Arjen Tuiten Wiki: Makeup Artist, Net Worth, 'Rings', 'Maleficent' & Facts To Know

Arjen Tuiten is a proficient makeup artist who has done credible work in films like 'Rings' and 'Maleficent'. Read all about him, including his net worth.

By Amanda Palmer
Arjen Tuiten Wiki: Makeup Artist, Net Worth, 'Rings', 'Maleficent' & Facts To Know

Who is Arjen Tuiten?

Arjen Tuiten hails from Netherlands. He is an American special effects make-up artist. Tuiten began his career under supervision of artists Stan Winston and Dick Smith. He has worked on films like 'Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines' in 2003, 'Pan's Labyrinth' in 2006, 'The Other Side of the Tracks' in 2008, 'Terminator Salvation' in 2009, 'Iron Man 2', 'The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 1' in 2011, 'Maleficent' in 2014, 'Wonder' in 2017 and 'The Women of Marwen' in 2018. For his work on Wonder, he received an Academy Award for Best Makeup and Hairstyling nomination at Oscar 2018. Oscar 2018 was held in March this year. Special effects makeup artist’s job is nothing like that of a beauty makeup artists who work in salons and beauty parlors. Special effects makeup is an art which can totally transform the appearance of an individual yet making him/her look realistic. Special effects make up is used to create characters in horror films and other space related films. A Makeup artist cleverly uses prosthetic and completely transforms the individual into the desired category i.e, an old man can be made to look young and so on. Arjen Tuiten has excelled in his field remarkably. He has won the trust and preference of many directors in Hollywood and is the most sought after makeup artist especially after his work in 'Wonder' and 'Rings'. He has also worked as a special effects makeup artist in films like, 'World War Z', 'Alice in Wonderland' and' 'Iron Man 2'. His work went uncredited in 'World War z' and 'Alice in Wonderland' as he was still a new comer in his field then and was learning the tricks of the trade.

Struggle with the film 'Wonder'

What seemed flawless and real on screen had some painstaking hard work behind it. The special effects make up artist, Arjen Tuiten had to face a number of challenges while working on his characters in the film, 'Wonder'. In the end, his hard work paid off very well and he also managed to grab his first Oscar nomination for his work in 'Wonder'. 'Wonder' is a story about a young boy, Auggie, who is growing up with a genetic disorder called Treacher Collins Syndrome, which causes some deformities of the facial features. The prosthetics were remarkably done as the child actor was quite comfortable and capable to perform behind them. Sometimes, the prosthetics can be too painful to endure and too uncomfortable for the actors. But the magical hands of Tuiten did the job so well that the actor was quite comfortable. While designing the prosthetics, Tuiten had to make sure, he satisfies the directors requirement plus he had to keep in mind the child laws. He also said in an interview that the biggest challenge was to work with a 9-year old and make sure he is comfortable. To do his homework for the role, he had to visit some children's hospitals and take permission to take the pictures of the children with Treacher's Syndrome. They even experimented with makeup and sculpting twice. Tuiten gave a lot of credit to the 9-year old Jacob who knew that he had to endure the prosthetics every day, take the smell and also sit very still.

Arjen tuiten who is makeup for Wonder #arjentuiten

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Arjen Tuiten on 'Rings'

While Baker was struggling to find the perfect make-up artist for his film, 'Rings', he remembered the great work Tuiten had done on Maleficent, and he soon recommended him for the job. “I’m a big fan of the franchise,” says Tuiten, explaining why he agreed to work on the film, “I couldn’t wait to bring back Samara and re-create some of the iconic twisted faces that we all think are so scary. I was eager to do my version of the famous girl in the closet that Rick did so well in the first one.” Although the timings were really bad, the production started before Tuiten had finished refurbishing his own Glendale-based shop. “We were literally moving in when we began lifecasting and nothing was finished,” he remembers. “The make-up room wasn’t done. We were painting. At the same time, we were trying to deal with production and questions and schedules. It was mayhem.” But challenges are what he likes best in life. Tuiten took the help of his 'Baker' members, Bart Mixon and Bill Sturgeon and kept the main focus on maintaining the level of the quality. As expected, the trickiest task was creating Samara, the character, played by Bonnie Morgan, who is seen sparingly throughout the film. But that didn’t make the task any less complicated as the character required eight prosthetic pieces for the head and face alone. “Everything is covered,” explains Tuiten. “From the bottom of her feet, to her fingertips, to the inside of her hands. It was like one big puzzle.” Tuiten explained how his team had to do a thorough underpainting of Morgan's skin to create skin veins, dark spots and patches of decaying skin. “You could see through it like she has bathwater skin,” continues Tuiten. “As most fans know, it took Samara seven days to die in the well, so she has a water-soaked look to her appearance. That was something Rick Baker had come up with in the first Ring.” Technically, Tuiten is a pro in his department. And his dedication, patience and perfectionism for his job makes him a thorough professional and most sought after special effects make-up artist.

Net worth of the makeup artist

The net worth of the makeup artist is currently unknown.

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