There are few photographers in the world of fashion and beauty whose work is synonymous with pushing the edge of sexy and artistic the way Mike Ruiz does. Partner that vision up with Mike Shanti, one of coolest, hottest and edgiest male models out there who is always willing to go along for the ride and push the envelope, and add the beautiful makeup artistry of the fabulous Eduard Duyos and you get this gorgeous creative artistry story – Straight to the Pointillism. We wanted to learn more about the making of this incredible story so we went right to sources.
How did you come up with the pointillistic concept for this shoot?
Eduard: Mike Ruiz came up with the concept of using the pointillism technique used in the fine arts for the shoot. Art and fashion have always been a huge inspiration for me and the opportunity to explore new ways to approach classical art techniques really excited me to push my artistry further and to the next level.
The model, Mike Shanti, has a very specific energy and image, how did this play into the creation of the makeup and images?
Eduard: When Mike Ruiz sent me the image of our model, I was completely inspired to design the looks based on what I could sense just from the picture. Mike Shanti’s picture inspired this tribal alien meets fashion feeling inside of me that gave the initial direction of my make up designs. What’s amazing and freeing about artistry is that sometimes what you plan, evolves into something greater.
Did it all go as expected?
Eduard: On the day of the shoot, when I got to meet Mike Shanti in person, his energy and personality helped give an evolution to the make up that I had initially designed into something so much greater. As an artist, I like to receive the transmission of my models energy so that when I am creating on them, I am not only respecting their physical structure during the application, but also allowing their energy to transmit through me to give birth to a make up design that exudes their energy.
How do you decide what sort of evolution a look like this has as the shoot progresses?
Eduard: The evolution of the make up is a huge collaboration with the photographer. Mike Ruiz is such an amazing partner and his direction was key for me to take the makeup further and further throughout the entire process. It’s about getting there together to achieve the ultimate image and Mike’s an amazing partner and mentor.
A question for Mike, what do you try to capture when shooting a more artistically focused image?
Mike Ruiz: When shooting personal creative projects, I usually feed off of the energy of the subject. In this case, Mike Shanti was so willing to experiment, I wanted to do something different and eye catching. I knew I wanted to try a non-typical makeup technique. After doing some research, I came across some art done in pointillism and thought that it would be a cool make-up approach for this shoot.
When shooting tighter artistic beauty images is there anything special you do to light the project?
Mike Ruiz: In this case, I really wanted to showcase Mike’s striking face and the detail in the makeup so I used my traditional clean beauty lighting.
Eduard, When working in artistic elements how do you know when a look is “done”?
One of my great artistic mentors always used to tell me “don’t put a bird on it” Meaning, give your final design space to tell a story, don’t use every technique or trick you know all in one make up. There's also this inner feeling deep inside that signals me, like a gut feeling that says “Stop, this is it, this is the story”
What products and tools did you use to create this look?
Dior Back Stage: Face & Body foundation
Danessa Myricks: Vision Cream cover with Illuminating Veil
Cozette: Infinite Contour Palette
Cozette: Make up brushes
KRYOLAN: Eyebrow Plastic, Derma cover Fixing powder
MAKE UP FOR EVER: Color Cream, Color Ink, Spirit Gum
INGLOT: AMC Eyeliner Gels
Photos– Mike Ruiz | @mikeruizone
Makeup – Eddie Duyos | @eddiearistry
Model – Mike Shanti | @mike.shanti