Magic Training Which Doesn’t Exist

Mar 22, 2012

Olga B.

I think that plagiarism is the most sensitive issue for all the make-up artists. Firstly, I’d like to give you an official definition of what plagiarism is and then, and then tell what I actually think about it. «Plagiarism is unauthorised publication of work, fragments of work or ideas of someone else under your name without specifying the source of borrowing. The main feature of plagiarism is acquisition of authorship, as unlawful use, publication, copying, etc. of work, protected by copyright, can not be classified as plagiarism”
My view of this problem is…


Quite recently I’ve been asked many times about some “magic” training I used, which gives a lot of professional skills and helps to achieve such a great results))) and a lot of other unbelievable things. The answer is: this super-training does not exist!
Personally, my way was very simple; I started from copying different art works. I used to type “make-up” in Google and then thousand of pictures appeared on the screen, so I only had to choose the most interesting one and begin working. To be honest, I don’t even know who some of the art works belong to as I found the same makeup images on different internet sites without mentioning the idea’s author. Perhaps, nobody cared about this small detail!! I urge everyone who copies someone’s work, do it wisely, put the idea author’s name next to yours. I strongly believe that it’s not nice to take somebody’s idea, and don’t forget that everything secret always becomes clear, and possibly one day your work would be called plagiarism. Therefore, please specify the author, and this delicate issue will be removed.

I won’t be surprised if some make-up artists are offended by my work and want to shake a finger at me saying: «Oh, you are doing plagiarism, it is not good!» Despite the fact that I always specify the authors of all ideas I borrow, and if it’s not indicated, please do let me know and I will happily fix it. My goal is to learn, learn more and learn everything possible. And it is quite easy, if you continuously copy a lot of good art works. I know that many makeup artists just love that phrase «Copy, take it as a basis, but do it your own way!» Ok, now tell me how I would do something differently if I don’t know how it’s been done originally!? When you try to make an exact copy, you begin to understand how this was done in details, but if the copy fails you get an opportunity to analyse your mistakes and improve next time. That’s how I learned. And after a while you get to know what the secrets of this particular makeup artist are, what unique techniques have been used. Only after that experience, I think, you should begin creating of your own art works, because you would already have an understanding of how to implement and perform the best way! The only thing that you should not do is to transfer someone’s idea to the real model. Let your own or your friend’s face to be a field for experiments, and upload images of your achievements on Internet to get a free judgment and comments about the progress. This is how I work.

For the purpose of preparing professional and solid portfolio you should gather the best of the experience and knowledge you have and create your own art works. I remember how one of the makeup artists told me about my job, where I copied Alex Box: «Well, it’s pure plagiarism! And your job is absolutely identical to her one». And to be honest, I was very happy! Well, first of all, it’s not plagiarism as I put the idea’s author of this work, and even combined her work and mine! Secondly, I’ve managed to copy not an unknown John Brown, but worldwide recognised Alex Box! Third, try to make an exact copy of any art work on your own face, and then you are welcome to make any conclusions about this technique)))

Actually, do you know what the main problem of our make-up artists is? It’s huge lack of knowledge, experience, understanding of technique and style, but great aspiration about their performance. Even when they choose a good idea for the art work, it often can be poorly delivered as make-up artist hasn’t got the right skills.

Therefore, copy good art works, do it with pleasure and you will get satisfaction from what you’ve learned. No training can replace experience and practicing. Unfortunately, a lot of people still rely only on training and say «I want to go on the same course as you». There is no easy way in this industry. Copying is complex and time-consuming work, but it is absolutely necessary if you want to progress and develop your career. I’ve found my way, you will find your own, but the main thing is to act and not wait for the magic training. It does not exist. P.S. And finally a bit of history. Edgar Degas (1834-1917), even when he was world-famous master, he used to copy other artists’ works to deepen the understanding of art and refine his own technique. Peter Paul Rubens has developed his unique painting style while staying in Italy. There he studied and copied many of the great masters of the Renaissance, as well as ancient Greek and Roman art. He was particularly interested in Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo. Another great artist Baltasar Klosovskiy was a self-taught and studied by copying famous masterpieces in the Louvre. Then he continued his education in Italy by copying frescos by Piero della Francesca in Arezzo. The early works of the artist are inspired by Courbet, a Swiss artist of the 18th century, Reinhardt and the masters of the Italian Renaissance. Francesco Guardi worked under the influence of Canaletto and Marieschi, he used to copy their paintings for a long time, and then began working on architectural landscapes. Watteau, French artist of the late XVII and early XVIII century, copied Flemish artists in the beginning of his career. Gustave Courbet spent a lot of time in museums, copying various works of the greatest artists. He used to say about his achievements: «I’ve overcome the tradition like a good swimmer crosses the river».

Eric Hebborn also used to copy famous masters, and then succeed in stylization of paintings by Rembrandt, Rubens, Castiglione, Piranesi, Corot, Gainsborough, Tiepolo, Poussin and other great artists. There are thousands of “plagiarism” examples in the history of painting, architecture, literature.