Episode Recap: Animal Attraction

McKenzie takes the artists to a place where their inner kids can come out and play: the Wildlife Learning Center. After they meet some awesome animals, like the kinkajou, tawny owl, and armadillo, McKenzie tells them they’ll be choosing two of these exotic creatures and mashing them up to create their own, original hybrid. They take a little time to talk with the expert biologists at the center and sketch some ideas, then it’s back to the lab to work it out in clay.

Both Cig and George choose the armadillo and the alligator, so they work side by side in the lab to ensure they don’t make the exact same makeup. Cig works toward an upright-standing super soldier, while George uses the animals’ natural, four-legged movement to inform the shape of his makeup. Mr. Westmore warns him that that’s a big risk, but you gotta believe in something, so he pushes forward. Stella, who chose the wildcat and the kinkajou, takes Mr. Westmore’s feedback to the limit when he suggests she resculpt the nose – she resculpts the whole thing! She’s never quite satisfied with the result, and her uncertainty leads to a muddy sculpt and bottom looks.

Keaghlan also has a hard time combining her animals, and when the final day arrives, she spends a ton of time and energy trying to get her paint job to look like fur – a very difficult thing do to on foam latex! Her lynx-kinkajou (or lynx-ajou, if you will) is cartoonish and doesn’t bring in her broader concept. She’s also on bottom looks. Sasha, on the other hand, managed to sculpt a face that brings the shape of the bobcat mouth together with the feathers of the tawny owl in perfect synergy. She’s worried that the judges are going to nail her for simply putting brown leggings on her model, but they agree that the only thing missing from this makeup is Sasha’s own confidence. She took a risk sculpting feathers, but did it beautifully and highlighted it with excellent paint choices. She’s surprised and delighted to be on top looks.

George’s Al-adillo was safe this week while Cig’s Arm-igator made it to top looks. The judges love his concept, and his choices of anatomy combination of the two different animals rocks – especially the gullet around the neck and the inverted pyramid head shape. His paint job’s not too shabby, either!

The final makeup in bottom looks is Doc’s. Although his concept of a bald eagle and a squirrel monkey becoming a flying monkey – with goggles, bomber jacket, and cute scarf – was solid, he wasn’t able to bring it forward in the final makeup. Sculpting and molding time issues got in the way of his paint job, and the pieces just didn’t come together in the end. Doc has auditioned for every season of Face Off, so to win a spot on the show and make it this far in the competition is a huge success. The judges bid him farewell with encouraging words, and he knows he’s only going to go up from here.