This holiday season, drama dominates movie screens. In this excerpt from Issue 75 of Make-Up Artistmagazine's holiday movie preview, we go behind-the-scenes of Twilight.
It’s about: Angst-y teen romance between a girl and her beau, a pretty-boy vampire who must fight the urge not to slurp her blood. Based on the bestselling young-adult series, shot in gloomily atmospheric Portland, Oregon and directed by Catherine Hardwicke.
It stars: Robert Pattinson, Kristen Stewart
Department head: Jeanne Van Phue
This job required: Preliminary artwork. “I had worked with the director before, but she wanted sketches,” said Van Phue, who collaborated with make-up artist and restoration painter Kathy Shorkey on these. “She described what she wanted and I met her with my vision.” Van Phue was asked to keep the principals pale, but to stay away from a Sweeney Todd orInterview with a Vampire-type make-up, so she chose a denser, more opaque look for the supporting vampires and a lighter look for the leading man (“He’s got to look fabulous,” she explained). The key was striking a delicate shading balance: “All of the vampires are pale, but I didn’t want them to look ghoulish,” she said. “I didn’t want to contour, but I didn’t want them to fade away, either.”
The biggest make-up challenges were: “Rain—we were outside all the time, and it rained the entire time we were there,” Van Phue said. “Most of the shots were exterior, and trying to fix make-up in the rain with wet face and wet brush was difficult.” The experience made her a convert to SK-II Air Touch make-up. “It goes on flawlessly—no smudges or streaks,” she said. “And I accidentally found out it was water resistant.”
Viewers should look for: Original vampires. “It was challenging, because everyone has their own idea of how a vampire looks,” Van Phue said. “It had to jive with the director’s vision, but she’s very open-minded.”
It’s about: Angst-y teen romance between a girl and her beau, a pretty-boy vampire who must fight the urge not to slurp her blood. Based on the bestselling young-adult series, shot in gloomily atmospheric Portland, Oregon and directed by Catherine Hardwicke.
It stars: Robert Pattinson, Kristen Stewart
Department head: Jeanne Van Phue
This job required: Preliminary artwork. “I had worked with the director before, but she wanted sketches,” said Van Phue, who collaborated with make-up artist and restoration painter Kathy Shorkey on these. “She described what she wanted and I met her with my vision.” Van Phue was asked to keep the principals pale, but to stay away from a Sweeney Todd orInterview with a Vampire-type make-up, so she chose a denser, more opaque look for the supporting vampires and a lighter look for the leading man (“He’s got to look fabulous,” she explained). The key was striking a delicate shading balance: “All of the vampires are pale, but I didn’t want them to look ghoulish,” she said. “I didn’t want to contour, but I didn’t want them to fade away, either.”
The biggest make-up challenges were: “Rain—we were outside all the time, and it rained the entire time we were there,” Van Phue said. “Most of the shots were exterior, and trying to fix make-up in the rain with wet face and wet brush was difficult.” The experience made her a convert to SK-II Air Touch make-up. “It goes on flawlessly—no smudges or streaks,” she said. “And I accidentally found out it was water resistant.”
Viewers should look for: Original vampires. “It was challenging, because everyone has their own idea of how a vampire looks,” Van Phue said. “It had to jive with the director’s vision, but she’s very open-minded.” 
