# How Second Skin, Wētā Workshop, and Untold Studios Built 'Alien: Earth's Eye Midge

_General · published 2026-06-07_

The Eye Midge — classified in-universe as Trypanohyncha Ocellus — is one of the standout creatures in Alien: Earth, and its creation required an intricate blend of practical and digital craft. Second Skin fabricated silicone props including acrylic eyeballs in multiple sizes (rigid for camera, softer for actor safety) and painstakingly cast tentacles with tips as fine as 0.8 mm in diameter. For host-infection sequences, the team built a fur-and-wound cat mock-up, a bulging sheep-eye prop integrated onto a Wētā Workshop animatronic body, and a full prosthetic applied to actor Michael Smiley that left him with vision in only one eye during filming.

On the digital side, VFX supervisor Jonathan Rothbart and Untold Studios used the creature's oversized, multi-iris eye to drive an expressive, character-driven performance — the Eye Midge reads as docile and curious in captivity, then turns predatory once released. Wētā Workshop contributed designs throughout, bridging the physical and digital pipelines into a cohesive creature presence across the series.

## Sources
- [befores & afters](https://beforesandafters.com/2026/06/07/behind-the-craziest-creature-in-alien-earth-the-eye-midge/)
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