AI overview
Artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming the role of hair and make-up designers in film and television by offering tools that support creativity, streamline workflows and improve planning processes.
AI assistants can act as a sounding board or visualiser, helping artists to generate initial design concepts, test out style ideas virtually and compare and analyse designs to existing references (both historical and recorded) to ensure accurate designs. These tools can help designers experiment with different looks and achieve consistency across multiple characters and scenes.
AI can also be used to help with planning, logistics and resource management. Systems like make-up inventory tracking and prediction of stock requirements for a production, or scheduling and staff plans, based directly from a script.
New opportunities are also becoming possible where a make-up artist can work alongside automated AI based visual effects (VFX) tools, enabling the designer to create combinations of real make-up combined with virtual VFX components. This enables direct integration of the make-up team into a VFX workflow, creating transformation that simply wasn't feasible unless with great cost and time.
By automating repetitive tasks and offering predictive insights and allowing control over other complex technologies, AI can empower hair and make-up designers to focus more on the creative and artistic aspects of their role.
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How do I prepare for the future?
Hair and make-up designers can prepare for the future by gaining familiarity with AI tools that enhance design, continuity and resource management.
By learning to integrate AI into their workflow, designers can improve efficiency and precision while maintaining a high level of creativity.
Training resources such as ScreenSkills and online platforms provide valuable insights into using AI effectively. Staying updated with advancements in self-hosted AI models will also ensure secure data handling and adaptability to industry trends.
Starting to build records and data of the administrative work you have carried out in the past can potentially enable an AI to carry that out for you in the future.
Thoughts should also be given as to how technology might start to be integrated directly into the make-up process, for example augmented reality (AR) overlays might be able to show the final ‘finished VFX result’ directly on to a headset view, while you apply make-up, giving you an instant comparison reference or helping to blend the virtual elements with the real ones.
Embracing AI in hair and make-up design
AI offers hair and make-up designers exciting opportunities to innovate, save time and ensure precision in their craft.
While AI can assist with design generation, continuity tracking and logistics, the human skill of interpreting character nuances and bringing creative visions to life remains irreplaceable.
Designers who embrace AI as a collaborative tool can enhance their workflows and deliver even greater impact on screen. For those working in high-end TV and film, AI can be an empowering resource that supports creativity and elevates storytelling through enhanced visual design.
What AI tools can I use right now?
Hair and make-up designers can use a variety of AI tools throughout different stages of production. These tools improve design accuracy, efficiency and logistics while maintaining data privacy through locally hosted AI models when needed.
- Style and design suggestions: AI tools generate hair and make-up designs based on character descriptions, script requirements or historical references. Designers can visualise multiple options quickly and refine them to fit the creative brief.
- Self-hosted AI models for privacy: For productions requiring confidentiality, AIs can be run directly on your own computer systems, allowing designers to process sensitive data securely without sharing it over the internet. Although difficult to setup at this stage, models like those from Meta, Google and Mistral provide private free of charge AI solutions already.
- Digital continuity tracking: AI tools are able to examine previous scenes to ensure continuity in hair and make-up across filming days. It is possible to use this form of visual comparison to give hair and make-up designer real time information as a team is applying make-up, helping to highlight differences and improve consistency throughout a production. This is particularly helpful if there are long time periods between similar scenes or multiple teams working on one project.
- Environmental impact simulations: AI systems are able to simulate real-world conditions like lighting, sweat, dust, humidity, etc on existing images to help designers predict how make-up and hair will appear on camera. This can help junior designers or those with less experience to make more informed decisions before application.
- Inventory and cost tracking: AI-driven tools monitor product usage, track inventory and predict future needs based on script requirements and character demands. These systems help designers optimise resources and stay within budget. In the future this might be able to be fully automated, with stock levels being maintained simply from a simple monitoring camera, as you use them combined with prediction of your production requirements based on the initial character ideas and designs.
- Audience response insights: AI can analyse audience reactions to characters’ looks, offering feedback on the effectiveness of hair and make-up designs. This insight helps designers align their work with viewer expectations and improve for future projects.
AI-powered design tools: Tools that generate hair and make-up concepts based on character details and historical accuracy.
Self-hosted AI for confidentiality: Local AI systems that allow secure processing of sensitive production data.
Continuity management tools: AI systems that track hair and make-up across scenes to ensure consistency.
Environmental simulation for make-up durability: AI tools that simulate environmental impacts to test make-up and hair designs for on-set durability.
Inventory and resource management: AI that tracks product usage, monitors costs and predicts future resource needs.
Staff planning and scheduling: AI models can assist with designing a schedule or plan to arrange timings for a team to a production shoot schedule.
Automated VFX workflows: Future AI will be able to automate VFX workflows with tools such as face enhancement and automatic virtual make-up application. Real life make-up may on occasion be able to be simplified or previously impossible looks could now be achieved without very expensive CGI techniques.
ScreenSkills offers a variety of training opportunities for people at all stages of their career. Explore all training, events and opportunities.
ScreenSkills resources:
- Hair and make-up artist job profile
- Hair and make-up designer job profile
- Skills checklists for roles in hair and make-up
Other resources:
- LinkedIn Learning has tutorials on AI in creative fields and continuity management tools
- GitHub has tutorials on self-hosted AI and YouTube has guides of set up
- Skillshare has tutorials on environmental simulation
- Coursera has tutorials on AI in logistics