Veniesa Dillon

Growing up in Iowa City, IA, I didn’t have much to entertain myself except watching movies and reading comic books. I would stay in my room and practice drawing superheroes all day using ‘how-to’ books with dreams of becoming a comic book artist. It wasn’t until I watched ‘Men in Black’ starring Rick Baker’s practical effects creations that I caught the bug of wanting to become a Special Effects Makeup artist. After graduating from the University of Iowa with a BFA degree I moved to Los Angeles to go to Cinema Makeup School for formal SFX makeup training from industry professionals. During school I had an internship with an FX shop, and worked part-time. After graduating from CMS the Covid Pandemic hit. During quarantine I made money working on proofs of concepts by doing character designs in 2d traditional styles as well as 3d. I worked as a Shop Technician for a short term at a union FX shop called ‘Thingergy’, while freelancing on my own time designing characters, as well as using my apartment as my personal FX shop, and applying my own prosthetics on sets. I became mentored by an FX professional Jarrett Fajardo, and started being trained in character designing for him, as well as assisting and working as an FX makeup artist on sets.