Star Wars has always been a great example of practical effects and cool creature designs that have significantly shaped pop culture. This includes characters like Chewbacca and Yoda. Particularly Yoda has a visual model that one would not expect.
Yoda is a true science fiction icon. Everyone knows the green Jedi Master, who made his first appearance in 1980 in Star Wars: Episode 5 – The Empire Strikes Back. He is the old, wise mentor of Luke Skywalker.
With the later prequels, he quickly became one of the most popular characters in the Star Wars universe, even though he almost didn’t exist. The character’s design is also an important reason why he has become such a pop culture icon. His appearance was inspired by 2 people, one of whom you definitely know.
A Scientist Who Everyone Knows
Who was responsible for Yoda’s design? The makeup artist Stuart Freeborn was responsible for the designs of many creatures in the Star Wars universe. George Lucas himself called him a make-up legend
(via BBC).
Even before Star Wars, he worked on other films. A special example is 2001: A Space Odyssey from 1968 by Stanley Kubrick. There he was responsible for the ape-like creatures that threw the bone into the air.
For Yoda, he took inspiration from 2 men: himself and Albert Einstein. According to the New York Times Magazine, Freeborn looked at the contours of his own skull. He then drew Yoda an exaggerated, deep version of his own wrinkles on the head. The chin, nose, and lips are also based on Freeborn.
Yoda’s upper lip is based on Albert Einstein, just without the mustache. He did this according to the New York Times Magazine so that viewers would unconsciously make an association and subconsciously recognize Yoda’s intellect.
The prequels changed Yoda’s appearance slightly in their digital version. However, the iconic wrinkles and the lip are still clearly recognizable. As one finds out in the prequels, Yoda was a great Jedi Master. Yet despite Palpatine’s power, he was never found. You can find out why here: Yoda was able to hide from the Empire and Palpatine in Star Wars – But how did the Jedi Master do it?
