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tmntkiseki · 4 months

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The very long post where I talk about all the stuff I like from each of TMNT 2003's three art styles (and nitpick at the stuff I don't)

Seasons 1 - 5

When most people think of TMNT 2003's art style, they are thinking of the first five seasons. The dark muted colors, the heavily muscled designs of the turtles, the dynamic lighting effects that change depending on the location, time of day, and the weather. But what is it about the style from the first five seasons that is just so damn tasty?

Interviews with Peter Laird reveal that in terms of the turtles' appearances for the 2003 series, while he doesn't dislike the 1987 turtles, he did find them too cutesy for his liking and described their designs as being "puffy" and "kind of inflatable." The way the 2003 turtles were designed with heavy, well-defined builds was to firmly establish them as ass-kicking superheroes capable of inhuman feats of strength and agility in combat. This is even reflected in the choice to give them white slits for eyes like their Mirage comic book counterparts, which further emphasizes just how serious and intimidating these versions of the beloved characters are meant to be.

One of the things that really does stick out with me with the turtles is the use of "shade with black." Ever since I started learning how to draw in middle school, I've always been told to never shade with black; it looks flat, the colors aren't as deep, your art will suffer for it, etc. But for TMNT 2003, the choice to shade with black is actually of benefit to the series. People love TMNT 2003 for arguably being the darkest and grittiest animated incarnation of the TMNT with a lot of scenes that REALLY pushed the limit of what was okay to show on children's television, and color choice does so much to set the tone of the kind of story you're telling. I especially love it when the shading is used to emphasize expression, like when the turtles are angry or scowling. (Pictured: Raphael during "Meet Casey Jones.")

While on the topic of shading; it's amazing how dynamic the lighting is for this series. As I mentioned earlier, depending on whether a scene takes place indoors, outdoors, underground, underwater, during the daytime, during night, in the rain, etc. the lighting changes to reflect whatever situation the characters find themselves in, whether they're in a hard fought battle with the Shredder or just relaxing in the lair. Lighting for scenes is further affected by things like monitors, candles, street lamps, and other things, and it really brings out both the characters and the environments. (Though I can imagine it was incredibly taxing on the animators, who didn't have access to the same technology that's available now.)

Obviously if I had to nitpick, one of the biggest shortcomings of the 2003 series primary art style is the fact that there isn't a lot to differentiate the turtles from each other physically. If you take away their colored headbands and weapons, the only thing you have to tell them apart is their skin colors; Leonardo is forest green, Raphael is a deep emerald green, Donatello is olive green, and Michelangelo is myrtle green. Without those differing skin tones, there really is nothing setting the brothers apart from each other other than their headbands and weapons (something that the Fast Forward and Back to the Sewer did fix to an extent.)

And this is definitely a "me" thing, but to an extent, I do find the way their builds are drawn is a bit too... bulky? I know they're mutants, that cartoon/comic book style is all about exaggeration of physical features, and that the whole point of giving them these well-defined muscles was to make them appear powerful and athletic, but I dunno man. When I think of ninjas, the first things I think of are "speedy" and "acrobatic," followed by "strong," and while you obviously need a considerable amount of muscle to wield the weapons and perform the stunts that they do, there is a point where too much muscle does ruin the idea that that these turtles are just as fast as they are strong. But, again, it's a "me" thing and I'm pretty sure there are a LOT of people who would disagree with me on this.

Fast Forward

I mentioned in my last post that, believe it or not, I actually do prefer the overall art style for Fast Forward. Why? There are certainly arguments to be made about why Fast Forward's art style is inferior to the first five seasons; for instance, the lighting isn't nearly as dynamic, the designs are simpler and not as detailed, and the overall color palette is far more saturated. So why do I like it so much?

Well, simple: It ultimately boils down to personal preference.

Given my minor ramble about how I don't like how bulky the builds were for the first five seasons, Fast Forward is (to me) an improvement in terms of how the turtles are portrayed in terms of physical appearance. They still undeniably have a lot of muscle to them, but it looks a lot more natural and I can believe they are as fast and agile as they are strong. Fast Forward was also the season where they attempted to individualize the turtles' physical appearances a little more, and while there could have been a bit more effort in that regard (like keeping the missing chunk in Leo's shell from seasons 4 and 5; seriously, why is that gone?), I think they succeeded. Donatello is the tallest and slimmest, Raphael has the most muscle and broadest shoulders, Michelangelo is the shortest, Leonardo is a nice middle ground, etc.

I also really, really love the designs for turtles' gear this season. A lot of people have mentioned how good the turtles look in black/dark colors, and they really do look more like proper ninja this season, albeit future-themed. The praise I have for the designs extends to the supporting cast and villains as well; the future setting, with all its aliens and technology, offers so much in the way of creative potential, and characters like Cody, Darius, Bishop, the Dark Turtles, and many more all have very appealing designs despite being simpler than the earlier seasons.

However, for all that I love about Fast Forward's art style, there are two aspects to it that I have a massive love-hate relationship with.

First off: The shape of the turtles' heads. They are basically pentagons/hexagons this season depending on the angle they're drawn from and this actually isn't the worst thing if you're learning how to draw the 03 turtles? Because visualizing their heads as pentagons/hexagons is actually very helpful when trying to draw them as they appear in earlier seasons. However, in the context of Fast Forward, the more geometric shapes of the turtles' heads is almost too simple and does make them a little... dopey looking at times. Which becomes even more confusing as to why they went with such basic shapes for their heads when some of the official Fast Forward art uses a much rounder style for the heads that looks SO MUCH better in comparison.

The other aspect to Fast Forward's art style that I have a love-hate relationship with is the overall color palette, which was a consequence of the season going for a lighter, more humorous tone when compared to earlier seasons. It's funny because normally I absolutely love bright, vibrant colors and it doesn't actually look bad knowing Fast Forward's tone, but given I'm one of the people who does not like how different the writing is from previous seasons and how much it affected both the storytelling and characters, obviously I want my Fast Forward turtles with darker, more muted colors. (Though keep the glowy bits. I love my glowy bits.)

Back to the Sewer

And now we get to probably the only art style from this series that I do somewhat dislike.

So, let's talk about something that was originally an issue for me, and is an issue for a lot of people who watched this season: the fact that the turtles' eyes are visible through their masks. Obviously, after six seasons of the turtles only having white slits for eyes, this change is pretty jarring and back when I first started watching Back to the Sewer, I was not happy about it either, especially with just how cutesy the eyes are (and normally I'm the biggest fan of cute; one of my favorite "junk food" anime is Acchi Kocchi, for crying out loud.)

But after actually watching Back to the Sewer, two things happened: first, I got used to the turtles having their eyes visible, and eventually I realized that this is actually to the turtles benefit. The turtles are arguably at their most expressive in Back to the Sewer, and the eyes further help individualize the turtles; Leonardo and Raphael both have smaller, more angular eyes, while Donatello and Michelangelo have rounder eyes (likely to make them look more youthful compared to their older brothers.)

I still don't totally like the 03 turtles having eyes, but again, that's probably because we literally spent six seasons with just white slits and when compared to the changes Fast Forward made to the show's art style, the ones in Back to the Sewer are even more extreme and it just feels very unnecessary. (Based on early concept art of Leonardo for the season, it looks like they were trying to mimic the style of the 2007 movie, which would explain the eyes, as well as changes to Splinter's design and April getting completely redesigned.)

THAT SAID, they did go all out with the turtles' attire for Back to the Sewer. Stuff like the cybernaut armor, the stealth suits, the goofy fantasy garb from the MMORPG they end up playing, and the tuxes they wear at April and Casey's wedding are all incredibly appealing and while, again, I don't like the lighter tone of this season, they probably wouldn't have been able to put the turtles in these outfits had it still been dark and gritty like seasons 1 - 5 (I have seen quite a bit of fanart of Donny in his Sorcerer outfit and that makes me a lot happier than you realize, haha.)

Sadly, my compliments to Back to the Sewer do end there and it's probably for the best that I end this post here anyway since it's 3:15 in the morning and I'm falling asleep at my keyboard. (I can't wait to wake up tomorrow and see just how many typos I made.)

Thank you for listening to me ramble about my TMNT 03 art opinions and have a good day/night!

#teenage mutant ninja turtles #tmnt #tmnt 2003 #tmnt 2k3 #tmnt fast forward #tmnt back to the sewers #tmnt leonardo #tmnt raphael #tmnt donatello #tmnt michelangelo

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urlocalmj · 4 months

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I will stand by my statement when I say that if you hate Irma, you gotta hit the road, bucko.

This is an Irma-loving household.

This is including Sunita (Rise) and Angel (2003).

#rise of the tmnt #rottmnt #2018 tmnt #tmnt irma #irma tmnt #tmnt 2k12 #tmnt 1987 #tmnt back to the sewers #tmnt 2003 #2003 tmnt #1987 tmnt #irma is love #irma is life #I will hurt you if you insult her #my post

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tacagen · 5 months

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ah yes. agent bishop, a well-known wedding enjoyer.

#dude i laughed so hard when i first saw the episode #why didnt they fucking put ch'rell with the same approving smile there as well. would be on the same level of surrealness.#did they like. straight up forgot the fucker's still extremely xenophobic and immoral back in 21st century after writing ff or #agent bishop #agent john bishop #tmnt bishop #tmnt 2003 #tmnt back to the sewers #tmnt btts #tmnt

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werewolfrevenge · 3 months

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Edited back to the sewers April with the original red hair color to see how that’d look…..

#still not too keen on the btts redesigns but I think April looks nicer with the OG red hair!#april o'neil #tmnt #tmnt 2003 #back to the sewers #tmnt back to the sewers #🌀my uploads🌀

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transparentgardnerwitch · 1 month

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Happy 21 anniversary tmnt 2003

#tmnt #tmnt 2k3 #tmnt 2003 #tmnt fast forward #tmnt back to the sewers #tmnt mikey #tmnt leo #tmnt raph #tmnt donnie #gardens art

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hauntedshells · 1 year

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if I had a nickel for every time april o’neil got possessed by jewelry, I’d have two nickels. which isn’t a lot, but it’s weird it happened twice, right?

#the curse of being ginger ig #teenage mutant ninja turtles #tmnt 2012 #tmnt 2003 #tmntbtts #tmnt back to the sewers #april o'neil

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silvercity-yir · 8 months

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Watching tmnt btts made me wonder why the turtles design seem so similar to the 2007 versions, so today I decide to checkout the concept arts and I am shook.

Makes me think that maybe btts is also in 07 universe just more of a random short story. I know tmnt ff and btts storylines seems a bit of a non canon events. Well, that's my opinion and maybe also overthinking about the concepts I mean, during those years in production is probably a coincidence but I don't know anything other than what I'm seeing the concept, so I'm just shocked from the concept and compare it to the 3d model that we know now. Still I love finding buried treasures(concept art in this case) like this

Concept Images are from TMNT wiki

#tmnt #tmnt 2003 #tmnt 2007 #tmnt back to the sewers #also totally not me having a specific tmnt fever run rn because I'm bored or whatever hehe #still this is a gem and I love being able to find it

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acey-waceyy123 · 5 months

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‼️THIS IS JUST MY OPINION‼️

I don’t mean anything rude and if you like BTTS I respect that.

Debate is open, just be respectful.

#tmnt #tmnt fandom #teenage mutant ninja turtles #essay #MY OPINION #tmnt 2003 #tmnt back to the sewers #opinion essay #tmntbtts #btts

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theyhavetakenovermylife · 25 days

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I saw back to the sewers added in the masterlist and I just HAD TO make a request!

Can I request Leo having a rough yet emotion filled night with his S/O once he returns from the future? Maybe he even talks about the family had made there

Back From The Future (Angst/Fluff)

BTTS!Leonardo x reader

A/N: I thought this idea was cute, and I hope that this is somewhat what you were looking for💙

Warnings: Emotions, øh?

The moment you learned that your boyfriend had returned, after having disappeared a year ago, you sprinted to the lair. You hadn’t even tied your shoes, your coat just hanging on by your shoulders as you ran down the street and through the cold night, running straight for Central Park, heading directly for the lair, tears pushing at the back of your eyes.

The moment you saw Leo in the lair, you pushed past whoever stood in your way and threw yourself at him, wrapping your arms tightly around him as you pulled him in for a hug. Leo’s arms found you immediately, holding you as close as possible. So close, as if his life depended on it, burying his face against your neck. Oh, how he had missed you. A whole year. And every single day, he had been thinking about you. Missing you. Hoping to see you one day again.

At this point you could not hold back your tears any longer. Your shoulders shaking as you sobbed, burying your face against his plastron. Leo could not hold his emotions back either, taking in shaky breaths as he tried to calm himself down, but to no avail. He finally had you in his arms again, a feeling so great that he could not hold back the tears, crying against your shoulder as he held you close, neither of you ever wanting to let go again.

That night you stayed in the lair, just like you used to do, before Leo and his family disappeared. It was now that Leo had the time to explain to you what had happened. Between softs hugs and kisses, along with sudden tearful outburst of emotions, Leo told you where he had been for the past year. Or when, to be exact. When he first told you that he had traveled in time, you did not believe him. You almost questioned him, wanting to know why he wouldn’t tell you the truth, but then you realized, Leo had never lied to you. Leo would never lie to you. And by the way he was holding you, and the way he was looking at you, you knew he was telling the truth. Your boyfriend and his family had been around a 100 years into the future, unable to get back, spending a year in the far future. And boy, did Leo had much to tell you about.

That evening, Donnie worked tirelessly with the help of April and Sterling, in order to get a lab up and working as fast as possible, while Mikey, Raph and Casey stood around, watching them work. While that was going on, you and Leo were tangled up in his room, staying in his bed for hours, just talking, enjoying each other’s company, and expressing strong motions.

For the first few moments, neither you or Leo spoke. Instead he laid with his face buried against the crock of your neck, his arms tightly around, as in fear that you would disappear if he let go. At times both you and him would suddenly begin sobbing, followed by the words of how much you had missed each other. Once your tears had stopped falling, you would engage in small tender kisses, followed by more silent hugging, feeling the warmth and comfort of each other’s presence.

As time went on, you and Leo would slowly loosen up. Your arms weren’t as tightly wrapped around each other as before, instead just loosely draped over each other, letting you create some space, so that you could look at each other.

With your head resting on Leo’s strong arm, you listened as he talked about the things he had experienced in the future, all while his other hand smoothed over your arm, his fingers tracing small shapes as he spoke. At one point you grabbed a soft hold of his hand, entwining your fingers, your thumb stroking the side of his knuckle. How you had missed the feeling of his hand in yours.

“Are you going to miss him?”, you asked after Leo had spoken about Cody.

“Of course I’ll miss him”, Leo said, looking down at your entwined fingers with a soft smile. “He’s a sweet kid. He learned quickly and has a very bright mind. It will be strange not being able to talk to him anymore”. Leo let go of your hand, in order to wrap his arm around you once more, pulling you close so that your face was mere inches from his. “But as much as I’m going to miss him, I’m just glad to be home”. Leo pressed a kiss to your forehead before pulling you in for another tight hug, resting head against your shoulder. “I’ve missed you so much, (Y/N). You have no idea how often I thought about you. There were times I couldn’t sleep, just thinking about you”.

“I know, Leo”, you whispered, your voice shaking as you felt your throat closing in once more as you spoke, your arms wrapping under his, holding on to his shoulder. “I’ve missed you too. Every single day, I’ve been thinking about you. But now I’m just glad that you’re back”.

And so, the rest of the night, you and Leo stayed wrapped up in each other’s arms, trying to catch up on the time spent apart. Talking about what else he and his family had been up to in the far future, along how you had managed to spend your time. But none of it could compare to the feeling of finally having your boyfriend back in your arms. After a whole year, you were finally able to be together again.

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freefree-palestine · 28 days

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Write a bad episode summary for a TMNT 2003 episode

For example:

Season 4 Episode 14: The Ancient One

Eldest son finally loses it, father sends child off to insane college to major in self-healing where child finds out he’s the problem

#I wanna see how big this gets #tmnt 2003 #tmnt donatello #tmnt raphael #tmnt mikey #tmnt leonardo #teenage mutant ninja turtles #tmnt #tmnt fast forward #tmnt back to the sewers

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terrestrialnoob · 11 months

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Yeah, so, personally, I don't see Fast Forward or Back to the Sewers as a part of the original TMNT 2003 series. I see them as Sequel Series, kinda like how Avatar: The Legend of Korra is the sequel series to Avatar: The Last Aribender.

Not only do FF and BTTS have different titles, literally everything else was changed too. The writers, directors, primary and secondary animation companies were all changed at some point, with only the production company the same and most of the same voice actors, but that was it. That's less than what Legend of Korra had in common with the Last Airbender. And FF and BTTS were intended to be soft reboots to make the 03 series more profitable and palatable. They weren't making enough new marketable designs for toy sales and the dark tone was making the production company nervous (despite the success of the previous seasons).

(That's the important bit, there's only criticism of FF and BTTS after this.)

The FF and BTTS seasons were extremely fundamentally different: literally having different foundations in style, characterization, and storytelling. Though, the FF designs were really good for the adaptions to more computer animation, unfortunately the characters started their descent into "technically still in character", and there were parts that were actually pretty good, if it had been written by slightly more capable writers. BTTS was when everything really went to shit.

The main series was formatted so that there would be three to five episode arcs with zero-to-two standalone episodes in between. But FF started with two vague overarching story-lines that loosely held the season together with decent pacing towards the resolution of those overarching story-lines with one-off character stories breaking them up and giving us about 60/40 "Oh, that was actually a good character interaction" / "He would not fucking say that". It was really always on the edge of being good, but never actually getting to it. And I might actually put TMNT Fast Forward as a standalone series on par with the quality of the 2012 series.

FF had some pretty interesting ideas the writers just didn't do anything with or were forced to drop. Sho'kanabo was basically the Rise Kraang, just with the major weakness of sunlight disinfecting his victims. He was proper terrifying, infecting, taking over, and controlling his victims. He also made evil clones of the turtles who were like, amazing characters and had so much potential! They were so cool! And Zix was an interesting character concept, a smuggler with grey morality who helped just as much as he harmed? If only he was actually well written, and actually was grey and did just as much good as he did bad instead of just being a bad guy who said "sorry :(" sometimes.

Back To The Sewers on the other hand, was fully bad. Every part individually was bad, there is no evidence anyone working on BTTS had any passion for it whatsoever, which means management unequivocally failed at every turn. The designs were actually bad, the animation was stilted and unnatural, the plot was nonsense, most of the dialog was also nonsense to match, the writing was some of the laziest I've ever seen in the entire franchise, one (or more) character was out of character at least once in every episode, and the villains weren't serious threats (The Shredder got taken out by Mikey on his own. Speaking of... Mikey got a ton more screen time, but he also like, absorbed everyone else's character traits depending on what the plot needed? Like, I think they discovered that Mikey was the audience favorite and just made him the center of the episode no matter if it made sense or not). And on top of that, just like the 87 series, they just had to introduce a new toy or accessory design into every episode, which can be fine - unless there's nothing there to distract from it, no good writing, or animation, or characters draw your attention away from the commercial inside the show. It's so bad.

#tmnt #tmnt 2003 #tmnt fast forward #tmnt back to the sewers #analysis #critisism

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