When Tatiana Maslany was cast as Jennifer Walters, some fans were shocked as they had expected Marvel Studios to cast an actor of equal stature to She-Hulk. Those even acted surprised when it was confirmed that She-Hulk would be entirely CGI.
Although, it didn't help when the first trailer for She-Hulk: Attorney at Law didn't give audiences the best impression of the effects. However, that criticism seems to have softened as the series has aired.
So, the minority of fans who would have preferred that the titular colossal Avenger was portrayed by an on-set actress, Lou Ferrigno style, have the next best thing with Maliah Arrayah acting as an on-set reference.
On-Set Reference for She-Hulk
On Instagram, the on-set reference for She-Hulk, Maliah Arrayah, posted several behind-the-scenes photos and videos from her time on She-Hulk: Attorney at Law.
Arrayah's job was to be a reference for the VFX team in scenes, as she would wear green makeup, a wig, and clothing that matched She-Hulk during production.
Arrayah, who is 6' 5¼" tall, commented, "One of my favorite cool nerdy Marvel memories was getting to hold actual Loki’s wig!!"
She continued, "I got to work with some legendary hair and makeup artists who fun fact spent 30-45 minutes creating the green glamazons look and 20-30 minutes for hair."
Arrayah expresses her admiration in the post to everyone who worked on her wig and makeup, excitedly asking, "Doesn’t her Wig look AMAZING?" and how "They are some of the hardest working people I’ve literally ever met!!"
She also talked about how she was "fitted in a muscle suit" for every outfit She-Hulk wore.
Arrayah said in another post that the above costume was the "tightest" to wear, presumably when Walters transformed in court to save the jury in the series premiere.
Likely due to the additional muscle suit underneath, Arrayah "almost always needed help to put her jacket on from the awesome costumers."
Despite that, the reference actress thinks, "One of my favorite things in general about being on sets is meeting new people so every episode I was stoked to meet all kinds of cool actors."
CGI Still Better Option
One aspect being used as a reference for the VFX artists that's slightly confusing is the green makeup. Wouldn't that be an unreliable reference for green skin?
It makes sense to have the hair and clothes to account for how their physics would work in the scene for a bigger, more muscular woman. But, green makeup wouldn't be helpful as a lighting source on green skin since her actual skin with peach fuzz, oil, veins, and such is being obscured by makeup.
Perhaps it could explain why She-Hulk still isn't entirely convincing to some audiences since the VFX team is replicating a woman in green makeup, not creating a woman with green skin. So, hopefully, the studio can refine the process for future seasons or film appearances.
Regardless, it was still wiser to make She-Hulk CGI like Hulk, rather than using a 6"7 actress, as it would have still required CGI when she shrunk down to being Jennifer Walters. In addition, the latter option would have been a greater risk of looking uncanny to audiences.
Fans can continue watching She-Hulk: Attorney at Law every Thursday on Disney+.
