Never-Before-Seen BATMAN RETURNS Photos Show the Creation of The Penguin

By Pietro Filipponi
Published: August 31, 2012 - 9:30am
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In BATMAN RETURNS, Tim Burton's BATMAN sequel, the Dark Knight (Michael Keaton) fights attempts by the Penguin (Danny DeVito) to take control of Gotham City. Burton tasked frequent collaborator Stan Winston with designing and creating the makeup for the Penguin.

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Courtesy of The Stan Winston School of Character Arts Blog, here is newly revealed information and images about the creation of the iconic villain The Penguin (for more details and photos visit the School Blog link via the link below):

Stan Winston and Tim Burton, having previously collaborated on EDWARD SCISSORHANDS, reteamed to create another iconic character for BATMAN RETURNS, Burton's second exploration of the Batman mythology, after his 1989 film, BATMAN.

Key SWS concept artist, Mark "Crash" McCreery rendered Penguin features over sketches of DeVito; then, working from those drawn concepts, 25-year SWS supervisors and co-founders of Legacy Effects, John Rosengrant and Shane Mahan, experimented with a variety of nose shapes, applying them to a shell made from a lifecast of the actor.

Winston sculpted a more complex Penguin look in clay. “The initial concept was just a pointy nose,” Winston said, “but I wasn’t really happy with that. So I got my hands back in the clay, which I love, and started playing with the look myself. Years ago, for The Wiz, I had created crow characters with enormous beak faces, which involved whole forehead and brow appliances. I’d always loved that design; and, although crows had nothing to do with penguins, I felt that I could use a similar concept for the Penguin. That turned out to be the look that was selected.”

  • SWS concept artist Mark "Crash" McCreery's renderings of Danny DeVito as Penguin
  • SWS concept artist Mark "Crash" McCreery's full-body Penguin renderings
  • A profile view of the Penguin by SWS concept artist Mark "Crash" McCreery
  • The final Penguin prosthetic sculpture prior to the mold-making process
  • Danny DeVito and Stan Winston keep it light during the Penguin makeup test
  • Danny DeVito gets into character as Stan Winston adds the final paint detail
  • Tim Burton and his newest creation, by Danny DeVito and Stan Winston Studio
  • SWS makeup artist Eileen Kastner Delago touches up DeVito during the makeup test
  • DeVito models the penguin makeup & grimy long-underwear for the makeup test

In 1972 Stan Winston established Stan Winston Studio. Corralling some of the finest designers, engineers, sculptors, painters, machinists and technicians, the work that came out of the Stan Winston Studio was, from the start, widely recognized as the state-of-the-art in character creation. Over the years, the studio grew from a room in Stan’s garage to a fully-staffed workshop of hundreds of artists, all working to give filmmakers something that exceeded their wildest imaginings.

Always eager to embrace new technologies, Stan Winston helped pioneer the digital revolution including co-founding Digital Domain alongside James Cameron and former ILM boss, Scott Ross.

Integrating emerging techniques such as motion capture, and CGI enhancement, Stan Winston Studio came to be associated with cross-platform and Hybrid CG/Practical character creation for all visual arts venues. Stan’s core team continues his legacy into the new century with Legacy Effects, where a new name, a new building and new projects and challenges continue to keep the spirit of Stan and his studio alive.

Click HERE to learn more about the Stan Winston School of Character Arts, including how to enroll in specialized distance learning courses.

Source: 
Stan Winston School Blog
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