For fans of the horror movie genre, as well as science fiction, fantasy, action, crime, dramas, and every single other genre out there, makeup effects have been around since the beginning of the art form. Turning actors into someone different, whether it be into someone older, a different gender, or something that doesn’t exist in our reality, it was the job of the makeup artist to make that transformation happen. In the beginning, sometimes it was the actor themselves that did it, especially ones like Lon Chaney who constantly turned himself into different characters. Eventually, the craft was taken on by individuals that not only carried on the art form, but created techniques and the makeup products themselves, advancing the artform even more. They allowed writers and directors to show filmgoers something they’ve never seen before onscreen. And a century later, these talented people are still doing it. Now, thanks to authors Howard Berger and Marshall Julius, you’ll be able to learn even more about them!

Coming out this September from Welbeck Publishing, Berger (the “B” from KNB EFX Group) and Julius (film critic, blogger, broadcaster, quizmaster and collector of colorful plastic things) gives us Masters of Make-Up Effects: A Century of Practical Magic, a 320-page book that covers different makeup effects and the artists who created them from the last 100 years. In between hundreds of behind-the-scenes photos showing their amazing work, you’ll get to hear from more than 50 different make-up effects artists, as well as some of the people that have endured hours upon hours sitting in the makeup chair, such as Robert Englund and Doug Jones, and some directors like Mick Garris and John Landis. With a foreword by Guillermo del Toro, this will be an essential volume for fans of this incredible artform that has kept movie fans amazed, enchanted, as well as scared shitless, for the last century.