Amy Kikkert dreams of breaking into the film industry to do special effects makeup for the stars.
But for now, she is enjoying a her third place win in the Battle of the Brushes competition, where she competed against other special effect artists from around North America.
Recently, the 19-year-old Langley resident got her first test of what she can do, and the judges liked what they saw.
Kikkert placed third in a Battle of the Brushes international competition held on May 31.
“The dream is to work on film sets in Vancouver doing special effects. I’d also really love to work in a shop sculpting and creating prosthetics for film,” said Kikkert.
“Breaking into the film industry is really hard work, though.
“I’ve only done student films so far.”
She is now in the top 18 in the world for new aspiring makeup artists. She transformed her mom into an aging, balding biker for the competition.
She attended the International Makeup Artists Trade Show (IMATS) and out of hundreds of international portfolio applicants, her’s was selected to compete in the Battle of the Brushes.
The competition is aimed at professional makeup artists who are fresh out of school.
Kikkert recently graduated from the John Casablanca School in Vancouver while learning air brushing and other special effect tools.
She’s already begun her own business doing make up for prom, helping in photo shoots and donated her time doing make up for the B.C. Prostate Cancer Foundation as she works to get enough film credits to break into the industry.
She was in the top eight finalists selected to compete and she placed third on May 31.
This competition is held worldwide in other major cities like London, Sydney and New York. There are six of these competitions held annually.
When she isn’t pursuing her career, she is busy with her dad, raising money for the Westcoast Ride to Live for prostate cancer research. Each year, the father/daughter duo are the top fundraisers for their area.
This year, they raised $7,000.
Amy normally rides with her dad on his bike but this year, she bought her own 250cc bike.
