Speaker Bios

Ayami Nishimura

New York-based make-up artist Ayami Nishimura’s work has appeared in Dazed & Confused, i-D, 10 Magazine, international editions of Vogue, Teen Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar. She has collaborated with the photographer Rankin on beauty shoots, charity projects and the beauty book Ayami Nishimura by Rankin. Nishimura has also done international fashion-week shows and worked with designers including Missoni, Acne and Marni. Along with Rankin, Nishimura has worked with photographers Ellen von Unwerth, Albert Watson and many others.

Battle of the Brushes

The competition is open to students of a recognized make-up school and to those who have graduated 12 months prior to the competition date. Eight competitors will be selected for each competition. Cash and/or prizes will be awarded to first-, second- and third-place winners for each competition. To qualify, you must fill out and send us the entry form, along with 8-10 photos of different looks you have done. Photos don't have to represent the make-up you plan to enter in the competition. All entries, photos and artwork become the non-returnable property of Key Publishing Group. The character/prosthetic competition takes place on Saturday. Competitors will be given prosthetics on the day of competition, which they must incorporate into their designs. The time limit for the character competition is three hours. No outside prosthetics are allowed, only the ones supplied by IMATS. Our 2018 character/prosthetic theme is Victorian Emporium. The beauty/fantasy competition takes place on Sunday, and the time limit is two hours. Our 2018 beauty/fantasy theme is Wildwood Warrior.

Charles Porlier

Two-time Emmy winner Charles Porlier is dedicated to furthering the craft of make-up. ‘It’s about sharing, really,” he says. “I enjoy helping new artists reconcile the myths with the realities of our competitive business.” Porlier’s 32-year career has included work on such films as The Twilight Saga: Eclipse, X2, Thir13en Ghosts, Door to Door and Mission to Mars. He recently worked on AMC’s The Killing and the Web series Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn.

Chloe Sens

Chloe Sens is a Los Angeles-based, IATSE Local 706 special make-up effects and beauty artist for film, TV and commercial projects. She has worked with brands and companies including Disney, Sony, Warner Bros., NBC, Universal Studios, Fox, Legacy Effects and Ocean Park Hong Kong. Sens has also worked on projects including The Orville, 2017 Fall/Winter Gucci Campaign and Avengers: Infinity War, to name a few. She has been featured in Vogue, Make-Up Artist magazine and the book The Leading Ladies of Makeup Effects.

Dana Michelle Hamel

Dana Michelle Hamel is an award-winning film and television make-up artist. She has worked with directors and producers including Steven Spielberg, James Cameron, Kathryn Bigelow and others. Her credits include Wayward Pines, Lake Placid, The Hurt Locker and Fringe. Her celebrity clients include Jessica Alba, Zooey Deschanel, Eva Mendes and many others. Her work has appeared in InStyle, Make-Up Artist, Time and People. She has developed a skincare and make-up line set to launch in 2015.

Danielle Fowler

After graduating from Blanche Macdonald Centre, Danielle Fowler has enjoyed a successful career. She has worked on projects including Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters and Secret Circle, along with various television shows. She’s now serving as make-up department head on the CW’s Arrow, for which she earned a Leo Award nomination this year.

Gideon Hay

Gideon Hay has worked on TV series, movies, stop-motion and CG animation projects, public art, prototype toys and maquettes. A few career highlights include working on Deep Rising, episodes of The X-Files, Stargate, the second and third X-Men movies, Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem, the second and third Night at the Museum films, Snakes on a Plane and Slither. Hay works as a freelance sculptor and teaches sculpture in Vancouver, British Columbia.

Honoring Dick Smith

Groundbreaking Oscar winner Dick Smith—whose work on films including The Exorcist, Little Big Man, Taxi Driver, The Hunger, The Godfather and Amadeus earned him the nickname “the godfather of special make-up effects”—died July 30 in Los Angeles. He was 92. Along with his talent and ingenuity, Smith was known as an artist who generously shared his knowledge. Smith was NBC’s make-up director from 1945-1959. He developed new materials and shades of color, and pioneered the use of foam latex and plastics in quick changes. He also developed PAX paint and multi-piece appliance make-up, authoring the Do-It-Yourself Monster Make-up Handbook and creating Dick Smith’s Advanced Professional Makeup Course. He consulted for several films and schools, was a longtime Make-Up Artist magazine columnist and made several speaking appearances at IMATS. For Amadeus (1984), he shared an Achievement in Makeup Oscar with Paul LeBlanc. Smith’s work on the 1967 TV special Mark Twain Tonight! earned him an Emmy Award. Smith received an honorary Oscar at the 2011 Governors Awards for his life's work. (Follow the link for coverage of the event.) And on Feb. 15, 2014, IATSE Local 706 honored Smith with its Make-up Artists Lifetime Achievement Award at the Make-up Artists & Hair Stylists Guild Awards. For more on his career, see Make-Up Artist issues 25, 56 and 62.

Joanna Schlip

Professional make-up artist Joanna Schlip has worked with some of the most celebrated people in the entertainment industry. Her work has graced the covers of magazines worldwide. Her 15 years of experience in the European fashion industry has honed her skills to an elite level, which keeps her consistently booked for commercials, print campaigns, covers and red-carpet events. Schlip’s clients include Iggy Azalea, Avril Lavigne, Christina Applegate, Ellen Pompeo, Eva Longoria, Demi Lovato and Faith Hill.

Kevin James Bennett

Kevin James Bennett is known across the industry as one of the most product-driven, business-focused artists of a generation. Not only is he an Emmy Award winner and incredibly successful make-up artist, he is a leader and educator in all aspects of the industry, an inspirational voice and, without a doubt, one of the most intensive product experts.

MastersFX

MastersFX is an award-winning, full-service prosthetics and character-effects company. Founded in 1987 by Todd Masters, the company has been lending its make-up and effects expertise to the film industry for decades, garnering numerous industry awards and nominations. Not just a traditional effects shop, MastersFX strives to advance creature performance with its unique approach to practical and digital effects integration. Recent credits include Falling Skies, True Blood, Hemlock Grove Season 2 and Underworld: Awakening.

Shauna Magrath

Shauna Magrath is an award-winning make-up artist with more than 45 film and television credits earned over 19 years. Her celebrity clients include Meg Ryan, Hilary Duff, Ryan Reynolds and David Duchovny. In 2008, she received her certification in permanent cosmetics at the Canadian Micropigmentation Centre in Toronto. Soon after, she opened BeautyINK, a boutique make-up and micropigmentation studio in Vancouver British Columbia. Magrath volunteers for the BC Cancer Agency’s Look Good Feel Better program.

Siân Richards

Siân Richards is a single mother of two and an award-winning make-up artist. Richards has worked in every avenue that make-up demands, from editorial to special effects. She won The People’s Critics Choice Award for transforming Halle Berry in Cloud Atlas and was Emmy and 706 Guild Award nominated for her transformation of Queen Latifah into ’30s blues icon Bessie Smith. Richards was the personal make-up artist to Chadwick Boseman on Black Panther, Avengers: Infinity War and others. She wrapped Avengers 4 (Untitled) this year. She also has a successful brand called Siân Richards London.

Spencer Barnes

Spencer Barnes is a Los Angeles-based make-up artist. His publicity/red-carpet clients include Julianne Hough, Amy Adams, Angie Harmon, Amber Heard, Jenna Dewan-Tatum, Mila Kunis, Brooke Burke, Olga Kurylenko, Jessica Chastain and Olivia Wilde. His editorial and commercial credits include Merle Norman, Lancôme, Maybelline, Allure, Elle, Flare, Glamour, Harper's Bazaar, The New York Times Magazine and Vanity Fair Italy. He has taught numerous master classes and created the beauty make-ups for Ben Nye’s 2013 catalogue.

Thomas E. Surprenant

Thomas E. Surprenant has been a make-up artist for more than 30 years and has developed products and techniques to further the craft. He has been nominated for three Emmys and has won twice. Surprenant has also been part of two Academy Award-winning make-up crews and has received a Make-up Artists & Hair Stylists Guild award. He has contributed to Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials, the Syfy show Defiance and has designed brushes for the Bdellium Tools SFX line.

Tina Teoli

Tina Teoli has been working in film and television for 25 years. Hired right out of school by one of her teachers to assist on a local TV series, she fell in love with the mad pace of television. She went on to assist on projects like Fear, Freddy vs Jason, Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants, the list goes on! After assisting with many talented department heads she went on to head her own shows that include Smallville, The Flash , When Calls The Heart , Hope Island , Like Mike 2 , Radio Rebel , Noah’s Arc and currently the department head on ABCs hit series The Good Doctor S1 & 2.

Vargas

Award-winning body painter and photographer Vargas has taught at technical schools and seminars worldwide. His work has appeared in international galleries, the Capitol Rotunda and runway fashion shows, and on Good Morning America, MTV and Telemundo. Clients have included Marc Anthony, Placido Domingo, Celia Cruz and Tito Puente. His latest work includes the World Cup Calendar 2014 and the Naked Vegas promo reel. With his wife, Anabel, he runs New Jersey’s Vargas Beauty Arts Academy.