Prosthetic- & Special Artist are highly specialized professionals in the field of film, television, and theater, whose work goes far beyond classic make-up. They create complete visual transformations and design characters using make-up, wigs, masks, and special effects. This includes, among other things, modeling wounds, making prostheses, or realistically aging actors. In contrast to make-up artists and visagists, this profession is more technical and craftsman-like and often requires state-recognized training. While makeup artists and visagists mainly work in the beauty and aesthetics sector, the focus of makeup artists is on the believable portrayal of roles and characters – often regardless of classical beauty ideals.

The training to become a make-up artist usually takes 3 years and is mostly done in combination with a vocational school at theatres, opera houses or film productions. Alternatively, there are private schools where the duration of training varies between 1 and 3 years, depending on the intensity. While dual education is paid, private education can cost up to 20,000 euros.

The well-known training institutions in the German-speaking area include the Hasso von Hugo Maskenbildnerschule in Berlin as well as the Bayerische Theaterakademie August Everding in Munich, which are valued for their practical and well-founded training.