Known as the “Alien” in the smash-hit movie franchise premiering in 1979. The creature species known as the Xenomorph is one of the most recognizable extraterrestrial creatures of western scifi media. The movie franchise continued after the original Alien movie circa 1979 with Aliens circa 1986, Alien 3 circa 1992, and Alien: Resurrection circa 1997. The series was featured in a not so-successful cross-over with the fellow extraterrestrial Predator in the movie Alien vs. Predator circa 2004 and Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem circa 2007. Opposing most creature creations, xenomorphs do not have technological innovations and instead are purely predatory. Living in a eusocial structure, they have a central Queen who births the population. Their birth involves the brutal invasion of a host and subsequent parasitic relationship until the baby xenomorph can survive outside the womb. Inspired by the phallic works of Swiss surrealist and artist H. R. Giger, the original Alien creature can be seen in the lithograph titled Necronom IV.
Creating your own Xenomorph costumes is one of the very few that you will have massive difficulty collecting all of the pieces for. That is because due to its alien anatomy, it is very difficult to piece together the required elements and movie-accurate shapes. Instead, we have provided movie and comic accurate pieces that will more than get you started on your way to creating a crazy awesome cosplay.
Xenomorph Costume: The Basics
Xenomorph Costume: H.R. Giger Reference Art
The fanciful and imaginative works of HR Giger, renowned artist and initial concept designer for the Alien movie franchise, can best be explored by a detailed evaluation of each of the pieces that led to the creation for such a renowned science fiction franchise. Although sometimes more well known for his phallic representations and grotesque bordering on gruesome images, it cannot be argued that the works of HR Giger pioneered a way to reinventing what cinema had previously thought was the perfect creature for the creature-horror genre. From the initial gruesome rveal of the chest burster in the first installment in the Alien franchise, to the design and creation of the face hugger reproductive mechanism and ultimately to the xenomorph creature itself, the artistic renderings of this singular man led to the immense popularity that the Alien franchise has as we know it today.
Here are some examples of the original works that inspired Ridley Scott to create the first Alien movie, and that also led to the creation of the rest of the video game movies and alternate forms of media illustrations that we happily collect.
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