Statewide occupation search

Sort your search results or select and compare details of two occupations. Find out if an occupation is in demand or not in demand in your local area, at Learn about an occupation.

Statewide occupation search

Makeup Artists, Theatrical and Performance

It's a bright outlook for

This career will grow rapidly in the next few years.

Learn more about what they do.

Apply makeup to performers to reflect period, setting, and situation of their role.

Related: Costume Attendants Fine Artists, Including Painters, Sculptors, & Illustrators Hairdressers, Hairstylists, & Cosmetologists Painting, Coating, & Decorating Workers Skincare Specialists

Industries: Service Media & Communication

Summary
Details

Evaluate environmental characteristics, such as venue size and lighting plans, to determine makeup requirements.
Requisition or acquire needed materials for special effects, including wigs, beards, and special cosmetics.
Design rubber or plastic prostheses that can be used to change performers' appearances.
Demonstrate products to clients, and provide instruction in makeup application.
Attach prostheses to performers and apply makeup to create special features or effects, such as scars, aging, or illness.
Assess performers' skin type to ensure that makeup will not cause break-outs or skin irritations.
Establish budgets, and work within budgetary limits.
Wash and reset wigs.
Duplicate work precisely to replicate characters' appearances on a daily basis.
Alter or maintain makeup during productions as necessary to compensate for lighting changes or to achieve continuity of effect.
Study production information, such as character descriptions, period settings, and situations, to determine makeup requirements.
Provide performers with makeup removal assistance after performances have been completed.
Select desired makeup shades from stock, or mix oil, grease, and coloring to achieve specific color effects.
Examine sketches, photographs, and plaster models to obtain desired character image depiction.
Analyze a script, noting events that affect each character's appearance, so that plans can be made for each scene.
Demonstrate products to clients, and provide instruction in makeup application.
Confer with stage or motion picture officials and performers to determine desired effects.
Advise hairdressers on the hairstyles required for character parts.
Write makeup sheets and take photos to document specific looks and the products used to achieve the looks.
Apply makeup to enhance or alter the appearance of people appearing in productions such as movies.
Cleanse and tone the skin to prepare it for makeup application.
Create character drawings or models, based upon independent research, to augment period production files.

Service Orientation
- Looking for ways to help people.
Negotiation
- Bringing people together to solve differences.
Coordination
- Changing what is done based on other people's actions.
Operations Analysis
- Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.
Technology Design
- Making equipment and technology useful for customers.
Systems Evaluation
- Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.
Programming
- Writing computer programs.
Operation and Control
- Using equipment or systems.
Management of Financial Resources
- Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.
Time Management
- Managing your time and the time of other people.
Active Listening
- Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.
Speaking
- Talking to others.
Monitoring
- Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.
Reading Comprehension
- Reading work-related information.
Science
- Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.
Critical Thinking
- Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.
Mathematics
- Using math to solve problems.
Social Perceptiveness
- Understanding people's reactions.
Complex Problem Solving
- Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.
Quality Control Analysis
- Testing how well a product or service works.
Systems Analysis
- Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.
Equipment Maintenance
- Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.
Judgment and Decision Making
- Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.
Troubleshooting
- Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.
Repairing
- Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.
Installation
- Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.
Operations Monitoring
- Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.
Writing
- Writing things for co-workers or customers.
Learning Strategies
- Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.
Instructing
- Teaching people how to do something.
Equipment Selection
- Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.
Management of Personnel Resources
- Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.
Management of Material Resources
- Managing equipment and materials.
Active Learning
- Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.
Persuasion
- Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.

Spatial Orientation
- Knowing where things are around you.
Speed of Limb Movement
- Quickly moving your arms and legs.
Visualization
- Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.
Dynamic Strength
- Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.
Trunk Strength
- Using your lower back and stomach.
Stamina
- Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.
Near Vision
- Seeing details up close.
Sound Localization
- Noticing the direction that a sound came from.
Oral Comprehension
- Listening and understanding what people say.
Response Orientation
- Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.
Speech Recognition
- Recognizing spoken words.
Gross Body Equilibrium
- Keeping your balance or staying upright.
Originality
- Creating new and original ideas.
Problem Sensitivity
- Noticing when problems happen.
Multilimb Coordination
- Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.
Speech Clarity
- Speaking clearly.
Number Facility
- Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.
Manual Dexterity
- Holding or moving items with your hands.
Reaction Time
- Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.
Mathematical Reasoning
- Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.
Arm-Hand Steadiness
- Keeping your arm or hand steady.
Inductive Reasoning
- Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.
Static Strength
- Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.
Hearing Sensitivity
- Telling the difference between sounds.
Flexibility of Closure
- Seeing hidden patterns.
Time Sharing
- Doing two or more things at the same time.
Dynamic Flexibility
- Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.
Peripheral Vision
- Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.
Control Precision
- Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.
Visual Color Discrimination
- Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.
Far Vision
- Seeing details that are far away.
Auditory Attention
- Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.
Depth Perception
- Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.
Glare Sensitivity
- Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.
Oral Expression
- Communicating by speaking.
Written Expression
- Communicating by writing.
Fluency of Ideas
- Coming up with lots of ideas.
Gross Body Coordination
- Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.
Deductive Reasoning
- Using rules to solve problems.
Wrist-Finger Speed
- Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.
Perceptual Speed
- Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.
Rate Control
- Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.
Memorization
- Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.
Finger Dexterity
- Putting together small parts with your fingers.
Explosive Strength
- Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.
Extent Flexibility
- Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.
Category Flexibility
- Grouping things in different ways.
Information Ordering
- Ordering or arranging things.
Speed of Closure
- Quickly knowing what you are looking at.
Selective Attention
- Paying attention to something without being distracted.
Night Vision
- Seeing at night or under low light.
Written Comprehension
- Reading and understanding what is written.

Computers and Electronics
- Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
Engineering and Technology
- Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.
Mathematics
- Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
Chemistry
- Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.
Geography
- Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.
History and Archeology
- Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.
Biology
- Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
Telecommunications
- Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
Education and Training
- Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
Foreign Language
- Knowledge of the structure and content of a foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.
Fine Arts
- Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.
Sales and Marketing
- Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.
Administrative
- Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.
Food Production
- Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.
Transportation
- Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
Psychology
- Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
Philosophy and Theology
- Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.
Mechanical
- Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
Communications and Media
- Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.
Therapy and Counseling
- Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.
Economics and Accounting
- Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
Personnel and Human Resources
- Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.
Design
- Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
Building and Construction
- Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.
Physics
- Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub-atomic structures and processes.
English Language
- Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
Public Safety and Security
- Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
Customer and Personal Service
- Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
Administration and Management
- Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
Law and Government
- Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
Sociology and Anthropology
- Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.
Medicine and Dentistry
- Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.
Production and Processing
- Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.

Education

Postsecondary certificate

Work Experience

No work experience

Training

No on-the-job training

Education and Training Opportunities

U.S. Annual Salary

50280/yr

U.S. Hourly Wage

24.17/hr

Currently Employed

8,100

Yearly Projected Openings

1200

Artistic: People interested in this work like activities that include creating, designing, and making your own rules. They do well at jobs that need:

Attention to Detail
Dependability
Adaptability/Flexibility
Cooperation
Stress Tolerance
Self Control

Air brushes
Contact lenses
Costumes or accessories
Digital cameras
Hair combs or brushes
Hand sprayers
Makeup kits
Manual pencil sharpener
Notebook computers
Palette knives
Palettes for paint or ink mixing
Personal computers
Tablet computers

Accounting software
Calendar and scheduling software
Customer relationship management CRM software
Data base user interface and query software
Electronic mail software
Graphics or photo imaging software
Instant messaging software
Internet browser software
Office suite software
Spreadsheet software
Web page creation and editing software

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

Find Makeup Artists, Theatrical and Performance jobs Education and Training for Makeup Artists, Theatrical and Performance

Statewide occupation search

Statewide occupation search

Makeup Artists, Theatrical and Performance

Work Activities

Skills

Abilities

Knowledge

Education

Pay

Washington Employment Trends

Personality

Tools

Technology

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES