SDCC TMNT from NECA

I was lucky enough to snag an exclusive set of SDCC exclusive Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles figures from NECA on the second day of the pre-sale. This set is absolutely amazing. The characters are all based off of their cartoon appearance and are some of the best looking TMNT figures we've ever had.

There have been a few different companies making toys based on their classic cartoon appearance, but none of them looked quite right to me. These, on the other hand, are nearly perfect. Plus we finally got good figures of the villains! This isn't the first time I've bought some amazing turtles toys, but this is the first time I've had a Shredder or Foot Soldier to go with them. This set is definitely a highlight of my Ninja Turtles collection.

You can read more about details about the box set on Fwoosh or ToyArk.

Bebop and Rocksteady

Here it is -- my first finished piece using Manga Studio and a Cintiq! I've always loved Bebop and Rocksteady and have thought about adding them as an available print for conventions so I thought they would be a fun first project. It took some time but I'm feeling pretty comfortable with my process and I'm proud to have this design in my collection. Now I just have to work on being faster!

Learning Curve

I recently got a Cintiq to help improve my art flow. I've had other Wacom tablets that I loved, but felt like this would be the next big step to increase my speed and accuracy. I've also been trying to learn Manga Studio after hearing other illustrators say it's much more natural than Photoshop and better for making comics ...more on that later. Playing around with new software and hardware gave a lot to learn at once, but I think I'm getting the hang of it. This sketch of Bebop and Rocksteady was the first real mile marker toward where I want to go. Sure it's rough and loose, but I'll share the finished design soon.

TMNT Elements

Here's the final group of elements all of these recent TMNT posts have been leading to. I wanted to make a big image of all of the little things that I love about the Ninja Turtles universe -- the turtles, the bad guys, the vehicles, the weapons, the pizza...

I may do some more 'elements' images, but this was a challenging and time consuming project. Thanks to everyone who kept up with me throughout the process.

TMNT Faces - More Elements

Trying to broaden my reach from just faces into more of the elements that make up the TMNT world. Baxter was a tricky one for me to try and balance between his iconic 90s cartoon design and his more modern interpretations. His mousers on the other hand are pretty similar across the board.

TMNT Faces - Friends

I like that the Nickelodeon versions of April and Casey are teenagers like the turtles, but my first thought for them is still the classic designs. That's definitely where my designs lean for them, whereas when I tried to combine looks for Splinter, he ended up looking more like the current cartoon version.

TMNT Faces - Bad Guys

Continuing my series of TMNT faces. Here are some of my favorite bad guys. I was still trying to pull in bits of every incarnation of these guys across movies, cartoons, and comics. As much as I love the current Nickelodeon cartoon, my versions of the villains have a lot more influence from older cartoons.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Faces

This is a little part of a bigger project. I still have a long way to go, but this is a good place to start. These are heavily influenced by the Nickelodeon designs because those are some of my favorites. I want this project to incorporate design queues from the new cartoon, the old cartoon, the comics and movies... plus they need to have my signature added in. Expect to see more from this series soon.

TOYS - Turtles

Leonardo leads.

I've been collecting TMNT toys for a few years. Now that the minimates have come out, I thought I'd do a few group pics to show off my favorite figures. Each photo has the Revoltech figure front and center, with the LEGO, minimate, Nickelodeon, 2k3, NECA and classic 1988 surrounding it.

Donatello does machines.

Raphael is cool, but rude.

Michelangelo is a party dude.

TMNT Inks - Raphael

The next turtle I decided to take on is the bad boy of the group -- Raphael. I used some different shades of gray to help differentiate him from Leo. I like that their designs for the new show even have different color belts, wraps and elbow and knee pads.

TMNT Inks - Leonardo

I'm very comfortable drawing small figures in my sketchbook, so to help push myself, I thought I should try drawing some larger character portraits in my 9x12 bristol pad. I finished them up with some colored sharpies to give them their signature color. Up first is Leonardo

Revoltech TMNT - Leo and Raph

Earlier this week I received the first two TMNT to be released by Revoltech - Leonardo and Raphael. They are amazing!

I've had a lot of turtles toys over the years -- possisbly too many -- and these are definitely some of my favorites. The NECA figures had been the top for a while, but these may have just taken their spots. As you can see from my last post, I'm a big fan of the Nickelodeon cartoon and these figures match the style perfectly. Much closer than Playmates has ever been able to come. They are also super articulated and can probably hit more poses than any other TMNT figure, although I would have to do a direct comparison to say for sure. The Revoltech joints are a little different from what I'm used to, but I'm getting better at posing them. One thing these figures can do that no other TMNT fig has before -- their eyes move! You can move their bandana left or right to make their eyes shift. If you slide it all the way in one direction, their eyes go "battle mode" white. Such a great feature. Their weapons are also very sturdy and fully painted. Leo also comes with the best accessory any turtle figure has seen before -- a full pizza with individually removable slices! I'm sure I'll have more pics later, especially in a couple weeks when Mikey and Donnie come in.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turltes II

I've been drawing the turtles with more influences from the Nickelodeon show lately, so I thought I would update my TMNT poster to show that. I'm not taking on that style completely, but I have been taking some keys for all the turtle characters -- three toes, foot wraps, brighter colors and rounder heads. I also still like color-coded weapons and smaller ankles and wrists. I'm a fan of almost all TMNT incarnations, so I like to combine bits and pieces into my own designs.

Draw Every Day 341-350

Going in to December, I thought it would be good to do a few Christmas related sketches and also get a few more requests our of the way. I didn't go overboard with X-Mas like I did with Halloween, but I did draw from a few movies that inspired me -- Home Alone, A Christmas Story and Rudolph. I also took a couple days to work on another original character (the anthro wolf below)

Draw Every Day 331-340

I was going through a TMNT phase, but I was also really excited for Spider-Man after seeing the first trailer for the new movie, so I just kept switching back and forth between drawing characters from each universe. I also tried playing with adding a touch of color to some sketches. Follow me on Twitter and Instagram @natexopher