My Homemade Joker Costume
It was Halloween 2010, and I decided to be The Joker (that's the "Dark Knight" or "Heath Ledger" version of the Joker, of course). Here's how I did everything: using inexpensive makeup and borrowed clothes :)
Contents at a Glance
Important!
The Joker Costume: Intro
How to Look Like the "Dark Knight Joker"
Doing it right...without paying a fortune!
Long story short, I wanted to be Heath Ledger's version of the Joker for Halloween, but I didn't want to pay a fortune for some horribly cartoonish looking costume that would cost some $30, and be worthless on November 1st.The good thing about being the Joker is that the bulk of your outfit relies on the quality of your face painting skills. I have none, as I haven't painted my face since Halloween 1992 or whatever, but it was worth a shot!
This page is a basic summary of how I got the costume done. I won't spend a terribly long amount of time on the clothing, as I used very basic things I either already had, or was able to borrow from a family member. Remember, on Halloween, people don't care much if you aren't movie-accurate. It's all about being "close enough."
ABOUT THIS PAGE: I won't actually show you a step-by-step process of how I put my face paint on, because I posted the video that I used to do it each step of the way. There's no point in re-writing the dictionary -- especially since the tutorial video I posted below is such a good one!
Important!
Joker Makeup
The Most Worrysome Part: Joker's Face Paint
Why it's actually not as bad as you'd think!
The only thing that concerned me about getting this costume done was putting face paint and makeup on. I have zero experience in doing either. However, I am naturally good with art, so that was the only thing I had going for me. If you know the basics of painting (either traditional painting or digital painting) and you understand smudging and blending, you'll get this done pretty easily.
I actually got my face done in about an hour. If you're a Type A personality or a perfectionist, you should start working on it at least an hour before you leave the house!
Keep this in mind: being the Joker is a great costume choice. Why? Well, the "Dark Knight" or Heath Ledger's version of the Joker is a very imperfect looking character, unlike Jack Nicholson's version which pretty much always had fresh face paint that was un-smudged. Heath Ledger's version was very grungy, and the secret to making it look authentic was to make it look imperfect.
Video Tutorial: Joker Makeup/Face Paint
This video helped me do it!
This was by far the best tutorial I found on Youtube. It popped up just right before Halloween...good timing! This is what I used as inspiration to do my costume. I would not have been able to get the Joker face paint done properly without this.
powered by Youtube
The Best Makeup to Use for Joker's Face Paint
...and it only cost me $7 :)
A week before Halloween, I went to Party City (local chain of costume stores) and noticed that small-ish tubes of face paint were a staggering $20 each. There was no way that I was going to pay $60 for black, white and red face paint, so I took a chance and got one of those cheap-o Halloween makeup kits (you can find them at Walgreens, Walmart, CVS or any other similar store).
I made sure that it had:
- Fake skin compound, a MUST for the Joker, as he has scar tissue from the corner of his mouth and across his cheeks,
- White face paint, and
- Black face paint (for the eye orbits).
NOTE: These "cheap" face paint kits may irritate people with sensitive skin. I will tell you as a fact, I have highly sensitive skin, but it didn't bother me in the least bit.
Lipstick Instead of Red Face Paint
The better alternative! Here's why:
The tutorial I posted above unfortunately does not show how to get the 'red part' done, but it did mention to use lipstick. I wound up using some cheap hooker red (that's not the name of the color, I just wrote it for humor purposes) lipstick from the local convenience store. You can very easily find cheap lipstick for a buck. I didn't have the guts to buy lipstick myself, so my female friend was nice enough to pick it up for me (bless her).She wound up getting a brand called NYC #308B Retro Red lipstick. It was a perfect compliment to the Joker face paint setup I had worked on. Beyond putting it on your lips, you have to surround the outer part of your lips, and trace along the "rip marks" going up toward your ears, just like Heath did.
The hardest part about the lipstick is having to draw over the fake skin. Fake skin (unless you happen to have high quality fake skin or some kind of movie-grade plaster) is that it comes off with the slightest touch, as did the one that came in my face painting kit. I wound up having to draw on my finger tip with the lipstick, and dab it on my cheeks, manually.
The other good part about lipstick is that it was waterproof, and I didn't have to re-apply it...even with all of that heavy Halloween drinking I did throughout the night.
Any Red Lipstick Will Do!
Honestly, there's no right or wrong here. It's a Halloween costume. As long as the lipstick is a red color (not too light, not too dark), it'll do the trick. Best of all, it's really cheap - far less expensive than face paint!
Loreal Colour Rich Lipstick. Red Rhapsody
Amazon Price: $0.98 (as of 06/01/2012)
Usually ships in 24 hours
Fake Skin: The Toughest Part
Your biggest hurdle
Once again, I'm using some really, really cheap stuff here. The fake skin that came with this kit actually looked decent, but it was VERY difficult to keep on my face. The first thing you'll need to do is wipe your cheeks really well with a regular bathroom towel to get the natural oil off of your face. Otherwise, this stuff simply will *not* stay on.
The fake skin used here had a very interesting texture that's hard to describe. It's like a mixture of Silly Putty and cotton. As you pull it, you'll see cotton-like threads. What you'll want to do is pull it as much as you can, and apply the cottony stuff to your cheeks. Apply it as best you can, so that it looks like the authentic cut marks that the Joker had in the Dark Knight movie. They shouldn't go all the way to your ears, but a little past your jaw.
The hard part is keeping this stuff on your face. Once it's on, it's pretty much going to stay on. You just need to apply it thinly so that it sticks to your face. The second hard part is painting some face paint (and then lipstick) on top of it. You can do this by dabbing over it with a makeup wedge.
The fake skin used here had a very interesting texture that's hard to describe. It's like a mixture of Silly Putty and cotton. As you pull it, you'll see cotton-like threads. What you'll want to do is pull it as much as you can, and apply the cottony stuff to your cheeks. Apply it as best you can, so that it looks like the authentic cut marks that the Joker had in the Dark Knight movie. They shouldn't go all the way to your ears, but a little past your jaw.
The hard part is keeping this stuff on your face. Once it's on, it's pretty much going to stay on. You just need to apply it thinly so that it sticks to your face. The second hard part is painting some face paint (and then lipstick) on top of it. You can do this by dabbing over it with a makeup wedge.
Eyeliner and Fake "Healed Cuts"
The final touches of your face painting ventures
I kind of screwed up and put eyeliner on after I had already colored in the black makeup around my eyes. When you do that, you obviously won't be able to get in close with your hands, pull down your eyelid and zip it across. I was able to do it, but it took some time. So, make sure you put eyeliner on first!Some light brown colored eye shadow can be applied with a thin makeup wand to give the appearance of healed cuts. You'll have to apply this after the face paint has been applied. One thing's for sure, it looks REALLY authentic once you do this part.
You'll also want to use light peach eye shadow to color in wrinkles (such as the ones on both sides of your mouth), and even on your forehead or the sides of your face.
The Joker as seen in the movie also has some black wrinkle marks that extend at the beginning of the eyebrows directly at the front of your face, and outward from the black circles around your eyes on the sides and underneath. Use the video as a guide for this part.
Cosmetic Brushes, Blush & Eyeliner for Joker Makeup
All three of these components are needed for coloring in wrinkles and darkening your eyelids, respectively. If you don't want to buy them, simply ask one of your female friends or your significant other. Just explain that you'll need it to be the Joker, so that they don't start wondering about you.
Important!
The Joker's Hair
The Best Joker Wig Around
Don't get the wrong kind, it will kill the look!
When I was looking to be the Joker for Halloween, I searched Google extensively for the best Joker wig out there. Boy, was it hard. All I saw were a million versions of the same stock photo used in every online store selling Halloween wigs.To make matters worse, I even looked on various shopping comparison sites, and saw that almost all of them had terrible reviews (2 out of 5 stars, or worse). I finally bought one off of eBay, because the guy selling it actually look a picture of it out of the box, which was probably the only picture of it on the internet.
To make this easier on future Jokers: here is a picture of the box and the actual wig that I bought. It's a great wig, and I highly recommend it for this costume. Remember, Heath Ledger's hair wasn't "neon green" like you'll find with most of the cheaper Joker wigs. His hair was more of a dirty black and green, which I felt this wig really captured.
Lastly, MAKE SURE the wig you're buying isn't attached to a rubber mask. I almost bought one of those by accident. You'll know by the picture advertising the wig, it simply is a big mask that covers your entire head - don't get that one.
The Joker Wig I Used
Finally! Pictures from every angle of a Joker wig!
Joker Wig (front of box)
Important!
Joker Costume/Outfit
The Joker's Outfit
Where being "close enough" is really ok!
That's where I improvised. I put together a "black and gray" version of the Joker - instead of a purple three quarter coat, I used a black leather three quarter coat that I borrowed from someone. The only other alternative is to buy the generic "unrealistically purple" one that sells with the generic Joker costume at your local shop, and that was not an option for me.
As for the pants, I used a pair of gray pinstripe dress pants that I already had. I used a light gray button-down shirt, and a striped green and olive tie. Once you put the green vest on, it really looks cool and authentic. Nobody will even remember that the Joker wore a purple coat with a light pink colored shirt. For gloves, any cheap pair of faux leather gloves will do - they're usually in the $10 range. Best of all, the Joker wears a pair of ratty old shoes. I had an old worn-out pair of black sneakers that were perfect.
The Joker's Green Vest
One of the hardest items to find
You'll really need a green vest to get this costume done, it's truly a necessity. Unfortunately, it's really, really hard to find, and you'll probably have to turn to the internet to find one.
Men's Dress Vest & NeckTie Emerald Green Striped Vertical Stripes Design Set for Suit or Tuxedo
Amazon Price: (as of 06/01/2012)
Important!
My Joker Costume, Revealed!
Did You Think I Wouldn't Show Some Pics?
Here's my Joker costume in all its home-made glory
Well, there was no way I was going to create a resource for creating a Joker Halloween costume without showing you what mine looked like! Here are a few shots of the makeup and costume itself. Hopefully all of this has been helpful to you if you were planning on dressing up like the Dark Knight version of the Joker!
Joker face paint - final!
Don't forget your pencil, Jokers!
Thumbs up for Halloween as the Joker
Blackened to protect the innocent ;)
Full body shot of my Joker costume
Sign the Guestbook!
Thanks for reading through my experience in being the Joker for Halloween - hope this page has given you some inspiration and ideas for your own Dark Knight Joker outfit! Leave a comment or question if you'd like:
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Gabriel
Jun 12, 2011 @ 3:56 am | delete
- great!! I have mainly searched for a wig and the picture showin it doesn't look that bad. I would make it more sweaty and dirty, making it hanging more. thank you for your great advice!
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Pixelrage
Hi, I'm Mark, and I go by the screenname "Pixelrage" - thanks so much for checking out my work here on Squidoo! If you need to get in touch with me,... more »
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