A makeup artist (or ‘make-up artist’) works with the human body as medium for his or her artistic presentation, using makeup as well as prosthetics. Besides the beauty and fashion industry, makeup artists are hired for television, film, theater, musical, print media and private events. Some may also work for funeral homes, applying makeup to the deceased.
Although most makeup artists (MUAs) are freelancers the bigger production companies often have their own contracted in-house makeup artists. The schedule of a makeup artist is generally quite flexible depending on the projects and so is the MA’s income, which highly depends on the location, the MUA’s reputation, the project’s magnitude and eventually of course the client’s budget (see PayScale Research Center for median makeup artist’s salary).
As the nature of the craft a makeup artist should enjoy working one on one with people, needs to have good communication skills, should be able to work under pressure, should have a creative imagination, needs to be knowledgeable about skin and bone properties, and should of course master the required skills and techniques and know all the required props and supplies.
Well recognized awards given to makeup artists in the entertainment industry include the Academy Awards, the Emmy Awards, the Hollywood Makeup Artist and Hair Stylist Guild Awards, and many more.
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