Body Modifier

After watching Animal Imitators as one of my case studies for the essay, I have decided to try and create an example of an extreme body modifier based on an animal. I want his look to be synonymous with people like the Cat man and the Lizard man; realistic but extreme body art.

 

 I have decided to do an eagle as my body modifier's animal, as I haven't found anyone who's attempted bird-like surgeries. The bird is a popular animal in culture, representine liberation and freedom with people frequently getting them tattooed, so I can see someone wanting to modify themselves to look like a bird being a viable option, as opposed to something nonsensicle that wouldn't translate, like an octopus. 

I want to present this makeup as though its a real person who has had surgeries to physically alter themselves because they want to portray a more bird-like appearance. Although I could see this working as a fashion editorial makeup, I don't want to be restricted, as I'm almost certain i'll need prosthetics for this piece. 

 

These are just some fleeting initial ideas for this piece which I will refine .

 

 

-mohawk - dreaded with feathers????

- feathered wig

- slicked back hair

- black eye makeup to achieve hollows....?

- yellow eyes with pupil (tattooed or lenses)

- silicone implants for brow shapes with feathery tattoos......

- nose pointed - just like ear pointing surgery

- eagle wings tattooed

- inserts/piercings in skin to insert feathers

 

For the hair, I think a mohawk with feathers woven into the hair would create a streamlined alternative effect, and also incorporate feathers into the hair, which I imagine would be what this character would want. 

As far as altering the face shape, eagles have a very pronounced brow area, so I imagine some silicone brow implants would work well for raising and defining that area, maybe some cheekbone implants aswell. 

As far as creating any kind of beak-like illusion, there is a

procedure in which people have the top parts of their ear

cut, a section removed and then they are sewn back

together in a way so that when they heal, you are left with

a pointed 'elf' ear. I was thinking that seeing as the end of

the nose is also only made up of cartilage, would this

procedure be transferrable for creating a pointed nose?

If nose, people have their noses filed down in nose jobs

frequently, so i'm sure this would work as a replacement

option.

I also thought a nice addition would be to have an area with

some piercings in which feathers could be inserted, just

like Stalking Cats nylon whiskers. 

I also think this character would be the kind of person

who would be open to wearing makeup, and so I though to make the eyes look more sunken and dark, there could be some heavy, smudged, black eyeliner around the eyes. The eyes could also be made more eagle looking through the use of contact lenses. 

I may also experiement with feather style tattooing to see how that would look on the face.

I think attempting to do anything with the mouth/beak area would be unrealistic, as there simply aren't surgeries avaiable that could implant or fashion any kind of functioning beak/mouth. 

 

I drew another face overlapping picture, which helped me establish what facial alterations to make.