I had this idea a while ago for a turtle re-design. My initial thoughts were to make the design different to what I have seen before. Part of that meant no 'beefy' turtle - so the shape is more slender. I also wanted them to be relatively human looking, without sacrificing the things I love such as the two digits on the hands and feet.
More About The Design
I tried to keep some aspects of a real turtle in there. The scale like areas for example, were based off real turtles. I placed them in areas where hair might grow on a human. It's almost like a lot of the dark scales have worn over generations like how our hair often only grows on the arms, legs, face, head etc because of evolution. I tried to make that connection to real turtles in other ways as well, the eyes being black was a choice made later. I thought it added to the gritty, seriousness of the expression and design. The mouth was a little awkward to do as well, I wasn't sure how far to take the beak like mouth turtles have. I only applied it subtly to the upper lip. I consciously tried to make the front padded section of the turtle resemble the human muscles rather than just being flat.
The expression of the character is what partially made me change which turtle it was part way through the process. I was going for a pissed off look, that's why I changed it to Leo because he suited the style. I also added things such as blood on his knuckles, feet and head, and stab wounds in the chest to suggest he's been in combat. I was going for a minimalist design with this. No bandages or over the top stuff like you see in the design of the new Ninja Turtles film. The main reason I added a sash hanging down, was because I had no idea how to handle the crotch area without it looking feminine or just shit. But to be honest I liked the sash, it added a little to the design and looked like a piece of cloth that could have just been found.
This design has spanned months, partially because I have had setbacks in life. But to be honest, this is a good thing. Coming back to it at later stages with fresh eyes was invaluable. Below are all the work in progress images. You can really see how much it changed then...
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| Final Painting |
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| Initial sketch |
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| Playing with features |
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| Mikey? |
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| Refining lineart/design |
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| Refining design and adding colour |
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| Starting the Illustration |
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| Back to the drawing board - Leo |
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| Refining hands and feet etc |
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| Clean lineart |
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| Beginning the Illustration |
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| Light top, dark bottom |
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| Pushing with values etc |
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| Darker? |
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| Feedback time |
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| Back to the drawing board |
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| More mid-range values |
