Joker smile make up deconstruction

In our teaser trailer we want have painted on smiles on our characters and so I have looked at the Joker from Batman as his smile is key to his appearance as a source of inspiration for what our make up could potentially look like.  

• Jack Nicholson's make up as the joker was a very close real life representation of how the Joker appeared in the Batman comics.
• His make up is very cartoon like due to this close relation with the Batman cartoon and comics.
• The permanent smile becomes creepy and freaky 
• The extended, exaggerated smile forming a grin makes him look psychotic
• Jack Nicholson's make up has a certain precision to it, the mouth and smile are neatly drawn on making it the focus of the make up
• The colours of the make up also are key to the Joker's appearance. The white of the face and red of the lips contrast and the red is bold making the smile prominent. 

• Cesar Romero's depiction of the Joker looks far more clown like and far less psychotic than other Jokers.
• The face paint is one solid colour and the features are typical of a comedy clowns make up 
• His smile does not extend up the cheeks as much in comparison to other Joker looks however the red of the lips is bold and dominants the face.

• Heath Ledger's performance as the Joker has evolved a lot more since previous depictions 
• The Joker in 'The dark knight' has a more grotesque look as the smile is shown to be cut into his face and so his smile is a scar that has been painted over
• The make up is far more dishevelled 
• The Joker has become less comically minded and more of a psychotic, twisted state of mind.
• He has become more disgusting, twisted looking rather than freaky and clown-like

Each actor has a different look for the character of the Joker and the make up is shown to be very important in establishing each one. This research helps in deciding how the painted smile will be for our characters as it each one of the Joker's look creates a new persona and so it is important through the make up we portray a psycho element.

Amy Freeman