to hems, sleeves, pockets and shirt collars, as well as sweaty armpits and overall dirty haze to fabric.

Patina...  breakdown...  wear & tear.

Hoping and looking forward to doing a lot more of this in Deutschland!

<3
Devi

A hat isn't simply an accessory...

...  it is a statement.  A proclamation of who you are and how you want to project yourself to the world.  Are you modest, flirtatious, coy, sexy, independent, sporty, elegant, zany or queenly?

I have been collecting vintage hats for nearly 15 years and with an over-active imagination decided to start making the hats that I couldn't find when rummaging markets and vintage shops.

I will also include in this post a small collection of floral hair ornaments I have also made.



Grey felt tilt hat with spray of black feathers, twist of rust feathers and black & white feather spines.  I added the feathers to the pre-purchased felt hat.

1940's black feather tilt hat with clock parts, magnifying glasses and crow skull.  I added the cogs, magnifying glasses and skull to the hat for part of a Steampunk costume I had made for a German music festival in Leipzig about 3 years ago.

 

Black velvet toy hat with beads, feathers, fabric flowers, and plastic berries.  This one I actually made from scratch with a basic mesh hat form.

Simple flower hair clips in a variety of colours and styles.

Hopefully some of these have inspired you find a daring chapeau to express yourself and turn the heads of everyone you pass...  or get in touch with me and let's see what we can create together!!!

<3
Devi