The Greeks were the first to use special effects stage makeup, covering their faces with toxic materials not meant for skin (such as lead and sulfide), all in the name of good theater. From the 1500s to 1800s, theatrical makeup become the norm, but it remained far from the materials that you think of when you speak of makeup. Elizabethan actors were resourceful, creating pigment out of burnt cork, paper, chalk powder and other materials, but it wasn't until the early 1900s that makeup took on any semblance of its modern form.
Modern stage and screen makeup is made of many materials and is available from many companies from Ben Nye to Mehron. There are foundations made to give a believable skin tone to any kind of creation from a pale vampire to a blue creature from Avatar. But color is just the beginning. There are onscreen depictions of demons with authentic looking horns coming out of their heads and gun shot wounds that rival the real thing. Latex rubber is a commonly used item for special effects engineers who can mold just about anything from a prosthetic nose to an exposed brain.
Actors playing "creature-like" roles sometimes spend more time in the makeup chair than on the set. In the 2000 version of "How the Grinch Stole Christmas," leading man Jim Carrey was subjected to four hours in a makeup chair each time he had to don his Grinch makeup. This is the norm for movies where the characters are larger than life. The makeup for these flicks are realistic to viewers, but heavy and restrictive for the actors playing these outlandish roles.
Most characters effects are molded to the actors face. Before the actor spends hours sitting in the makeup chair, her face is recreated through a process called "lifecasting," after which makeup artists must create the look on their own. Artists use realistic replica of the actor's face to precisely plan and shape any prosthetic pieces. Then more refining is done as the makeup artist gets to work directly with the actor and see what they need to do to make his vision a reality.
The Annual Oscar Awards recognizes several films each year and awards one with the coveted gold statue. Some years the prize goes to a film that focuses on realistic makeup--capturing beauty or a specific era. But in many cases, the Oscar goes to a movie that has focused on special effects makeup. Some notable examples include the 1985 film, Mask, depicting a teenage boy with a severe facial disfigurement;Harry and the Hendersons (1987), a movie about a friendly Bigfoot; and the Nutty Professor (1996), where an average sized Eddie Murphy is transformed into a larger than life professor, as well as several other characters.