Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1545191
16 • THE ARTISAN SUMMER 2026 VINCENT VAN DYKE, Prosthetics Make-Up Designer: I was brought in early in the process by Department Head Lana Horochowski to be the prosthetics make-up designer for the show. I love old black-and-white Turner Classic Movies (noir-style films), so this iteration of Spider-Man and his universe was really appealing to me. I'm not a superhero or comic book fan in general, but the creative team really wanted this work to be gritty and real. It was super exciting. e first big task was to design and create the Sandman on the wonderful Jack Huston. I wanted this to feel as much like the skin was literally turned into sand as possible, so I knew we needed to do absolute full-coverage prosthetics to alter him texturally but maintain his likeness. He had 10 overlapping silicone facial prosthetics, along with lace eyebrows and mustache and full foam latex gloves. I brought in Chris Nelson to pre-paint the prosthetics, as well as establish the make-up test with us. Chris is a brilliant painter and I knew he would be perfect for this type of look. One of the things we decided on early, was to actually run all of the silicone pieces in a deep rich brown, and quite opaque. is served as a wonderful deepest pit color so that the paint work could really be speckled and dry-brushed onto the exterior in many layers. Jack also wore a variety of smaller pieces for his lead up to this full transformation in different scenes and episodes. Jack's make-up was applied by a variety of artists on different days, including Ken Niederbaumer, Chris Nelson, Ozzy Alvarez, and Dave Snyder. Our transformation on Abraham Popoola was a bit more subtle. is look was developed to create some plate-like, almost insect- like exoskeletal forms and shapes beneath the skin surface. His face consisted of a forehead piece, as well as cheeks that blended shy of his natural beard line, as well as tops of hands/arms and under arm prosthetics. He, much like Jack, had progressive stages, as well where modular smaller prosthetics that could be placed anywhere and start to give us the earlier stages. is make-up was headed up by Ken Niederbaumer, who really pushed and developed some great iridescent color schemes and pre-painted all the prosthetics. Ken acted as the make-up effects head on set and worked very closely with me on all these looks. He applied this character, along with Gabriel De Cunto and Steve Prouty. Andrew Lewis Caldwell's look relied heavily on the idea of veins and circulatory system that was electrified, making the veins have patterning that was quite specifically patterned. We utilized references of people who have been struck by lightning, and sculpted these as raised vein patterns for the arms, neck, and temples. He also had a contact lens that incorporated a bit of this same pattern through one eye that tied into that prosthetic work and hand- painted vein work. His make-up was applied at different times by Ken, Ozzy Alvarez, Jamie Kelman, and Chris Gallaher. For a flashback sequence when we see Ben Reilly get bitten by a hideous Spider-Man creature in Episode 5, we had the amazing opportunity to transform the glorious Dustin Ceithamer into this look utilizing a variety of techniques. We created 3D-printed molds and cores for the articulated spider legs from digital sculptures. ese "legs" ball-socketed into the silicone abdomen piece that was digitally sculpted, but traditionally molded and cored. A silicone chest prosthetic then blended the actor into the abdomen. He then wore a six-piece overlapping prosthetic on his head and neck consisting of silicone and foam latex, along with out-of-the-mouth dentures, a custom lace wig, and brow created by Sasha Camacho Van Dyke. is make-up was done by myself, Gary J. Tunnicliffe, Ken Niederbaumer, Dave Snyder, and Ozzy Alvarez. is show was a massive undertaking for my studio, and I can't thank my entire crew at VVDFX enough for their hard work and pushing the boundaries of the work we love so much. It takes a massive team to pull off a show like this and I'm lucky to have such immense talent around me. •