We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Stigs Stigliano a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Stigs, thanks for joining us today. Let’s start with what makes profitability in your industry a challenge – what would you say is the biggest challenge?

The biggest challenge to profiting in the sfx makeup world is finding organizations and people who are willing to pay. It’s all about marketing yourself and proving that you are worth a certain rate for the quality of work you provide. You have to ask for what you need and know your worth while majority of employers will ask you to put out the same effort for a less costly price. Materials are a factor in everything we do and in order to have the best quality work you need high quality materials. I find that most employers want you to find short cuts and make props and character makeups the best without being too expensive. This goes for artists who are starting and working their way into bigger films and productions, but it’s hard to show you can do these professional jobs if all you have to show for it is you working on a budget.

Stigs, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

Hello, my name is Stigs and I am a professional sfx makeup artist. I graduated from makeup designory in 2021, I have always done makeup but my professional journey begin once I graduated. I currently offer services of character design, realistic injury Fx makeup, as well as prop creation for film and tv. I also makeup my own custom prosthetics to set my makeup apart from others with full personalization to make productions dreams reality. When working with me I like to take the time to fully explain how I am creating pieces, where the ideas come from, and how the money is being distributed into supply, and labor costs.

What’s been the most effective strategy for growing your clientele?

The most effective way to grow my clients is the connections I make on sets. I bring a presence with me that I am prepared and able to preform what I have been asked of, and I always come with extra supplies in hopes the be that helping hand if anything goes wrong. I introduce myself to the entire cast and crew and exchange information, because if you know a great makeup artist like me you might recommend me to your friends or use me for your own production one day. The importance of making my actors feel comfortable and cared for as well helps build my reputation in the industry.

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

It’s important to show up early, be prepared and willing to work with whatever the production might throw at you to prove your quick thinking skills and your flexibility of working in crunch times and hard environments. I find that my reputation is the most valuable part of my career second to my performance of work.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://Badbugmakeup.com
• Instagram: Badbugmakeup
• Other: Karly Stigliano on IMBD