MAKE-UP HOW TO: Dwarf
It’s been a big transition from 2012 to 2013 for Tolkien fans. As expected, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey has been a box-office hit. Alongside halflings and wizards, little bearded guys are a dime a dozen in the film. Dwarfs may be below average in stature, but they’ve got the skills and attitude of 6’4” ballers and enough cumulative facial hair to pad the entire surface area of Middle Earth. Thanks to our in-house make-up expert, we’ve got some make-up pointers for a realistic dwarf look – this way you don’t just have to sit in the theater, you can be a part of the action on screen!
In this make-up tutorial you’ll learn how to recreate dwarf facial hair as well as their somewhat sickly complexion. Here’s what you’ll need:
Getting Started
Eyebrows: Take one of the two real hair Pimp Professional Mustaches and cut it in half. Hold the eyebrows above your eyes in front of the mirror and decide what kind of expression they should have. Depending on the situation, dwarfs are known to look friendly, grumpy or angry. You can trim the eyebrows with the nail clipper as required. Be aware of symmetry and avoid clean lines. Try for as round a shape as possible. Leave enough hair to cover your own eyebrows.
Beard decoration: Dwarfs love their beards and plenty of time decorating them, so don’t be shy – braids, leather bands, beads and runes are all fair game. Go crazy! For our beard decoration we cut up a plastic necklace from the 1 euro shop and braided it into the beard. As you see a little creativity is half the work.
Dwarf Make-up
Dwarfs live in underground tunnels, work hard and like to throw a few back at the end of the day. And their skin shows it, too. In terms of skin type, most would fall in the “pale and sickly” category. To achieve this effect, just do the following:
Ruptured blood vessels and redness: Dip a coarse-pore sponge in the violet aqua make-up, dab it against your hand or a dry surface until it leaves only small traces behind. Then dab the sponge along the outer contours of your nose and cheeks. For best results, go over these areas a few times, letting the make-up dry in between each layer. TIP: Coarse-pore sponges from your local DIY store are cheaper and just as effective as those from make-up stores. Cut off the corners and edges of the sponge before use.
Details around the eyes: For the exhausted look of a warrior dwarf or mine worker, add a few dark brown lines on the inside and outside corners of your eyes with a fine make-up brush. Then blend the lines with strokes away from the eye. This gives the eyes a sunken look. You can also use this technique to add worry and scowl lines to the forehead and bridge of the nose.
Nose and wrinkles: Elves have slender, elegant noses and smooth, clear skin. Dwarfs don’t. Their noses are wide and their faces fat and wrinkly. You can make your nose look wider with this simple trick: just extend the lines around your nostrils a few millimeters with your light brown make-up. If you want you can also extend this into a laugh line running between your mouth and nose. Here it’s best to extend the line along your own from the upper nostril to the corner of your mouth. Be sure to blend these lines as well.
Powder: As soon as you’re satisfied with your make-up, set it with powder. For dwarfs, a light, translucent powder is suitable. Simply apply with a powder puff.
Here’s Where It Gets Hairy: Attaching Eyebrows and Beard
Attaching the eyebrows: Go over your eyebrows and surrounding skin with the brush found on the cap of the Mastix Spirit Gum. Be sure not to get any in your eyes. After the initial application, it often helps to even out the glue with a cotton swab. Use the swab as you would a paint roller to spread out the glue, and the fake eyebrows will lie nicely along your real ones.
Blending: Depending on how you’ve cut the eyebrows, there is often a sharp edge at the bridge of the nose. To strengthen the illusion of real eyebrows, use your thin make-up brush and a bit of brown make-up to add a couple of thin hairs.
Attaching the beard: The Amish Professional Fullbeard is too large to attach all at once, and the Mastix dries too quickly. We recommend starting under your mouth. Again, using a cotton swab to even out the glue is helpful here. Be sure to attach the beard as close to the lower lip as possible. Hold the beard against your skin until it stays on its own. It is important to keep your mouth wide open while attaching the beard, otherwise it will bunch along the cheeks when speaking, eating or singing a round of dwarf drinking songs. The tail of a tail comb is perfect for applying pressure to the beard while the glue dries. It also keeps the glue off your fingers. While attaching the mustache, your mouth should also remain open. Don’t forget the corners!
Twisting your beard: To achieve a uniform look between mustache and beard it helps to twist the ends of the mustache into a few strands of the beard hair. You can also twist the entire mustache and beard combo into scraggly strands if you fancy a wild, unkempt look over a clean cut one.
All Set! Ready for an Unexpected Adventure?
Now you’ve got the bold, weathered countenance of a Middle Earth dwarf with an impressive amount of facial hair to boot! With such a flowing beard and authentic skin imperfections you’ll be the main attraction of every fantasy film premiere. Just memorize a couple of dwarf drinking songs and off you go!
It’s worth mentioning that this make-up tip is perfect for LARPers playing a dwarf role. With this technique the beard stays put for a long time, is much more comfortable than a beard that hangs with elastic around the face, and if you bring your violet make-up and sponge along with you, you can always touch up those busted capillaries. The powder does its utmost to keep your make-up intact.
More Dwarf Accessories in Our Shop
All you need now is a matching costume. You can show off your dwarf face best in a hooded Warrior Cape. This is especially good if your hair color doesn’t match that of your new beard. Nordic clothing such as our Woolen Viking Tunic in brown is also perfect for dwarf costumes.
You’ll find many gorgeous accessories in our shop that will help you make that dwarf costume into a show-stopper – check out our Runes Ring and Money Pouch. Dwarfs love money, after all. If your nose doesn’t reach the desired dwarf effect with make-up alone, our latex Dwarf Nose can save the day.
And if you find yourself wondering whether your dwarf persona is really ready for battle (you never know when you’ll encounter the next wargs, orcs or dragons), we’ve got armor galore. Check out the Braveheart William Wallace Helmet, and don’t miss our homespun Mercenary Armor produced in our Andracor workshop here in Berlin. There are matching Bracers and an arsenal of dwarf weaponry, too. You can’t go wrong with an intimidating Barbarian Axe, a Mercenary Dagger or our Viking Round Shield Deluxe. When push comes to shove, if you’re in a hurry or would like to save yourself some work, you can find a readymade Dwarf Full Beard in the line-up. We’ve waited til the end to say it because doing it yourself is a blast.
Now get out there and get rowdy.
Your Crew @ maskworld.com
