Technical - Burns

Health & Safety:
- complete a client consultation form in order to establish any allergies or contraindications.
- ensure you place an apron around the client to protect their clothes from any damage or stains.
- remember to wash your hands thoroughly with soap before touching the clients skin.

Products used:
Latex
Stipple Sponge
Spatula
Microwave
Microwavable Bowl
Small Brush
Translucent Powder
Fake Puss
Cotton Bud
Stiff Brush for applying colour
soft brush for blending colour
Supracolour palette
Hairdryer

Step by Step:
1. Place a block of gelatine into a microwaveable bowl. (the amount of gelatine you use will depend on how big a burn you wish to create).
2. Melt the gelatine in the microwave for 10 seconds or until it is fully dissolved (make sure the gelatine does not burn).
3. Before applying to the client/models skin test the temperature of the gelatine on the back of the hand (it should be warm but not too hot to scold the skin).
4. Using  a spatula, smear the gelatine on to the selected area of skin where you wish to create the burn.
5. Once the gelatine has set, take a cotton bud dipped in hot water and smooth any rough edges, blending them into the skin surrounding the burn.
6. Once the gelatine has set, take a small amount of translucent powder and dab it over the gelatine in a thin layer.
7. Take the supracolour palette and, using a small brush, apply colour to the gelatine to make the burn look more realistic (think about using purple, yellow and red tones) and then blend the colours using a soft brush or/and your fingers.
8. To create depth, apply a small amount of darker supracolour to areas of the burn (e.g. browns and blacks).
9. To make the burn appear sore, dab red supracolour around the edges of the burn where the gelatine meets the skin, as well as taking a stippling sponge and dabbing red over the burn itself.
10. Take a cotton bud and rub it over small areas of the gelatine to remove the makeup and create the appearance of blistering.
11. Finally you can, if you wish to, apply some fake puss to areas of the burn to create the appearance of an infection.

Evaluation:
I really enjoyed the technical on creating burns, I am very interested in going down the special effects route and so learning to create injuries like this really fascinates me. I enjoyed working with and manipulating the gelatine and experimenting with colour to make the burn look more realistic and severe.
After the technical I then bought some regular gelatine of my own and continued to experiment with various types of burns of my own which I also found very interesting and I was very pleased with the results.