Zodiac makeup series goes viral for Calgary artist
Paul Karchut | CBC News | Posted: January 20, 2021 10:50 PM | Last Updated: January 21, 2021
Bryan Francisco uses handmade plastic head pieces, clay, airbrushes and gold-flecked paint for his creations
Have you ever taken that first look in the mirror in the morning and thought, "Hey, you know what I need to look good today? Antlers."
It's not a common fashion accessory but that's pretty much life for Bryan Francisco.
Bryan is what's called a creative makeup artist, using his face as a canvas to push the limits of what's possible.
"It's almost like storytelling as well when you're doing your makeup … and that's the artistry that I like about it."
Francisco, 26, an assistant special needs teacher by day, has been honing his craft for three years. He uses handmade plastic head pieces, clay, airbrushes and gold-flecked paint to build his unusual creations from the comfort of his Calgary home. He then posts his creations on social media — TikTok and Instagram — for his followers to marvel at.
"You have to be unique and have your own spin on anything that you do," says Francisco, "You have to basically create something for a video to go viral."
And this past week, Francisco's latest project did just that.
He created a series depicting the various Zodiac signs then asked his followers to guess which Zodiac symbol each of them represented. When he woke up, Francisco was shocked to see he was trending, big time.
"Some of my friends (started) sending me a screenshot of me on the discover page of TikTok. And they were like, 'Bryan, you're trending! You're trending!' And I was getting a lot of notifications.… some of the videos were a million views and I was like, 'What is going on?!' I'm just speechless and thankful, for sure."
Francisco hopes to parlay his latest success into a career in creative makeup artistry,
"I'm hoping so, that's for sure. I want to work in a movie setting where I can showcase my artistry."
You can see more of his Zodiac creations below and on his social media feeds.