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Writer's pictureAberforth Wall

Creature Designs!

Updated: Nov 14, 2024

Rob Fishbeck, Jimmy Nails, and Le Gault talk about their favorite creature designs!





Willis H. O’Brien [King Kong - 1933] was pioneer of stop motion. His protege

was Ray Harryhausen. O’Brien won the 1950 Academy Award for Best Visual

Effects for Mighty Joe Young.


Ray Harryhausen - another pioneer of stop motion; his work is called Dynamation.


Lon Chaney the man of a thousand faces! Most known for The Hunchback of Notre

Dame - 1923 and The Phantom of the Opera - 1925.


Jack Peirce [Frankenstein - 1931, The Man Who Laughs - 1928, ]


Stan Winston [Terminator, Aliens, Jurassic Park][directed Pumpkinhead - 1988]


Dick Smith [The Exorcist, Death Becomes Her, Dark Shadows, ] blood! Inspired

SO many of the artists to come in the 80s.


Rick Baker [American Werewolf in London - 1981 (first Academy Award for Best

Make Up), Gremlins 2 - 1990, Exorcist, Thriller, Videodrome, Frightners,]

“Baker has won the Academy Award for Best Makeup a record seven times from a

record eleven nominations...” - wikipedia


Rob Bottin [Legend - 1985 (nominated for Academy Award), The Thing, The

Howling, Total Recall, The Fog, Humanoids from the Deep,] he was the protege of

Rick Baker.


Tom Savini [Creepshow - 1982, Fluffy. ] inspired by Dick Smith.


Chiodo Brothers - Killer Klowns - 1988 and Critters - 1986.


KNB (Robert Kurtzman, Greg Nicotero, Howard Berger) worked with Tom Savini

early on.


Screaming Mad George [Big Trouble Little China, Society, NES 3⁄4, SNDN 4⁄5,]


John Carl Buechler [directed Cellar Dweller] he worked with Charles’ Band


Chris Walas [Gremlins, The Fly, House II,]


Phil Tippitt [Mad God]


Kevin Yagher [I think he made Chucky? in Child’s Play.]


Mark Shostrom [Mutilator]


Nick Maley []


Kazu Hiro [The Grinch - 2000] a protege of Rick Baker


Xenomorph [Alien - 1979] H.R. Giger designed it, Carlo Rambaldi did some of the

make up (head), Bolaji Badejo played it...


Graboids in Tremors + heat seekers Aftershocks) by Alec Gillis + Tom Woodruff Jr

(they also worked for Stan Winston - did work on Pumpkinhead)

Stay Puft Marshmallow Man in Ghostbusters - 1984. From Wikipedia “created by

Linda Frobos by using miniatures and optical compositing with Bill Bryan in a

latex suit. ...[]... The face of Stay-Puft was puppeteered by Terri Hardin.”


Gill-man from Creature From the Black Lagoon - ‘54 made by Millicent Patrick.


Godzilla - 1954. First actor was Haruo Nakajima, directed by Ishirō Honda, from

Wikipedia, “Godzilla was designed by Teizō Toshimitsu and Akira Watanabe under

Eiji Tsuburaya's supervision...”


From Google’s AI overview: “Albin Grau was the head makeup artist and stylist

for the 1922 film Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror.”


Jaws - 1975 Bruce, the shark, was made by Joe Alves.


Jim Henson - muppets and animatronics and The Dark Crystal.


Lyle Conway... The Blob - 1988. Audrey II in Little Shop of Horrors.


Barrie Gower did the effects for Vecna in Stranger Things 4.

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