The Star Trek franchise has introduced us to some of the most exotic conflicting life forms e'er to appear on television. Commencement withStar Expedition: The Original Serialthrough to today, each new assuming journey expands the universe that much more. As the next Star Trek series to take the torch in 1987,Star Expedition: The Next Generationimproved on everything included in its predecessor, and then some!

5 Reasons The Side by side Generation Is The All-time Star Trek Series (& five Why Information technology Will E'er Be The Original Serial)

With the help of Michael Westmore and his crew of makeup and hairstyling specialists, the main cast and invitee stars ofTNGwere transformed into fearsome Cardassians, inscrutable Vulcans, and even an android using modern special effects that were light-years ahead of those used before. Incredible silicone casting techniques allowed for authenticity and improved realism while all the same allowing the actor's performances to shine through. Hither are ten behind the scenes secrets of the makeup ofThe Adjacent Generation.

10 MAKEUP WAS BASED OFF OF MOLDS OF Role player'S FACES

Before makeup is applied to an player's confront, a silicone or plaster bandage is made of their face. This prevents the actor from spending hours in the makeup chair while the artist experiments with different looks. Using modeling clay and sculpting tools, the makeup look is brought to life.

Liquid latex is then whipped up in a blender like "chocolate mousse", and the modeled mask is dipped in it. When it dries, information technology will exist a rubberized, applicable version of whatsoever prosthetic is needed to create the various ridges, fins, and nobules of a Cardassian, a Klingon, or a Ferengi.

nine CARDASSIANS WERE MEANT TO Await COLD, MEAN, AND SLIMY

To make the Cardassians expect menacing, makeup artist Michael Westmore was tasked with creating a life form that was cold, hateful, scaley, and slimy. He borrowed some concepts from The Creature from the Black Lagoon, but with more spiney ridges and less fins.

The character of Gul Dukat, first seen inTNGmerely given a much larger office inStar Expedition: Deep Space Nine,influenced all other Cardassian makeup considering role player Marc Aliamo's neck was so long and his shoulders were then wide. Westmore stuck to the wide-necked await considering he felt information technology looked and so exotic on Aliamo.

8 THERE WAS A HUGE Team OF SPECIALISTS

Michael Westmore may take been the creative genius, merely he had an unabridged team of specialists behind him. A total of x makeup artists and pilus stylists worked on transforming main cast members and invitee stars into the unique beings living in the Star Trek Universe.

On a 24-hour interval involving many actors in alien makeup, such shooting a sequence involving the Klingon Empire, a Romulan warship, or the Borg Cube, that team will increase from 20 to 50. Their days would be 16 hours long, with each thespian spending upward to iii hours in the chair for a complete transformation.

vii THERE WERE 3 SPECIFIC REASONS WHY ALL ALIENS WERE HUMANOID

In-Universe, there's i good reason why about of the aliens the Enterprise encountered inTNGwere humanoid: they descended from genetic material dispersed throughout the universe by humanity's ancestor who was known to create life out of a sense of loneliness.

In reality, there are two reasons why the aliens are humanoid: 1) considering Star Expedition never had the upkeep of Star Wars and ii) they couldn't produce the same level of not-humanoid creatures in a TV show. That, and series creator Cistron Roddenberry never wanted the eyes or mouth covered to allow actors to emote.

6 ALL OF THE FERENGI WERE BASED ON ARMIN SHIMERMAN

Equally the first Ferengi in Star Expedition, Armin Shimerman (Quark onDeep Space Ix)had a lot to exercise with how the Ferengi behaved every time they appeared.Though their aesthetic was designed by Michael Westmore, it became increasingly tailored to Shimerman's face.

Fifty-fifty out of makeup, there are aspects of Shimerman'southward face that Westmore drew on such as large ears, a push button olfactory organ, and a toothy grin. His makeup process involved ii "streamlined" pieces: a "helmet" of forehead, ears, and brow ridges, a prosthetic nose, a cheek mask and of class, dentures of abrupt, pointed teeth.

5 FAMOUS FACES WANTED TO Get TNG ALIENS

Tom Morello, lead vocaliser of Rage Against the Motorcar and Audioslave, was apparently such a large fan ofThe Next Generationthat he asked for a role in one of the characteristic films. He appeared as a Sona alien inStar Expedition: Insurrectionand marveled at how meticulous the makeup process had to be.

He began his filming days at 5 AM, which included a few hours in the makeup chair while artists applied his silicone mask. It was sculpted to his confront and allowed for a reasonable corporeality of movement, resulting in a better capture of his facial expressions.

4 SOME OF THE MAKEUP INVOLVED ADDITIONAL APPARATUS

To create the iconic sequence where the Borg Queen's top half connects to her bottom half inStar Expedition: Kickoff Contact,a unique appliance was built. ILM made the cervix and prosthetics which were fitted to actress Alice Jennings wearing a blue bodysock on a crane.

After spending hours in hair and makeup, she was lowered to her standing lower half of the Borg body. There was a brief cutaway to Data'southward face equally she settled in, and then it was back to the fully assembled Borg Queen. All evidence of the crane was seamlessly removed in postal service-production.

three MICHAEL DORN ALREADY KNEW HIS MAKEUP ARTIST

Y'all would think spending ii hours in a makeup chair would hateful an histrion would become close to the makeup artist transforming them. In the case of Michael Dorn (who played Lieutenant Worf onTNG),he had already met Michael Westmore on the set ofRockywhen he was doing the fight makeup for Sylvester Stallone.

Though sitting nevertheless for two hours while his Klingon ridges were practical may seem like a brunt, Dorn welcomed the run a risk to play a character that was rough around the edges afterwards a career of playing cops and "overnice guys."

two IT TOOK A WHILE TO GET Information'Due south LOOK RIGHT

Despite being humanoid in appearance, Information still proved challenging in unexpected means. As an android, Data needed to be man-like yet uncannily alien, plenty so to make certain members of the Enterprise coiffure uncomfortable.

Brent Spiner wore yellow contacts so that he would be distinguishable from the humans in the crew, and sat in the makeup chair for over an 60 minutes while pale makeup and gilt powder was practical all over his face up. Before the gold was decided upon, Data likewise had makeup tests in mint green and pale blueish, which his gold skin concluded upwardly resembling in certain lights.

1 SOME OF THE Cast WERE MEANT TO Wait VERY DIFFERENT

But like the alien and android characters did, the humans aboard the Enterprise also underwent extensive hair and makeup tests. When Patrick Stewart was cast as Captain Jean-Luc Picard, information technology was thought no one would take a balding captain seriously. Fortunately, producers thought the toupee looked horrible, and what has at present become his iconic wait remained.

Deanna Troi as well underwent some changes of her wardrobe. Originally, she was conceived every bit a three-breasted alien which, given the provocative nature of her non-Starfleet attire, would accept proved very distracting. Luckily, her appearance was made slightly more sensible.

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About The Writer

Kayleena Pierce-Bohen (1364 Articles Published)

Kayleena has been raised on Star Wars and Indiana Jones from the crib. A flick buff, she has a Western collection of 250+ titles and counting that she'southward peculiarly proud of. When she isn't writing for ScreenRant, CBR, or The Gamer, she'due south working on her fiction novel, lifting weights, going to synthwave concerts, or cosplaying. With degrees in anthropology and archeology, she plans to go on pretending to be Lara Croft as long as she can.

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