Through the miracle of a fast Internet connection and Steve Lavigne's ftp site, today I downloaded his scans of the finished color work on the drawings of Michelangelo, Donatello, Raphael, and Splinter that Dan Berger and I did together. Once again, Steve did not disappoint.
Once the art was downloaded, I decided to forgo the motorcycle ride I had planned for today and spent most of the afternoon making the prints of these pieces -- fifty of each (and fifty of the Leonardo that started this whole thing). Heroes Con, here I come! -- PL
AWESOME!!!!
ReplyDeleteAWESOME!!!!
AWESOME!!!!
GREAT WORK BY ALL!!!!
~Dinoff~
Pete, please God print more and make them available on the Mirage site. I was almost going to be able to attend the Heroes Con but the cost of gas is preventing me from doing so. So again please print more and then sell them through paypal on the Mirage site.
ReplyDeleteBy the way those drawings kick ass in color. Especially Splinter. That one it particular screams "BAD ASS". Thanks for posting these.
*reads title; hyperventilates; breathes; slowly scrolls*
ReplyDeleteOOOOOOOOO!!! WHEN will you be offering these for sale on the Mirage site?
(Cynthia Fluharty)
I just now read your other post regarding knowing who you are conversing with. Sorry!!!
ReplyDelete-Joe Dziczkowski
"joe-eyeball said...
ReplyDeleteI just now read your other post regarding knowing who you are conversing with. Sorry!!!
-Joe Dziczkowski"
Joe, no problem -- the name thing is completely voluntary, and I appreciate you using yours. Thanks for the comments about the prints, by the way. FYI, I am seriously considering doing what you suggested, but haven't made a final dcision yet. -- PL
I really love that Splinter even more in color!
ReplyDeleteIt's so nice to see you going outside of your shell (yes pun intended lol)
I hope this is a sign of something bigger coming about :)
Hey Mr Laird,
ReplyDeleteI too would love to get my hands on some of those prints. Seeing those images makes me want to go down to the Heroes convention, but that, sadly, is not possible. Still, if you could make those available at Mirage, that would be AMAZING.
I love that pose you have for Raphael. You are a true master of your craft!
-Daniel Schwarz
-->> Damm those are beautiful ..
ReplyDelete>v<
Fantastic. I shall also be hoping for the opportunity to purchase these online.
ReplyDelete*sighs wistfully*
ReplyDeleteIf only the series could be drawn like this...
Absolutely wonderful stuff, Peter. The extra little details always make a picture that much more amazing. It'd be nice to see you and Dan do some more collaborations.
A bit of an unusual question or two for you, Peter: Looking back, I honestly cannot remember seeing anything about the turtles' 'childhood' outside of a couple old eps, the archie comics and the few 'toddler turtles' episodes of the new toon.
1. Did you ever really think that the guys' childhood would become as big of a fascination as it has?
2. Have you ever thought of doing artwork related to that, or do you just prefer them at their current ages?
-Amy D.
"machiasbanshee said...
ReplyDeleteA bit of an unusual question or two for you, Peter: Looking back, I honestly cannot remember seeing anything about the turtles' 'childhood' outside of a couple old eps, the archie comics and the few 'toddler turtles' episodes of the new toon.
1. Did you ever really think that the guys' childhood would become as big of a fascination as it has?
2. Have you ever thought of doing artwork related to that, or do you just prefer them at their current ages?
-Amy D."
Amy, in all honesty, I was surprised at how positively people responded to the "Turtle Tots". Perhaps it was BECAUSE we had never really done anything like that before, looking at the Turtles' lives at that early age. (And I'll confess that I get a kick out of the episodes where we have seen them as "tots"... and the toy versions that Playmates did a couple of years ago are VERY cute.)
As for drawing them myself... hmm, I guess I DO prefer them at their current ages. Maybe some day... -- PL
Peter, I just sent an email to fanmail@ninjaturtles.com, but I thought I should leave a message here as well. I'm writing to invite you to join us as our Special Guest at the 28th annual Mid-Ohio-Con, which will be held on the weekend of October 4–5, 2008 at the Greater Columbus Convention Center in Columbus, Ohio. Please email me back at info@midohiocon.com to let me know if you're interested in attending. Thanks! James
ReplyDeleteI love that Splinter. Turtles are looking great too.
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of Color...
ReplyDeletePete, I was just browsing the Hot Topic site for shirts and this came to mind as something that drives me crazy... Could you PLEASE get Hot Topic to stop printing these AWESOME retro turtles shirts is ONLY powder blue? There are two shirts right now that I'd really like to get (the rocksteady and bebop print, and the foot soldier kicking the soda machine print) but they ONLY print them on powder blue shirts. I've noticed this with quite a few of their shirts, not just TMNT branded stuff. Don't get me wrong, powder blue is an alright color, but it isn't the best shirt color for a couple reasons...
1. Let's face it, Hot Topic uses cheap T-shirt material and so some of their powder blue shirts are practically see-through.
2. Powder blue stains almost as quickly and severely as white. For instance, I have this powder blue shirt from hot topic with mario on it, and I can no longer wear it because I spilled tea on it, and it shows REALLY bad.
Anyway, I know this comment is totally off topic...it just really bothers me that these amazingly awesome turtles retro shirts aren't printed in more versatile colors like black, brown, gray or GREEN!
-Stephan
Hey Pete,
ReplyDeleteComing back to this and the image of splinter it's made me think of something I've been wanting to ask you for some time now.
Why in every other tmnt universe does Splinter have brown fur and yet in the 4kids show he's gray.
It's not that I mind but I sort of think it makes him look allot older.
But I'm just wondering what was the reason behind the change of color?
thanks
-Vaughn M.
As someone stuck on a little island over the other end of the Atlantic that some of you may have heard of, with no easy way of getting to said cons...
ReplyDeleteI'd like a set of those prints.
I beg you to make a run of them available on ninjaturtles.com!
Amazing work here by all parties involved! I, too, wouldn't mind if these went up on the site for sale. :D
ReplyDeleteAlthough are these inked/markered again? I have to ask because they don't seem as line-y as Leo was. (Not that I mind, it's just as an artist, I'm curious if they were, say computer colored, or if it's just a matter of the colorist having more time.)
-Prestileo
I have one word:
ReplyDeleteAWESOME.
*thinks of how nice those would look on my wall*
:D
Buslady
I love 'em ;). Any chance we can get a Shredder? Also, is it just my faulty memory, or did you and Kevin draw the 3rd issue cover to the Archie series with a giant Krang on the cover? I'd love to see your take on him after 20 years :).
ReplyDeleteBut regarding these drawings, even after all this time, I still have to get used to the tails. You know the obvious thing folks in high school thought they where whenever I showed the comics around ;).. Maybe if they where drawn coming off the shell instead of the plastron.. hehe.
Tails dont stick out of the shell silly! :P They're right where they belong. I think those who think they're something *else* are silly.
ReplyDeleteIm glad the NECA figs have tails too!
Heh, really? Learn something new each day. But keep in mind we are deeling with teenage minds circa 1997, heh...
ReplyDeleteyeah i know :D
ReplyDeletei remember eons ago mom teasing me about their tails, im like MOOOOOM! hehee :D
awesome.
ReplyDeletegreat to see it all comming together.
really like checking out the process,
makes me want to try my hand at drawing.
I am speechless. They all look great. I can't wait to get my hands on all 5 prints. I plan on attending HeroesCon this week and I look forward to meeting you and the Mirage Group. It's going to be a blast. Thank you Peter for taking the time to do these.
ReplyDeleteyou know, as I keep on checking back for replies and looking at the drawings...
ReplyDeleteHow did you guys decide on each turtles signature weapon? Did you draw what just looked cool for them to carry, or did you have some knowledge on ninja arts/tradition?
Breathtaking! Please put prints up for sale on the Mirage site.
ReplyDelete-Shaun
These look amazing!!! I really hope you do end up putting some of these up for sale on the Mirage website, I can't get out to all of these conventions, so it is always disappointing to see special gifts and sales offered at comic-cons that are nowhere near my home. (The signec NECA boxed sets being one of these offers.) Though it is still exciting to see someone so interested in the fans that he goes out of the way to make fun extras besides just comic and toy lines.
ReplyDeleteSide note: the fact that these drawings look so amazing in full color brings me back to the question I wrote on your first "ask Peter" post that you have not answered (yet?). Why are the comics not offered in spectacular color just as these prints are? They look SO much nicer with colored details. It doesn't help that you are also no longer drawing the turtles yourself (understandably, as it is probably a time-consuming process that you don't have time for) because your personal iterations of the four turtles are by far my favorite of any and all versions ever drawn.
Bryan Reynolds
these be frickin' awesome!
ReplyDeleteI like!
-michael tough
Love these drawings. Like I told you at NYCC I wish you would draw a full comic again. You said if a thousand people felt the same way maybe you'd do it. If I start a petition and get a thousand signatures will you do it? It doesn't even have to be a turtles comic, I loved all the stuff in the old gobbledygook.
ReplyDeleteSorry for the double post but I just had an idea. Mirage could do a new anthology one shot and everyone can participate. You, Mr Laird, could do Commandosaurs or Fugitoid or Turtles or whatever you want to do, Dooney could do Gizmo, Berger could do Gutwallow, Ryan Brown could do COWBoys, etc...
ReplyDeleteThat'd be awesome. Just an idea.
Oh, let me add my voice to growing clamor-- Please, please make these available to those of us who cannot make it to Heroes Con.
ReplyDeleteThey did come out just beautifully.
~Donna
"Neil V said...
ReplyDeleteyou know, as I keep on checking back for replies and looking at the drawings...
How did you guys decide on each turtles signature weapon? Did you draw what just looked cool for them to carry, or did you have some knowledge on ninja arts/tradition?"
Neil, Kevin and I both knew something about various martial arts, from a variety of sources -- books, magazines, TV shows, movies, etc. -- and the most common (and, to us, some of the coolest) weapons seemed to be the sword, the staff, the nuchaku, and the sai. So when Kevin drew first Michelangelo (or, more accurately, the proto-TMNT who BECAME Michelangelo) and then a short time later the other three Turtles with different weapons, he picked those weapons we -- and many others -- were familiar with.
If memory serves, we did discuss different types of weapons back in the beginning, but the four we chose were, I think, the best choices. (In issue #9 of Volume 1, you see that we played around with some of the Turtles training with different weapons when they were pre-teens.)
I do think that the type of weapon carried by each Turtle helped us as we started to develop their personalities. -- PL
" Ectopaul said...
ReplyDeleteLove these drawings. Like I told you at NYCC I wish you would draw a full comic again. You said if a thousand people felt the same way maybe you'd do it. If I start a petition and get a thousand signatures will you do it? It doesn't even have to be a turtles comic, I loved all the stuff in the old gobbledygook."
I said that? Really? Huh... well, I would certainly be impressed if you got 1000 people to sign a petition, but in all honesty it would still be a "maybe". -- PL
" Bryan said... Side note: the fact that these drawings look so amazing in full color brings me back to the question I wrote on your first "ask Peter" post that you have not answered (yet?). Why are the comics not offered in spectacular color just as these prints are? They look SO much nicer with colored details. It doesn't help that you are also no longer drawing the turtles yourself (understandably, as it is probably a time-consuming process that you don't have time for) because your personal iterations of the four turtles are by far my favorite of any and all versions ever drawn.
ReplyDeleteBryan Reynolds"
Bryan, thanks for the compliment.
Back when Kevin and I started doing the TMNT comics, the choice to do black and white instead of color was partly an aesthetic choice (we both loved art in black and white), partly an economic choice (black and white is cheaper to print than color), and partly a practical choice (it takes a lot longer to produce a color comic than a black and white one). We didn't feel anything was missing from the kind of comics we wanted to make by not having color.
I'll admit that it was cool to see the TMNT comics in color when First Comics did those color "graphic novel" format reprintings of the early issues, with the pages painted by Kevin and Steve Lavigne. And the short-lived Volume 2 series, which was in color, was also fun. But I actually prefer to read TMNT stories in black and white. -- PL
"Shell Presto said...
ReplyDeleteAmazing work here by all parties involved! I, too, wouldn't mind if these went up on the site for sale. :D
Although are these inked/markered again? I have to ask because they don't seem as line-y as Leo was. (Not that I mind, it's just as an artist, I'm curious if they were, say computer colored, or if it's just a matter of the colorist having more time.)
-Prestileo"
No computer coloring -- all five pieces were done with blue pencil first, then inked with India ink, and then colored with Dr. Martin's dyes. The only difference is that Steve colored that first one -- the Leo piece -- while we were at the New York Comicon, and the other four were done several months later. Steve didn't have the Leo piece in front of him while working on the other four, so though he did try to do them all in the same style, some variation naturally occurred.
Also, Dan may have used a different brush when he inked the Leo piece, so that could affect the look of the lines. -- PL
Blogger Buslady of SoCal said...
ReplyDeleteyeah i know :D
i remember eons ago mom teasing me about their tails, im like MOOOOOM! hehee :D
Please... I had to deal with a fifth grade visitor to my class (who had accepted the Vol. 4 comics with NO comments) when he got a peep at the cover of either issue two or three-- the one where Mike is falling through the air from the helicopter-- "Oh, man! (to another person) TELL me this AIN'T--" as he's pointing to the tail.
I immediately shamed him for suggesting that I would have something in the class (after saying "it's his Tail") that would be... I didn't have to go further, the boy surrendered before more explanation could escape my lips.
Then again, he was a 5th-grade-boy; and he'd never seen the TMNT with tails before.
(Cynthia)
You know it's really funny Cyn, but more often than not the kids I've been aroind who see the "adult" Turtles for the first time seem to have a similar response.
ReplyDeleteI don't think it was just your little 5th grader with a naughty mind. ;o)
~Donna
Hmmm... either mine were just quiet about it, or they simply accepted the tails.
ReplyDeleteThey were a pretty cool group. And if the others since then have thought anything, they've not voiced it where I can hear it.
Ah well! It makes me think of when Stan Sakai was with Mirage for a bit, and he did "Shades of Green" and one of the turtles asked if they (the beings of Usagi's world) had tails-- and Gen got all indignant! "At least WE wear CLOTHES!"
Cynthia
"Neil V said...
ReplyDeleteI love 'em ;). Any chance we can get a Shredder? Also, is it just my faulty memory, or did you and Kevin draw the 3rd issue cover to the Archie series with a giant Krang on the cover? I'd love to see your take on him after 20 years :).
But regarding these drawings, even after all this time, I still have to get used to the tails. You know the obvious thing folks in high school thought they where whenever I showed the comics around ;).. Maybe if they where drawn coming off the shell instead of the plastron.. hehe."
Neil, I'm fairly certain that Kevin penciled that cover and I inked it, and Steve Lavigne colored it.
It's funny about the tails. Much like Kevin and I were so close to the project that we never really noticed (until people started commenting on it) that all the Turtles looked alike except for their weapons, we never gave a second thought to the tails, and certainly didn't see them as anything other THAN tails. It just seemed straightforward to us -- turtles had tails, so our Turtles should have tails, too. -- PL
Art like this is why you guys are so successful.
ReplyDelete