Post by Andrea on Jul 7, 2017 22:49:01 GMT -5
Greetings expeditioners!
The world of Ora is filled with a variety of unique and distinctive playable races. The Korahai, an owl-like humanoid race originating in the far south, are one of the only non-human races that don't require a solid coat of makeup on all exposed skin; however, the facial makeup required can come off as complicated and intimidating, which is why while we've certainly seen passing interest expressed in them, as of yet we haven't had any players represent them.
I'm here to tell you that, on the contrary, Korahai makeup is very achievable by anyone of any skill level; it may look detailed, but ultimately it's no more than a series of rough brush strokes, and because you're going for a feathered, almost impressionistic look, the less meticulous you are, the better! Ultimately very little precision is needed, and you'll find that maintaining upper face makeup is much easier than maintaining an even full-body coat.
Below you'll find a tutorial on the ins and outs of Korahai makeup, both in video and article form, so you can take advantage of whichever method you learn best from.
Preparation
(Tip: All of the makeup shown here is Mehron Paradise HQ, a high-quality water-based cake that, with basic care, can potentially hold up for an entire weekend without re-applying).
Before you get started, you'll need to choose your color palette. You should have four colors: a white, two shades of your preferred color, and a black. If you wish, you can swap out the black or white with an equally dark or light color; the important thing is that the range of contrast across the palette stays the same.
If you're hoping to create a Korahai with white or black as the main color, you may need to narrow it down to only three or even two colors, as you're skewing the whole palette toward one extreme. However, I have to caution you against this. While I can understand the appeal of going for a "raven" or "swan" color scheme, the moment you limit your palette in this way, you will lose some of the fidelity and it will be harder to pull off; it's nigh impossible to achieve the definition normally created with black on top of what is already black.
For best results, when finalizing your palette, you should take into consideration what your character's hair color will be, whether it be your real hair, hairspray, or a wig. Ideally you want at least one or two colors in your color scheme to match or otherwise complement your hair, so that the whole look comes together.
(Tip: Feather wigs, especially short ones, can take you the extra mile in giving your head a bird-like silhouette. However, they tend to be delicate and will need to be periodically replaced).
For example, if you have brown hair, you might choose two browns as your middle colors, or swap in brown for black and lean towards warm red and orange mid-tones. On the other hand, you might swap in brown for black and a light brown for your second color, and use a green as your third color for an earthy scheme. If you've got black hair, consider taking a cue from Anime and use deep blues as your mid-tones. If color theory isn't your strong suit, message us--we can help!
You should also keep in mind the implications of your character's gender. Like many species of real-life birds, Korahai males are typically more vibrant, and females more subdued. This doesn't necessarily mean that all male Korahai should look like parrots, or all females should be black-and-white or sepia. What it does mean is that, if you're a male, you should include at least one or two vibrant colors, and if you're female, you should use no more than one or two, and choose more washed out versions of those colors if possible. Bear in mind that Korahai gender roles are typically reversed, so the implication of a male Korahai that presents as feminine would be similar to that of a tomboy, and so on.
Lastly, you'll need a beak (nose) color! Choosing a color that contrasts from the rest of your palette is a good idea. Yellows, burnt oranges, and grays are all common beak colors.
Here are some example palettes that I've used (including the white and black ones, where you can see that they appear flatter and almost lower-res than the full-palette ones):
Application
(Tip: Makeup brushes aren't needed and may actually be detrimental to this look, as they're designed to blend rather than streak. A set of inexpensive paintbrushes will do just fine).
For the purpose of this tutorial, I'll refer to your color scheme in this order: white (1), light mid-tone (2), dark mid-tone (3) and black (4).
The first thing you'll need to do is a base coat of color 2. this should cover your upper face down to your cheekbones, but leave your lower nose untouched.
After that, it's time to fill in the nose. You'll want to paint your nostrils and a triangular shape up the front of your nose, and you may want to give it a couple of coats to ensure that it's sharp and consistent. There's no need to paint underneath your nose.
Now you're going to start creating the basic shape. Take your color 3 and paint your eyebrows and a semi-circle extending down from your eyebrows to your cheekbones, all using short, rough strokes moving out and away from your eyes. Do the same for edge of your "beak" and around your eyes. While you have that color out, now would also be a good time to dab a rough vertical feather pattern onto your forehead.
Next, you'll take your color 1 and use the same method to streak your brow, under your eyes, the bridge of your nose, and outside of the semi-circle you just created. You may need to repeat this once more in order to achieve the brightness and contrast you want, as white tends to need some encouragement to hold its own over other colors.
Take your color 4 and with a thin brush, lightly go over the eyebrows and semi-circles to create definition. You should also consider using this color on the edge of your eyes similar to eyeliner, in order to keep them defined.
Finally, if you didn't already apply the feather pattern to your forehead, now's the time. Depending on your palette, you may also wish to lightly dab color 4 into your forehead like you did with color 3, but this is purely a preference call.
And you're done! The only other thing to remember is to wear feather cuffs (hopefully matching your color scheme) on your wrists to indicate vestigial wing feathers. If you have other ideas to work in feathers elsewhere, feel free to experiment.
The world of Ora is filled with a variety of unique and distinctive playable races. The Korahai, an owl-like humanoid race originating in the far south, are one of the only non-human races that don't require a solid coat of makeup on all exposed skin; however, the facial makeup required can come off as complicated and intimidating, which is why while we've certainly seen passing interest expressed in them, as of yet we haven't had any players represent them.
I'm here to tell you that, on the contrary, Korahai makeup is very achievable by anyone of any skill level; it may look detailed, but ultimately it's no more than a series of rough brush strokes, and because you're going for a feathered, almost impressionistic look, the less meticulous you are, the better! Ultimately very little precision is needed, and you'll find that maintaining upper face makeup is much easier than maintaining an even full-body coat.
Below you'll find a tutorial on the ins and outs of Korahai makeup, both in video and article form, so you can take advantage of whichever method you learn best from.
Preparation
(Tip: All of the makeup shown here is Mehron Paradise HQ, a high-quality water-based cake that, with basic care, can potentially hold up for an entire weekend without re-applying).
Before you get started, you'll need to choose your color palette. You should have four colors: a white, two shades of your preferred color, and a black. If you wish, you can swap out the black or white with an equally dark or light color; the important thing is that the range of contrast across the palette stays the same.
If you're hoping to create a Korahai with white or black as the main color, you may need to narrow it down to only three or even two colors, as you're skewing the whole palette toward one extreme. However, I have to caution you against this. While I can understand the appeal of going for a "raven" or "swan" color scheme, the moment you limit your palette in this way, you will lose some of the fidelity and it will be harder to pull off; it's nigh impossible to achieve the definition normally created with black on top of what is already black.
For best results, when finalizing your palette, you should take into consideration what your character's hair color will be, whether it be your real hair, hairspray, or a wig. Ideally you want at least one or two colors in your color scheme to match or otherwise complement your hair, so that the whole look comes together.
(Tip: Feather wigs, especially short ones, can take you the extra mile in giving your head a bird-like silhouette. However, they tend to be delicate and will need to be periodically replaced).
For example, if you have brown hair, you might choose two browns as your middle colors, or swap in brown for black and lean towards warm red and orange mid-tones. On the other hand, you might swap in brown for black and a light brown for your second color, and use a green as your third color for an earthy scheme. If you've got black hair, consider taking a cue from Anime and use deep blues as your mid-tones. If color theory isn't your strong suit, message us--we can help!
You should also keep in mind the implications of your character's gender. Like many species of real-life birds, Korahai males are typically more vibrant, and females more subdued. This doesn't necessarily mean that all male Korahai should look like parrots, or all females should be black-and-white or sepia. What it does mean is that, if you're a male, you should include at least one or two vibrant colors, and if you're female, you should use no more than one or two, and choose more washed out versions of those colors if possible. Bear in mind that Korahai gender roles are typically reversed, so the implication of a male Korahai that presents as feminine would be similar to that of a tomboy, and so on.
Lastly, you'll need a beak (nose) color! Choosing a color that contrasts from the rest of your palette is a good idea. Yellows, burnt oranges, and grays are all common beak colors.
Here are some example palettes that I've used (including the white and black ones, where you can see that they appear flatter and almost lower-res than the full-palette ones):
Application
(Tip: Makeup brushes aren't needed and may actually be detrimental to this look, as they're designed to blend rather than streak. A set of inexpensive paintbrushes will do just fine).
For the purpose of this tutorial, I'll refer to your color scheme in this order: white (1), light mid-tone (2), dark mid-tone (3) and black (4).
The first thing you'll need to do is a base coat of color 2. this should cover your upper face down to your cheekbones, but leave your lower nose untouched.
After that, it's time to fill in the nose. You'll want to paint your nostrils and a triangular shape up the front of your nose, and you may want to give it a couple of coats to ensure that it's sharp and consistent. There's no need to paint underneath your nose.
Now you're going to start creating the basic shape. Take your color 3 and paint your eyebrows and a semi-circle extending down from your eyebrows to your cheekbones, all using short, rough strokes moving out and away from your eyes. Do the same for edge of your "beak" and around your eyes. While you have that color out, now would also be a good time to dab a rough vertical feather pattern onto your forehead.
Next, you'll take your color 1 and use the same method to streak your brow, under your eyes, the bridge of your nose, and outside of the semi-circle you just created. You may need to repeat this once more in order to achieve the brightness and contrast you want, as white tends to need some encouragement to hold its own over other colors.
Take your color 4 and with a thin brush, lightly go over the eyebrows and semi-circles to create definition. You should also consider using this color on the edge of your eyes similar to eyeliner, in order to keep them defined.
Finally, if you didn't already apply the feather pattern to your forehead, now's the time. Depending on your palette, you may also wish to lightly dab color 4 into your forehead like you did with color 3, but this is purely a preference call.
And you're done! The only other thing to remember is to wear feather cuffs (hopefully matching your color scheme) on your wrists to indicate vestigial wing feathers. If you have other ideas to work in feathers elsewhere, feel free to experiment.