MADE UP

GREENWICH — With a Q-tip in one hand and a prosthetic nose in the other, Tyler Green leaned close to the face of eighth-grader Ashton Monteiro.

As a class of Eastern Middle School students looked on, Green, 30, gently adhered the soft, cat-like snout over Ashton’s real nose.

“I would suggest probably breathing out of your mouth,” Green told Ashton, before grabbing a small hair dryer to dry the adhesive on his face.

Green, a special effects makeup artist with a studio in Litchfield County, and a finalist on the SyFy show “Face Off,” completed six demonstrations for Eastern Middle School art students Tuesday. When he finished airbrushing and painting, whimsical pig, rabbit and cat faces stared back at him.

Green called these faces “speed demos,” small interpretations of the elaborate creations he usually works on, like furry werewolves, colorful horned beasts or other fantastic creatures. He will often spend up to 17 hours on one design.

“My work is very focused on fantasy and folklore,” Green said.

Green was inspired by makeup and costumes as a young boy watching Jim Henson films like the 1986 fantasy action movie “Labyrinth.” After high school, he attended the two-year Tom Savini’s Special Make-up Effects Program in Monessen, Pa.

For more than five years, Green worked as a dental laboratory technician and prosthetic technician, helping burn victims and people with facial birth defects. But in 2013, Green was accepted to compete in season six of “Face Off,” a reality show about special effects makeup, after he auditioned three years in a row.

For three months, Green had no contact with the outside world — competitors gave their phones and wallets over to the show’s producers — and was immersed in high-pressure creative make-up challenges. Green’s favorite episode — which students watched Thursday as Green transformed their classmates — required competitors to create whimsical beasts from Roald Dahl’s “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,” which had never been shown in film versions of the story.

“It was such a cool experience,” said Green. “It really was life-changing, and to be able to share this art form with the younger generation is really cool.”

Green was a runner up in season six of “Face Off ” and was invited back to participate in an “all star season” in 2016.

In total, he appeared in more than 30 episodes of the show. He now owns Creative Genius LLC, inventing consumer gadgets, and teaches make-up workshops out of his studio and around the country.

Eastern Middle School art teacher Ben Quesnel had for several years shown episodes of “Face Off ” to his classes to inspire them before a mask-making unit.

He noticed one of the competitors on the show, Green, was from Litchfield, and emailed him, asking him to speak to his art class. Green immediately responded.

“We are trying to bring in artists that students can relate to or maybe see themselves doing (that) in their futures,” said Quesnal. “A lot of them are interest in sci-fi and makeup and the masks ... And Tyler is one of the best in his profession.”

Green’s visit to Eastern Middle School was part of the school’s Developing Artist program, which invites local artists to teach students their craft. Started last year, it is funded by a grant from the Greenwich Alliance for Education. About six artists are expected to visit Eastern this year through the program. emunson@greenwichtime.com;

Twitter: @emiliemunson