Institute of Art Design + Technology Dún Laoghaire
Ireland’s campus for the Creative Industries
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Caroline Mackey 

BA [Hons] Character MakeUp Design

My name is Caroline Mackey. I am a 22 year old design graduate, from Ireland. I follow my creativity wherever it takes me. Art has been something I have been incredibly passionate about my whole life. I love to collaborate with other fellow creatives, my particular focus being on how characters can be created for Film. Researching and designing the world and visualising characters as concept illustrations and seeing how makeup and prosthetics can bring them to life. I look forward to following my passion into the world of the Film Industry.

This project focuses on the nature of relationships and the depiction of characters as they develop and transform through the narrative. My focus Investigates how to depicts power, manipulation and Emotions in a range of characters. The key character, a marionette referred to as 'lady purple' acts as a vessel to demonstrate effects of manipulation and abuse at the hands of the abusive and evil professor. The project focuses on her transformation through various stages until she transformed into a human. Focusing on MakeUp and Prosthetics, I created a series of concept character designs and produced as 'makeup looks' to depict the different stage and effects of this dysfunctional relationship. This project facilitated research in period recreation with a focus on makeup during the 1920s. This image depicts the effects of the professor showing off his idolised possession and making her perform for everyone over and over. Although to him this act of showing off lady purple to her she is being controlled and manipulated to be a perfect picture of herself. She begins to break and crack from this perfect doll.
Stage 1 shows lady purple as a broken wooden doll being delivered to the professors house.
This image depicts lady purple as a porcelain doll at the point where the professor had begun to idolise the doll and fixated on her as his prized possession.
Lady Purple being manipulates with strings attached
This image focuses on the final transformation of Lady Purple. Having endured enough of the professor’s manipulation, she finally takes control and breaks free from her strings to kill him. She becomes human. This final look was a study of 1920s period makeup.
Concept storyboard sequence followed by filmed sequence.
The final 3 looks were a study of 1920s period makeup. These 3 characters were background flappers, each from a different country , picked up by the puppeteer when the theatre troupe had stopped in St. Petersburg, Constantinople and Shanghai during the 1920's.
A filmed piece I directed and created the makeup for depicting the transformations of the doll and the relationship between the professor and lady purple. This piece was in collaboration with film students Eamon Mc Mahon,Bornhil Anurag, and Amy mc farland. Starring Lilith rose a graduate from bow street academy as Lady purple and Conor Waldron as the professor.
The loves of Lady purple

Angela Carter's ‘The loves of Lady Purple’ is a tale of magic realism. This fairytale focuses on a marionette with magical abilities beyond explanation.
There are patterns emerging where the character repeats many of their actions due to lack of control over themselves. Through the presentation of relationship, repetition , Carter suggests that individuals have little to no control of their lives and usually repeat actions by instinct. The relationship between the doll and the asiatic professor shows that the doll will never have full control over herself. The narrator points this out by stating: “she must have been the masterpiece of a long- dead anonymous artisan and yet she was nothing but a curious structure until the professor touched her strings for it was who filled her with necromantic vigour “. This declaration accentuates the idea that the doll is nothing without its master. It only repeats what the professor wants it to do, mimic him and life. The doll always repeats the same shoe under the professors control.



Gender fluidity online. How contemporary media artists use makeup as a form of self expression.

For my thesis I conducted a series of studies to analysis online profiles of 3 contemporary media artists I thought that best disrupted the gender binary using makeup and style. I took series of videos and images from the online personas and studied what about their self expression went against the gender binary that was out of the traditional gender norms.


Character MakeUp Design
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