Wesley Alan Vulich was a remarkably skilled sculptor and makeup effects artist, whose boundless imagination led to the creation of numerous monstrous and extraterrestrial beings for creature features and episodic television. Initially, he drew inspiration from the renowned Tom Savini, with whose crew he collaborated on monster effects for George A. Romero's 1985 film Day of the Dead.
In 1989, Vulich joined forces with colleague Everett Burrell to establish Optic Nerve Studios, a company specializing in the creation, sculpting, and fabrication of props, prosthetics, and animatronics. They achieved remarkable success in television, garnering three Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Individual Achievement in Makeup for their work on Babylon 5 (1993),Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997),and The X-Files (1993).
Vulich's artistic credo emphasized the importance of creating makeup that was entirely believable, as original as possible, and avoided the clichés of the genre. He took great pride in his work, as evident in his own words: "I avoided the clichés of the genre."
After selling Optic Nerve to Glenn Hetrick, Vulich transitioned to a career as a producer and production manager for the Disney channel, where he continued to apply his remarkable skills and artistic vision.
