Becoming an FX Professional in Ukraine
By Dzhuliia Melnik
I'm Dzhuliia Melnik, 31 years old Makeup Artist from Ukraine. I started my education as an actress in Theatre and Cinema, but taking lessons in theatrical makeup led me to realize that I wanted to dedicate myself to doing makeup.
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- Winning Cinema Makeup School’s Next Level of Cosplay Scholarship
- Making Characters for Personal Projects
- Creating a Demon Character During the War in Ukraine
- Building a Character in Two Weeks
(2022 Halloween Costume Contest Winner, Dzhuliia Melnik, with grand prize pack from Frends Beauty.)
I started working as a makeup artist when I was 18 years old. I was already working as a makeup artist when I decided to take a makeup class. While learning, I worked on television projects, where I got the experience of working quickly, and soon I began working on music videos, advertisements with celebrities, and eventually on films. The first film that I worked as a Makeup Department Head was Let’s Dance when I was 23 years old. In 2014, having discovered the show Face Off, I decided to dedicate myself to special effects makeup.
(A behind-the-scenes image of Dzhuliia Melnik with her Devil character on the set of a Kosmolot advertisement shoot.)
(An Alien character that Dzhuliia Melnik realized in five days, with the help of her assistants Maryna Stepanyuk and the_artist_ka.)
At that time in Ukraine, this industry was not very well developed. There were no schools for education, no makeup materials, and to find prosthetic makeup professionals you had to look to other countries. Therefore I began the path of self-study through YouTube videos, watching the show Face Off, and other making-of videos where it was possible to learn some of the secrets to making movie monsters. Materials had to be ordered from the USA, and so I waited, often as long as three months for materials to arrive. I experimented a lot, and there were setbacks. In order to afford materials, I denied myself a lot, but the desire to learn and improve drove me forward.
(Ruslan Miroshnychenko as the Villain with Dzhuliia Melnik on the set of Legends of Charmswood.)
(A closer look at the Villain makeup that Dzhuliia Melnik created for the film Legends of Charmswood.)
Winning Cinema Makeup School’s Next Level of Cosplay Scholarship
In two years of self-study, I learned a lot, but still, I had much to learn and few places to find the knowledge that I was seeking.
In Ukraine, when the war began, there was a crisis; suddenly, there were not so many jobs and no money to pay for training abroad. But I still had a great desire to study at Cinema Makeup School. Their Next Level of Cosplay Scholarship Competition was an opportunity to study at CMS for free. I took advantage of the opportunity.
My first attempts in 2015 were unsuccessful, but a year later, I tried again, and I won. For the first time in the history of the competition, the viewers' vote coincided with the jury vote. I was the unanimous winner.
(Dzhuliia Melnik with her final work at Cinema Makeup School.)
In 2017, I became a student at Cinema Makeup School. While I was studying, I became a Leonard Engelman fellow.
After graduation, I returned to Ukraine and began working more on special effects and complex makeup. I started receiving invitations to work even outside the country.
(The crew, including Dzhuliia Melnik works on the upcoming documentary film Region of Heroes. Image courtesy Ideafilms.)
Making Characters for Personal Projects
While having a full-time job, I also worked on personal projects. Since prosthetic makeup takes a lot of work, time, and money, I have always wanted to preserve and capture my work in short films or photo shoots.
(Xenomorph Alien created by Dzhuliia Melnik, photographed by Kostiantyn Skripachuk.)
I created many characters and looks, and my friends - filmmakers - supported my ideas and would take photos and movies of the results.
(A few different zombie characters Dzhuliia Melnik worked on throughout the years.)
My slogan is, if I don’t get the job I want, I make up my own projects and build my own portfolio.
(From left to right: A Treeman Dzhuliia Melnik created for her short story Play with me; a Demon with a nose ring; a Game of Thrones-inspired character that helped Dzhuliia win the Next Level of Cosplay Scholarship.)
Creating a Demon Character During the War in Ukraine
The last character I made in Ukraine was Demon Astaroth. I created this demon in my free time during the war. There were many challenges that I learned to deal with, but with each character, I embraced new experiences and the opportunity to develop my craft.
Check out the short video of the 2022 Halloween Costume Contest Winner creation, Demon Astaroth:
I started sculpting the head when the quarantine began, and we were locked in our home. Literally, I sculpted the head in my bedroom. Since there was no quality clay like Monster Clay in Ukraine at that time, I took sculptural soft clay and changed the formula myself. This change allowed me to have more of the clay and, at the same time, perform many of the functions of Monster Clay.
(A close-up image of the Demon Astaroth sculpture.)
I had to leave my country for three months. I went to Poland because of the war. Leaving this character incomplete tormented me. When I returned to Ukraine, I decided to finish all of my unfinished creatures, including this Demon.
(The same Demon Astaroth sculpture from the above view.)
During quarantine, I managed to create a full-length cast of the actor made of fiberglass. For the first time, I created a mold by pouring foam latex into a closed mold through a hole in the master model head. I learned this technique at Stan Winston School.
(A short gif of the demon's body that Dzhuliia Melnik sculpted on the cast of the actor.)
My father built a full-size stove for me, so I was able to bake the full-size character.
Building a Character in Two Weeks
Due to the war, I didn't have a lot of time. I already had tickets to Los Angeles; I had to leave Ukraine in two weeks. I was in a hurry. I had one day for sculpting the torso, one day for the fiberglass molding, and one day for foam latex running. To run the foam latex, I used four mixers running at one time, but it all came together leaving still half a day on the painting.
The horns had been sculpted long before this Demon was created. They were made of layered latex and building foam. I made a frame for the fiberglass horns under the actor’s head, and I glued the guiding rods on which the horns were mounted.
(A look at the horn-sculpting process by Dzhuliia Melnik.)
(The Demon Astaroth sculpture created by Dzhuliia Melnik.)
I glued pantyhose along the entire torso, and I added the gloves, made originally for a different character.
(2022 Halloween Costume Contest Winner character, Demon Astaroth by Dzhuliia Melnik. Model: Vova Gladky, image by Darina Momot.)
Usually, I would devote more time to the sculpture and cut the details separately. But I was limited in time and materials. I feel that I could have done a hundred times better. But under the circumstances, I did my best. I tried to stay calm as much as possible while I was working on the Demon accompanied by the sounds of the sirens and the knowledge that a missile could hit my home anytime. I fought my fears.
(Close-up image of the 2022 Halloween Costume Contest Winner creation, Demon Astaroth by Dzhuliia Melnik.)
Every work brings new knowledge and experience, especially when you agree to do something you’ve never done before. I take each project as a challenge to myself, and I will never give up, because I want to be able to do everything that is associated with makeup.
(Dzhuliia Melnik in Los Angeles with Howard Berger's & Marshall Julius' book, the Masters of Make-Up Effects.)
At the moment, Ukraine is in a full-scale war, with almost no filming happening in the country. Here in Los Angeles, I am inspired by the works of Oscar-winning makeup artists. I am so excited to get to see how their studios work. And in the evenings, I sculpt characters to keep my skills sharp and to keep doing what I love.
- Dzhuliia Melnik
You can follow Dzhuliia on Instagram, Facebook, and on IMDb.
Check out the 2022 Halloween Costume Contest Winner Announcement here: Demon Astaroth by Dzhuliia Melnik.
View all the entries here: 2022 Halloween Costume Contest.
Do you want to learn to sculpt, mold, cast, and paint? Try our online courses with Hollywood's Master FX Artists: FREE 7-Day Trial.