STEVIE BETTLES was born in Cambridge England in 1975. In 1986, he and his family moved to the USA, and it was during his time living in Florida that he fell in love with the art of special effects make-up.
At the age of 15, he gained the unique opportunity to study make-up effects with some of the residential effects artists at Universal Studios Florida, and after moving back to the UK at the age of 17, he studied for a BTEC First in Art and Design. Once this course was complete, Stevie then completed his A-Level exams in Art, Theatre and Mathematics, before joining The London College of Fashion Make-up and Hair HND.
It was during his A-Levels that he first started working professionally as a make-up artist, gaining experience at local theaters in Cambridge. From 1992-1994, Stevie worked at the famous ADC Theatre, home to the Cambridge footlights, and assisted on a wide range of theater shows, as well as working with a number of theater groups including The Gilbert and Sullivan Society, The Marlow Society and Footlights.
While he was studying at The London College of Fashion, Stevie worked on his first movie, a 1920s gangster film called The Palace, and less than a year after finishing college he was working at Jim Henson’s Creature Shop. From this point onwards, Stevie worked for Henson's on a freelance basis for the next six years, and it was during this time that his work on US TV miniseries Jack and the Beanstalk: The Real Story won him his first Emmy Award in 2002.
He also gained credits on a number of major film and television projects, including Lost in Space, Sleepy Hollow, Farscape, Grimm, Defiance and Oliver Stone's "W", Star Trek, and The Avengers. Currently, Stevie is designing make-up fx’s for This Is Us a new hit TV show. He also continues to work for a whole range of companies, and also designs a wide variety of F/X for Film and TV shows.
You can see more of what he is up to at his site.
OUT OF KIT has been the accumulation of a lot of hard work and development over the last 6 years with a lot help from friends and family. He thanks all of them for their continued support