The Old Dude

                               
Name: John Grandfield

Age: Stopped counting after 70th birthday.

Family: Wife Emily Grandfield and a daughter Ann-Rose

Profession: Gardener of an old and grand mansion Thornrose.
                                       
                                 
                       

John Grandfield was born to a gardener's family and like every man in this family, he too became a gardener. For over two centuries, this family had served the great mansion of Thornrose. It is said that the mansion itself got his name after the beautiful roses that the Grandfield family raised around their magnificent garden.

Unfortunately there were days that The Thornrose was only a shadow of what it used to be and the landlord needed to rent the halls of The Thornrose for weddings and other events. People in the town gossip that the day when the roses of the garden suddenly started to topple, a curse that seems to surround The Thornrose habitants and the house.

Also, our character and the gardener John seemed to have lost his joyfulness and richness of nature with the roses and he always escaped the life to his little gardener's cottage. He was very rarely seen in the village and on those rare days, he didn't bring to the lovely ladies of the village any roses as he used to. 

Such horrible things happened in the territory of The Thornrose:

 Gardener's lovely wife, beautiful as rose, suddenly lost all her hair and the next day lost her ability to talk. No one knows what happened, no one knows exactly why.

The gardener's daughter, Ann-Rose, fell from her favorite tree and broke many parts of her body when out of nowhere, from a clear blue sky, lightning hit the tree. 

One very early morning the gardener woke up to strange voices from outside. He found a mommy bear with her cub eating and destroying all the the hundreds juicy berry bushes and the honey from the wasp farm. Unfortunately the son of the mansion Lord was at the same time returning from his hunting trip from the forest. He got attacked, and as a brave man the gardener tried to save his life with bare fists and sticks. This is how the mansion lost its heir. Since that horrible morning, the gardener withdrew the outside world even more, now with a halting walk and nasty scars.

I could tell even more stories, there would be one with the wasps size of the fists and puffed bride. 

But I won't.

But I can tell that the more superstitious couples searching for a place for wedding certainly will not say their vows in The Thornrose territory.

John Grandfield

So what the F happened? Why is this picture-perfect domain cursed?

The rumor blamed Miss Pinebranch. 

Miss Pinebranch was a lonely old maid with a weird reputation and a large number of cats.

She lived in the neighbor area of The Thornrose and she often visited their land for getting vegetables, berries and the famous honey.

They said that the gardener and she got together very well and there was a spark between them. They said that it was only around him, when she looked almost like beautiful and glowing.

One warm july evening Miss Pinebranch was seen walking from the village towards the Thornrose pond with our gardener. The young gang of kids followed these friends with curious reputation. What they witnessed, was a heartbreaking scene, where Miss Pinebranch confessed her love, tried to kiss our gardener and begged him to leave his wife, but as a faithful and respectful man, he refused her kiss and love.

The young kids escaped back to the village when the crying and cursing of Miss Pinebranch became too embarrassing and loud to watch. But one of the boys told that last thing he saw, was a green glowing light towards the gardener and a punch of words he did not understand. 

For some reason, people of the village believe that Miss Pinebranch has supernatural powers. 

Miss Pinebranch

They believe Miss Pinebranch being a witch.

Yes, it was after this curious and heartbreaking night that everything started going wrong in Thornrose, as Miss Pinebranch vanished from the village for good. This blue season continued over a decade. 

Until one autumn evening she returned, walking through the village with many cats following her. She looked no-one in the eyes, stopped talking to everybody. Her eyes were fixated in the direction of Thornrose.

The village's life and habits stopped for that evening. Everybody felt that something is going to happen and chance, hoping for the best to Thornrose people.

Nothing happened for many hours, until suddenly the same glowing green light stroke to the sky above the Thornrose land. Many people swore seeing a woman flying with a broom towards the moon.

The next day our gardener came down to the village with her lovely wife Emily, whose thick, luscious colored hair moved in the wind beautifully. They carried roses, giving them to everybody, and they placed grand flower-settings around the marketplace. And oh boy, Emily had so many stories to tell. But when asked about Miss Pinebranch, they both suddenly became implied, but gave each other a secret warm and knowing smile. 

Want to show your friends how they will look like as a 254-year-old? Here is how. 

How to Create The Old Dude

This is one of my favorite makeups to do! The way to do it, is exactly quite opposite than you would do your beauty makeup. And the result is always quite impressive.

First when doing The Old Dude makeup, you need to decide how old your character is. It's very easy to go over-the-top with the makeup and the result can be way older that your character were supposed to look like.

Secondly, where is your Old Dude performing? Is it for a masquerade party, or for a stage? Stage on a small theatre where the crowd is really close, or is it a big stage with strong lights? The answer affects how strong of makeup and lines you need to do.

Also understand that the character's manners, clothing, accessories (glasses and hats can make a huge difference) and voice used all add to The Old Dude effect.

My Old Dude is made for the big stage and he is about 80 years old.

No need to use any makeup primers here - the uneven colors are only a positive thing when creating an old skin. 

Spread some pale foundation lightly and starting from the nose, spreading towards the ears. The purpose is not to create an even skin and cover, just to make some sickly looking paleness. Add it also to the lips. Ask your model to wrinkle his/her lips. Very kissable aren't they?

Let's continue with the shading. 

Use light brown, cold shaded and matt eyeshadow. (e.g., Make Up Store Smog).

Shade the inside corners of the eyes. This makes the eyes more boney. The eye bones seem to look deeper, like holes. Continue the color until the iris of the eye and then pull the color downwards, but towards the outside corner of the eye. Color also the inside corner of the eyelid. 

Shade the bridge of the nose until the nostrils. Make the nose more appealing by following more gently  around the nostrils. Smooth the color toward the ears. 

Create the boney face by shading under the cheekbone, beginning from the ear. A blush brush made from real fur is a good size for this. Continue the color a bit over the cheekbone and then pull the shading downward. Continue the shade also on the neck. This line doesn't need to be completely symmetrical and straight, like the old people skin usually is not. 

Shade the temples.

Use for highlighting a white or vanilla matt eyeshadow:

Highlight the eyelid area next to the eye shading, that is not yet colored. So fill the eyebrow bone and the outside corner of the eyelid with the light eyeshadow. This makes the effect of baggy eyelids. Smooth the line between colors.

Color the top of the nose, also the tip of the nose.

Then the forehead.

And the chin.

Also highlight the cheekbones next to he shading. Just follow with the white color the same line as with shading, but just above it. 

Add some light eyeshadow on jawbones, continue to the neck. This creates a bit of a double chin! Again, smooth the lines between colors. 

Now is time for the lines and wrinkles. 

If you want to create very strong lines or make it just last better, base every wrinkle with a brown kajal pen.

Ask your model to furrow the eyebrows. Draw with the same cold light brown eyeshadow the longitudinal lines between eyebrows - that makes you look more strict. Smooth the lines a bit towards the ears. Fill the area between the lines and some part next to the faded wrinkle with the same vanilla matt eyeshadow. 

Now tell something really surprising to your model, like you haven't drunk any alcohol during last four days, or that yesterday you cleaned your apartment and see the forehead lines to be revealed! The result can easily become unnatural. Don't draw all-forehead long and symmetrical lines (mine are just in the edge to be a bit weird looking!). Fill below the line with the vanilla eyeshadow. Smooth the line a bit also upwards. By making some parts of the lines a bit stronger and wider, you make it more natural; they are just deeper parts of the wrinkle.

Now ask your model to smile. You find the mouth wrinkles, that leaves from the nose towards the neck (This is why Posh Spice avoided smiling). Draw these wrinkles with that cold brown eyeshadow and they can be drawn quite strong and deep. Leave the other side shorter to create some asymmetry. Blend towards the ears. 

Deepen the fulcrum line that connects the nose and the mouth together. Soften the line a bit towards both ears. Around the smoothed color, put some vanilla eyeshadow.

Emphasize the chin by drawing a line around it, making it look like a ball. Smooth the line towards the ears. Create the Ridge Forrester chin dimple just by drawing a short line between the chin. Soften a bit towards the ears.

Add a super short line from the corners of the mouth downwards. Smooth towards the ears, add a vanilla line below it.

Let's assume that your character had a happy life full of laughter. We need people to know that, to reveal this, draw the thin lines from the eye corner - the ones that looks like crow's feet (this is why Posh Spice avoided laughing).

Your model has shiny McDreamy hair? Na-aaa, doesn't sound like The Old Dude material. 

Swirl a eyelash brush into moist white aqua color (e.g., from Kryolan). My model has brown hair, but if your model has more blonde hair, the grey aqua color works well. Drag the brush through the hair and sideburns. Also, dry shampoo gives a good effect.

Brush the eyeshadow downwards and also give them some grey charisma.

If your model has a beard or moustache (if a girl, take her to a professional waxer.), color it carefully with white/grey aqua color.

Your model has partied all night yesterday? Brilliant! Take some warm shaded violet or auberge colored matte eyeshadow and make the eye bags even more deep. Draw the lines of the eye bags as low as you dare to make your character more exhausted looking. Make the color most strong right next to the inside eye corner. Smooth the color widely upwards, towards the eye. Add some white/vanilla between the line and the nose to create some puffiness and to make the bags look deeper.

If your character used to live for parties and liked to take more than one glass of red wine a night, his/her skin needs some couperose. Use a sponge that looks like a hedgehog, called stubble sponge, and tap with it carefully red colored supra color (e.g., Kryolan) on top of the nose and to the cheeks and around the nostrils.

Sponge to create some couperose

Create also some brown spots with the same hedgehog sponge to random places. Add more if she/he used to be a hippie living on a beach and already at the age of 30 looked like a sultan.

And my personal favorite: Veins! Just look carefully, your model has them somewhere in his/her face. Make them more appealing with a blue eyeshadow with a real-fur brush.

Gorgeous!