Hybrid Fx nominated for 'Team of the Year' at the Royal Television Society Awards

We are happy to announce that our Prosthetic & Makeup team for the hit BBC2 show 'Undercover Dads' have been shortlisted for the prestigious award.

It is always nice to be up for an award but this one is special as it focuses on the team involved in the show, from frontline makeup artists to the clever and talented people that design, sculpt and fabricate our lifelike silicone disguise work.

Big thanks to Dawn, Ricky and Suzanne for pulling long shifts and still managing to create awesome looking 'Mega Nannies'.

The award dinner is on June 14th.

Prosthetic Designer Mike Stringer creating a brand new fingertip for one of the Dad's.

Makeup Artist Suzanne Bates 'veeting' like a dervish.

Hybrid Fx School expands to London and Essex!

We are proud to announce that we are now offering several of our courses at two new locations around the country.

The stunning 'Tres Health & Wellbeing' Centre right next to Chelsea Bridge Wharf is our London location and the first course dates start from Saturday 17th July.

Second up is the 'Greenwoods Hotel & Spa' in Stock, Essex which starts later in the year from October.

The majority of the week long courses will always be run at our Studio as it is our main facility but we will open up more courses at these new locations as soon as feasible!

We have also updated the website to reflect these changes, please choose:

'Studio Based Courses' for Studio Courses in Guiseley.
'London Based Courses' for London Courses.
'Essex Based Courses' for the Stock, Essex Courses.

Finally we recently added a 'Facial Lifecasting' Course which we reccomend to any makeup artists looking to really learn how to perfom perfect lifecasts. It's a skill we feel is poorly presented in the industry and now is the time to polish your technique.

Details are available via 'Studio Based Courses' menu option.

Pro-Fx Makeup Tips - Introduction to Lifecasting - Part 1

Hi, we’re a little behind schedule with this months slice of Fx Tips, we’ve been so unexpectedly busy this year so far, the months are flying by…

So, I thought we should start to introduce a few materials into the mix, and offer a little insight into the techniques we use in the industry and offer on our specialist courses.

Introduction to Lifecasting – Part 1

Lifecasting is one of the key skills that underpins much of what we do as Makeup Fx Artists.

There are a great many techniques one needs to develop and practice in order to be a skilled, safe and accomplished lifecaster and these can only be learned as part of one of our main courses and with good practice.


Here we will just touch on some of the very basic aspects and materials involved…

As mentioned in the past, being organised and laying out your equipment in a clean and tidy way is very important. You will not always be able to perform the lifecast at your place of work, often you will need to travel to the client, either at their home, a Hotel, their agents office or similar.

Protecting surfaces of the place in which you are working, as well as the floor is very important, as the lifecasting process can be a little messy.



The standard base material for making a lifecast is Alginate, which is a very safe, Seaweed based product and is available in 2 types; There’s a fast setting, usually coloured & flavoured (mint, fruit etc) version used mainly in the Dental industry for making teeth impressions. There’s also a slower white odourless version specifically for facial and larger body lifecasting.


Alginate comes in powder form and is mixed with water to form a smooth paste.

When applied to any body area it will set to a firm rubber in a few minutes.

Often we will reinforce the alginate with a layer of Hessian to prevent it tearing, and also to aid in the next stage of the process…


When set, alginate peels away from the skin very easily and cleanly, and pics up perfect fine skin details.


Next month… Part 2 of our Introduction to Lifecasting

Want to learn more ?

Book onto our ‘One day Intensive Facial Lifecasting’ Course, or The ‘6 Week Intensive Prosthetic Makeup’ Course

New Course launched - One Day Intensive Facial Lifecasting

Starting from Saturday 3rd May 2010 is our highly intensive Lifecasting course.

Covering every aspect on how to safely perform a professional facial lifecast, it is limited to four slots only.

Throughout the day at our Studio, attendees will perform a lifecast under guidance from Award Winning Prosthetic Designer Mike Stringer and then also undergo the same process to fully understand what it feels like.

This will allow the attendees to confidently discuss the process to any future Actors or Celebrities they may be casting at a later date.

Please Click Here if you wish to learn more.

'On the (Makeup Kit) Case'

Hello everyone, sorry this is a little late, been a really busy month...

I think this will be the last of the basic introductory tips, I'm hoping next month to start to look at some of the interesting products and materials we use in the trade.

Anyway, to conclude the general advice theme we started on, I thought we'd just dip into the world of makeup cases, boxes and the like.

This is great, as there's no rules here at all, it really is personal choice, and to be honest, it hugely depends on the kind of job you're doing, products you'll be using etc as to what kind of 'Kit Case' you need.

There are a whole host of different designs, some made especially for makeup, and some are simply boxes which are quite handy for our particular purposes.

These are a small selection of some I've tried, and my thoughts on each as to how useful you may find them...


Case 1 - The classic Cantilever box, looks great, very robust and folds out to reveal lots of compartments. Really good for small jobs etc, but sadly the box is quite heavy to start with, so if you're walking a long way, you may wish to think again. I always found it difficult to fit everything I wanted in this one, as the compartments can tend to be a little shallow. Also, be aware, when it folds out it takes up a lot of space, however it is very quick to open and close in a rush to get at your supplies, and that can be really handy, particularly if you're in a hurry on set !

These cases can be found all over the place in a range of normal high street shops, DIY stores etc, be careful, you don't need to pay a lot for them !

Case 2 - A nice compact makeup case, held together with two little twist fasteners and Velcro sides. A little tricky to find your stuff quickly as it has a lot of compartments, but some are clear which helps when locating small items in a hurry (or at 5:00am when you're half asleep and about to start a long day). As it's nylon, it's light weight, strong and fairly easy to clean, but suffers from being black as it will tend to look dusty and messy fairly quick. We used these cases quite a bit for a while, they take quite a lot of products, including tall bottle which is handy, however getting into them quickly can be tricky, and again they take over a fair bit of space when opened out.

These types cases can usually be found at good makeup suppliers.

Case 3 - This larger case really covers a bit of Case 1 and 2 above, it's fairly light, carry's lots of stuff and has a removable cantilever section for loads of smaller items. It tends to be a little bulky, and again I couldn't always find a space for all the bottles of colour I was carrying, but depending on what' s in your kit, this can certainly be a useful companion.

These types cases can usually be found at good makeup suppliers too.

Case 4 - Ok, I know it's not really a case, but it goes hand in glove with any of your Kit needs. There's lots of different sizes & shapes of these kind of clear flexible plastic pouches, great for brushes, small makeup items etc. They really are helpful just to separate up various items or brands of product within your chosen makeup kit. Clear is often very useful !

These types cases can also be found at good makeup suppliers.

Case 5 - And talking of clear, here we are... the humble clear tool box. I've gone through quite a few boxes, cases and kit carrying devices in my career so far, and in reality, I've reached a stage where I find a simple box like this one of the easiest units to use. They look clean, are easy to access all your items, some have great lids which have little compartments for smaller things, and others of course have removable trays inside also. You can gets lots of different sizes, even giant ones on wheels, which are also great. Of course not all are clear/translucent, but whenever I find one that is, large or small I pick one up.

These cases can be found all over the place in a range of normal high street shops, Art & Craft stores, DIY stores etc.

Ultimately, as you develop your career, you'll find that the best option for you is to have a range of cases on hand to suit each job. Sometimes you'll want them all with you, some for holding stock products and spare equipment, some for in the makeup room, and some for on set work.

Much of this will also depend on whether you are working on location, or on a fixed studio shoot. The best thing is to always keep your eyes peeled for that little gem which you think will be just perfect for your next job.

See you soon in April.

Pro-Fx Makeup Tips - 'Thinking outside the (Makeup) Box '

There's never enough hours in the day, and every little technique, trick or device we can employ to help things along saves time as well as a little stress.

This month, I'm looking at useful items to have in your makeup kit that don't take up a lot of space, don't cost much, but are really helpful to have around.

Like many interesting things, these are usually available from Art/Craft suppliers, in this case near the Fine Artists section, brushes, paints etc.

1. 'Fold up' Brushes and Tool pots.

They come in at least 2 sizes and are sold as water holders. However, they are great to pack down and carry with you for putting a whole load of other things inside besides water once you've set up !

2. Clip on Liquid Holders.

They are small and made of metal, designed for clipping to the side of an Oil Painters palette I believe, but they also clip brilliantly onto the lid of your Tattoo or any Alcohol activated ink sets. This gives you a ready to hand supply of Isopropyl Alcohol for working with your makeup inks, especially good when you're on the run, on set etc. You can also keep 2 or 3 clipped onto your kit so that you can cover a range of colours/shades at once without having to do too much pot cleaning.

3. 'Six Up' Palettes.

So, you've got your Clip on alcohol holder, and you want to work with a range of colours from your Makeup/Tattoo Ink palette, but you don't want all the colours to run together on the lid which you usually use to mix on ! Drop one of these on the lid of your Inks and you can contain any of your mixed colours easily. Better still, if they dry out, you can re-activate later with more alcohol and they're ready to go again. Also great for continuity, and keeps your Ink Kit lid clean and professional looking.

4. Water Brushes.

I've not made as much use of these as I should, but they are brilliant for keeping a ready made wash of any alcohol based colour in for doing makeup/prosthetic Fx work. I find them really useful for continuity, and they save having to carry a whole palette + alcohol around, especially on set, and particularly if you may only need 2 or 3 colours. Really great for casualty work, quickly darkening in wounds, adding dried blood effects etc.

5. Tool Holders.

Available from Tiranti's, these little plastic telescopic tubes are perfect for putting tools, sharp items, odd brushes, or even straws for your actors (for when they're drinking and wearing full prosthetics).

Pro-Fx Makeup Tips - 'Laying out your Kit'

‘The Smallest of problems can turn into mountains if you are not mentally and physically prepared on a shoot. For me, this means starting at the very beginning.

Laying out your kit in a tidy and professional manner so that everything is in reach, leaves you ready to face whatever obstacles production may throw at you!'



Problem - If you are ill prepared and rushed in setting up your kit, then the rest of your makeup can suffer.

This is not a good layout...




Brushes need to be clean, all adhesive pots and other vessels should also be clean, screw top lids easy to remove, not sticky and locked up with detritus from the end of the last shoot ! All labels should be also tidy and easily readable.
This not only aids quick recognition for use, but is also a matter of health and safety so that it is clear what each product actually is. Miscellaneous clear liquids in gummy messy bottles is not acceptable.

Likewise, any colour palettes etc should also be clean and presentable. All this is not just for your personal benefit, though that should be reason enough (a tidy space is a tidy mind and all that), but equally, if not more importantly, it's a matter of hygiene too !

The work you will be doing is on another human being, often an actor, and more often an actor of some standing. They will always feel far better (and safer) about whatever you may be applying to them if it appears to be done cleanly, and in turn professionally.


Solution - First off, arrive at least thirty minutes before your call time. Have a coffee or tea and mentally go through your makeup role for that day. Hopefully, before you set off for the shoot, your boxed kit was already clean and organised ready to go, preferably sorted the night before !

Using a wet pipe or similar, wipe down the work surface you are about to lay your kit out on.

From your box of tissues lay several out on the chosen work surface. Begin to lay out your colours, sponges and general tools required for the work.

Also any powder you may be using during a prosthetic application should be tapped out onto a tissue for easy access when de-tacking blending edges etc.



















Brushes for applying and colouring can then be laid out separately.



















Clear disposable plastic cups should also be kept handy, these are used to decant a small amount of adhesive at a time, + required thinners etc for use during any prosthetic application. Each cup should be labelled with a marker pen for safe and quick identification. When a cup gets gummy or messed up, you can easily throw it away, get a fresh one, and make a clean start.

This can also be done for Prosthetic Makeup Remover, such as liquid Pro-Clean. Decanting a little at a time will save costly spillages !

Always ensure lids are kept tightly on your main liquid materials.

This not only saves you money if anything's spilt, but equally, it is really difficult (and time consuming, not to mention embarrassing) cleaning up a lot of spilt adhesive, and if that was all you had with you, it could be very difficult to finish your prosthetic application without some glue !

Any Prosthetic items required for the makeup such as Bald Caps, Teeth or actual Prosthetic pieces should also be prepared, trimmed as required and laid out ready for application or test fitting.

Lastly, food, snacks, drinks etc should be kept safely away from the working area (not only your own but also your actor's !)



Tada! A clean and professional layout that will help you work more efficiently, make you stand out from the crowd and put your client at ease :)

Next Month: Coming Soon