Conversations with KC Mussman

Today we’d like to introduce you to KC Mussman.

Hi KC, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I’ve always loved movies and since I was little I wanted to work in the film industry. I was drawn to the costumes and the creatures the makeup in particular. When Jurassic park came out on the big screen I was hooked. The mechanical dinosaurs were so incredible. I knew this is what I wanted to do.

But it seemed like a far dream for a girl in the middle east, I started working in sfx makeup in the Israeli film industry but it was difficult to find all the tools and knowledge, learning as I went. There weren’t many FX artists at the time and I had to invent everything I did.

One day I watched a show called face off. The contestants competed to create creatures and monsters and fantasy characters. It was like watching magic unfold and I decided I wanted to be on this show. I wanted to work in Hollywood on big films.

I signed myself into a makeup school and worked really hard. The school selected me to demonstrate makeup on their stages at trade shows and a talent scout approached to offer me an audition on Faceoff. I did not pass my first audition But I didn’t give up. After my time at the school, I worked in severely FX shops, but the wages were slim and I had dreams to create and design my own makeup and characters. So as my ambitions grew, I decided to open my own FX Studio to grow and expand my creative limits. NOCTURNAL DESIGNZ was officially opened in 2014. The first female-owned SFX makeup Studio in Los Angeles.

Opening a studio is no small feat and very costly, I worked two part-time jobs to pay off the debts and start-up loans and worked at the studio at night hence the name Nocturnal was chosen.

I started vending at tradeshows with Nocturnal, demonstrating on stages of Monsterpalooza and IMATS and more to get the name out. And we started gaining popularity.

Films started coming in and the company grew and became busier.

In 2016 I was approached again by faceoff and this time selected to compete. An experience I will never forget. Competing on the show was incredible.

Today I’m a celebrity sfx artist and film department head and have done makeup for Kim Kardashian, Joaquin Phoenix, Gary Oldman, Pink, Halsey, James Franco, Eric Idol, Olga Loera, Ron Pearlman Juliet Landau, Alex Aja, Spencer Charnas, Bill Moseley and many more.

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?
The road was far from smooth and It’s been a tough long journey. Firstly immigration to a whole new side of the planet. Learning how to live in Los Angeles, opening a business and building up a clientele are all challenges I overcame by having a lot of drive and passion.

My first year in LA I couldn’t afford any furniture. I came with 500$ in a white envelope and slowly built myself up job by job. I didn’t even have a bed. I camped out on the floor for a year till I made enough to put hase a futon. Same logic applied to building the studio. Everytime a paycheck would come in I would get another piece of equipment or a tool or more materials.

Then there was the mountain of breaking into the film industry. The sfx makeup business was always strongly male-dominated and a very small community that was not easy to incorporate into. Today with the rise of so many women in FX makeup there still is an imbalance that’s starting to shift and thanks to shows like faceoff and the popularity of FX makeup on social media we are seeing more women come in. As one of the very few female shop owners in the USA and the only one in Los Angeles, I’m proud to say that today many of the other shops support and lift each other upwards. There is a community feel and we forward work and support to each other. It’s a beautiful thing.

There was also the massive hurdle of getting into the makeup artist union local 706 that took me 10 years. Which as an immigrant and young woman it was a necessity to gain those rights and to earn the right for health insurance and pension and to be able to work in Los Angeles.

But even through all the hurdles and the hardships I did everything with purpose and a feeling of great gratitude and hope.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
As A SFX makeup artist, I specialize in uniquely designed and highly stylized fantasy makeup.

I love concept designing and sculpting my own pieces. I tend to have a very ornate and detailed style that combines fantasy with horror, combines organic with inorganic.

I’m obsessed with the micro details of nature. The colors and flecks of matter in a drop of water, or the layers of iridescent crystals of sediments between rocks.

I have a boundless and endless curiosity for textures and structures to explore and incorporate in my work.

Over the years I have created so many strange and alluring creations. Every time I walk through my studio I feel so proud of all my sculptures surrounding me. All pulled out of my brain and shaped into reality. And seeing things I’ve crafted on films. How the lights and sounds and acting animate it all to life. Knowing people will watch and enjoy and marvel. I’m so proud of that every time.

Do you have any memories from childhood that you can share with us?
One of my favorite childhood memories was the oasis theatre in Ramat gan. The theatre had only 4 movies and the tickets were $5 and I would save all week and then go see all the films in the theatre in one Saturday. Movie after movie I would sit alone with a pack of mint mentos and consume cinema.

Another favorite memory was with my late dad. We used to watch a lot of horror films together and call it monster night. He would always try to surprise me with new scary films to see and enjoy together for “Monster night”

Contact Info:

• Website: www.nocturnaldesignz.com
• Instagram: @nocturnal_designz
• Facebook: /kcmussman
• Twitter: @nocturnal_spfx