Unused ALIENS Concept Art by James Cameron and Stan Winston Reveal How the Queen Almost Looked

Check out Aliens concept art by James Cameron and Stan Winston!

Every Friday, I try and share artwork from a classic of science fiction movies or television. This week's "Flashback Friday" post is on Aliens (1986).

Before the Alien Queen became the "B*itch" she went through a ton of design changes. Here's a quick history of the designs starting with a little sketch in the 1980s to the final terrifying design.

Mother
Back in the 1980s, director James Cameron started working on a movie called Mother about  "a  female genetically engineered creature attempting to ensure the survival of its young." He had created a drawing of a six-limbed panther called a “Skraath,” or “Skraith,” for a movie called  Labyrinth and tried to reuse the design. Neither project happened, but the design went on to be used for the "Thanator" in  Avatar. The theme of two women fighting  was also a core concept behind the final scene in Aliens.

The basic design inspired the initial look of the six-limbed Alien Queen.

Stan Winston Collaboration
When Cameron started working on Aliens he brought several renderings of the Queen Alien to his preliminary design meetings at Stan Winston Studio. Winston said, "Right from the start, Jim had a concept of the Alien Queen in the back of his head. In fact, when we first began talking about the project he showed me the beautiful rendering he had done of it which I liked immediately."

The two began brainstorming ideas and Winston did some renderings of his own.

Inspiration by H.R. Giger
In the end, the team decided to stay closer to Cameron's original designs and began incorporating elements of the original Alien Xenomorph designs by H.R. Giger. The artist was not asked to return and help design the sequel. Cameron said they're designs are "mainly a reprise of Mr. Giger's design." He also said, they "tried to be consistent with Giger's motifs, but not necessarily enslaved to it."

The original design paintings inspired various items in the Queen's look from the hand...

 to the neck.

Here's the final look of the Alien Queen.

The result was well-received by audiences and even those who worked on the first film. Even Giger said, "It's all beautifully done, everything, the designs and the way they're executed. The Alien Queen is also nice. She's a bit smaller in the face than my alien but my basic design was very well studied. She was frighteningly well animated."

Click on the links if you want to see more of H.R. Giger, James Cameron or Stan Winston's work or Aliens artwork on my blog.

Some images taken from http://www.jamescamerononline.com

What do you think of the concept art? What did you think of the designs? Do you like any of them better than the final image?

Official Aliens Summary
In this action-packed sequel to Alien, Sigourney Weaver returns as Ripley, the only survivor from mankind's first encounter with the monstrous Alien. Her account of the Alien and the fate of her crew are received with skepticism - until the mysterious disappearance of colonists on LV-426 leads her to join a team of high-tech colonial marines sent in to investigate.
Directed by James Cameron
Cinematography by Adrian Biddle
Production Design by Michael Seymour
Starring: Sigourney Weaver, Michael Biehn, Carrie Henn, Paul Reiser, Lance Henriksen
Release Dates: July 18, 1986

© Copyright 1986 Brandywine Productions, SLM Production Group, 20th Century Fox. All rights reserved



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11 Concept Art Designs That Changed Movie History Forever

Movie history is full of brilliant images and inspired designs. But some designs have left their mark on films when the last flicker of light plays in the theater.

Check after the jump to see the designs that inspired generations of filmmakers.

11. Discovery One by Harry Lange
2001: A Space Odyssey

Discovery One concept art by Harry Lange via Digititles

Stanley Kubrick and Arthur C. Clark set out to make the most realistic science fiction movies ever made. The common stereotype of anti-gravity generators were thrown out in favor of the scientifically accurate centrifuge that created a type of gravity. Even today it's ground breaking on a science-fiction film to be so scientific.

10. Predator Alien by Stan Winston
Predator (1987)

Predator concept design by Stan Winston

The original design for the Predator (then called Hunter) was a bug like alien. Make up designer Stan Winston created the most unique looking alien ever. It was James Cameron that suggested the mandibles.

9. Star Trek Enterprise by Matt Jefferies
Star Trek (1966)

Star Trek Enterprise by Matt Jeffries source

The design of the starship USS Enterprise (NCC-1701) broke all the rules. Roddenberry wanted to get away from the cigar shaped designs from 1950s science-fiction and Star Trek art director Matt Jefferies was the man to do it. With Jeffries' experience in aviation, he was able to design a ship that was unique, familiar and majestic. From the unique look of the engines, to it's unconventional design, it rewrote the book on spaceship design and ushered in a whole new world.

8. Machine Man (Maschinenmensch) by Walter Schulze-Mittendorff
Metropolis (1927)

Metropolis Machine Man by Walter Schulze-Mittendorff source

The robot woman in the German film Metropolis has influenced designers for decades. Star Wars' C-3PO was heavily influenced by her design.


7. Delorean Time Machine by Ron Cobb and Andrew Probert
Back to the Future (1985)

Delorean designs by Ron Cobb source

Designed by Ron Cobb, and finished by Andrew Probert, the Delorean is the most unique time machine ever designed. The car company went bankrupt after a

6. Planet of the Apes Statue of Liberty by Don Peters
Planet of the Apes (1968)

The ending of the original 1963 novel, Planet of the Apes (La Planète des Singes) by Pierre Boulle,had a distant world taken over by apes. It was only when Don Peters drew the image of the State of Liberty buried in the sand that the greatest twist ending of all time was created. Several people, including screen-writer Rod Serling, took responsibility for the idea. Peters claims that it was his idea alone, from preliminary sketches for Arthur P. Jacobs when the film was in development at Warner Bros.


5. Robby the Robot by Robert Kinoshita.
Forbidden Planet (1955)

The initial design was sketched by Arnold "Buddy" Gillespie, refined by production illustrator Mentor Huebner, and then turned into reality under the direction of mechanical designer Robert Kinoshita. Multiple designs were created for the concept of Robby the Robot in the 1955 film Forbidden Planet, but Kinoshita did the final design that created the most iconic and popular robot ever.


4. "Spinner" Police Cars by Syd Mead
Blade Runner (1982)

Blade Runner car designs by Syd Mead source

The entire look of Blade Runner has set the standard for dystopian science-fiction. It's gritty style and futuristic designs has influenced science fiction films, anime, video games, and television programs like Battlestar Galactica. Syd Mead's car designs, known as "Spinners," that have set the standard for flying cars.

3. Xenomorph by H. R. Giger
Alien (1979)

H.R. Giger Alien source

The Alien design is credited to Swiss surrealist and artist H. R. Giger. It started in a lithograph called "Necronom IV", but was refined for the film Alien. The Alien design is the most effective biomechanical design ever. Not only is the design imitated in other sci-fi movies, but video games like Metroid and Contra have used it as well.


2. Darth Vader by Ralph Mc Quarrie
Star Wars (1977)
 

Early Darth Vader sketch by Ralph McQuarrie source

The most famous villain ever is known for his skull-like mask. While director George Lucas created the character, it was Ralph McQuarrie that came up with the idea of Vader wearing a gas mask to travel onto the ship. McQuarrie's done some amazing designs, but this one stand above them all.


1. Terminator by James Cameron
Terminator (1984)

Director James Cameron is also an accomplished artist. His drawing of the murderous Terminator robot with half his face missing has become the symbol of terror for decades. Every Terminator film has used it.

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'Predator' Concept Art By Stan Winston

There are many great alien designs, but my favorite design has a great story attached to it. Read on to find out why the design changed and what inspired the Predator "dreadlocks."

Check out the rest of the story and pictures after the jump. Click on the images to enlarge.

The creature we see in the final film Predator (1987) is nothing like the original suit design. There are no surviving pictures of the first creature (then called Hunter), but it was described as an "ungainly, disproportionate dog creature with big yellow eyes." Problems with the mechanics of the suit and overall look forced the studio to scrap the original design and come up with something new.

The movie was behind schedule and they needed a brand new monster in six weeks to complete the film's production schedule. Lead actor Arnold Schwarzenegger suggested his friend, the late, great special effects artist Stan Winston. Winston agreed to do it under budget and within the tight time constraints the studio was under. "I met with John McTiernan and Joel Silver and we talked about the Predator," Winston said, "My feeling from reading the script was that the Predator had to be a real character, rather than a generic creature. He needed to be a very specific character - and that's what we came up with."

The designs began from an image of a Rastafarian warrior in Joel Silver's office. "I saw that and I thought it was a great starting concept for the Predator," Winston said. "I started drawing and designing this alien character with quills that in silhouette would look like dreadlocks. During this same period of time, Aliens had come out, and Jim Cameron and I were flying to Japan to participate in a symposium about the movie. We were sitting next to each other on the plane, and I was sketching and drawing the Predator. Jim suddenly said, 'You know, I've always wanted to see something with mandibles.' And I said, 'Hmmm, that's an interesting idea.' And I stared drawing the now-famous mandibles of the Predator. So, between the Rastafarian painting in Joel Silver's office and the mandible idea from Jim Cameron, I came up with 'Stan Winston's Predator'. And I take complete credit for it, even though I had nothing to do with it, obviously!"

The mandibles almost got cut from the Predator design though. Steve Yang, who designed the Predator costume and weaponry said, they thought about getting rid of it when they felt the "sideways mouth" had already been done.

The rest is history as the Predator design is one of the most recognizable aliens ever.

That's why I love the Predator design. Because it was designed on a plane as an after thought of an original design.

The images below give an idea of the first creature. The original script for the first Predator film included a sequence in which a trophy of the Hunter alien is shown. Steve Wang sculpted a model based on the designs from when Steve Johnson and Boss film were working on the film. The trophy was left unfilmed. The trophy room concept made it's way into Predator 2.

You can see more of the late Stan Winston's work and visit his school at https://www.stanwinstonschool.com

Images via
https://www.stanwinstonschool.com/blog/predator-movie-making-the-predator
http://monsterlegacy.blogspot.com/2012/09/predator-trophies.html

Wikipedia Description
Predator is a 1987 American science fiction action film directed by John McTiernan, starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, Carl Weathers, Jesse Ventura, and Kevin Peter Hall. It was distributed by 20th Century Fox. The story follows an elite special forces team, led by 'Dutch' (Arnold Schwarzenegger), on a mission to rescue hostages from guerrilla territory in Central America. Unbeknownst to the group, they are being hunted by a technologically advanced form of extraterrestrial life, the Predator. Predator was scripted by Jim and John Thomas in 1985, under the working title of Hunter.
Directed by John McTiernan
Cast: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Kevin Peter Hall, Carl Weathers


This post is part of the "My Favorite Martian" blog hop. Find out more and visit other great blogs in the "My Favorite Martian" blog hop.


What do you think of the illustrations?

@ Copyright 1987 Amercent Films, American Entertainment Partners L.P., Davis Entertainment, Stan Winston. All rights reserved

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