When I was working with 4Kids and Playmates to try to come up with a nifty logo for our 25th anniversary, I had the idea of taking the Turtles from the first two-page spread in the first issue of the TMNT comic (pages 2 and 3) and redrawing them in a clean, easy-to-enlarge-or-reduce form. Doing so required me to fill in some some details that were obscured in the original drawing, as in that work the four Turtles' figures overlapped at some points.
I'm not entirely sure if these are going to be used in any of the 25th anniversary stuff, but it was a fun exercise. Because I no longer draw the Turtles like I did when Kevin and I first published that book back in 1984, I had to adapt each figure a little bit. But I think I managed to keep the spirit of the original. -- PL
I don't know why, but I think they all look like they came straight out of the first four volumes except for Mikey. Maybe his Plastron is too wide making him look a bit more like the modern turtles? I don't know....but for some reason Mikey looks a tad different than the others...
ReplyDeleteEither way, VERY cool idea for a logo. Maybe it can be used on future NECA packaging?
Echoing nice. Will 4Kids go for the tails?
ReplyDeleteThey look great! Mikey looks fine, I don't see him looking different. He is the one who eats all the time, maybe his plastron shows it! LOL!!
ReplyDeleteWho cares about the tails, they're TAILS....4kids should grow up.
I have a thought...
Peter - you made the statement about turtles have tails and it's just normal...well, I think you don't like fingernails on the tmnt(which is fine)...well, turtles have nails too. :P I'm only messin' :P
I'm sure you've seen male red ear sliders, very long gorgeous claws.
Have you ever thought about keeping turtles?
GG.
Buslady
Looks good. I wish Mirage had taken a similar approach to creating the "Retro" art, instead of basically redrawing 2K3 art and pasting on new heads. :/
ReplyDeleteWondering how your style changed and why when drawing the Turtles.
ReplyDeleteI think these are some of my favorite turtle art ever. They really do have something that hails back to the original work you and Mr. Eastman did together, but they also feel cleaner, more up to date. I really like how they came out. Great work Mr. Larid!
ReplyDeleteWOW!
ReplyDeleteThat is awesome!
To take something that was drawn a certain way in 1984, and make it almost so exact that it looks like your art hasn't changed over the years?
I bow before you sir!
EXCELLENT JOB!!!!
~Dinoff~
Fantastic, Mr. Laird. Will there be colour versions of these images as well?
ReplyDelete~Steven W. Hunt, ESQ
The thing that stands out to me here is how you've added a bit more curve to the mouths and heads, compared to the more angled look of the original art.
ReplyDeleteMakes it look slightly off to me, being so used to the original. But art is subjective, as they say, other people probably wouldn't notice it as much.
Did you use the original turtle toy packaging as reference or is it just a really eerie coincidence? Leo and Don especially.
ReplyDeleteI love the early TMNT art, which makes the NECA figures a total blast to own.
-->> " O God ..more prints .. ( ?? ) "
ReplyDelete.. >v<
"Buslady of SoCal said...
ReplyDeleteThey look great! Mikey looks fine, I don't see him looking different. He is the one who eats all the time, maybe his plastron shows it! LOL!!
Who cares about the tails, they're TAILS....4kids should grow up.
I have a thought...
Peter - you made the statement about turtles have tails and it's just normal...well, I think you don't like fingernails on the tmnt(which is fine)...well, turtles have nails too. :P I'm only messin' :P
I'm sure you've seen male red ear sliders, very long gorgeous claws.
Have you ever thought about keeping turtles?"
Kevin and I actually considered -- briefly -- giving the TMNT claws similar to those that real turtles possess, but ended up not doing so. I can't recall exactly why that was. Maybe it just seemed a bit over the top, maybe a little too close to the blades of the Shredder's armor. But we never drew them with fingernails, and when some of our licensees started doing that (I think it started with the first movie, but I could be wrong), it bothered me -- a LITTLE bit. It doesn't bother me that much these days, though I doubt I will ever draw the Turtles with nails.
I have had turtles in the past, back when I was a teenager. I had a few of those classic green pet store turtles, as well as a very cool diamondback turtle that my father got from a friend of his. He was about six inches long, and had a beautiful pattern on his carapace. I think I had him for about three years. -- PL
"ectopaul said...
ReplyDeleteDid you use the original turtle toy packaging as reference or is it just a really eerie coincidence? Leo and Don especially."
No, but I can't deny the possibility that somewhere in the recesses of my brain, the look of the original toy packaging exerted an influence. I can tell you that if it did, it was completely unconscious. -- PL
" grifter said...
ReplyDeleteWondering how your style changed and why when drawing the Turtles."
It's hard to say exactly when -- in fact, it might be impossible, because I think the change was evolutionary. Bit by bit, we started to make the heads less angular, the posture more upright, the bodies more muscular. It's altogether possible that, if I'm still drawing Turtles 25 years from now, they'll look different from those I draw now.
One distinct thing change that I remember has to do with the closure for the Turtles' waist belts. When we created them, and through the first few issues, the belts were tied. Then, one day, Kevin started drawing the belts with the two little "clips" instead of a tie, and we both used that look from then on... possibly because it was easier than drawing ties! (Astute readers of the original comics might be able to remember when the shift happened -- at the moment, I can't!) -- PL
"the s said...
ReplyDeleteFantastic, Mr. Laird. Will there be colour versions of these images as well?
~Steven W. Hunt, ESQ"
Steven, I'm not sure. In fact, I'm not even sure if these images will be used at all. Perhaps if I can find the time, I'll try to color them up myself. PL
Blogger PL said...
ReplyDelete....One distinct thing change that I remember has to do with the closure for the Turtles' waist belts. When we created them, and through the first few issues, the belts were tied. Then, one day, Kevin started drawing the belts with the two little "clips" instead of a tie, and we both used that look from then on... possibly because it was easier than drawing ties! (Astute readers of the original comics might be able to remember when the shift happened -- at the moment, I can't!) -- PL
The Turtles (and the artists) discover the joys and ease of Velcro!
:D
All artists seem to change styles as the years go by it seems... Charles Schultz is an example. Look at Peanuts from the 60s and then the 80s.
I hate to see some styles change. Some are, yes, an improvement, but sometimes I think the "new" version just doesn't have the same "soul".
It's all in the perception of the viewer I guess.
Cynthia
It's not that I'm accusing you of anything, but if you look at the right side drawing it's almost exactly the same. I loved the old packaging art so much I used it as my signature on some ninja turtles forums for years.
ReplyDeletehttp://img502.imageshack.us/img502/3876/704241oj9.jpg
Ectopaul: If anything, the Playmates art was inspired by the original comic books. The drawings Peter just posted come directly from pages 2 & 3 of TMNT Vol. 1 #1.
ReplyDeleteAwesome, just awesome.
ReplyDelete- Andrew M
Ah, good call Rose
ReplyDeleteHaha I missed the comment where Mr. Laird said it was from those 2 pages, I guess the pictures sucked me in. This is what I get for not reading! ;)
ReplyDeleteYeah in TMNT 1 I really noticed fingernails, after that it just seemed to stay. They look fine both ways to me. It'd be funny if they started to mature and the nails started growing realllly long, those would get in their way. Freddy Krugers!
ReplyDeleteOh you lucky, I wanna diamondback terrapin!! They get pretty big though, my wood turtles are all under 8" and will stay that way! They're all spoiled rotten too!
It's cos of TMNT I'm a turtle mom, yay TMNT for me! Whee!
(i do wanna red foot tortoise, they get like 12-14"...huggable too! Perfect size, and they follow you around like a dog!)
have fun at the con!
GG
-->>..aahh yeh ..
ReplyDelete~~** hunker down en pucker up n' give 'im a big smackaroo..~~ **
I was wondering, for the 25th Anniversary, will that big poster from the licensing show with the "Turtles through the ages" be avalible to buy, or maybe a bigger version featuring all 4 of them from each of the 4 main eras.
ReplyDeleteSteven, I'm not sure. In fact, I'm not even sure if these images will be used at all. Perhaps if I can find the time, I'll try to color them up myself. PL
ReplyDeleteI just had one of my heroes address me by name....
I think I need to lie down before I pass out while standing here at the computer.
Now that takes me right back to when I first got my hands on the first issue more than 20 years ago :)
ReplyDeleteAs for styles changing, I think everyone's does. I've also been reading Stan Sakai's Usagi for more than 10 years and you can see how the character has altered in the almost 25 years he has been going.
Mat
Nice old-schoolness. Any word on Kev getting involved in the 25th? Just curiousity.
ReplyDelete