Photos By Gail

A human woman falls in love with an Amazonian amphibian man in Guillermo del Toro‘s fairytale The Shape of Water (2017), winner of the Academy Awards for Best Picture and Directing. While the creature character appears to be modeled from precursors such as the Gill Man from Creature From The Black Lagoon (1954), and Abe Sapien from del Toro’s own Hellboy (2004), and Hellboy II: the Golden Army (2008), the Director made him attractive and soulful, and believable as a romantic lead.

Del Toro wrote the role specifically for actor, Doug Jones, in their sixth collaboration to-date, and oversaw the amphibian man’s three-year design process. The suit by Legacy Effects was designed by Mike Hill and Shane McMahon, with Kazu Hiro doing the fabrication.  Materials include silicone, cast urethane, resin, fiberglass, paint, and acrylic.

Photographed in The Academy Museum in Hollywood