Halloween Resources for Fun and Research

A revealing look at how and why we dress up for events from historical reenactments to Halloween, with an "engaging writing style and rich illustrations" (Choice). What does it mean to people around the world to put on costumes to celebrate their heritage, reenact historic events, assume a role on stage, or participate in Halloween or Carnival? Self-consciously set apart from everyday dress, costume marks the divide between ordinary and extraordinary settings and enables the wearer to project a different self or special identity. In this fascinating book, Pravina Shukla offers richly detailed case studies from the United States, Brazil, and Sweden to show how individuals use costumes for social communication and to express facets of their personalities.

Many beginning and hobbyist costumers believe that professional costume/prop builders have unlimited and specialized resources with which to ply their craft. Actually, the pros create things in much the same way that hobbyists do, working as resourcefully and creatively as possible with a limited budget. Creating the Character Costume dives into these methods to showcase how to achieve expert looks with limited means and lots of creativity.

Accompanying the costume shots in this celebration of Halloween revelry is a history of this popular American holiday and an essay placing the work in the wider context of fashion and costume.

From Jack the Ripper to Frankenstein, Halloween customs to Alexander McQueen collections, Fashioning Horror examines how terror is fashioned visually, symbolically, and materially through fashion and costume, in literature, film, and real life. With a series of case studies that range from sensationalist cinema and Slasher films to true crime and nineteenth-century literature, the volume investigates the central importance of clothing to the horror genre, and broadens our understanding of both material and popular culture. Arguing that dress is fundamental to our understanding of character and setting within horror, the chapters also reveal how the grotesque and horrific is at the center of fashion itself, with its potential for instability, disguise, and carnivalesque subversion. Packed with original research, and bringing together a range of international scholars, the book is the first to thoroughly examine the aesthetics of terror and the role of fashion in the construction of horror

This easy-to-use handbook presents step-by-step instructions and patterns for a tremendous variety of clothes and accessories from colonial times through the Civil War. More than eighty illustrations depict Puritan, Dutch, Quaker, and Native American garb as well as military uniforms. A bonus CD features every pattern in vector files. Drawing upon authentic materials in the collections of major museums, including the American Museum of Natural History and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the author presents accurate renditions of generations of American formal and leisure wear. Costumers of all kinds will find this book a source of inexpensive apparel for amateur theater troupes, school pageants, and casual reenactments. It will also prove an inspiration to parents and children seeking informal costumes for Halloween and other occasions.

An introductory guide for students learning professional make-up, hairdressing and wardrobe skills and `front of camera' professionals needing an understanding of the techniques. Written by an experienced professional, this manual offers a step-by step approach for the complete beginner with diagrams to show procedures for a variety of make-up effects, from corrective and character make-up, to period dramas, special effects and prosthetics. It describes the skills required of the job, introduces special make-up products and how to apply them for different effect and sets the context for the make-up artist's role, by considering technical requirements such as lighting, camerawork and chroma-key backgrounds.

Learn to age an actor's face 40 years, build mustaches and beards or change facial features entirely. With some practice and a little creativity, this step-by-step instruction on make-up design and application can turn anyone into an expert make-up artist.

Let Dick Smith, the creator of the magical special effects for Altered States, The Exorcist, and The Hunger show you how it's done. You'll never have to worry about searching for a Halloween costume again! Using easily available materials, you can transform yourself into any kind of creature that you wish to become.

Special Makeup Effects for Stage and Screen, presents the latest techniques and special effects in what has become an industry "bible." In addition to genre-specific considerations, Debreceni covers the latest gear you will need and details how to maintain your kit, how to take care of the actor's skin, how to airbrush for HD, and much more. With in-depth, step-by-step tutorials, learn how to sculpt and mold your own makeup prosthetics, focusing on human anatomy to create the most realistic effects.

This up-to-date, full-color makeup manual is designed to lie open on the makeup table right as a guide for student, amateur, or professional performers.