The Creation of ‘The Huntsman’

An essential part of the design process is to create the backstory of a character, especially with a campaign like ‘Guardians of the Lake’. Details of the character’s life and demise will automatically suggest make-up design-related elements. The first is to start with the story itself and what we can take from that. The AI-created storyline conjured up instant images of medieval times; ‘The Huntsman’ was almost instantly envisioned wearing leather and animal skins. Drawing inspiration from medieval folk tales of revenants, we imagined the huntsman character as a fearsome nomad. He needed to be larger than life and have a striking stature, intimidating by appearance alone. We start by creating a character mood board, imagery, or references of anything that felt relatable. Clothes, weapons, drawings, paintings, and other things related to the period. From the AI-produced story and the mood board references we then invented his backstory.



Once the whole picture of the character is formed, the make-up design can then start to develop. This backstory then naturally leads you to the type of wounds they may have and how they would potentially have been caused. We opted for a large spear wound on the chest that could have been fired from a crossbow. The prosthetic was then sculpted and created with this in mind, using Platsil Gel-25 1 kg and Syncap 500 ml. The finished prosthetic worked perfectly, with the cross-shaped wound revealing a seemingly gaping hole torn through the huntsman’s chest. The piece was applied with Silicone Adhesive NEO Strong Bond 50 ml before being colored using the FX Design Color Refill Square.



The transformation then began with the application of the pale base. We needed the three guardians of the lake to look ghostly but in a cinematic way to set them apart from the fresh-faced teenagers. In still imagery, conveying a character to the viewer needs to be a little more obvious. The specially formulated FX Design Color Liquid 50 ml can be built up to achieve a completely opaque finish but can also be sheered down using Thin & Fix Solution 50 ml, proving to be the perfect product for the pale skin tone required. The blend of colors was FX Design Color Liquid 50 ml (parchment), FX Design Color Liquid 50 ml (true white), and FX Design Color Liquid 50 ml (periwinkle), stippled over the face and upper body, giving the skin a deathly pallor but sheer enough to still give the impression of a skinlike quality rather than a solid paint. The face was then contoured and slightly aged and degraded using greys and dark brown shades in Mat senka za oči, Supracolor 8 ml, and FX Design Color Refill Square to emphasize the character's gaunt, skeletal face structure, creating a strong yet tormented appearance.



Attention to detail is paramount; strained blood vessel clusters and bruising are created by stippling FX Design Color Refill Square around areas of the wound. The translucency of the application gives the impression the pigmentation is beneath the surface and visible through pallid flesh. Scars and wounds were bloodied and enhanced, giving it a fresh, raw look using Drying krv 50 ml (dark).



The eyes are often the most striking feature of a character. Here, a frosted white editing tool was used to create a chilling, lifeless gaze. This method was chosen to not irritate the eyes of the model while shooting long days on set with contact lenses. Dark circles and sunken eyes were achieved by blending Mat senka za oči (102) and HD Cream Liner (aubergine) around the sockets, enhancing the haunted appearance of the character. The fierce, furrowed brow and deep-set eyes conveyed the character’s eternal torment and unyielding anger.

Sometimes, in make-up, you must think about your feet. The model booked for the shoot was perfect in size, frame, and look. However, he had a tattoo on his chest that wasn’t in keeping with the times. We, of course, could have covered the tattoo with either Dermacolor Camouflage krema 4 g or FX Design Color Refill Square, as the pigment is strong enough to camouflage tattoos. However we had an idea to be able to incorporate it into the look. We imagined the town where the story is set to have been a small farming village. Therefore, the tools at their disposal would represent this. The idea arose that the huntsman could have been branded with a hot iron, like cattle, occurring during the crazed manhunt that led to his murder. Using a combination of FX Design Color Refill Square (crimson) and FX Design Color Refill Square (blood), the skin around the tattoo was made up to look burnt and sore, while on the tattoo itself, Spirit Gum 30 ml was applied and manipulated as it dried to give a crusted scab like impression. Finally, once all details had been perfected, the make-up was set with Fiksator 400 ml to ensure its longevity.



Creating the Huntsman is not only a testament to the transformative power of make-up. Costume, hair, set, lighting, and the vision of our marketing team and photographer all play huge roles in bringing this character to life; every meticulous detail combined to conjure up a figure that truly seemed to have stepped out of a nightmare.

Shoot & Campaign Director & Concept Creator: Nadine Langer
Head of Design & Co-Director: Paulina Deptula
Head of Make-up Department & Shoot Producer: Paul Merchant
Key Make-up Artist: Mika Ledies
SFX Prosthetics: Steffi Berghmans
Photographer: Rosie Hardy
Lighting Director: Rachel Sherlock
Image Editing: Rosie Hardy & Adam Bird
Set & props: Jessica Riley
Key Hair Stylist: Shelly Sumner
Hair Stylist Assistant: Grace Davis
Nails: Karen Louise
Marketing BTS film content: Joao Batista
Model: Scott Sinclair