But in the future, I have a plan to create Ethiopian characters with unique features,” stated Bethlehem.Īs with Boni, finding the right type of makeup is also a big challenge for Bethlehem. “As I couldn’t find a character with special effects or prosthetic makeup in Ethiopian films, I’m forced to focus on Hollywood characters. For the time being, Bethlehem is focusing on Hollywood characters. She has done characters like Gollum from the Lord of the rings, Maleficent, and Jack Sparrow from Pirates of the Caribbean. Bethlehem has done amazing work during her stay at home. “I had plans to do special effects makeup before the pandemic and staying at home has given me more time to concentrate and focus on the craft,” remarked Bethlehem. With the advent of the Coronavirus pandemic in Ethiopia, Bethlehem has been forced to stay home. Besides her responsibilities as a set designer, she also does regular makeup and special effects makeup. An architect by profession, Bethlehem worked as a set designer in a production company.
As I can’t get scar wax, I’m trying to use wheat flour and Vaseline to do scars,” Boni explained.īethlehem Abebe is another special effects makeup artist. “This is the biggest challenge I’m currently facing.
Only few professional makeup artists know about the makeups required to do bruises, wounds and scars. Most of the sales people didn’t actually know about the materials, let alone have them in their shops. “I recently wanted to do some special effects makeup but I couldn’t find the necessary materials at cosmetic shops. As a coping mechanism, she substitutes the missing materials by homemade equipment and substances like flour, Vaseline, lipstick and the like.
One of the challenges she is facing is absence of enough materials in the market to practice and advance her craft. As with almost everything worthwhile in life, her journey has set her on a collision path with some hardship. “I think in the process of teaching myself, I became more interested in special effects makeup,” Boni reckoned. “Once the state of emergency declared that schools are going to stay closed, I started to teach myself the basics of special effects makeup using online tutorials and practiced using homemade materials,” she stated.ĭespite her interest in doing special effects make up, Boni does not remember exactly when she got the inspiration to join Ethiopian cinema as a special effects makeup artist. During that time, she started learning about special effects makeup from YouTube uploads. The Coronavirus pandemic then made its landfall in Ethiopia and extended her break. During that time, I looked for schools that provide advanced training in make-up art but I couldn’t find any,” said Boni.įinally Boni decided to join one of the schools that provide introductory lessons during the Ethiopian winter. “Before the advent of COVID-19, I was at home for a month on account of our semester break. Despite the unexpected obstacle to her plans, Boni has made the best out of her stay at home to work on work on her talent. The Coronavirus pandemic has, however, forced students and other segments of the society to stay at home, disrupting their plans. Upon completion of her accounting education by the end of June, she had a plan to study make-up art during the rainy season.
But all the scary characters in a horror movie or mystical beings like aliens, monsters and magical creatures in Sci-fi come to life on account of the hard work of behind the scene professionals like prosthetic and special effect makeup artists.īoni Abera is a third year accounting student at St.
The works of behind the scene professionals usually goes unnoticed in the cinema industry. That might be about to change as a new breed of young talent is taking up special effects and prosthetic makeup. The Flourishing Art of Special Effects and Prosthetic MakeupĪs Ethiopian films fundamentally offer ‘normal’ characters with minor or no specialįeatures on their bodies, the role of special effects and prosthetic makeup has been very minimal in Ethiopian film making.