How did they do the Andorians' skin effects in Star Trek: Enterprise?
Most species of alien in Star Trek have some feature on their face that makes them visually distinct from humans, and it's usually very smooth-looking, because the actor is wearing a prosthetic made of rubber or plastic. On Enterprise, though, we see a lot of the Andorians, whose distinguishing characteristics are that they have antennae and blue skin. They aren't particularly smooth, though; we get a lot of close-ups of Commander Shran and he shows very realistic skin texture, complete with the wrinkles, lines and roughness you'd expect from a middle-aged guy who's spent a few decades in the military.
Between that and the way Andorians frequently touch things with no apparent worries about paint rubbing off on them, it almost looks as if Jeffrey Combs and the other actors had their skin somehow dyed blue. It's really impressive; how did the show crew accomplish this effect?
Best Answer
All practical effects. The actor's skin was layered with blue latex paint. Dried Latex, unlike powdered or liquid based makeup will not smudge or run with sweat. Latex paint dries into a flexible rubber membrane (think balloon) that will follow the skin. This allows movement without the paint rubbing off. You have to pull or rub vigorously to get it off right. Ever get school glue stuck and dried on your hands? It's like that to get it off.
The forehead was also a prosthetic latex cap, as seen in this auction photo:
STAR TREK: ENT “ELECTRONIC ANDORIAN ANTENNAE AND PROSTHETICS”: This incredible lot includes electronic Andorian antennae, prosthetic antennae and forehead application made for use during the Star Trek: Enterprise series. The electronic antennae are attached to a plastic skullcap with soft foam on the underside, covered electronics on top and net loops to grip into hair. A cable runs down the back that needs to plug into an unknown device (not included) in order for the antennae to move. The electronics are untested. The latex antennae are painted blue and fit over the electronic antennae. Also included is a latex Andorian forehead painted blue and a copy of the sheet handed out to the makeup artists titled “Andorian Makeup”. Please note the sheet is a copy and not an original but is included for reference.
As for the realistic skin look:
We applied the blue in subtle layers to give the skin a translucence instead of just slathering on blue paint.” —Brannon Braga (Source: Star Trek: Communicator issue 136, p. 37)
See this picture for how the latex layered, and this Tumblr post for the full makeup sequence (whose images were compiled from here):
According to actor Jeffrey Combs (in this interview):
There is actually an extra step with the Andorians. The first thing you have to do is go in and have this little flat contoured plate kind of thing with the wiring for the antennae put on your head first. Then you go have make-up done to a particular point and then you go back and have the wig placed on and then you go back to get the final touches on the makeup. It’s about a two and a half hour process to get into Shran.
Pictures about "How did they do the Andorians' skin effects in Star Trek: Enterprise?"
Why do Andorians have antennae?
In this series it is explained that Andorians' antennae give the Andorians the ability to detect nearby fluctuations in gravity, and know their position in relation to these gravity differences. Andorians and Vulcans also have a history of feuding over many things.What happened to the Andorians in Star Trek?
Later in the novels, it was decided Andoria was suffering a virus that was making reproduction difficult and slowly killing the Andorian people.Who is the Andorian on Enterprise?
Jeffrey Alan Combs (born 9 September 1954; age 67) is an actor who has the distinction of portraying eight different characters on three Star Trek television series, most notably those of Brunt and the various Weyouns on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, and the Andorian Thy'lek Shran on Star Trek: Enterprise.Do Andorians Really Have Four Sexes?
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Images: Enric Cruz López, Skylar Kang, Skylar Kang, Laura James