Written by Sukhbir Cheema
All images credit FX.CAT
From Te Fiti of Moana, to White Walkers from the Game of Thrones series to Ghost in Shell, Nurul Nabilla Radzif aka FX.CAT alias Neb has been setting social media ablaze with her mad face painting skills.
I mean, just take a look at these brilliant stuff by Neb!
Using paint, make up brushes and sculpting tools, the oozing confidence from this tudung clad lass lends further character to her face paintings, making her art even more awesome!
Neb explains that her art is a combination of body painting and make up.
Beneath the colourful landscape on her face, is her safe zone.
“In every artwork, I try my best to portray my opinions and observations on the things around me; the things unsaid.
When I learnt the arts of body painting and makeup, it has always been my ultimate goal to combine the two art forms to create a work that truly speaks for itself, that provokes and creates actions, even in the smallest ways.”
Much of her face paintings are sure to leave your mouth gaping wide. At times, one might even wonder if she did it digitally but Neb stresses that every single face painting was done painstakingly by hand.
“The process for a special effects makeup look takes about 45 minutes up to three-hours, depending on the concept and detailing,” Neb says, revealing that she only tweaks the images taken using photo editing apps on her phone.
Her foray into face painting began pretty recently — five-years-ago — when a friend had asked her to be a substitute for a face painting job which she agreed on impulse.
“I fell in love with face painting instantly! From there, I started exploring deeper into the art form and discovered special effects makeup and body painting,” the 27-year-old tells me.
Combined with her experience in black and white ink illustrations, Neb began experimenting with “stuff laying around” her house.
“I like using random materials for my works and I’m always trying to think of new ways to create something out of the simplest things,” she adds.
Once she suffered rashes for almost a week after applying stationery glue on her bare skin without doing a patch test prior to the attempt.
“Since then, it’s always safety first for me.”
Despite calling herself a “main langgar” person, much of her techniques were learned through hours and hours of poring over video tutorials.
Butttt! If you attend the Iskandar Puteri Kreatif 2017 (IP Kreatif), Neb says you would not need to go through such a hassle.
The professional self-taught face painter is set to hold a workshop on both days of IP Kreatif – July 22 and 23 – from 12pm to 10pm!
“I’d be showcasing a new experience for Malaysian art lovers this weekend.
“We’re all familiar with visually satisfying objects, but seldom exposed to body arts and interpretations on a living character.”
Touted as the “festival of ideas”, IP Kreatif is the second edition organised by Malaysia’s leading property developer UEM Sunrise Berhad. It is set to be held at Mall of Medini, Iskandar Puteri in Johore.
The festival aims to bring together local creatives and initiatives from various sectors to spur collaborations and dissemination of ideas! Cool right??
There’s gonna be talks, exhibitions, workshops and gigs happening. So you MUST go if you need a heavy dose of inspiration.
Speaking of inspiration, Neb tells us that her inspiration comes from random observations.
Her first attempt into face painting was a basic skull make-up which took her four-whopping-hours!
“My fingers were trembling and my fiancé was dozing off – I’m glad he is my most supportive lab rat who now does special effects make up and body paintings with me too!”
However, the biggest challenge was to convince her family that she could make a living out her passion.
“Everyday, I strive to prove myself I am worthy enough. So I keep going, that’s the only way.”
She is not sure how long she will continue face painting and jests that she might just continue her passion forever if she does not find another passion to go crazy with.
“I don’t really have a solid plan for the future because I don’t want to limit myself. I want to keep learning and experimenting, opening up to any possible art form.”
Neb Razif aka FX CAT is set to launch a special series in the Halloween season so be sure to follow her on Facebook, Instagram and Youtube for the reveals! Have more awesome people such as Neb whom we can feature? Drop us an email at [email protected]!
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