John Teska John Michael Teska ( born ) is a visual effects designer and CGI artist who has designed many effects for " Star Trek " over the years . While working as the digital effects supervisor for Foundation Imaging , one major effect he worked on was the crash - landing scene for " " s . His first contribution " Star Trek " was the creation of the Hanonian land eel for . At the time the creature expert at Foundation , his work convinced visual effects producer Dan Curry to contract Foundation to do the CGI effects for " Voyager " . Further contributions include creating additional 3D matte elements for and working on while employed by Eden FX , from 2002 onward . While working on " Enterprise " , Teska was responsible for creating the scenes first shown in featuring the CG Xindi - Insectoid s and Xindi - Aquatic s . Interviews of Teska discussing their creation , as well as the creation of the CGI Gorn featured in , were both featured on the special features of the ENT Season 4 DVD . Upon closure of Foundation Imaging in 2002 , Teska moved over to Eden FX , and kept on working on the remainder of the " Star Trek " television franchise , as well as providing additional 3D matte elements for . Teska won Emmy Award s for his work on the visual effects for the " Voyager " episodes and . He also received additional Emmy nominations for " Voyager " s , " Timeless " , and and the " Enterprise " episodes ( but that did win him a Visual Effects Society – VES – Award ) , and " The Council " . Outside the live - action " Star Trek " productions , Teska has been a prolific contributor to the " " calendars , much of which reproduced in its 2006 book derivative . Career outside " Star Trek " . A 1988 graduate from the North Carolina State University , with a degree in Visual Design , Teska started his professional career in 1988 , first in the employ of David Allen Productions and subsequently at Amalgamated Dynamics , Inc . , having worked as puppet designer and puppeteer on productions like " Puppet Master " ( 1989 and its two follow - ups in 1991 ) , " Tremors " ( 1990 ) , " Death Becomes Her " ( 1992 ) , ( 1993 ) and " Demolition Man " ( 1993 ) In 1993 he joined the new company Foundation Imaging and it was there that he made the transition to creating his creature designs as CGI effects . While in their employ he worked , apart from " Voyager " , on the groundbreaking television series " Babylon 5 " as well as " Hypernauts " . He shortly left Foundation in 1995 to join newly firmed Digital Muse , but within a year , he returned to Foundation . After " Star Trek " , Teska has remained in the employment of Eden FX until 2009 , having worked on productions such as " When Zachary Beaver Came to Town " ( 2003 ) , " The Passion of the Christ " and " Hellboy " ( 2004 ) , " Dominion : Prequel to the Exorcist " ( 2005 ) , " Shoot ' Em Up " and " Battlestar Galactica : Razor " ( 2007 ) as well as the television series " Lost " ( winning him his second VES award in 2006 , shared with , among others , Eric Chauvin ) and " Surface " ( winning him a ninth Emmy Award nomination in 2006 , shared with Mitch Suskin , David R . Morton , Eric Hance , Pierre Drolet , Eric Chauvin and Steve Fong , as well as his third VES nomination , shared with Eric Hance , Robert Bonchune , Sean M . Jackson ) . In December 2008 he joined Industrial Light & Magic as creature technical director and has worked on " Transformers : Revenge of the Fallen " ( 2009 and its follow - up in 2011 ) , " Rango " and " Cowboys and Aliens " ( 2011 ) and " Battleship " ( 2012 ) . " Star Trek " awards . Emmy Awards . Teska received the following Emmy Award wins and nominations in the category Outstanding Special Visual Effects for a Series :