Extreme Contouring

In my last lesson with Kat we spoke about extreme contouring and it's many uses and the effects it can create. Extreme contouring can change the shape and structure of the face by using certain products to accentuate features and bone structure also.

Convex and Concave

The meaning of the word convex is to extend outwards and the meaning of concave is to curving in or hollowed inward. These two words are very important when thinking about extreme contouring. The anatomy of the face plays a big role in creating an extreme contour look as you need to work with the natural light and shade of the face and accentuate different areas in different ways.

Here is an example I found of the use of convex and concave with contouring.

Before beginning an extreme contour look, you must first look for convex parts of the face for example (forehead, nose, jawline) these will be the areas that you will need to 'bring out' or 'bring forward' by highlighting these areas your creating depth to the look. Add your highlight colour with cream or powders whatever you like to work with most and buff in your highlight so it looks like a natural part of the skin.

When applying your contour always work gradually as you can always build the colour instead of applying too much and having to take product away. You must also remember that the skin should look like natural skin so taking the product into the hairline is a must to avoid any harsh lines that could be created by contouring.

When I first learnt about contouring I mostly thought of just natural contouring for day to day use much like in the picture below.

 

We had a go in class contouring and playing around with colours, I used oranges and browns for my colours to see what effect it would have. The final outcome came out quite extreme but with the use of natural looking colours.

 

 

I used a dark brown and orange powder on the concave of the cheekbone, sides of the nose, tempals and jawline then a lighter powder to the convex areas underneath the eye, tops of cheekbones, down the centre of the nose and forehead.

 

With Kat we spoke about contouring and that there are many different looks that can be created using the exact same principle but using colours instead. I found a picture a while ago that used colour to contour in this way.

 

 

 

In this image the artist has used monochromes of purple and also hints of yellow which refers back to the colour wheel as purple and yellow are directly opposite on the colour wheel which makes for a harmonious and complementary combination that is pleasing to the eye. They have also used a dark purple around the eye and I think this adds depth to the look which makes its visually interesting.

I had a go at trying something similar to this at home and really enjoyed using different complementary colours to create light and shade.

 

In this image I played around with the colours and used coloured hair chalk for the hair to keep the colour theme of purples and pinks continous. For the lips I mixed a dark purple with some of my black MAC paint so you could still see the purple showing through but this was again another monochrome of the colour purple. For the collarbones I also create light and shade by looking at the concave of the bones and creating a more exaggerated bone line.

 

I think when it comes to extreme contouring the main things that need to be considered are colour harmony and the colours you choose to work with, the convex and concave of the face for each individual person (as everyones different!) and to play around with different monochromes of that chosen colour!