Pinhead is a fictional character from the Hellraiser series, first appearing as an unnamed figure in the Clive Barker novella The Hellbound Heart. The name "Pinhead" is derived from a sobriquet given to him by the crew of the first Hellraiser film; he is first credited as such in Hellbound: Hellraiser II. Nearly thirty years after The Hellbound Heart was published, the character was given the designations the Hell Priest and the Cold Man in the sequels that followed, The Scarlet Gospels and Hellraiser: The Toll. Pinhead is one of the leaders of the Cenobites, formerly humans but transformed into creatures which reside in an extradimensional realm, who travel to Earth through a puzzle box called the Lament Configuration in order to harvest human souls.
Barker drew inspiration for the cenobite designs from punk fashion, Catholicism and by the visits he took to S&M clubs in New York and Amsterdam. For Pinhead specifically, Barker drew inspiration from African fetish sculptures. Initially, Barker intended Pinhead to have a navel piercing implying that the character had genital piercings. Barker's original "Hell Priest" sketches for Pinhead were eventually adapted into an officially licensed mask by Composite Effects, to be released in limited quantity to the public on 24 March 2017. This was done in celebration of the 30th Anniversary of Hellraiser. After securing funding in early 1986, Barker and his producer Chris Figg assembled a team to design the cenobites. Among the team was Bob Keen and Geoff Portass at Image Animation and Jane Wildgoose, a costume designer who was requested to make a series of costumes for 4-5 'super-butchers' while refining the scarification designs with Image Animation. In terms of lighting, Pinhead was designed so that shadows would swirl round his head. By July 1986, the shooting script positively identified the single pinheaded Cenobite from the earlier draft as clearly the leader. The upcoming Hellraiser: Judgment will update Pinhead's appearance from the previous films. As writer-director Gary J. Tunnicliffe explained, "This is a very no nonsense Pinhead. No glib one-liners, he's a little leaner and a little meaner. We especially tried to incorporate this into the make-up and costume; the cuts are deeper, the pins a little longer, his eyes are completely black and wardrobe is a little sleeker and more visceral. Someone on set described him as the 'bad ass' version of Pinhead." The flesh exposed on Pinhead's chest was redesigned as a rhombus in honour of Pinhead's master, the fictional character Leviathan.

Q: what is the significance of design?
A: Barker drew inspiration for the cenobite designs from punk fashion, Catholicism and by the visits he took to S&M clubs in New York and Amsterdam.

Q: was it well-received?
A: unknown

Q: is there anything else interesting about design?
A: Barker intended Pinhead to have a navel piercing implying that the character had genital piercings.

Q: did he have genital piercings?
A: unknown
does he have other piercings?
unknown unknown unknown unknown
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