FARMINGTON — Dark, sunken eyes stared ahead as rivulets of fake blood trickled down Jodi Casavant’s chin.

 

Casavant’s face became a blank canvas for makeup artist Jimmy Stinson during a recent Mt. Blue Regional School District Adult and Community Education class.

 

Bullet holes, scars, bruises and zombie effects created with basic household items are taught in the class called Monster Makeup and Extreme Face Painting.

 

Stinson spreads dark makeup around Casavant’s eyes and the contours of her face. After applying different shades to highlight her chin, he covers it with corn syrup-based fake blood as if she’d been recently dining on flesh.

 

It felt wet when first applied but after it dried it was like wearing regular makeup, Casavant said. She wore it home to surprise her family.

 

In another class, Stinson created zombie skin from liquid latex. He made small holes in the skin-toned latex before it dried into a thin sheet of rubber to create a three-dimensional face cover.

 

Casavant volunteers again to become his model. He carefully pastes the skin to her face and dabs dark makeup around her eyes and along the ridges of zombie scars.

 

“I can make you look ugly, but I can’t make you look pretty,” Stinson joked.

 

He earned a degree in special makeup effects from Tom Savini’s Special Make-Up Effects Program. It’s a 16-month academic program at the Douglas Education Center in Monessen, Pa., near Pittsburgh.

 

Savani is known for his special-effects work in movies such as “Dawn of the Dead” and “Friday the 13th,” Stinson said. He also studied under Jerry Gergely who did effects for “Buffy the Vampire Slayer.”

 

Stinson, a musician, plays acoustic guitar and sings at local venues as he works on his other career, a craft highlighting his longtime fascination with how horror effects are created. 

 

This is the second time Stinson has taught the class on how to apply and create the makeup using inexpensive supermarket products such as corn syrup, gelatin and coffee grounds or cereal for texture.

 

Rachel Bachelder of Freeman Township took the class last fall. She came back to learn more.

 

“I had a blast,” she said. For her, it’s all about making super-special costumes. “I love Halloween,” she said.

 

For several years, Bachelder has made and worn elaborate costumes to the local hospital to pass out candy to staff and patients. Now she dresses up for family. The special effects add to her attire.

 

Casavant, a high school student from New Vineyard, said she enjoys horror entertainment and wanted to take the class to expand on her artistic and photographic endeavors.

 

A couple of other high school students came to learn more about 3-D effects and whether this was a potential career opportunity.

 

For Toby Castle of Rangeley, the class offered an opportunity to expand on creating characters for haunted houses and theater. He has already designed makeup for several teens through his involvement in children’s theater, he said.

 

Stinson, a fan of horror, said Halloween and haunted attractions have been a huge part of his life, but he followed the sound of music to Berklee College of Music in Boston. Within a few years, he wanted to do something else and not rely only on a career in music.

 

He had a passion for learning about special effects and after earning a degree, chose to work with Animax Designs in Nashville, which is known for its music scene.

 

The work at Animax Designs involved $40,000 moving puppets for theme parks, which, he said, included characters such as Mickey and Minnie and Big Bird from “Sesame Street.”

 

He also worked with country music star Taylor Swift to create her Vulcan ear tips for an awards show skit. She was full of energy and fun to work with, he said.

 

Since moving to Maine, Stinson has worked on a Portland school theater production and continues to pursue music and special effects, both of which have clearly had a special effect on Mainers.