We recently connected with Brittany Fontaine and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Brittany, thanks for joining us today. We’d love to hear about when you first realized that you wanted to pursue a creative path professionally.

I always knew I wanted to do something artistic with my life, as far back as like 7 years old. I was always asking to do wildly creative makeups for my Halloween costumes, and even went as far as asking to be Freddy Krueger when I was 9 years old!
When I was about 10, my mom signed me up for a theater program thinking I was going to follow the path of an actress, but instead I signed up for the make your own puppet class. (she wasn’t really happy about that)
As a teenager I got a job as an actor for a local haunted house, and asked if I could do my own makeup for the mazes. They allowed me to, and I started doing other actors makeups as well. Eventually I became a makeup artist for that haunt and then pursued my career in film and television industry.
I had my fair share of conventionally “normal” jobs and some odd ball ones. But each one lead me to where I am today.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

My name is Brittany Fontaine and I’m a makeup effects artist for film and television. I’ve been professionally working in the industry for 11 and a half years. I studied at the Douglas Education Center under the Tom Savini Special MakeUp Effects program. I moved to Los Angeles to pursue my dream in 2012 and have never looked back. My entire source of income has come solely from my dream job.
I primarily focus on makeup Fx, but also work in Fx labs running prosthetics, fabricating speciality costumes and creatures, as well as prop building. I love being able to use my creativity and love for horror and sci-fi to earn a living!

Have any books or other resources had a big impact on you?

Yes very much!! As a child I always watched behind the scenes videos of Rick Baker, Dick Smith and the Stan Winston crews all building and working on makeup Fx and creature creating. I couldn’t get enough. When I got into my tweens I discovered Fangoria and started collecting those magazines for inspiration. Tom Savini’s Master of Illusions, and Todd Debreceni’s Special MakeUp Effects for stage and screen were like Bibles to me in the early stages of my career. You can find any of those videos on YouTube today, fangoria is still in publication, and those two books can be purchased online.

Any resources you can share with us that might be helpful to other creatives?

Honestly I naively thought Deal Memos were a waste of time or a way to scare off producers. But after having to represent myself as an independent contractor for 11 years, they’re no joke. It makes things way more official and ensures your right to pay, in the event the production cancels your day at the last minute and you missed out on another job because of it. It’s so important to protect yourself.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.ReelLooksByBrittany.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/ReelLooksByBrittany

Image Credits
Oh Makeup applications by me Assistance by Sheila Bond, Ashley Aldridge and Bobbie Eller Perez Appliances by RBFX