Developing My Miss Havisham Hairstyle

I decided that I wanted my Miss Havisham character to look quite disheveled, yet still in keeping with early victorian styling. After looking at my initial hairstyle ideas i combined ideas from each to come out with this design.

I took the floral elements of my 2nd design idea and combined it with the traditional style of my first design idea. I liked how the body of hair at the front sat in front of the veil. Ive taken the original ringlets and make them much looser and a lot more disheveled looking through the use of backcombing (Ive also taken in to account my models extremely long hair). The floral aspect Ive decided to keep around the band of the veil itself, as i felt having them scattered through the hair looked a little too festival and nymph like for my taste when I tried it out below. 

I actually have a floral headband in my wardrobe which I think could work very well in my design, rather than obtaining individual flowers and securing them to the base of a veil, I could attach some matieral to the headband. Obviously to fit in with the overall look of 'self neglect' i would need to make the flowers look as if they were withered and covered in dust. 

Incorporating Ideas for Hair

In the novel Great Expectations Dickens doesn't go in to great detail about the way Miss Havisham's hair appears, we can only assume that it is typical to that of early victorians styles. What we can establish is that it was decorated in some manner with flowers, which makes sense as it was her wedding day, which have over time have withered and most probably died. We also know she wore a veil, which appeared 'dependant' from her hair connoting to us that her hair was perhaps a bit disheveled and had lost its original styling. 

"she had a long white veil dependant from her hair, she had bridal flowers in her hair but her hair was white”
“I saw that the bride within the bridal dress had withered like the dress, and like the flowers,

The way I imagine Miss Havishams hair to be is quite traditional victorian style - so a lot of volume at the sides, with the rest of the pulled in to a low bun at the back of the head. I also in visage a veil and dead flowers, perhaps even the spiders that Dickens mentions devouring the bride cake.

Here are some initial idea Ive drawn to help develop a style that will coincide with the face chart I have designed to give a look of self neglect. 

My two initial designs are based on the two early victorian styles I studied and practised. Ive taken these and tried to incorporate Miss Havisham and ideas of 'self neglect' in to them.

My initial idea features a volume of hair at the side in traditional ringlets which will look like they've fallen out over time and lost their bounce. the rest of the hair is swept in to the twisted bun at the back of the head, partially covered by a veil. Ive adorned this style with pretend spiders, which I thought would make a cunning effect as we know the room in which Miss Havisham stayed was infested with spiders which attack the bride cake.

“seeming to grow, like a black fungus, I saw speckled-legged spiders…”

I like this idea, but i feel adornment of spiders could either look really good or look incredibly and would need some research on my part to see what result I could get.

My second design idea is also based around a traditional early victorian hairstyle. The front section of the hair is flat to the scalp and plaited from the ears which then joins the twist at the back of the head. Ive adorned the front section of hair and plaits with flowers, as described in the book. My intention is for these flowers to look dead and withered so give the overall impression of 'neglect'. 

My concerns with this design are that its quite safe and a bit dull.. I feel the placement of the flowers would have to be quite clever otherwise they could quite random. I also feel that this hairstyle would be quite difficult to make it looks disheveled or messy due it quite structured nature. 

Overall, Im feeling that I might collaborate elements from both these designs in to my final design to create a very 'dishevelled' look which connoted that Miss Havisham hasn't touched or groomed her hair is a severely long time.

Ive also since decided against the spider idea, as the only fake spiders I could find were very tacky and I personally couldn't bear to include them in my work. 

FINAL MISS HAVISHAM LOOK + Characterization

This is my final face chart for my Miss Havisham character. Ive adapted from my 3rd initial design idea and practice. 
The most noticeable aspect I've changed is the removal of the dried skin/scratched effect on the forehead which i always felt never really looked right when i tried it and often overpowered other features.
Ive decided that the purpose of this interpretation of Miss Havisham is most suited to that of a stage play, I feel that due to my quite realistic approach, focusing on elements of self neglect, that this look is most appropriate to the media as I imagine interpretations for film and tv to be somewhat more glamorised. 
The rest of the design has greatly stayed the same. Ive intensified the contouring on the cheeks and forehead to further the 'skeletal' and malnourished effect I've been aiming for to and maintained the chapped lip effect to emphasise my angle of 'self neglect'

Moving forward now I need to consider incorporating my idea for hair design to coincide with the make up to create a overall look. I will also be taking in to consideration other factors such as costume to further my characterisation. 
I want to work to really capture the essence of Miss Havisham, therefore I want to go 'the whole nine yards' and have my model dressed appropriately which means sourcing a costume.
In the book Miss Havisham is described to be wearing a bridal gown and veil, which have over the years become discoloured. 
“I saw that everything within my view which ought to be white, had been white long ago, and had lost its lustre, and was faded and yellow”

Therefore I decided to dress my model is a wedding gown and veil, which i would then manipulate to look faded and yellowed to further emphasise Miss Havisham's 'self neglectful' state. 

I managed to find a very simple wedding gown costume in the local fancy dress shop, i thought this would be perfect because although its not the most well made garment in the world I would only need it for a head and shoulder shot. I then go to thinking about how i would go about 'tainting' the dress to make it look more disheveled.

I ended up using a mixture of tea bags and fine pepper. I brewed some tea in a jug and then used the tea bag to soak areas of the dress to discolour them. I found this method to be quite useful as i gave the garment a nice yellow tinge which I think works well. 

3rd Design for Miss Havisham & Trial

Out of all my designs, I feel that this one is by far my favourite and is very much centered around the idea of 'self neglect' that i have been looking in to. Ive included some fairly heavy shadowing and contouring around the cheekbones, eyes and forehead to give the allusion that the model is quite undernourished and her flesh is retracting towards her skull. Ive again included the chapped lip effect because I generally think it gives a a good finish and furthers the idea that Miss Havisham's appearance and health is less than perfect. The eyes are probably the focal point of this design, I've featured them heavily shadowed to give the appearance of malnutrition as well as sleep deprivation, those with tired eyes tend to have a slight purple tinge to the skin so I've I've used this beneath the eyes to deepen the effect. I also think the red along the waterline gives the impression that they're quite sore from perhaps the stale air miss Havisham surrounds herself with by being locked up in the same room forever. I really like the lips in this design, I've made them fairly pale round the edges, to suggest that blood isn't really reaching that area anymore, they look like they're very unhealthy and faded. 

Lastly, Ive included a little scarring around the forehead to give the impression of dried scratched skin based on the idea that through years of not washing or changing, Miss Havisham has developed lice and skin complaints that cause a constant itching. Ive made this effect much more subtle than in previous designs as i found that too much blood and gore overpowered the design and took away from the overall effect. 

Ive decided to take this design forward and develop it in to a design I am 100% happy with to represent my interpretation of Miss Havisham. To do this, I trailed this design on a friend to see what elements I was happy with and what I may want to change or adapt.

Here is the finished look on my friend. Overall I like the attempt but Im not crazy about it. Starting with the dry skin effect at the top of the head - I feel it looks far too muddy and pulls attention away from other features. I absolutely love the shading around the eyes and feel these really emphasise a look of exhaustion and illness. However I feel that the contour around the eyes doesn't quite match that around the cheekbones and forehead.

I feel that the contouring and shadowing in the face needs to be a lot more prominent to match that of the eyes to make my look a bit 'together'. 
Another issue I have is the white of the eyebrows.

I pulled some supra colour with powder added through the brows to give the effect of ageing and dust, but I actually think they are far too white. In my developed design i think ill keep this effect but make it far more subtle. I may perhaps even lightly shade the eyebrow first.

2nd Idea - Miss Havisham & Trial

This second design idea is also heavily centred on the idea of 'self neglect' which I've tried to show through the hollowing of the face, most notable on the cheekbones and around the eyes to suggest malnutrition. however, you will notice this is drastically less emphasised compared to my first design which i felt looked a little too ghoul like for my taste. Ive also included some heavily chapped lips to resonate the idea that she's in poor health, as well as some sore dry skin effect around the nose and mouth through the use of liquid latex. Ive also included to the use of sort of 'messed up' eyebrows which i think will look quite disheveled and wight he addition of a little powder brushed through them will look like they haven't been groomed in many years. I did a little experiment of this effect on the eyelashes which can be seen below, I wanted to portray the idea that dust had gathered on the lashes through years and years of being hidden away in the same dusty old room.

Overall Im quite fond of this little effect and think I will keep it in my design.

During seminar time this week I trailed this design on my partner to see if there was anything I wasn't particularly keen on or anything I was really pleased with that I may want to develop or include in a different design.

Overall, I became a bit disheartened during the practice because although I was really quite keen on my design it hadn't come out in reality as I had hoped. My favourite aspects of the look are the pale complexion which I think looks very convincing and quite natural (not artificial). I also really like the effect around the eyes, I feel like my model looks incredibly tired and in ill health which is exactly the effect Im aiming for. I didn't quite get the opportunity to finish the design on the face but I did gain a lot from this practice. Ive decided that if i include any injuries or scarring, I want it to be a lot more subtle than it appears in this image. I found that using latex resulted in a weird discolouring of the foundation used, so in future i will use a different method to 'dry out' the skin, I also think ill find another product to show soreness and blood as the Ben Nye Fresh Scab is far too bright and looks much too fresh. 

Experiment: Creating a sore scratched hairline

In my first design idea I wanted to include a sore, broken forehead caused from scratching to due headlice occurring from years of unlash and self neglect on Miss Havisham's part.
for this little experiment I used a combination of;
Liquid latex, Foundation, supra colour and Ben Nye fresh scab effect 

Starting with clean skin I applied liquid latex around the hair line of my model using a sponge, trying not to go in to the hair.

I allowed this to dry using a hairdryer on the coolest setting.

I then applied foundation over the top of the latex.

I then tried to peel the latex away from the hairline towards the centre of the face. I found that that was actually quite hard to control and i ended up pulling more away than I intended.

I filled this peeled area with red supra colour and then stippled on the 'fresh scab'. I also tried to make the effect look more 3D and realistic by adding darker tones of red and black.

Overall, I was really disappointed with the result and sort of gave up on it as it really wasn't the effect I had been aiming for. Due to the latex being had to manipulate, the wound area was a lot bigger than I had intended and look much more extreme. I also found that the red was far too bright and looked incredibly fake, I also felt it looked too fresh. I wanted it to the look like the area around the hair line was sore and scabby from years of scratching but instead it sort of ended up looking like someone had tried to peel off my models skin.

I think perhaps I will look in to more subtle ways of representing this idea. 

First idea for Miss Havisham

This is my first design of the Miss Havisham Character. I have developed this design from my understanding and experimenting with the shape of the skull. Ive tried to make this havisham look very hollow, emphasising the idea that she hasn’t eaten in years and is frail and unhealthy. Ive kept the skin very pale and slightly yellow to enhance the idea of illness. Ive kept the eyebrows fairly natural as victorians generally didn’t fill in their brows. Ive included some scratching effect around the forehead and ears, a concept i haven’t fully worked out yet but i intend on experimenting with latex and special effects to try and create this. I think the contouring looks good but the shading around the eyes needs some work as it looks a little more fashion than theatrical. Ive included some cracking and soreness around the nose and mouth which i think is appropriate because I think Miss Havisham would have these kind of sores due to lack of movement, her skin would become stiff and crack from poor hygiene.

Malnutrition - The Skull - Experiment

As part of my research in to the effects of self neglect Miss Havisham may have encountered, i decided to look at malnutrition.

What is malnutrition?
Malnutrition is a condition resulting from an inadequate diet. it most commonly occurs when someone does not eat enough.

The effects
- Reduced muscle and tissue mass (would explain why Miss Havisham has a sunken in, skeletal appearance)
-Decreased mobility (Miss Havisham doesn't venture out, he skin would be stiff and sore)
- Wounds take longer to heal (Any rashes, bruises, scratches would could still be visible)
- Slower immune response, increase risk of infection (This would explain her yellowed wax-like appearance)

(m.nursingtimes.net/5001811.article)

Personal sketch of the human skull
Pencil of paper

I decided to take a look at the human skull to help underneath how light and shadow would act on the face as a result of reduced muscle mass caused by malnutrition. I notice areas that would appear most sunken in occurs around the outside of the face, around the forehead down to below the eyes in particular. The skull sinks in possibly most notable below the area below the cheekbones and aside the jaw, an area in modern beauty we highlight as a way of emphasising a more slimline face.
However, to emphasise the look of malnutrition and a 'sunken in' nature I would really need to emphasise these shady areas.

As a mini experiment, I tried to emulate what I had learnt about malnutrition and the anatomy of the skull on to the face.

- I started with a clean base matched to my skin tone, I added a little yellow to the mixture to give the appearance of illness

- I buffed my base on to the skin making sure to go right in to the hair line and down the neck

- I then applied a mixture of black and white supra colour to areas of the face I wanted to shadow using my sketch of the skull as a reference

- Using a small blending brush I then blended this in to the skin to give a seamless finish. Areas I concentrated on included the nose, eye sockets, forehead and jaw line.

Im fairly pleased with the overall effect, I just wish it was a little more noticeable, but when I tried this it ended up looking 'muddy'. 

Miss Havisham - Self Neglect

From my reading of great expectations I have developed my understanding of the character Miss Havisham. I have found that I imagine Miss Havisham as a being of self neglect and her motivation behind this to be her resignation to misery as well as a quest for revenge. What would this entail though?

Pip describe Miss Havisham as resembling a skeleton and waxwork, unhealthy and almost corpse like, suggesting that she really doesn't take any care in both her appearance and health. My sketch below details some of the initial ideas I have about Miss Havishams neglectful appearance.

Key Features:
- Her hair has come away from the original styling
"Her veil was but half arranged"
- She was scratch marks around her hairline from infestation of head lice
- Her curls have sunken
- Spiders and dead flowers cascade her hair and veil
- She has very shadowed eyes 
"her sunken eyes"
- She has dry chapped lips which resemble the paper like nature of her deteriorating wedding dress
- Her chest and neck bare a rash from overdue, unwashed wear
- her veil is ripped and drited 
"The drillings and trimmings on her bridal dress looking like earthy paper"
- Her face is hollow looking and sunken in

Two quotes particularly stand out to me which i would like to further investigate to develop my portrayal of Miss Havisham
"Now Waxwork and skeleton seemed to have dark eyes"
to me, Miss Havisham would have a vastly sunken in face from lack of nutrition so I will look in to the anatomy of the face and how lack of nutrition affects the body
"You are not afraid of a woman who hasn't seen the sun since you were born?"
Miss Havisham hasn't seen the light of day for at least over 8 years and to me this would definitely had some impact on her appearance. 

Gothic Architecture