Starting out as a prosthetic makeup artist? All you need is the perfect YouTube tutorial and passion, claims Muhammad Ali, a 25-year-old SFX makeup artist from Karachi who is wowing people all around him with his exceptional skills.

“It all started 4 years back while I was still in university and working on a project,” says Ali.

“The project involved shooting a short film and there were some intense scenes that required blood,” he added.

Ali started by watching YouTube videos on how to make fake blood and still make it look real on screen. His company is called Blood Artistry because blood was the first thing he tried his hand on.

Inspired by artists like Dick Smith – the father of SFX makeup – Ali creatively cooks up scenarios and brings them to life. Ali also follows Greg Nicotero who’s known for his work in the Walking Dead series.

“While studying film and television, I could only see myself as a cinematographer or a director. But for that I had to have good camera equipment to practice. I was doing wedding photography to buy more camera equipment,” Ali told MangoBaaz.

Over time he started doing prosthetic makeup on his siblings and friends. One day, his friend suggested that he should make a Facebook page.

“I felt it was a great idea so I implemented it and started posting all my work there,” he said. A prosthetic hand he made went viral and received a lot of appreciation. University students started hiring him for their films and projects.

“About 2 years ago I received a call from a director based in Lahore. I had no clue it would get this far. I was confused yet excited to break the news to everyone,” said Ali.

He was clueless about client dealings and initially took help from teachers and mentors. His friend, M. Raamiz Khan, is one person who has helped him throughout. “He has been my partner from the beginning of my journey. He even assisted me on film projects,” Ali said.

“My first official project, Oye Kuch Kar Guzar, a web series was a success,” Ali told MangoBaaz.

He feels the need to bring change in the Pakistani film industry and incorporate advanced techniques other SFX artists all across the world are using. Ali aspires to become like his inspiration, Dick Smith, some day.

“I discussed this idea with a friend of mine and decided to import professional DVDs from abroad along with some material that professionals use there,” Ali said. After surveying the Pakistani market, it became apparent to him that the availability of those products was impossible here. He took suggestions from professionals working abroad about what can be the alternatives for certain procedures.

After all the research, he started experimenting and Khan helped him as far as the material availability, promotion, content writing and creatives of his page were concerned.

Then came an explosion of special effects movies for him: Pari, Parwaaz Hai Junoon and Laal Kabootar.

“All of a sudden, my hobby and something that I had started as part of a university project, started becoming mainstream and I started realizing that this is what I want to do,” admits Ali.

“I plan on joining the Prosthetic Renaissance in the United States of America. Their work is incredible,” Ali said, talking about his future plans.

What do you guys think of his amazing skills? Let us know in the comments below.

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Cover image via Muhammad Ali