The makeup team conjured a host of designs on the tattoo front, too — this time for new addition to the cast, Douglas Smith (played by Corey Brockfield). "Designing tattoos is one of my favourite tasks as a department head," she said. "The director Andrea Arnold told me very early on she envisioned Corey with tattoos. This particular character was a fun one for me."
Why? Because each tattoo has a meaning that's more than meets the eye. "I teamed up with Alexei Dmitriew at HookUp Tattoos to custom design five tattoos for his character. Three of his five tattoos have hidden meaning. I incorporated morse code into the designs."
"Three of his five tattoos have hidden meaning. I incorporated morse code into the designs."
The ink on his right forearm, for example, is a sound wave inspired-design with a hidden message that says "There is always music" in morse code. On his left forearm, the tattoo is a hybrid between a heartbeat and a sound wave that reads "Keep dancing" when decoded. The design on his upper left shoulder, though, is her favourite: "This tattoo is two paper aeroplanes flying in opposite directions," said Radow. "The dotted and dashed trail left behind each plane says, 'It is what it is.' I love this one."
The ones without a hidden meaning — but hold significance to the character nonetheless — are the solar system tattoo that's inked down his upper back and anchor tattoo located on his right rib cage. "In addition to his tattoos, I also added a slight tan and layers of freckles on his T-zone and the high points on his face."