Best pic of an Alien

[SM]

All the basic elements are there (tubes aside), just executed differently.

[Elmazalman]

That last photo,apart from the lack of dorsal tubes looks close to the original.

Apart from the lack of dorsal tubes, the different mouth, neck, shoulders, shoulder pads, ribs...

I meant that photo in particular,i find it reminiscent of the original,could be the pose,angle and lighting.Not the actual re-design.

[Local Trouble]

I'm not keen on the Runner's multitude of skinny ribs but it gains a lot of kudos for reinstating the dome that was such an intrinsic element of the original.

The skinny ribs are my favorite part.  I may even prefer them to Giger's, although my purism would always win out if given the choice.

[RagingDragon]

I like to take that as another example of how you can portray the creature properly, and even if it looks a bit different, you will get the same feel.

I hated the cat tail-wagging, pointless screeching behavior in AvP a lot more than I hated the alien designs themselves. Even that ugly ADI business could've felt much scarier had the aliens been portrayed correctly.

[Local Trouble]

For me, the head is a deal breaker.  If they get the head right (especially the mouth), they can alter the body design so long as it makes sense in the story.

[Vrastal]

The only design i really dislike is AvpR. AvP design is probably my favorite. The color and the overall blend of the texture and skin seems to flow naturally. And i also really like the runner design. The original design is great but when you see it fully, the man-in-a-suit look just doesnt sit well with me.

[Gash]

But SM is right, the Runner is wildly different from the original Alien in pretty much every way. The only real similarities are the dome and the extra pinky finger. In body design and aesthetics the Aliens from the second movie are much, much closer.

That's true, I won't deny it, but to me the head of the alien has always been the focus and when I first saw an image from Alien 3, which was the photo of it with a bloodied human body, the fact that it had it's dome back was the most significant and much appreciated nod towards the original. Studying it more closely there are many aspects I don't really like (and the suit looks quite fat compared to Bolaji's silhouette obviously), but as it appears in the film - mostly -  the dome just makes all the difference, giving it the sleek look rather than  the rather awkward, I dunno - skull - dip - banana look that the 'Aliens' heads have. I'm not keen on the profile view, but likewise I think all the profile views from Alien3 onward (perhaps Aliens onward - not sure) over emphasis the gap behind in the jaws.



On the original head I like that the ridges are there, and the skull, but I prefer that they exist almost as an 'easter egg' so that if you care to look at alien anatomy there is complexity hidden away and the vestige of something human but empty and gothic. I find the 'Aliens' head a bit lost amongst all the other ridges and ribs, it doesn't stand out as something significantly different. 

[Elmazalman]

But SM is right, the Runner is wildly different from the original Alien in pretty much every way. The only real similarities are the dome and the extra pinky finger. In body design and aesthetics the Aliens from the second movie are much, much closer.

That's true, I won't deny it, but to me the head of the alien has always been the focus and when I first saw an image from Alien 3, which was the photo of it with a bloodied human body, the fact that it had it's dome back was the most significant and much appreciated nod towards the original. Studying it more closely there are many aspects I don't really like (and the suit looks quite fat compared to Bolaji's silhouette obviously), but as it appears in the film - mostly -  the dome just makes all the difference, giving it the sleek look rather than  the rather awkward, I dunno - skull - dip - banana look that the 'Aliens' heads have. I'm not keen on the profile view, but likewise I think all the profile views from Alien3 onward (perhaps Aliens onward - not sure) over emphasis the gap behind in the jaws.



On the original head I like that the ridges are there, and the skull, but I prefer that they exist almost as an 'easter egg' so that if you care to look at alien anatomy there is complexity hidden away and the vestige of something human but empty and gothic. I find the 'Aliens' head a bit lost amongst all the other ridges and ribs, it doesn't stand out as something significantly different.

The original design had human,reptile and insect like qualities to the design,what i always liked was the pronounced lizard-like Adam's apple in the throat.The jaw tendons are also a very interesting detail which give the appearance of being the only thing connecting the lower jaw to the skull,something that never quite looked right with the re-designs.

[Valaquen]

But SM is right, the Runner is wildly different from the original Alien in pretty much every way. The only real similarities are the dome and the extra pinky finger. In body design and aesthetics the Aliens from the second movie are much, much closer.

That's true, I won't deny it, but to me the head of the alien has always been the focus and when I first saw an image from Alien 3, which was the photo of it with a bloodied human body, the fact that it had it's dome back was the most significant and much appreciated nod towards the original. Studying it more closely there are many aspects I don't really like (and the suit looks quite fat compared to Bolaji's silhouette obviously), but as it appears in the film - mostly -  the dome just makes all the difference, giving it the sleek look rather than  the rather awkward, I dunno - skull - dip - banana look that the 'Aliens' heads have. I'm not keen on the profile view, but likewise I think all the profile views from Alien3 onward (perhaps Aliens onward - not sure) over emphasis the gap behind in the jaws.



On the original head I like that the ridges are there, and the skull, but I prefer that they exist almost as an 'easter egg' so that if you care to look at alien anatomy there is complexity hidden away and the vestige of something human but empty and gothic. I find the 'Aliens' head a bit lost amongst all the other ridges and ribs, it doesn't stand out as something significantly different.

I also love the dome and wish Cameron had put it on at least a couple of his Aliens suits for variety. But I can't really complain that he didn't as I'm a fan of the sculpted ridges. It must have been very, very exciting to see the dome return after almost 15 years.

[HuDaFuK]

I also love the dome and wish Cameron had put it on at least a couple of his Aliens suits for variety. But I can't really complain that he didn't as I'm a fan of the sculpted ridges. It must have been very, very exciting to see the dome return after almost 15 years.

The budget was spread pretty thin on that film, they probably couldn't afford to make a bunch of different-shaped heads.

[Xenomorphine]

Have to admit, I'm a big fan of the Stan Winston ridged heads, too. Helps them blend into their environments much more effectively and gives them a more primal, predatory look, for some reason. Maybe because it's skeletal and evocative of pipes and such.

For 'Alien 3', I honestly do love the production photos of the rod puppet, but it's the suit costume which gets most of the memorable shots and they made it look a lot fatter - especially around that horribly bloated neck, which I can never ignore during the Superintendent's death scene. And, well... Whenever the puppet's used, those awful matte lines are painfully obvious, so... Both had disadvantages when being shown on screen.

[Valaquen]

I also love the dome and wish Cameron had put it on at least a couple of his Aliens suits for variety. But I can't really complain that he didn't as I'm a fan of the sculpted ridges. It must have been very, very exciting to see the dome return after almost 15 years.

The budget was spread pretty thin on that film, they probably couldn't afford to make a bunch of different-shaped heads.

I know, jus' saying. A domed head was built in the early days by Tom Woodruff and co. I would've liked to see it.

[Local Trouble]

Are there no behind the scenes pics of Winston's aliens before Cameron nixed the domes?

[Valaquen]

Are there no behind the scenes pics of Winston's aliens before Cameron nixed the domes?

Not that I know of. Just a quote somewhere that said the crew built one, loved it, Cameron saw it and went, "Nope, look - it'll break. Change it!"

[Elmazalman]

Are there no behind the scenes pics of Winston's aliens before Cameron nixed the domes?

Not that I know of. Just a quote somewhere that said the crew built one, loved it, Cameron saw it and went, "Nope, look - it'll break. Change it!"

Somebody should do a Photoshop of a Cameron Warrior with the dome just for comparison.