Hi there I'm Dustin.
I just joined the forum, nice to meet you all. Though I’m sure I know some of you from elsewhere.
I'm not really sure how this forum works yet, so please forgive me if I stumble around for a while before figuring things out.
Let me tell you about myself. I may ramble on a bit…
I became interested in Makeup FX in elementary school. I stumbled across the classic monsters, Lon Chaney, (via the movie Man of a Thousand Faces) Halloween makeup, and a makeup book called "Movie Monsters: Monster Make-up and Monster Shows to Put On" by Alan Ormsby, which I ordered from the Scholastic Book Order program. The deal was sealed! I had my dad's old tackle box stuffed with my mom's discarded eye shadow, and left over Halloween greasepaint.
In Jr. High I graduated to more grisly horror films, discovered Dick Smith, Tom Savini, Rick Baker, Steve Johnson and others through Fangoria, gorezone, etc. I sought out books (in the days before the internet it wasn't easy) such as Richard Corson's Stage Makeup, Techniques of 3 Dimensional Makeup by Lee Baygan, Tom Savini's Grande Illusions, and of course Dick's Monster Makeup Handbook.
I played with paint, powder, collodian, spirit gum and latex for years before a few attempts at lifecasting sculpting and making molds. (with results ranging from disaster to near-success)
Through High School, and the first decade of my adult life Makeup Effects were ever present, when friends made short films they would always hit me up to make some blood, and every Halloween my phone would ring off the hook.
In 2004, with the support of my girlfriend (now wife) I dropped everything, took out some loans, and shipped off to Monessen Pennsylvania to attend Tom Savini's Makeup school. Over the next 16 months I finally made sense of the loose ends I had been accumulating over the years, and under the tutelage of Jerry Gergely and a few others, developed some genuine skill and confidence. I also had oppertunities to work in theatre, films, and disaster simulations.
After graduation I returned to my home town in northern California where there is not a lick of FX work available... with the intention of somehow saving enough to move to LA and get my career started. The plan was that My girlfriend would follow me down there once I was established.
Just before the despair set in, my phone rang. It was my friend and cohort from Makeup School, Kevin. He had scored a job on a TV series in Cairo Egypt, and wanted to bring me along as a partner. Within two weeks I in Cairo, doing bruises and lacerations for a medical drama. The 4 month job stretched into 9 months, and when I returned to the homeland, I had even more experience under my belt, was culturally richer, and had managed to save some money for the move to LA.
My FX partner Kevin and I met up in LA, found a pad, and over the next few months sent dozens of resumes out weekly, and followed up with lots of phone calls. No one was hiring. Eventually Motion Picture Effects took me in for a scenic sculpting job and kept me on after to do stuff around the shop while I was looking for work. (Cheers guys, thanks for the boost) Eventually, Stan Winston's shop took me on as mold-maker for Indiana Jones 4 and Avatar. Soon after that I was hired by E.I. school of makeup as a teacher, and scored work back out in the Pittsburgh, PA area with Cameron Romero (son of George) on a film called Staunton Hill.
Things were going well, and my career was on the upswing, when I got the call... Not a bad call at all, just another life altering call. After a year in LA with a handful of visits to see my girlfriend back home, she was calling to tell me we were pregnant.
Our original plan (to have her join me in LA) had been voided by a crappy real estate deal, she was upside down on her condo, and the mortgage payments were way too high to rent it out. There was no way for her to relocate to LA, I would need to drop the LA dream and return to the Bay Area in order to attend to my Fatherly duties.
I really had no problem with this, as satisfied as I was with my career path at that time, I really missed her, and after years of long distance relationship I was ready to get back home. I was optimistic about finding work. Movies are filmed in San Francisco; there are museums, dental labs, theatre companies, and other options. Before long I would be back up and running as a freelance artist.
Well, the career up north hasn’t worked out as planned, but frankly I’m ok with that. Instead I have two beautiful healthy kids and a great relationship with my wife. We were able to do a short sale on the condo and get into a rental with a backyard for the dog and plenty of room for the kids, and a garage where I have been able to set up my FX lab.
I’ve ended up with an office job to pay the bills, but I still do makeup projects all the time, now it’s my hobby instead of my job. I make masks, collaborate with photographers, and do occasional makeups for short films and web series. I also have started doing model kit buildups for hire. I only have one client, but he is quite the collector who has a steady stream of monster models for me to build and paint.
I often respond to Craigslist postings, but due to unrealistic expectations, when I draw up a budget for the project, they usually run screaming. I’m still waiting for a commission for a really cool project.
That’s pretty much it… as far as FX goes. (Though I left out the parts about my music career, that’s a different story)
It’s a pleasure to be here on the forum, I’m looking forward to talking shop with you. Hope this post isn't too long, I was just inspired to tell my story.
-Dustin Heald
