Well-done makeup can make a Halloween costume, and for students in the Virtual Design Society, the ability to take their costumes to the next level is all a part of going to college.
Krista Creighton | Courtesy
Virtual Design Society members experience a hands-on experience in practical effects.
The University of Idaho’s VDS will host a Halloween costume contest at 4 p.m. Saturday in the Idaho Commons Clearwater Room.
Krista Creighton, VDS vice president, said Saturday’s costume contest will have two categories: homemade costumes and costume modeling.
She said the event is $3 per entry and the contest is open to anyone. Entrants must pay separate fees for each entry, but may enter both contests, Creighton said.
“You can show off your ability to create something awesome and amazing, and also show off your ability to bring it to life,” she said.
Creighton said entrants in the first category will be judged on the quality of their costumes and whatever types of special effects and artistry they put into making them.
She said people sometimes confuse visual effects, which are involved in creating image composites and explosions in movies, with practical special effects like movie makeup, costumes and props.
The second category — modeling — will be judged based on the entrants’ ability to bring life into their costumes, whatever they may be.
Jose Miramontes, VDS events coordinator, said the club hopes to have a large turnout.
“Whether you have a costume that you think is just flippin’ awesome, or a costume that you just think is freakin’ funny, come to our event,” he said. “Show it off, showcase it. It’s for everyone, just come in, be proud, show your stuff.”
Creighton said the contest judges come from diverse backgrounds, including the VTD Department, the Theater Department and the Life and Consumer Sciences Department. She said one of the judges, Rayce Bird, is a winner from the television show Face Off — a prosthetic makeup competition reality show.
“We’ll have a lot of judges from different departments, and we’d love to see their students,” Creighton said. “We’d love to see this as a thing which spreads to the rest of campus and isn’t contained in the VTD program or the college of Art and Architecture alone.”
VDS President Erica Anderson said students in the VTD department have the potential to participate in a variety of projects.
“Our Virtual Technology Design program doesn’t focus necessarily just on modeling, or just on character design, or environment design or game design,” she said. “We incorporate storyboards and storytelling, color theory, every aspect of design in one nutshell.”
Creighton said the society hosted a special effects workshop and costume contest last year, and decided to just host a costume contest this year.
Miramontes said the club — which used to be called Integrated Designers, Educators and Artists — recently shifted its focus to a broader understanding of virtual design.
“It’s more a club for everyone who works in digital art, be it 3D modeling, or Photoshop, anywhere ranging around those things,” he said. “We work with all those fields working in digital entertainment.”
Creighton said VDS is a professional club for Virtual Technology Design majors.
“Typically, we host workshops, we try to teach people skills that will be valid in the industry and we also try to really inspire and show the cool things that our hard work can accomplish,” she said.
Daphne Jackson can be reached at [email protected]