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Character makeup: Billy Goat

Hello, I'm Eric from Pittsburgh. I do a lot of creature design on paper, but I want to take it to the next level. I'm planning a few short films with half-human or non-human creatures as characters. I took some prosthetic make-up and effects courses around the turn of the millennium, but haven't had many opportunities to practice. It's an expensive hobby. So this past Halloween, I wanted to see what I could do with cheaper, readily available materials.

My online alias at various websites is a satyr named William "Billy" Goat. (Not exactly the most original name for a satyr, I know.) I would have loved to make a complete prosthetic face mask with mechanical eyes, to match the look of my hand-drawn avatar as closely as possible. But given the constraints on time and materials, horns and ears would have to suffice.






The horns are papier-mache on a cardboard frame, painted with acrylics. Strips of latex, backed with cotton, wrapped over the base of each horn, to blend into my forehead. The ears are cut from felt fabric, and attached to a cheap plastic hairband. Strings tied to the back of each ear make them move. My real ears are covered with more latex strips.  There are more details I could mention, but I don't want to give away all my secrets. ;-)
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