HOLLYWOOD make-up artist and prop-maker Natalie Woods has joined a long list of talented special effects lecturers at the University of Bolton.

Graduating in Special Effects for Film and TV in 2010, Natalie, aged 27 has recently worked with special effects on the Hollywood blockbuster and Oscar/BAFTA-nominated Guardians of the Galaxy.

Now she has returned to the University of Bolton to teach mould making, sculpting and makeup.

She said: "It’s so nice to be back in Bolton. The university’s always accessible and people are free to meet with you at any time; you’ll be surprised how rarely you find that anywhere else.

‘I love teaching. The higher you get in the industry, the more responsibility you get.

"Eventually you’re assigned small teams that you have to lead and train, and I found that to be very rewarding."

Natalie originally from Cambridge worked with the make-up team on Guardians of the Galaxy, which recently won the Make-up and Hairstylist Guild Awards.

She revealed that the set, due to the film’s intergalactic storyline, needed special effects done every day, with each team member daily assigned a new character.

"I learned a few secrets on set, but they were all pretty secretive," said Natalie. "I’m a big Marvel fan, so working on the project was amazing.

"The industry must be able to trust you because deadlines for projects are so slim and the materials so expensive, you can’t really afford to mess up. I’ll know what I’ve taught my students, so I can give out recommendations."

She admitted that starting off in the industry was difficult with special effects artists needing to get their name out there and build their portfolio on recommendations from clients.

Natalie added: "I would like to keep my links to the industry open and get guest lecturers in, but also involve students in my own freelance projects."

Since graduating, Natalie has worked in a range of media as a freelancer in film and television, theatre, adverts, fashion design, and her portfolio includes the Russian winter Olympics mascots and work on the theatre production of Warhorse.