Rain Factor FX

Saturn and I met years ago through the haunt. Since then, I have watched them over social media grow into a fantastic artist and, more importantly, someone who is so unapologetically themselves. They even have a fantastic short film out on YouTube which I highly recommend watching. Saturn, thank you for agreeing to model for me. I really love the way you helped shape this concept and embody this ethereal being.

I thought I was making a siren from Greek folklore but as each puzzle piece fell into place and the picture began to take form I realized that this was a Sirena. Sometimes a project tells you what it wants to be.
-.
Model:
Costume:
Photography:
-.

There are times when your project tells you what it wants to be. I remember taking a ceramics sculpture class fresh out of high school. I was struggling to get the clay to take the shape I wanted and my professor roughly guided my hands to manipulate the clay. It no longer felt like a conversation and I felt detached from the piece. I never liked the way it felt to force something to my will. For me, the process of creating is a communal and collaborative experience, even if it's just between me and whatever medium I am working in. When you allow the pieces to fall into place it takes on new meaning and your relationship to it changes.

I have wanted to make a siren-like creature for some time but I didn’t know I wanted to make it for this event. I knew I needed to commit to another model and a look but I just wasn’t feeling it. I hadn’t been to a con in a year and I wasn’t sure how I wanted to make my grand reappearance. As luck would have it, my friend was going to be in town for SCC and I felt really inspired by them. Another piece sliding into place.

I wanted to explore the relationship between the maiden, the mother, and crone archetypes as a siren might experience that loss of relevancy and desirability while in direct competition with technology in the modern era. My moodboards for this look referenced old circus looks. I liked the parallels between a once beloved and popular place now locked up, quiet, and in a state of arrested decay.

Please enjoy this sneak peek as I once again present you with another piece that asks, “who am I? What is my place? Where do I belong?”

-.
📸
🧥
🧜‍♀️
Event: Sinister Creature Con
Photoshoot location: Heartstoppers Haunted House
-.

Come visit me at Sinister Creature Con on the 18th & 19th.

RAIN FACTOR FX is a featured artist at Sinister Halloween Con 2025!

Rain is a self-taught SFX makeup and practical effects artist living in Northern California. She started working in the haunted house industry in 2013 where she was able to hone her skills as a makeup artist, set designer and prop maker. In 2017, Rain started working in film. Since then she has worked for notable clients such as Toyota, Excision, Slander and the Leland Stanford Mansion. While Rain is skilled in basic corrective and beauty her true passion lies with anything bloody, creepy and fantastical.

In her free time she creates curious creations and functional art pieces. Regarding her art she has said she is inspired by folk tales and fantasy creatures. Her art prominently features ethically sourced bones, body horror and lots and lots of teeth.

Welcome Rain Factor FX back after a short SINCC/HC hiatus this October 17th & 18th!

Every Cell - Film and Storytelling | Seed&Spark https://share.google/EpMY7BYeFPkxlo5hB

Please consider reading more about Every Cell. The team is working really hard to make this a reality.

I spent the day searching for the right words to introduce this character. While I realize that Frankenstein’s Creature is timeless and doesn’t require much preamble, I wanted to take a moment to talk about Mary Shelley. It would feel wrong to ignore her fight to be taken seriously as an author simply because she was a teenaged woman at the time of Frankenstein’s original publication — and how she struggled more than her male counterparts to get subsequent works published, despite being considered the mother of science fiction.
I wish she knew how influential her work would one day become. I spent some time today reading from her journal and I found this entry that I feel is relevant, "To be something great and good was the precept given me by my Father: Shelley reiterated it. Alone and poor, I could only be something by joining a party; and there was much in me — the woman’s love of looking up, and being guided, and being willing to do any- thing if any one supported and brought me forward — which would have made me a good partisan. But Shelley died, and I was alone..." "...My total friendlessness, my horror of pushing, and inability to put myself forward unless led, cherished and supported, — all this has sunk me." Time passes, and while some things change, others remain the same. I have seen other brilliant women have their work falsely attributed to their male peers, as if women are somehow incapable of creating ugly and horrific works of art. If you too have fought to be taken seriously, regardless of your field, hobbies, or interests, I hope that you think of Mary and keep pushing.
There have since been several recreations of Frankenstein. In fact, When you think of Frankenstein I’m willing to bet you picture the creature from the 1931 film. I don’t blame you; it’s an iconic creature design. However, for this Sinister Creature Con , I wanted to take inspiration from a mix of Mary Shelley’s original creature description and an incredibly niche subgenre of music called Iryou Kei. In other words, I’m back on my BS with more 'Fantasy but make it Alternative.' I’ve previously hinted at being inspired by Harajuku street fashion, and this look is no different. I chose Iryou Kei because of the blend of horror and medical visuals, making it perfect for an alternative high fashion Frankenstein.
-.
📷 Avery Peck
🧵 Trevor J Kleist
Products used from EBA Performance Makeup kryolan Narrative Cosmetics SFX Ben Nye Makeup poppy's sfx place, cinema secrets

I'm deeply inspired by fantasy and folklore. As a child, my favorite books to read were about the fair folk and dragons (The Goblin Market remains a favorite). No knights! I detested the thought of knights killing dragons.

I like to break the traditional mold of earth-tone color palettes and forest settings, preferring to replace them with punk and alternative aesthetics. I think it's much more fun to imagine what it would be like if these creatures lived among us. I imagine that some would be more bold with their identity, while others remain hidden in plain sight.

When designing this character, the gender identity was intentionally left ambiguous. I wanted to see how far I could push it while using bright pink eyeshadow and glitter. The outfit swayed more masculine, which helped counterbalance the 'feminine' eye makeup. Gender is a spectrum. I'm genderfluid, and both my model and costume designer are non-binary. I felt that this was the perfect team to pull off this look because they also understand the struggle of gender expression, to know the rules and willingly break them, and the desire to feel at home in our bodies. In the end, I feel that this look accomplished exactly what I wanted it to.
-.
Photos by Avery Peck
-.
Meduusat Studio Mehron Makeup kryolan EBA Performance Makeup