Today we’d like to introduce you to Alexa Cantarini
Hi Alexa, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
Of course, so I started out my journey with makeup when I was around 12 years old. My grandma was an art teacher so I was always very attracted to all sorts of art mediums. I always loved to draw on myself and I one day discovered illusion body painting. I would do body paint makeups like these all night long on myself in my bedroom one after another. I was hooked on how much I could do with a few colors. I was also a big monster movie fan and was fascinated with SFX work and all the creatures. I started to play around with some SFX materials like liquid latex and scar wax to make wounds and injuries. I was very shy when I was younger so this was a form of art I could use to express myself as well as challenge myself with. I started to teach myself how to make more realistic gore looks and body paints off YouTube then later on from watching Faceoff. I just enjoyed painting myself and getting to have a creative outlet that I could transform myself with. I had no clue it could actually be a potential career path for myself until I was about 15. My family friend introduced me to an event called IMATS for the first time where I got to go watch my friend get her makeup done for a demo representing cinema makeup school and I was lucky enough to meet multiple Oscar winning makeup artists that day who looked at my work and encouraged me to pursue my dreams and even mentioned CMS as an option where I could get even more guidance. This is when attending cinema makeup school became my dream path and I told myself I would go there when I was older and become a special effects makeup artist. When people would ask the question of what I wanted to be when I grew up, I would tell them and myself this even at times when I didn’t believe it could really happen for me. But, I wanted to fantasize that I could maybe get to do my dream job one day. But, one problem was how expensive my dream school was. So I began college to further figure things out and explore what I liked, while I did makeup on the side. I was taking business courses, marketing classes, art classes, and film classes to start. And in one of my film classes, I got a great piece of advice from my professor that I should not call myself an “aspiring makeup artist”, but to tell myself I already am one if that’s what I want to do. This helped boost my confidence in a lot of areas in both my career with makeup and just my life in general. Because he was right, I was already doing it. I was practicing on my friends and family as much as I could and even offering to do makeup for my school film projects. I later started taking some theater makeup courses available on campus and a prosthetic course where I started to learn better ways to sculpt, mold, and apply my own prosthetics on myself and others. Once I finished college with my business marketing degree, film communications degree, etc. I continued to work on sets and build up my confidence as an artist. I was feeling pretty solid with how everything was going even though my dream school was always in the back of my mind. I luckily had a good group of film colleagues who encouraged me and offer advice when I needed it. But as I began working more and more, I started to really noticed how confident the makeup artists who attended dedicated makeup schools were like CMS and MUD. I wanted to know more and feel like I was the real deal. So after coming off of doing makeup for a feature, I was having a few slow months and finally decided I was going to make a huge leap. I was going to move to LA on my own and start attending Cinema Makeup School. I figured it out with the advice and help of some of my family and made the leap of faith. I took the master makeup course at CMS where I met so many wonderful artists and got to learn from award winning artists I had looked up to since I was a kid. Everything was so surreal and I made sure to ask all my questions and get the full experience while I was there. I really couldn’t believe I was actually there since it was always just a dream I had. I was working on set while attending my CMS program to help keep up with my existing contacts and I even got to do a demo representing my dream school at Monster palooza. It was a full circle moment for sure. Attending a school for prosthetics was the best choice I could’ve made to boost my confidence as a trained artist and get the professional guidance I needed. Once I finished my program I continued to hone my skills and work on professional sets as well as personal projects I’d been dreaming of for so long. This has lead to so many friendships along the way, incredible jobs I never thought I could actually achieve, and so much more that I’ve yet to do.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Figuring out how to start in this industry was definitely not the easiest and seemed very intimidating. I had set my mind on what I wanted to do for my future but I didn’t know how to actually break in. I started college and I luckily had began making some really good friends and inspiring colleagues in my film classes, some who were in the same boat as me and some who were already miles ahead. I made sure to ask all my questions and try to figure out the unknown. Everyone could see how passionate I was and how hungry I was to jumpstart my career in SFX makeup for film and started to offer me advice and assure me that I was already on my way. This helped me a lot in the beginning that these people who already seemed to have it figured out and who were working on real sets saw something in me and were actively cheering me on. I was offering to do makeup for my film classes and practicing glam, sfx, and body painting on my friends and family to get more practice on different skin tones and skin types. I began posting my work on Instagram, old and new, on myself and on others, just have somewhere I could show people my work easily. I started to develop confidence in myself as a makeup artist and for the first time started to actually believe in my abilities enough to advocate for my work. I definitely still did not believe in myself fully but I knew I had to keep going and I would eventually get somewhere. It seemed like a long road ahead of me and I wasn’t convinced yet that I would be good enough to make it in such a competitive industry. I wanted to be an artist and do what I knew I loved to do but it was tricky to picture it when I was just starting out. Again, I luckily had some family friends, film teachers/colleagues, and my parents keep inspiring me that I could do anything if I set my mind to it and give it my all. All I had to do was go for it. As I kept posting the work I was doing, I got my first real gig off Instagram. I was nervous but I went in and did the job, posted it and told my colleagues. This lead to some of my film friends in higher up classes recommending me to music video sets and film sets as a makeup artist after seeing my work and believing in me. They could see something I wasn’t seeing or believing in myself. Again, of course the nerves were there but I knew I could do it. It started to click for me that everyone was pointing me in the right direction, so many opportunities were showing themselves, people were believing in me, and sure there was a long way to go but I just needed to trust myself and if I wanted to get anywhere it would be up to me to go for it and make my future happen. So that was it. I started to figure out how to apply for jobs and researched where I should be looking and how to make a more well-rounded portfolio to show off all of my skills. I was slightly obsessed with trying to get my name out there and the thrill of figuring everything out for the first time. It was challenging and I had a lot to learn but I kept pushing myself and learning on set as I went. It was tricky because I technically began working during the beginning of covid which meant there weren’t as many gigs. But I quickly figured out that even during slow periods I needed to continue telling myself I was a special effects artist even when I didn’t have work and that I could tell people that I was available and that this is what I wanted to do, what I would be, and that I could do it. I could be the one who makes all of the creatures and effects just like the makeup artists I looked up to as a kid. I wanted to pursue this exciting industry but I still was figuring how it was supposed to work. Now looking back I realize how different everyone’s journey is and there is no “right way” to break in. And that there would be busy periods and slow periods at different times of the year. But I quickly learned to use the slow periods to my advantage by practicing sfx work, making some of my creature designs into reality on others, and learning all sorts of new techniques. This also helped me to attract new work by showing that I was still busy. Little did I know all of these small moves were actually jumpstarting me into this industry slowly but surely. I’ve gotten to meet so many talented people, more than I ever thought I could, and I was getting on set experience while doing so. This really is so nice to think back on and to look at where I’m at now. I owe so much to all the people who genuinely uplifted me and saw my potential cause they’re the ones who helped me get over any imposter syndrome I was experiencing and helped me believe I was good enough and that I could actually do it. And while I still have a long path ahead of me and so much to learn that I’m excited for, I’m so grateful for the journey I’ve had so far.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I am a special effects makeup artist and an all around artist at heart. I knew ever since I was a little kid that I was going to somehow work in the arts and that creating things was going to be my path in life from an early age. I design, sculpt, mold, and make my own prosthetics to use as well as well as source premade prosthetics to create all types of effects and creatures for film, tv, commercials, campaigns, music videos, photo shoots, etc. I specialize in prosthetics and SFX work the most and I am the most passionate about creating looks that incorporate them somehow. But, I also do love doing a lot of editorial work, body painting, and natural film makeup when I’m not creating monsters. And if I have to choose something thing I’m the most proud of so far of it would have to be my self-taught background as well as my professional education in marketing, film communications, and makeup/prosthetics. I’ve always loved learning and expanding my knowledge about my passions as much as I could so I could fully dive into my areas of interest. So, building the groundwork for myself in makeup and learning so much on my own before starting college definitely gave me a huge advantage going into this industry and I’m so happy that I’m doing something that I genuinely love to do. I don’t where I’d be if I didn’t explore art or my creative explorations. I actually just got to work on one of my biggest projects to date recently and tackle designing a full body alien with 3D modeling and got to make a boat load of alien prosthetics I had never worked on before. This was a surreal experience to see a creature that I worked on from start to finish be used in a movie pitch as well as it being a great learning experience that has already opened new avenues for me. To the best of my abilities, I love to make my work as perfect and realistic as possible and try to make the makeups I do better every time. I strive to top my own work and push my creative limits on every set I get to work on because I love to outdo myself and see myself progressing. Working on personal projects and keeping my creativity in action also helps to keep me motivated, improving, and coming up with new interesting ideas that mean something to me. I think what truly sets me apart from others is my love for the art itself. It’s easy to get caught up in the comparative aspects this industry has to offer but what keeps me loving this work I get to do so much is that I get to be authentically myself and create art that is fulfilling to me and sometimes very personal. Every creature I get to make has my own personal style and touch which helps me feel individual and keeps me reminded that I am a unique artist. Being able to express myself truly as an individual-singular artist among so many other talented friends of mine makes this journey that much sweeter.
Have you learned any interesting or important lessons due to the Covid-19 Crisis?
Absolutely, so I actually started out my career on set as a makeup artist during the height of covid times. The procedures taught me some very important lessons from the get go about the importance of cleanliness and sanitation practices and what to watch out for. I got to see first hand how the Covid safety procedures protected the crew and talent from sickness and taught us all how to better keep everyone healthy and aware from spreading germs to one another. It made me hyper-conscious of how little things could be potentially harmful both on and off set. It was a great foundation to have as to not develop unsanitary habits or practices due to all of these restrictions. It made everyone hyper aware of their health and environment for the best!
Pricing:
- Starting out, I didn’t know how to properly price my work and or my time correctly. Outside of the film sets I was doing in college, my first paid sfx gig I received $125 which I thought was fantastic. I was afraid i even priced it too high. Nowadays I realize that was a very low rate, but since I was still starting out, wanting real experience, and still in college, it was appropriate for me personally. I’d recommend to those still looking to jumpstart their career, to remember you are lending your time and knowledge as well as your materials and to price however you see fit/appropriate. $300 is a great base rate to try and stick to once you know what you’re doing and feel confident that you will do a good job.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alexacantarini_fx?igsh=OGQ5ZDc2ODk2ZA%3D%3D&utm_source=qr
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/alexa.cantarini?mibextid=LQQJ4d
- Other: Linktree: with website, IMDB, etc: https://linktr.ee/Alexaseffects?fbclid=PAZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAaaiIVSI69whZdzlLUOT0QmDhZ7jziv3M9PykcRURwLifbClHcEcb0FlrFo_aem_5K80h8KwvDP2jCxfEGg_wQ
Image Credits
Cinema makeup school (bald cap application photo and lip prosthetic application photo)
James Arterberry (Alien off monitor photos)
Coolsidsid (blue fish man photo)
Sydney Denman (firerose photo)
Elise.mov (Pink glam alien photo)
