Been currently in a TMNT mood, since I’ve been watching the 2003 series, and rewatching episodes and clips from the 2012 series. And seeing how Rize handled their designs, I really wanted to make my own designs for them, along with playing with concepts of what I would do if I had to make my own series, hence why I call this universe “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Underground”. I got a lot of fun ideas for this series, and I hope to draw some of the other characters, but lot with most of my projects, I may not have to time to fully expand on it, so feel free to ask questions! I’ll also share details about my versions of the turtles, both design elements and personality stuff.
Also as a side note, each of them are hybrid turtles. They were all originally common snapping turtles, but were mixed with another turtle each. I also wanted to play more with the mutant element idea with them, hence why they have tails, webbed hands, beaks and so on. Think it would be more fun that way.
-Leonardo Hamato-
Leo is a hybrid of a common snapping turtle and a black-knobbed map turtle. I gave him a dark, saturated colour palette because I felt that suited him well, playing into how he takes the ninja stuff the most serious, and to showcase his bold and mature nature. It’s also why he wears the black cloth on his arms and legs. Because of the map turtle in him, he has a spiked spine down his shell, though he has a very noticeable and massive scar on his shell, as a result of a situation that happens when they were all still kids. His bandana I kept similar to previous series of the turtles, keeping it classic.
The best way to describe Leo is that he is a complete mother hen, the kind of person who gets up at 5 AM to get his family prepped for the day. He took on the eldest brother role with pride, and wants to do what’s best for his brothers, taking care of them and protecting them whenever he can. This has lead to him being wise, mature and responsible, but also struggle to ever say no, and forgets to have “me time” and self-care. His lack of selfishness has caused him to get caught up in many problems, but no matter the problems he goes through, he will always be the big brother to the others, even if he has to learn that sometimes selfishness is okay. He also completely oblivious to certain social cues, especially romance. You could imagine Karai’s annoyance when Leo did not understand the concept of flirting for a good while.
-Raphael Hamato-
Raph is a hybrid of a common snapping turtle and a alligator snapping turtle (He got the double snap in him lol). A lot of his design was inspired by Rize, and a little bit of hulk, cause I just think it’s fitting for his character (Along with elements from Slash in 2012). I lean towards swamp like colours, since that’s the environment most alligator snapping turtles are found in. His shell, when viewed from behind, has four spiked I imagine look sort of like a opened fanged mouth, playing into the beast nature behind him. He also has the longest tail, which he mostly drags around due to it’s weight. I gave him the full cover bandana that is tattered, as it’s the most fitting for him.
Like most of his counterparts, he is indeed a hothead, and loves violence. Because of his large size, and double snapping turtle genes, he just enjoys being rough with his fighting style, being a wall to get through when challenging him. He’s got a lot of classic older brother habits, like holding the others in headlocks or even leaving the door open when leaving their rooms. He’s always the first to run into danger, as he knows very well he is a tank, and can take most hits for his brothers. Also a big fan of wrestling. But he is also an animal person, with a soft side to him, especially for his family. He may get loud or brutally honest towards them, but when he knows they need him, he’ll cut the act and help. Or at least, his style of help.
-Donatello Hamato-
Donnie is a hybrid of a common snapping turtle and a diamondback terrapin. Because the turtle he is a hybrid of has very pasty white skin, I ended up giving him very light and pale colours to reflect this, along with the spirals on his shell. His gear, including his bostaff, has some minor modifications to them, along with him having goggles, cause I like the goggles quirk. Made him very tall and lanky, though not as tall as Raph. For his bandana it’s similar to Leo’s, back as thinner back ribbons that end in a square shape, rather than a pointed tip.
He has a dry wit, laconic kind of way of speaking. A true know it all, who acts like he doesn’t have time for stupid things. He has a very logical mindset, and likes to invent, learn and gain new knowledge wherever he can, often the one to go to when you need a problem solved. Despite his sarcastic nature, he does mean well, and is always willing to lend a help or fix things for others, as he grew up being the one who repaired things like damaged skins or the fridge. Though because of his logical nature, he’s poor when it comes to the concept of emotions, and has a tenacity to over complicate things. He also likes joining in on debates, but tries to stay reasonable with his offers and suggestions.
-Michelangelo Hamato-
Mikey is a hybrid of a common snapping turtle and a Spotted Turtle. His colours were a little harder to figure out, but I eventually settled on a palette that references some of the older TMNT designs, with the deep pure green and bright colours. He is the shortest of his brothers, and a little more rounded than him. With his smaller height, he’s the best at being quick and agile, being hard to catch. I gave him spots since he is based on a turtle with spots in the name, and he has a very rounded shell. With his bandana, I had to keep the short bow look, as it’s too cute to not have, along with giving him a little scarf of sorts.
Being the baby of the team, Mikey is considered the heart of his brothers. He may not be the brightest with things such as science or logic, but he is the most emotional understanding of his brothers, able to read people with an empathic mind. He’s good at connecting with people, and loves to brighten people’s days. He also needs to constantly be doing something, needing to focus his mind on something, and will always want to be involved. Though admittedly he has some pretty lazy moments, known to do things like ask for someone to pass the remote when it’s barely out of reach of him. He’s also the kind of person to suddenly ask very strange questions out of the blue, his mind always wandering as he fidgets with his nunchucks. But if someone ever needs cheering up, he’ll be there, being the kind little turtle he is.
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