A Day in the Life of a Special Effects Make-up Artist: Helping Kids Pick a Career

As a kid I don’t think I had any idea it was someone’s job to transform actors faces into monster faces. Even with CGI everything, there’s still lots of work for Special Effects Make-up Artists to do.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RTYZokU5chg

This is a very creative career path that involves training as a traditional make-up artist, as well as learning how to make prosthetics, and picking up many other tricks along the way. Loving to work in 3D art forms like sculpture are a big help.

Here in British Columbia, we have a thriving film industry that requires make-up artists of all types. The salary for a Special Effects Make-up Artist is approximately $44,000-$53,000 according to WorkBC, but it’s worth keeping in mind often the jobs are tied to a particular production, so there can be dry spells. Days are long on set, but your work is seen by millions of people.

The Lumière Festival in Vancouver

It’s pretty cool, creating monsters is a really job!

This post is sponsored by the Government of BC. Map your career plan with Blueprint Builder. Visit this easy-to-use tool to explore career paths, find the right education and funding, and search for jobs in your field. Visit workbc.ca to find out more.

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Erin McGann

Erin McGann is the former Managing Editor for Vancouver Mom and Toronto Mom Now. She drinks just a bit too much coffee, is a bit obsessed about sourcing local food, plays the cello moderately well, spends too much time on Twitter, keeps honeybees on a rooftop, and has a thing for single-malt whisky. Erin is working on a novel set in turn-of-the-century Vancouver, which her husband, son and dog have to hear about all the time, and also blogs at Erin at Large.