I Prefer Practical Effects, and so Should You

Pan's Labyrinth, an incredible film directed by Guillermo Del Toro with almost no CGI, having a majority of the creatures and special effects being practical. Doug Jones as the Faun spent on average five hours in hair and makeup to allow him to become the Faun (pictured above). 

The only part of the Faun that was CGI were Jones' lower legs as he wore 20cm stilts to allow him to be the true height of the Faun. The ears and eyes were remotely controlled by DDT Efectos Especiales' David Martí and Xavi Bastida.

When playing the Pale Man, Jones had to look through the characters nostrils to see as 90% of the costume was practical effects, like the Faun, only Jones' legs were CGI.

Jaws, another famously practical effect dominated film, this film is a perfect example of how the limitations of practical effects can be used to improve a film. 

Steven Spielberg used the power of suggestion to increase the tension of the film, the shark is only ever seen in glimpses unless attacking a character, improving the effectiveness of the sharks appearance and avoiding the cost of new animatronic sharks.

In total there were 3 sharks, all lovingly nicknamed "Bruce" by the crew, one full body shark and two shark heads (pictured above), all of which had broken which meant Spielberg had to be more crafty in his filming, which resulted in an incredible film. 

The infamous sci-fi film Alien set the bar for the appearance of sci-fi films, it features incredibly detailed miniatures and incredible puppets. These two incredible techniques help to bring to life the horrifying nature of Alien.

The film built on Star Wars's miniatures and somehow made them even more detailed despite the two year difference in release dates. The only scenes in the film which were CGI were the Nostrom's bridge, this was chosen as it was easier than making an entire set.

For a film with a relatively small budget, it ended up becoming one of the best sci-fi films ever made, and having many sequels and spin-off TV series, one of which has been recently released on Disney+.