CLARE HEDGES
Mythical Creatures in Film
LEGEND (1985)
The make up in Legend (Scott, 1985) was designed by Rob Bottin.
At the time, Legend had the largest make up crew ever dedicated to one project.
Throughout the film, I had not realised that Blix (the evil Goblin) was played by a female actress. This was due to the heavy prosthetics she was wearing. I feel that the nose of his character is too long however it does give an evil witch-like appearance.
Blix's ears stand upwards and in the film almost give the appearance as horns - this supports the evil character that he is.
I think that Humpthorn's ears look really realistic. It is interesting that they appear to have grey hairs on them however the elfs hair is brown. I do not think this hair was necessary for this character however I do like the shape of th ears.
Fig. 17.
This clip from the film really shows the movement of the prosthetics and the experssion of Tim Curry's face - particularly between 1.40 and 1.45. I think the amount of expression he had is impressive considering how heavy the prosthetics were.
Fig 16.
I feel that this make up is a little excessive however this film was made in 1985, when practical effects were very much the way things were portayed. If this film had been made now, the make up may be more subtle. The make up for Darkness took appoximately 5.5 hours to apply and Tim Curry felt claustrophobic within the make up. I think it is impressive that they were able to create the 3ft horns.
LABYRINTH (1986)
Fig. 18
I really like the exaggerated size of the nose as well as the texture and colouring. The nose appears to have bluish tones in it which I like and the face is very wrinkled. This is an interesting looking character and could potentially inspire my design.
Fig 19.
I find the wrinkles on this character interesting however I feel that they are slightly too heavy and if I was to create an aged character, I would want to make the aging much more subtle. It is important to consider the difference in context, as this film was shot of puppets and not a make up.
THE HOBBIT - An Expected Journey (2012)
Fig. 20 & 21
The Trolls in The Hobbit are CGI however I feel that their design is interesting. They appear to have been inspired by elephants, as they are wrinkled in a similar way. I reall y like the grey/green tone colouring of them. The red on the ears and the nose are effective and add to the weathered look of the character. This weathered appearance reflects the location the trolls live - inside caves.
Harry Potter and Philoshophers StoneThe Harry Potter films are full of mythological creatures such as this Mountain Troll. The design appears to follow Scandinavian ideas around the concept of Trolls - that they are big, stupid and slow to act.The design of this Troll appears relatively gormless and he appears quite simple.
Fig.23.
Fig. 12. Fig. 13.
Fig 14.
Fig 15.
Fig. 22.