Explore by Career/Personal Care and Service
Makeup Artists, Theatrical and Performance
Apply makeup to performers to reflect period, setting, and situation of their role.
- Median pay
- $50,280
- per year
- 10-year outlook
- +8.1%
- Growing
- Typical entry
- Postsecondary nondegree award
Key skills
- Speaking
- Reading Comprehension
- Active Listening
- Critical Thinking
- Judgment and Decision Making
- Active Learning
- Monitoring
- Social Perceptiveness
What they do
- Apply makeup to enhance or alter the appearance of people appearing in productions such as movies.
- Select desired makeup shades from stock, or mix oil, grease, and coloring to achieve specific color effects.
- Duplicate work precisely to replicate characters' appearances on a daily basis.
- Cleanse and tone the skin to prepare it for makeup application.
- Assess performers' skin type to ensure that makeup will not cause break-outs or skin irritations.
- Study production information, such as character descriptions, period settings, and situations, to determine makeup requirements.
- Alter or maintain makeup during productions as necessary to compensate for lighting changes or to achieve continuity of effect.
- Analyze a script, noting events that affect each character's appearance, so that plans can be made for each scene.
- Confer with stage or motion picture officials and performers to determine desired effects.
- Establish budgets, and work within budgetary limits.
Majors that lead here
No mapped majors yet.
Sources: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (OEWS, Employment Projections) and O*NET, used under CC BY 4.0.