Three NIC makeup grads, Avery Hilliard, Maria, and Saki, came up through the program together, and this year they’ve each been putting that training to work on very different sets.

Avery and Maria spent the month of October at Fright Nights at the PNE, airbrushing and body painting scare actors for a house full of mutant bug people and evil surgeons, night after night, under time pressure most sets don’t come close to.

Avery and Saki teamed up on character creation for SUMUR’s upcoming brand launch, building looks for both the teaser and the first official campaign video.

Avery also brought her FX skills to Legends of Hope: Episode II, a Star Wars fan film that has earned more than 25 award nominations worldwide and even had a pop-up at Kids Pop-Con Asia in Singapore.

Different sets, different skills, all built on the same NIC foundation. Congratulations to Avery, Maria, and Saki on a busy, well-earned year of work.