Imagine walking onto the set of a horror movie and making blood-curdling effects come to life.

This is a reality for 20-year-old Sacramento State anthropology major Lamira Herrera who runs her own special effects business, Atrocity FX.

Herrera and business partner 23-year-old photography major Dianna Spain, have already accrued diverse experience and plan on expanding to create more creature films and open their own studio in downtown Sacramento.

Spain said she met Herrera while they were working as makeup and special effects artists at a haunted house. After befriending one another and brainstorming, the pair decided to start Atrocity FX.

At the time, Herrera had already been creating projects under her own name. By banding together, Spain said, the two could cover more ground and get their names out into the industry faster.

“We try to find as many projects as we can together,” Spain said.. “We are constantly having meetings and come up with makeup and photo shoots to do on our own, to build our portfolio.”

Atrocity FX has run the gamut of special effects from horrific creatures to prosthetic gore and severed limbs to fashion, fantasy, beauty and pinup style makeup.

Herrera got her start in the effects business by apprenticing for Alchemy FX, a local Sacramento effects company owned by David Ainsworth.

“It’s a great way to start learning more about the industry and to have someone lead the way with your interest and help teach you hands-on is good to have,” Herrera said. “Ainsworth and Alchemy was, and is, my inspiration. He is an incredible artist and businessman. I look up to him and still apprentice with him. He is pretty much my mentor.”

Herrera met Ainsworth through a friend earlier this year after Herrera expressed interest in learning more about the art of special effects.

“He’s taught me how rewarding the craft is and I wanted to do the same, so I started Atrocity,” Herrera said.

Ainsworth said he became interested in becoming an effects artist at a very young age, when he would go to the local library and look at books of monsters, ghouls, aliens and all kinds of the creepy-crawly and supernatural.

Ainsworth grew up in Davis, where he said he had plenty of room to experiment with different projects – sometimes learning lessons the hard way. During one of his first projects, he mentioned a film he helped some of his friends make, involving the construction of severed arm. In constructing a mold to fabricate the arm, Ainsworth said removing the cast ripped off all of his arm hair and could have resulted in much worse.

“If I had used industry standards at the time, it could have cooked my arm and I’d have to have it amputated – or result in really bad chemical burns,” Ainsworth said. There is definitely quite some risk in “trying this at home”.

Herrera and Spain have both said for the horror-themed special effects, they tend to use the same basic materials: silicone, latex, plaster or clay. Spain said she generally manipulates clay to the shape of the mold.

“I have a studio at my garage where I make molds,” Spain said. “I sculpt everything out of clay and cast with plaster and either use latex or silicone.”

Spain said she decided to start studying makeup and effects when she wanted to distinguish herself from other photographers.

“I’ve just been interested in it for a really long time,” Spain said. “I’ve always been into monsters and horror film. I decided to do makeup on people in photo shoots because I was trying to find a niche for myself, something I can do that other photographers in the area can’t.”

Spain said she started learning as much as she could – via books, YouTube tutorials and watching the television program “Face Off.”

“I picked up a lot of things, [including] how to do things from [“Face Off”],” Spain said.

Herrera moved to Sacramento from Yuba City to attend Sac State.

“I love Sacramento,” said Herrera. “As an artist, there are so many opportunities and projects going on for makeup and artists here are so nice and easy to collaborate with.”

Ainsworth expressed similar sentiments about the Sacramento film industry.

“There is unlimited potential out there. It allows a creative community to flourish and grow in cooperation instead of competition,” said Ainsworth.

Mentor and apprentice benefit from a mutually cooperative connection. Ainsworth said he plans on creating more opportunities for local artists to learn, grow and collaborate. Earlier in 2013, Ainsworth began discussing an idea he had to bring more attention to local filmmakers in an environment that not only promotes each director’s projects, but promotes networking and collaboration.

Ainsworth founded Reel Media Focus, a group whose aim is to bring together collections, or volumes, of short films by up-and-coming local filmmakers. The main ideas are to showcase the work of local filmmakers on the big screen, like the Crest Theatre downtown, and also allocate ticket profits to the filmmakers involved.

The Sacramento horror scene may be on the rise or it may seem like there is more buzz being generated lately, at the very least. With local production companies like Trash Film Orgy Productions, and film festivals including TFO and Sac Horror Fest, there is a definite niche that’s been created for the local horror industry.

“I’ve learned a lot,” said Herrera, “and that I still have a lot to learn about the industry and the career itself, but the best lesson I’ve learned is don’t be afraid to get messy and go out of your way to do the best you can. There is no right or wrong answer to special effects – it’s about finding the best way you can produce it.”

Megan Trader can be reached at [email protected]