When it comes to reality TV, shows like “Survivor,” “The Biggest Loser,” and “Big Brother,” come to mind – not a special effects makeup artist competition called “Face Off.” However, “Face Off” draws quite a crowd, having just launched its 9th season of competition after special effects artist Darla Edin won $100k in the 8th season.
Darla is a special effects makeup artist from Minneapolis that was selected as a contestant on “Face Off” back in January 2015. She had tried getting on the show three times before she was finally called back. In the beginning of the season when it had more contestants she quickly came out of the gate with an impressive “dead ballerina” design that solidified her place as a strong talent. She found herself being chosen first when it came to team challenges.
Her skills came from an official education from the Aveda Institute in Minneapolis and a year of studying makeup design at the Vancouver Film School. She’s worked on local films in Minneapolis, but saw “Face Off” as an opportunity to break into bigger and better films.
In the final episode of the season, the remaining contestants were asked to create four superhero style characters that could make up a series of films. Darla created a story she called “Spirits of Eden.” “The story I came up with was after Adam and Eve were banished from the Garden of Eden, evil started to take over,” Darla said. “The raw elements had to band together to ward off the evil and save the day.” Each of the four characters were heroes that wielded the four basic elements—earth, water, fire, and air.
Darla hasn’t received any offers for bigger jobs since she won the contest, but she’s excited about the possibilities. “This is an amazing experience and something to add to the resume.”