Saturday 27 June 2020

Picard behind the scenes: Alien make-up and prosthetics round-up

I've gathered up some of the latest Picard behind the scenes images and info I've come across in relation to the design and creation of the many aliens of the series. There are familiar species and characters here, plus some much more exotic creations. Continue below to check them out.

First up a glimpse at the recreation of one of my favourite Star Trek species, the Andorians. Sculptor Nicholas Rinehard shared these images of their work on the latest iteration of the Andorian antenna. They used a random head cast for the purposes of sculpting, so don't expect to spot this exact Andorian on-screen:



These were used on background Andorian characters, but showrunner Michael Chabon gave us a closer look in this photo a while back.


Shifting to another founding Federation member, here we have the Picard take on a Tellarite, who was part of the crew for Picard's Federation News Network interview. Make-up studio Vincent Van Dyke Effects who produced the aliens for Picard have put up a great set of photos on their website showing off this and several other characters, including a look at the sculpts, applications, and final on-set appearances:








Next up a beautifully distinctive new species/character called Rhomsew. The Vincent Van Dyke Effects website also has a set of great photos up looking at this character, while Sasha Camacho Van Dyke, who made the wig for this character shared the concept art on their Instagram - You can find further images of this character in one of my previous posts too.








This gloriously purple character is Fesoj, which the Vincent Van Dyke Effects website have shared another set of images of. On their Instagram they described the approach they took to the colouration:
...this character was tricky to really try and achieve the luminosity and “glow” of the character. We played heavily with intrinsic pearlescents within the silicone as well as transparency. 








Another new species here is Noiro, sculptor Daniele Tirinnanzi shared this image of the work in progress on the character, but alas they apparently didn't make it to screen in the end.



A more prominent character is Mr Vup; we've seen a lot of his creation already as those involved seem to really love him. Giving us an even more in-depth look, the Vincent Van Dyke Effects website provides another gallery, and you can find more coverage of this character's creation in a couple of my previous articles.









Getting back to the more familiar, here we have head of the make-up department James Mackinnon as a Borg drone (the only fully assimilated one we see in the show up close), as captured by fellow make-up artist Silvina Knight - Again you can find more on this character design in an earlier report.



This is my favourite of the XBs, an assimilated Hirogen! Stuntman and actor Guy Fernandez Jr. shared this video from the Borg Cube set:


Here's a more Human XB, with wounds that feel impressively real! This character was played by Marti Matulis, who you might recognise as a Romulan as well. Image set from the Vincent Van Dyke Effects website again.








This character was also picked out to be the cover of the latest issue of Prosthetics Magazine, which has an in-depth feature of Picard's make-up department. The Dyane C. Beauty Instagram shared this flip-through if you need a little taste before deciding to get.


We can check out more work on XBs thanks to mold maker Rob Freitas, and actor Zachary Perez-Rukavina who shared these images of their work on the show:




Plus of course Jonathan Del Arco who shared the first image here of himself as Hugh, with further images from Vincent Van Dyke Effects website:



Also looking at Hugh is costume concept artist Michael Uwandi, who shared this image on their ArtStation:



There are a lot of Romulans in Picard, and we can get a taste of what a diverse bunch they are by checking out all this different ears and eyebrows from sculptors Daniele Tirinnanzi and Nicholas Rinehard:






Here's Marti Matulis again, whose striking appearance as a Romulan is deserving of a particularly nice set of photos, once more via the Vincent Van Dyke Effects website:








Further Romulans highlighted by Vincent Van Dyke Effects are this older lady with distinctive stretched lobes:


And this "black ops" Romulan, the one captured by Picard, Laris and Zhaban:


We can also see young Elnor here, thanks to actor Ian Nunney, who shared these photos on Instagram:



And Narek, aka Harry Treadaway, turning the tables of make-up artist James Mackinnon, in this photo from fellow make-up artist Richard Redlefsen.



Finally, actress Isa Briones takes us through the many looks of her characters in Instagram posts and stories. Here we have a really cool alternative look for Sutra:


And the final golden choice:


Check out the transformation video in the second slide of this Instagram post:


And then we have costumes for all her characters: Sutra, Soji, and Dahj:





If you enjoyed this look behind the scenes, do make sure to check out the portfolios of all the artists mentioned, for more Trek, and more impressive special effects make-up from many other projects:
  • Vincent Van Dyke Effects (make-up studio) - Website, Instagram.
  • Nicholas Rinehard's (sculptor) - Instagram.
  • Daniele Tirinnanzi (sculptor) - Instagram.
  • Anthony E. Matijevich (make-up artist) - Instagram.
  • Silvina Knight (make-up artist) - Instagram.
  • Richard Redlefsen (make-up artist) - Instagram.
  • Sasha Camacho Van Dyke (special effects wig maker) - Instagram.
  • Rob Freitas (mold maker) - Instagram.
  • Michael Uwandi (costume concept artist) - ArtStation.

For more behind the scenes coverage from all of Trek, see my behind the scenes and concept art tags. And to keep track of all the latest Picard news, have a look back through my Picard tag, for previews, behind the scenes, tie-in fiction, and other merchandise updates.

Picard is available now on CBS All Access in the US, Bell Media services in Canada, and Amazon Prime Video in most of the rest of the world. And is also available to pre-order on bluray or DVD.



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