Hellboy is coming to the big screen in a big way, with a new R-rated take on the titular hero. Starring David Harbour as the horned hero, this adaptation of Hellboy heads straight to the comics for inspiration, with creator Mike Mignola acting as consultant and executive producer on the project.

Of course, this isn't the first time Hellboy has come to the big screen, and the creative team is actively working to differentiate this version of the beloved character from Guillermo del Toro's previous films featuring Ron Perlman. IGN spoke with Academy Award-winning makeup designer Joel Harlow to discuss this new iteration of Hellboy.

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"I love the Del Toro films and absolutely appreciate all the characters that were brought to life in them. It's a tough act to follow for sure, so we all made a conscious decision to not reference any of the live action versions that came before. We focused on the artwork and the comics," Harlow told IGN.He added, "Every time I had an idea or a design change, I would bounce it off Mike to assure it fit into his design for the characters. Of course, every time you translate a two-dimensional design into a living three-dimensional character, there are inevitably alterations that take place ... but we tried our hardest to remain loyal to the source material."

Harlow collaborated closely with Hellboy star David Harbour to make his version of the character unique while still staying true to the comics. It was important for Harlow to capture Harbour's likeness in Hellboy's design, so from the initial maquette sculpt he worked in the actor's facial features so the final product would still have his likeness. When the makeup and bodysuit all came together, Harlow said it gave Harbour quite the "imposing presence."

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As we revealed yesterday in our exclusive IGN Premiere feature, Hellboy goes full Anung Un Rama demon-mode in this upcoming movie, which is Hellboy's monstrous true form that he's spent his life fighting to avoid. Harlow hinted that getting Hellboy to embrace his roots is part of the villainous Blood Queen's plans (played by Milla Jovovich).Harlow intentionally made this epic version of the character distinct from the typical depiction of Hellboy we see throughout the rest of the movie, saying, "We created a look that was a more amped up version of the facial features that make him Hellboy. We gave him a larger jaw, a heavier brow, a more vibrant yellow eye look, larger teeth and, of course, extremely large horns."Those horns were the focal point of the new poster, but also are a key physical attribute that Harlow worked on to be as true-to-life as possible."We wanted to deliver real-world representations of his two-dimensional illustrations. I felt he needed details that grounded him in reality, so we added scars along with arm, tail and body hair. I also had a variety of horn shapes and lengths because his horns are constantly growing, so they would likely never look the same after he cuts them down," Harlow said. "These touches made him feel grittier and more appropriate for an R-rated Hellboy."And as for that lack of a top-knot, Harlow said, "Our Hellboy clearly has a fuller head of hair. The idea being that he is younger than what we typically see in the comics. He still ties his hair back, but he just has more of it, so it isn't as obvious… and he isn't as obsessed with making it perfect because he has bigger challenges to overcome."

Naturally, Hellboy isn't the only supernatural being in the movie, and Harlow picked the designs for the anthropomorphic boar known as the Gruagach, the witch Baba Yaga and, "of course," Anung Un Rama as some of his favorites to bring to life. He also enjoyed creating a version of the Blood Queen that was both true to the comics where she’s depicted as an all-powerful and fearsome witch while accenting Jovovich's performance. (Harlow also is especially excited by the makeup design on the evil Nazi scientist Klaus Werner von Krupt, though he admits that's mostly because he played the character in the movie.)

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"The challenge is to make them believable within the context of the world they inhabit. There are a few worlds we glimpse in Hellboy. There is the ancient world, populated with creatures such as giants, trolls, goblins, and beasts of legend. There is the world of creatures that interact with our world on a 'regular' basis. Then there is Hell," Harlow said. "I really wanted to differentiate the creatures in Hell from every other creature in the film. Their look is entirely nonhuman and very frightening. It's a glimpse into a world of beings that do not follow the anatomical laws of anything terrestrial."

IGN Premiere is rolling out an exclusive week of Hellboy content. Tune in tomorrow for a sneak peek at Hellboy's trailer, and be sure to check out yesterday's poster debut . Check back every day this week for more inside looks at Hellboy!

Terri Schwartz is Editorial Manager of Entertainment at IGN. Talk to her on Twitter at @Terri_Schwartz