bardoftheunknown | Dean Cain - Costume Party Murder

We have a hell of a post coming in for this final! Having the chance to do makeup for this script was really fun, and I honestly wish I had more time to mess with the look I created this week. These were really fun characters to think about, so without further ado I give you my research for each of the characters in Josh & Elyse’s Costume Party.

Quick warning for the first photo as it includes images of gunshot wounds.

For Marc I looked at the cause of his death (most obviously.) Which, honestly I was surprised to find what look to be real images of bullet wounds, because most of the time I’m desperately scouring the internet for something that isn’t a recreation of a wound. Beyond that I also looked up “5 oclock shadow” and “gangster” and found images that mixed the two of them or represented each of them on their own. I also wanted to make sure I stayed away from any “gangster” images that were racist caricatures, so I stayed with the more new york kind of mobster look.

For Mr. Silver I looked at artistic creations of Beethoven as he is described as looking similar to him in the script. Then, I looked at some basic chef outfits, and afterwards I looked at food stains on both faces and clothing that could possibly be mistaken for blood.

For Ms. Aubergine I first looked up “old beauty queens” to get a very basic look of someone who is older and puts a lot of effort into their appearance. Which, I realized reminded me of my nana quite a lot and gave me the idea that Ms. Aubergine would be the type of woman to have makeup tattooed on her. A lot of the “glamor clown” makeups I have pictured are on younger people with more modern ideas of fashion, but a mix between the two would be helpful. I also then looked up a couple different versions of a bouffant.

For Professor Onyx I first started with looking at weird creepy vintage photos. Then, I looked at a couple different versions of vampires, ending with two versions of Castelevania vampires because I feel like the detail in the Castlevania artwork canon would give a lot of depth to someone trying to create both a weird creepy man or a weird creepy vampire man.

For Ms. Cleadon I first looked at a couple different images of weather women to get an idea of her uncostumed look. Which basically withered down to “no makeup makeup look.” From there I put more emphasis on looking at costume things. If I were to create this pirate costume makeup for Ms. Cleadon I would match the colors of the pirate outfit to the makeup itself. Maybe a little bruising or more intense contour to look “sea worn” would also help finish this look!

For Friar Hickory I looked up “grizzled old man” and first got the casting image of someone who you’d see on a rocking chair smoking a pipe in an old western. Lots of lines, probably weather worn. After that, I looked at various paintings of his costume, Marie Antionette. After putting the two together, I got hit with the realization that this Friar Hickory is basically Mark Henderson (@markthemodel on Tik Tok). If I had the ability to cast this show I’d cast him in this role in a heartbeat.

For Ms. Slate I looked first at Instagram at a couple of punk branded makeup brands to get a rough shape and placement of lights and darks for a more punkish look. From there I also looked at blue punk makeup looks specifically. Then, I tried to find some looks of leftover eyeshadow that weren’t super touched up and stylized. Which was hard, but I did find a look that was similar enough to get the point across.

For Detective D’Aboville I looked at images of Hercule Poirot as that is how he is described in the script. For his costume he’s described as just throwing on a mask, however because the emphasis of this script is on creating two makeup looks, it may also be interesting to paint on the mask instead.

For Claire La Lune I looked at various freckled women to get basic freckle pattern ideas. After this I looked at various full face cat makeups as it was important to me that she was genuinely trying with this look, making her have an incredibly different energy to D’Aboville. I think for this look it would also be cute to have her freckles replicate the dots that are on the left cat’s look.

Finally, we have the look I completed! I created a look for Dean Cain. I first looked at meticulously kept older men, and then couldn’t shake the idea of him being a Paul Hollywood type. From there I looked at pictures of different theatrical creations of Jekyll and Hyde. Then I settled on the idea of taking more inspiration from Harvey Dent & Two Face.

Now, let’s get into makeup! The first thing I did was shower as I was planning to blow dry my hair straight. Which I then promptly gave up on as my arms got too tired, and I realized that I can pull my hair back in a ponytail to create a clean enough look as long as I’m facing the camera head on and not to the side. Plus, I planned to have my hair curly and down again anyways for the costumed look.

For Dean Cain’s two looks I used my Athena painting palette, ben nye highlight & contour, and Nyx’s drop foundation.

To start his first lookI first laid out the highlights for my old age like I would for any old age makeup. I also didn’t bother with any facial hair grooming that I normally would do to help give a older less groomed man look.

Then I added all the contours to all the sunken in areas of the face and wrinkles! I also went a little sharper on my cheek contour then a cis guy may do in order to help make sure the look was staying masculine. The forehead wrinkles seem like a lot at this distance, but they appeared nicer on camera for the primary longer distance shots. If I had more time to focus on this project, I would have done a more blended out look for the close up shots and then a more exaggerated look for the long distance shots.

After filming, I then moved onto doing my Hyde side! Which immediately after filming I realized I should have done a different base color. The red serves Dean Cain’s joke look very well and immediately gives a look of something being off, weird, and exaggerated- but it didn’t serve the story as a whole very well. Because Ms. Aubergine being a red clown is what drives the murder to her. While obviously this isn’t a clown look, the red wasn’t the right choice for this story. If I had time to reshoot and do the makeup I would change this to a green or purple look.

To tie the Hyde side to the Jekyll side I repeated the basics of old age, but I exaggerated the lines to create a more evil deformed look. I also twisted the natural crease I have at the corner of my mouth upwards to create a twisted smile.

Then I went through and added highlights in Yellow! Once again things aren’t very natural looking, but I don’t mind that as much for the Hyde side of this look.

Despite the changes I’d like to make to these looks, I’m still very proud that I was able to create something effective and interesting for this character! Thanks once again to Josh & Elyse for this fun script!