EBA Artists
NIX HERRERA
Nix began his Halloween career at the age of 17 in Orlando, Florida. He was hired as a Scare-Actor at Skull Kingdom, a 4.5 million dollar year round haunted attraction. There he was transformed in makeup and prosthetics to be the last of the big scares. Working full-time at haunt, he learned character building, scare zone impacts, special FX make up, airbrushing, scenic design, prop building, costuming and fabrication. Five years later, in 2002, Nix was offered a spot helping with pre-production at Universal Studios Halloween Horror Nights. There, he would work with leading artist on large budget productions creating effects makeups. After 5 seasons of Halloween Horror Nights in Orlando, he was asked to join a team of artists at AEO Studios to help bring Halloween to Ocean Park in Hong Kong. Later Nix would was promoted to makeup department head and helped with conceptual design. At that time was also leading more than 60 makeup artists and overseeing more than 450 performers. In 2015 Nix will take his 8th trip back to Hong Kong. Having a total of 18 years of experience in the haunted house industry, he has been perfecting Halloween airbrush makeup and has become skilled at managing an efficient makeup center.
JAMES MACKINNON
As a Journeyman Local 706 Makeup Artist, James MacKinnon has 36 years of experience in film and television, encompassing all aspects of makeup, special effects, and production. James is also the owner of Bigmack Hair and Makeup trailers.
James has 7 Emmys for his work on Star Trek Picard, Discovery, Nip/Tuck, American Horror Story: “Freak Show”, “Hotel”, and “Roanoke”, as well as the Beauty and the Beast 30th anniversary. He also boasts 3 Makeup Artist and Hair Stylist Guild Artisan Awards and numerous other Emmy and H&MU Guild Award nominations for outstanding makeup.
James’ years of working on the Star Trek franchise including “Deep Space 9″, “Voyager”, and “Star Trek First Contact” has led him to the coveted position of Department Head of Prosthetics and Makeup Effects for “Star Trek: Picard season 1 through 3 Department Head of Prosthetics and Makeup Design.
James has served as Department Head or Makeup Artist on over 140 projects in his career ranging from Guardian 2 and 3 “Fast and the Furious” franchise 5-8 The accountant 2, “Maxxxine “, Halloween H2O”, Mulan and Brad Pits upcoming movie F1. to “Parks and Recreation”, “Alias”, “CSI NY” and “Sabrina the Teenage Witch” to name a few.
James believes in continuous learning and growth, continually expanding his vast knowledge of makeup design and techniques, and refining his craft. He loves to teach with his wife up-and-coming makeup artists by sharing what he has experienced throughout his storied career.
Follow James MacKinnon on social media:
@jrmackinnon @bigmacktrailers @beautymasterclassonline
HOWARD BERGER – FOUNDER OF KNB EFX GROUP, INC.
In 1988, KNB EFX Group, Inc. was co-founded by Howard and Gregory Nicotero, and over the past 27 years, they have become one of the most prolific Special Make-up Effects studios in Hollywood. Specializing in character prosthetics, animatronics, creatures and replica animals, Howard has over 800 feature film and television credits, including INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS, THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA TRILOGY, KILL BILL 1 & 2, SPLICE, THE GREEN MILE, THE PACIFIC, DOLPHIN TALE 1 & 2, THE GREY to name a few. In 2006, Howard won the Academy Award for Best Make-up for THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA: THE LION, THE WITCH AND THE WARDROBE, as well as winning a British Academy Award for Best Achievement in Make-up for the film. Howard won an Emmy Award with his team from KNB for Best Prosthetic Makeup for the AMC hit television series THE WALKING DEAD and was Emmy-nominated for his work on Bryan Cranston’s prosthetic age makeup for the final season of BREAKING BAD.
In 2012, Howard designed and created the portrait makeup of Alfred Hitchcock for Sir Anthony Hopkins for the FOX Searchlight feature HITCHCOCK, which earned him his second Academy Award Nomination. In 2013 Howard handled the Special Makeup for Jamie Foxx as Electro for THE AMAZING SPIDERMAN 2. Lately, Howard has taken on the responsibilities as Makeup Department Head on films such as THE GAMBLER starring Mark Wahlberg and John Goodman, TED2 for Seth McFarlane and begins DEEPWATER HORIZON with Mark Wahlberg for Director Peter Berg. He has currently completed work on AMC’s series PREACHER, directed by Seth Rogen, and PATRIOT’S DAY with Mark Wahlberg. He is currently filming TRANSFORMERS 5 around the country and UK.
Howard lives in Sherman Oaks, CA with his artist wife, Mirjam, and has 3 children.
FAINA RUDSHTEYN
Art has been one of Faina Rudshteyn’s greatest passions, which has cultivated into a successful career as a freelance makeup artist. She is originally from New York City, where she finished her degree in Fashion Marketing at the New York City College of Technology and fell in love with makeup artistry. She learned beauty, special effects, and body art after completing the Master Makeup Program at the Make Up For Ever Academy NYC. Shortly after, she was hired to work at the Make Up Forever Pro Studio in New York City, and furthered her career as a freelance makeup artist in New York City. In the fall of 2015, she moved to Los Angeles to gain a greater education in special effects. She took courses at Cinema Makeup School in Hollywood. Faina was a semi-finalist on the 12th season of FaceOff on the SyFy channel.
Faina is now based in Los Angeles and is a proud member of the Local 706 Makeup Artist Union. With over 13 years of experience, she specializes in beauty, prosthetics, body art, and special effects makeup. Her passion for art and creativity shines through every project, whether it’s a film set, music video, editorial shoot, or a special event. Known for her attention to detail, Faina loves transforming ideas into reality. She continues to build her portfolio with character makeups, fashion editorials, music videos, film and TV, and body art in her pursuit to learn, create, and educate.
DR. JUSTIN FEARS
Dr. Justin Fears is a seasoned special effects makeup artist with over a decade of experience, stemming from his role as lead makeup artist at Phobius Haunted House. He holds a Doctorate in Educational Administration and Leadership and has successfully operated multiple businesses, including the current Phobius FX Studios.
Justin has been featured in publications like Prosthetics Magazine and Creators Unite and has showcased his skills through demonstrations and seminars at major events such as Midwest Haunters Convention, HauntCon, Transworld, West Coast Haunters Convention, and Monsterpalooza, often working with sponsors like European Body Art, Zombie Skin, Paasche Airbrush, Cinema Secrets, and Bloody Mary. He travels the country training makeup departments for various productions.
His film work includes local productions, such as low-budget zombie films and a safety series for the St. Louis VA, as well as assisting on the larger production film “Soul On Fire.” Justin has also worked with/for award-winning effects artists like Ve Neill, Neill Gorton, and Anthony Kosart. He honed his skills at Kosart Atelier in Chicago and has been seen on the Facebook live show Total Terror TV. Dr. Fears is passionate about sharing his craft and bringing special effects makeup to life.
PAUL ROUSTAN
Los Angeles body painter, Paul Roustan, is known for his art in body painting and photography. Winner of the North American Bodypaint Championships, Roustan is recognized as one of the world’s leading body painters whose style combines traditional fine art, pop culture, and reflections of the contemporary world to create conceptually based body painting.
An alum of both the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and the Rhode Island School of Design, Roustan’s career spans both the fine art and commercial worlds. His work has appeared on media including Spike TV, The Game Show Network, Sabado Gigante, the Chicago Sun-Times, The New York Post, GQ, Playboy, Maxim, and galleries along the East and West coasts.
Roustan adapts his ephemeral work into web3, capitalizing on NFTs and the metaverse, creating an engaging virtual space, fun and exciting digital wearables, and garnering well over a thousand collectors..