Captain Jack Sparrow- Character Makeup
Captain Jack Sparrow, the pirate we all know and love. And definitely my favorite costume to dress in! Captain Jack is one of the more makeup intensive costumes I do, and the one I constantly try to improve on. These photoshoot photos are from July of 2017, the application I'm most proud of for this character.
I dressed up as Jack Sparrow for the first time in 2013; I was 16 and extremely nervous when it came to replicating Jack's look. I'd done before in the past monster makeups; I worked at a Haunted House for awhile as a zombie. But when it came to Jack Sparrow, it felt very daunting because I was trying to replicate the appearance and bone structure and mannerism of another human being. Someone who I look nothing like, regularly, haha
For the first application of Jack, the makeup started very simple. All off-brand products. Bronzer for the skin, kohl liner for the eyes, eye shadow for the brows, eye pencil for the mustache, a bit of water-activated paint with eye shadow for his wounds, and then came the beard. That was my first time ever creating facial hair. I cut up extra dark brown wefts and used the stray hairs for the looser beard parts. Spirit gum was applied as a base and then the hairs were dabbed on and fixed appropriately. The braided dangling part was ordered online from an Etsy seller and is always applied with latex.
The application process for Jack takes around 4 hours. Sometimes it can be a lot longer when scars are created and his tattoo is applied. For this particular shoot, I replicated the two bullet wounds he has on his chest using liquid latex and off-brand water activated paints. The rash on his arm was created in the same manner, mixing thin tissue in the liquid latex for texture.
Everything was set with Ben Nye translucent setting powder and Elf's setting spray.
*This makeup also completely survived the trip in the ocean and was still looking fresh at the end of the day, even after I'd basically swam in it!
I've worked on improving a ton since the first time I did his makeup. Over the recent years, I've experimented with contouring to try to mimic the way his cheeks are shaped and his nose curves. Also on the cheeks, I apply a very light red/orange color to simulate sun burn, which can be seen on Jack when you look closely. The mustache is now applied with hair as well. I still use the method of wefts but also work with crepe wool, which is so much more optimal!
The wig was fabricated from scratch. A long, wavy base wig in light brown was purchased from eBay first and about 10 packs of synthetic hair in various shades of brown were purchased from Sally's Beauty. Over the course of a week, I'd sat teasing, brushing, and matting over 30 separate weft pieces to create the dread look Jack has. Some dreads were heat sealed by using a heat gun on a low setting. The reason that method was used was to ensure the hairs would never untangle or separate. The wefts were then attached onto the base wig and blended in.
And for comparison's sake, out and in of costume! haha Jack Sparrow photo is unedited. This application of Jack was from Halloween 2017. The beard there was done with yarn.
Thank you for reading!
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