Gina Martire: From Maniacal Make-Up to Frenzied Facial Art
By Joel Anderson (Art and Poetry Editor)
For many, watching movies is a source of entertainment; a time to unwind from the gears and pressures of reality and become engrossed in a new world. For Gina Martire, it’s a time for study.
“I always wanted to know how everything was made and how all the effects were done,” said Martire.
Martire’s love of films and make-up at a young age.
“I’ve been dabbling for years, ever since I was a kid. That’s something I would do is put on make-up,” Martire said.
One of the earliest films she was influenced by is the horror movie Hellraiser.
“The first movie I can remember being curious about the characters is from when I was really little I saw Hellraiser. And I was like ‘Wow, look at those monsters!’ and I just thought they were so cool,” said Martire.
It wasn’t until 2007 when Martire saw another inspirational horror movie that she knew being a make-up effects artist was what she wanted to do for the rest of her life.
“The one that really set it in stone for me was when I saw Hatchet in 2007. I was like ‘Ok, special effects aren’t dead,’” said Martire.
Oddly enough, when Martire first went to college, she was majoring in French. It wasn’t until she had to take some time off due to illness that she re-evaluated her decision.
“I had missed so much school from being sick that it would have taken me three years to finish my degree. So I dropped out and went to Douglas Education Center in Monessen, Pennsylvania and enrolled in Tom Savini’s Special Make-up Effect Program,” said Martire.
Recently, Martire has been concentrating on producing her own line of vintage plastic masks or Cult-classic horror movie characters. This March she’ll have her first booth at Horror Realm Convention, where she’ll be selling them.
“I’m doing a line of 80 masks. And they’re obscure monsters, I’m not doing anything like Leatherface or anything you can go to the store and pick up,” said Martire.
Martire has also sent in her application to the reality TV show Face Off, a show where competitors participate in various challenges with their make-up design skills.
Martire said she’s happy the show is on the air because it gives viewers an inside look at her career path.
“There’s so much to it that people don’t even realize. I’m kinda glad for the TV show Face Offthough, because it opened up a little so people can see how long the process is.”
One of the judges has been an influence on Martire and her desire to be a make-up artist.
“Ve Neill; she worked on Pirates of the Caribbean and the Hunger Games. And the character make up for the Hunger Games is just beautiful. She’s an on-set artist. She doesn’t do the shop work; she does the on-set applications,” said Martire.
While Martire loves designing make-up for all sorts of monsters, she’s mentioned the one thing she has grown tired of most are zombies.
“Everything with a zombie is so boring. A line of blood on the side of the mouth, gash on the top of the head, I’m just tired of doing them,” said Martire.
For more information visit her website at www.gmakeupeffects.com.