Sure, there are plenty of people who can work their way around an eyeshadow palette, or pull off a simple highlight and contour, with a lipstick look to finish, but there’s no denying that some people possess more of a natural talent when it comes to makeup artistry than others.
And yes – the level and skill of makeup application we’re talking about here is an art.
If you’ve ever found yourself skeptical of that statement, you only have to take a look at the work of Ashton-native and “professional shapeshifter” Nicky Hill to have all of those doubts proven wrong.
The 27-year-old’s self-taught talents are to thank for her transformations into some of the world’s most famous and instantly-recognisable faces – from Cher and Angelina Jolie, to Adele and even Mrs Doubtfire – that not only have you looking twice to check it’s not the real thing, but have also, quite-rightly, lead her to becoming a respected name in the makeup industry across the UK.
ADVERTISEMENT
Some of the jaw-dropping celebrity transformations that Nicky – who is also a trained Microblading artist – has managed to pull off over her seven year career have amassed her a loyal fanbase of over 11.6K followers and counting on social media.
But they aren’t even half of what she’s capable of.
ADVERTISEMENT
“I started experimenting with SFX, illusion and artistic makeup around four and a half years ago now.” Nicky told us.
“Being a makeup artist is my full-time job and hobby, and some of my work [even] went viral [at the start], but because I was new to the makeup scene, I didn’t realise I needed to watermark my pictures, so I never got credited for it, which was unfortunate – and they still circulate to this day.
“I fell off the waggon a bit due to this, and my mental health wasn’t the best at the time [either],
ADVERTISEMENT
“So it was only in the last year that I’ve come back to the makeup scene, and a lot of my work has blown up [on social media] during lockdown.
“I’ve been receiving a lot of recognition, which I feel very grateful for”.
While makeup may a talent that Nicky has only been honing and perfecting in recent years, as you can probably imagine, her artistic interests showed themselves from an early age, and her clear abilities were pretty evident right off the bat.
“I have always been very artistic,” Nicky continued.
“I loved anything to do with art and had a keen eye for detail – I just love being able to use my face as a blank canvas and use art as a form of expression.
ADVERTISEMENT
“I started posting pictures online, and the more I posted, the more attention they received.
“I regularly look at illusion and abstract art, or anything which tricks the eye, and take inspiration from other fellow artists and their styles, but I always like to try and do original work and stay away from trends”.
She doesn’t neglect to mention the fact that it takes a lot of hard work to achieve what she has, but Nicky’s originality and intentions with her makeup looks are clear.
Though for the majority of us who find it hard to apply mascara without poking ourselves in the eye, or even come up against difficulty when trying to draw a convincing stick man, never mind attempting optical illusions, all of this still leaves one major question that we need answering.
How the heck does she do it?
ADVERTISEMENT
Without revealing too many of her industry secrets, Nicky tried to break it down for us.
She said: “My celebrity transformations [in particular] are done by contouring the face to the face shape of the people I want to turn myself into.
“I will look at a headshot of them on Google, see where the shading lands on their face and features, and recreate that on my own face, [and] this is done with heavy highlighting and contouring, and adapting to their facial expressions as well.
“My first ever look I did like this was Angelina Jolie, and I received a lot of attention for that when I posted it, so I was hooked ever since.
“[When it comes to] the illusion looks, [they are] inspired by optical illusions and illusion art.
ADVERTISEMENT
“I use my face as the canvas for it [and] it’s all about getting the shading right, and by doing that, I can create the illusion of 3D art, negative space, holes, cracks – you name it.”
You’re probably not shocked to find out that the answer to that is a pretty long time, as Nicky admits: “A lot of my looks take me anywhere from four to nine hours to complete.
“It takes a lot of attention to detail”.
Well it may take a lot of time and attention to detail, but when you have a talent and a passion that’s as clear as this, it’s certainly time well spent.
ADVERTISEMENT
___
You can find more of Nicky Hill’s work and keep up to date with her latest creations and transformations on her social media platforms – Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok.
The best Manchester-based anime-style memes we’ve seen online as Ghibli craze takes over
Danny Jones
Now, the internet can be used for a lot of silly and pointless things – you might argue us sharing our favourite memes every morning is a prime example of that – but we have to admit, the second we saw a Manchester-inspired Studio Ghibli image on social media, we were hooked.
If you have absolutely no idea what we’re talking about, there is a current craze that has taken over the internet, which has seen recognisable memes and images recreated in the style of the iconic Ghibli anime films, created by legendary animator and filmmaker Hayao Miyazaki.
Once you’ve found one, you tend to start spotting them more and more frequently, and in the case of the chronically online like us, we’ve been inundated with them for weeks now.
People are using AIto create them in various different contexts, but it won’t surprise you to learn that our favourite Ghibli/anime memes are those based around Manchester. For example:
Bloody hell, the internet really is brilliant sometimes, isn't it? 😂 https://t.co/virpFx60u7
As it happens, this was the first and perhaps still the best we’ve seen to date, but it didn’t stop us from falling down an animated rabbit hole looking for others.
To be honest, we didn’t actually have to do much searching ourselves as they’re absolutely all over the algorithm at the minute, and have been for a good month or so.
‘Ghibli memes’ may be an overgeneralisation of what is a rather specific and famed art style, but this ongoing flood of anime-style cartooons is being created by users giving prompts to ChatGPT, the increasingly popular large language model (LLM) and AI tool.
Designed with OpenAI software, the artificial intelligence chatbot can do everything from write extensive study notes and flash cards to fixing blurry images, writing computer code, entire essays and quite literally countless other things.
In this instance, people are just reimagining moments from the zeitgeist and famous memes in this style by feeding the image to ChatGPT, along with an ‘in the style of Studio Ghibli’ prompt.
One for the Blues…And the Reds.All of these images have been designed using ChatGPT. (Credit: Eleventh Minute/centredevils via X)
Pretty cool, right?
You’ll find that footballer Twitter (sorry, X*), in particular, is absolutely full of fan accounts recreating iconic club scenes in the Miyazaki art style, giving their favourite players big ‘Chibi’ eyes (another unique aspect of anime) and so on.
It’s all just a bit of a laugh, after all; even we here at The Manc put ChatGPT to the test back in June 2023 and asked it to design ‘the perfect day out in Manchester’ – to varying degrees of success, we might add.
As ever with machine-learning, the more information you feed it, the better the result and although we know these are original pictures being reimagined, it still goes to show just how impressive and varied AI is becoming.
We’ve also enjoyed some that aren’t necessarily Manc but are quintessential British humour or simply more universal memes.
Exhibits E and F…
Even after all these years, we feel like we still see this in some context at least once a week – and it still makes us laugh.‘What a sad little life, Jane…’Credit: brandsynario (via Instagram)/No Context Brits (via X)
Despite these memes riding a real wave right now, the Ghibli portrait fad is just that; there are plenty of other aesthetics being toyed with, too.
Actually, it already has, as we’ve now started coming across people making action figure versions of themselves and/or famous people, full decked out with accessories inside blister packs and everything.
On the other hand, many people are understandably concerned about what this means for artists and although there is no substitute for genuine human expression, whatever form that may come in, lots of people are railing against it as the possibility of AI-based pop music has been posited.
With that in mind, maybe the best twist we’ve seen is our very own Stanley Chow subverting the trend and doing Ghibli stuff in his equally iconic style. We’ll take these geometric gems over computer-generated imitations any day.
For now, it’s just a bit of fun and we confess we’ve got some light entertainment out of it, but the increasing possibilities being thrown up by AI in terms of art do pose a lot more complex questions.
We’ll finish with one final example because let’s be honest, there’s only really one thing on our minds at the minute – at least until the summer finally rolls around…
Let us know if you’ve seen any other fun examples and what you make of the whole Ghibli meme trend down in the comments.
LF System on headlining Amber’s for ‘The Drop’, dancefloor anthems and more
Thomas Melia
Scottish DJ duo LF System are playing an intimate set in Manchester as part of ‘The Drop’, a special monthly event series for a very important cause.
‘The Drop’, sees the hitmakers joining two more greats, DJ Paulette and Turno, as headliners for this remarkable event all about raising awareness and funds for mental health in the music industry.
The mastermind partnership of Headstock and Skiddle, each event champions a charity which benefits including Music Minds Matter (Turno) and Nordoff & Robbins (DJ Paulette and LF System).
The first monthly set comes from the DJ duo behind one of the biggest UK club staples, ‘Afraid To Feel’, as LF System take over Manchester’s newest clubbing venue, Amber’s – who typically keep their lineups private – for an exclusive ‘Coffee Table Session’.
LF System, Conor Larkman and Sean Finnigan, outside their New York session venue.Credit: Supplied
LF System Interview
This event is in aid of Nordoff & Robbins: how important is this cause to you?
We feel like music should be enjoyed by. Anyone, no matter what. Nordoff & Robbins make that possible.
They help everyone, all ages through music therapy. It’s important to us that [this event] supports them. Everybody deserves a chance to have a go at music, it’s a great cause that allows people to have great opportunities.
You’re going to be playing Amber’s, which is one of Manchester’s newest clubbing venues, how are you feeling?
I’ve heard a lot of good things about it, so I just really want to get in there and experience it for ourselves.
It’s weird coming to Manchester at this time of year as well; we’re always here in winter, usually freezing and raining, so it’ll be quite nice to come down this April.
Amber’s nightclub has some very important rules, including a no-phone policy in order to bring clubbing back to its roots – how do you feel about this?
Oh, we’re all for that!
I think there’s been a bit of a problem recently, so anything that can be done to make clubbing all about the music and as immersive as possible the better. It’s about living in the moment. I think that’s a good thing.
I don’t think we’ve ever actually done anything with a no-phone policy before; somehow, they’ve always snuck them in. Exciting.
LF System’s Conor at a recent event in New York.The Scottish duo LF System, playing an intimate set in New York.Credit: Supplied
What can fans expect from your special set for the monthly music series ‘The Drop’?
It may be a bit different to what we usually do as it’s a coffee table session set-up, but there’ll definitely be good vibes and good music all night.
There’ll be a lot of unreleased stuff that we’ve been making recently, mostly from our new EP that’s coming, and it gives us a chance to play our new songs and see people’s reactions. So far, they’ve been good every time we’ve included them.
How come you’ve opted for a ‘Coffee table session’ rather than a huge rave vibe, especially considering how much your music gets crowds up on their feet?
We’ve never actually done a coffee table session in a club before, so that’ll be our first for us. It’s going to be electric and fresh.
You just get to showcase a lot more music than when what you do when you’re playing a club set, different BPMs.
[Coffee table sessions] still get people up and dancing, but it’s just a different type of night. It’s relaxed, happy dance music, you know what I mean? You don’t have, don’t have to go mad ‘fer it, just a nice chilled one.
As well-respectedDJs, it’s only fair we consult you on Manchester’s clubbing scene, so how would you rate the club culture and atmosphere in our city?
We always have a good time in Manchester and there’s always good crowds. It [Manchester] is just like that.
There’s a good culture to do in this city, so I think it’s a good place to bring this session too, and we’re looking forward to it.
It’s got a really rich history and you can always feel that when you’re there, it’s always a good time in any of [Manchester’s] different venues. Everyone always seems right up for it.
House music is known to improve people’s moods, and ‘The Drop’ is all about music and mental health, so to finish off, what’s your all-time favourite top three mood boosting house tracks?
Sean
‘Music Sounds Better With You’ by Stardust
‘Beautiful People’ by Barbara Tucker
‘In Love With You’ by The Paradise
Conor
‘Why Not?’ by Skate Bård
‘I Think I’ll Do Some Skipping On My Own’ by Sandy B (Opolopo Rework)
‘Night Walkin” by Mermaid S
LF System are bringing their bangers to ‘The Drop’ in Manchester.Spinning the decks just like they will at Amber’s in Manchester later this month at ‘The Drop’.
Emily Sergeant -
29th January 2021 
