Virtual Makeup Design: Volume 1

Designing Characters in ZBrush with Neville Page

Film and TV creature and concept designer Neville Page shares his complete workflow for designing characters for practical makeup FX. In this comprehensive 3.5-hour workshop, Neville discusses and demonstrates a process that he has termed “Virtual Makeup Design,” showcasing exactly how he designs makeup for films includingStar Trek, as well as the TV series Star Trek: Discovery, Picard, and Strange New Worlds.

In this insightful workshop that teaches how to create virtual designs that will be turned into practical makeup, Neville begins with the skin: a head scan of himself. Using this head scan data, he demonstrates how to work on top of it in ZBrush, just as he would if he were working with a physical life cast; only, rather than working with real clay, he’s using digital clay to build up the design. Artists can follow along as he designs and builds a character from the ground up, ensuring anatomical believability, practical feasibility, and a strong design foundation while also seeing how he tackles mistakes and happy accidents along the way. 

The goal with Virtual Makeup Design is to be able to present to clients – i.e. a film/TV director – what a character will look like, so as well as exploring the design itself, Neville also considers the materials a makeup artist may use, such as latex or silicone. This workshop discusses all of these considerations as he progresses through the design process. In Volume 2, Neville will focus on the presentation of the final design, including a focus on color, materials, lighting, and rendering. The goal will be for a director to see the final presentation and fully understand how the character will look on set. 

This workshop is invaluable for any artist looking to create characters that not only look compelling in concept but can also be realized in a real-world makeup application. Artists looking to develop their digital sculpting skills, in general, will also benefit from Neville’s professional workflow and industry experience using ZBrush.