turtle-in-the-mums

[turtle-in-the-mums]

Just watched this five or six times in a row because a) I just love love love LOVE men who can sing a cappella in harmony, b) a certain little froggy has a mid-song snack. He's that okay with his froggy-ness and confident in his stardom. Eating a fly mid-recording isn't going to end HIS career.

Now I need to find out whether that particular set of performers has recorded any more sea shanties, folk songs, comic songs...just gimme that gorgeous harmony.

Has this one made it to tumblr yet

#the muppets #Kermit the frog #sea shanties #music commentary #a cappella #sing gentlemen sing

[turtle-in-the-mums]

Levitating TMNT

So...I watched the music video for "Levitating" while taking a brain-decluttering break. and for whatever reason, the aforementioned brain decided to point out that "ya know, Rise Mikey could totally do the whole dance sequence for that song while actually levitating". That thought led immediately to a reaction shot of Leo pouting and grumbling, "Showoff". Then Donnie joined the party--I'm sure he (and possibly Shelldon with him) would use their jet packs to try to top Mikey's performance. Which would make Leo pout all the harder. I want to see him get a pair of roller skates and do the strutting-in-place moves we see at about 1:50 in the video, but he'd have to be convinced that he could top both Mikey and Donnie. Maybe he could talk Raph into playing a cheerleading-acrobat-tosser for him. I don't know the real word for that role--the people who crouch down and act like human springboards to throw acrobats in the air and then catch them when they come back down. Raph could certainly give any or all of his brothers considerable hang time if he wanted to and there was a sufficiently high ceiling...now I want to see a mutant-turtle-juggling act, with one juggling turtle and three turtles being juggled.

My brain is thoroughly cleared now, so--back to work. This has been a turtle-centric random neuron fire, have a nice day y'all!

#tmnt #rottmnt #random neuron fires #dua lipa's levitating #mutant turtle juggling

[turtle-in-the-mums]

I do just love Bay Leo's gorgeous blue eyes. So he got two bad knees, a broken arm, and a lot of shell damage instead! 😈

In all seriousness, I didn't want "The Bay Boys of Discord" to turn into a recovery-centric fic--the planned plot won't allow for it. So Cope!Leo became a turtle ex machina.

Was rereading “the bad boys of discord” an notice this:

Mill!Donny, seeing how Giant!Raph lost an eye, Mikey might lose his arm and Don might die and leave his brothers alone: Oh no, it’s happening again!!

Later:

Mill!Donny: your leo better not be blind or I will riot.

@turtle-in-the-mums

"bad boys" asdasdasdasd but yeah! i would image that that was EXACTLY his reaction. trust me, i suggested the eye thing, because i like to be mean like that, but prowls had an attachment to leo's eyes XD

#bay boys of discord #fanfic writing #sorry raph #tmnt fanfic #tmnt

[turtle-in-the-mums]

A young Donnie out without a battle shell! I love his outfit. He looks younger than canon Donnie here--something about the proportions of his face and limbs to each other and his slim midsection--he hasn't started developing the wider shoulders and heavier biceps and thighs he'll have as a teen and adult. I'd guess he's eleven or twelve--very physically fit but still has some baby fat in his face and a lot of growing ahead of him.

His outfit is great. The crop-top hoodie is somehow perfect and essential to creating the "look" that I'm sure Donnie craves. Love the dropped pink belt, too.

His lifted eyebrow and the fact that he's casually slurping something through a straw while standing on a ladder high above a city street tells you a lot about his perspective on the world he lives in. Lovely artwork!

I'm experimenting

#rottmnt #art commentary

[turtle-in-the-mums]

Reblogging because I love the vibe in this picture. I have no clue what the original story behind this is, and I'm avoiding finding out because I like the ideas I'm getting from it.

I've always loved Leon's flight-jacket look from "The Clothes Don't Make the Turtle", and this evokes that. He can rock a shearling/fur collar so effortlessly. Also love it that he's gone sleeveless. It's a personal headcanon of mine that he loves his stripes and will tolerate being a bit cold in the name of showing off his "natural beauty marks". If he was going to wear torn jeans, he'd make sure at least one of the tears showed off a thigh stripe.

The setting and pose are perfect. Leo is an urban cryptid, with all the conflicting realities that implies. He's perched on the very narrow rail of a fire escape and looks completely confident in his balance and support...but that rail is so very narrow. It's an excellent metaphor for his life. In front of him is a potentially dangerous fall and the back alleys and shadowy places of New York City, which can be very cold and lonely places regardless of the crowds of people on the streets and in the brightly-lit buildings. Behind him is a building full of humans, most of whom would at the very least "other" him by staring, asking questions about what he is rather than who he is, or trying too hard to prove their openness to difference and thus fail to treat Leo as an individual soul. He lives on a very narrow railing between two worlds, and he can only survive by keeping his balance at all times. Something in his mocking expression says that for all the cocky confidence in his body, he feels trapped into a life on the margins...and he resents it.

In short, this Leo is a story starter, he's wonderful, and he's going into my personal stash of fanfic-inspiration art.

"i don't have the exact first meeting pinned down in my head, but i do have this mental image of him sitting on a fire escape, one knee bent up to his chest and the other hanging down the side, a toothy grin on his face as he mockingly asks: "what a soft little thing like you is doing on this side of town?" "

Say no more @desceros Also, thank you @gbao3 for references for Leo's outfit

#art commentary #rottmnt

[turtle-in-the-mums]

Reblogging because of the expressions on the turtles' faces (I love Leo's eye roll) and because the idea of the Bay boys on horseback amuses me.

The boys interacting with the NYC police in more-or-less friendly ways. I'm thinking of Mikey looking up at a cop on horseback and begging, "Come on, I've never ridden a horse before, can't I try it?"

Not actually what You asked but kinda the same (soz if took a while 🙏)

#tmnt bayverse #tmnt fanart #art commentary

[turtle-in-the-mums]

Heartwarming story, beautiful art style, great layout of the panels--I'm going to keep coming back to this one. I love art/stories that focus on the family ties and the "slice of life" moments in the TMNT world. Thank you for doing and posting this!

I made this comic to celebrate the anniversary of my tmnt/rottmnt hobby 💥

I'm new to Tumblr, but there are already so many of you!! Whoa! I am grateful to you for following me, and for writing such sweet, pleasant words 😭💕 (sorry for not answering everything)

I am very sorry that there is so little of me here 😥

I should post more of my work here….hmm

THANK YOU AGAIN!!!

Hope you have a good day <3💕

p.s. there are probably a LOT of grammatical errors here, I hope you won’t be too strict with this 🙏🥹

#tmnt fanart #rottmnt fanart #rottmnt comic #art commentary #stuff like this needs to be spread

[turtle-in-the-mums]

Who is/are your fav artist(s)???

The ones for whom the TMNT are named? Maybe? Seriously--I love Leonardo's portraits (with the exception of the Mona Lisa, which is so iconic I can't even see it as a work of art anymore--it's a meme).

If you're asking about fanartists--I'm not going to try and list them, because A) there are so many artists whose work I like and B) if I tried to list everyone I'd forget at least two works I love and possibly upset an artist.

I do like to babble about pieces that particularly grab my attention and make me want to start another fic or six. More than half the time I click the "like" button intending to come back after I've 1) fixed supper, 2) dealt with the laundry, 3) finished working for the day, 4) two or three of the other things I'm procrastinating on...then I get distracted by something (like supper boiling over) and completely forgetting about what I was doing and what I meant to do later.

In any case--I have a folder of favorite fan art on my hard drive. I will never repost any of it without the artist's permission, but I use that folder to cheer myself up and nudge along fanfic plots.

#answering the anons #no need to ask on anonymous #if I'm not comfortable answering I'll say so #or ignore it

[turtle-in-the-mums]

I'm going to put in the current last line of the in-progress chapter of When the Sun Rose. I make no promises that it will turn out to be the actual last line of the chapter. I'm old-school and don't hold with this "put everything in the tags" business, so I'll put the line here as well as in the tags.

"We have to get it into him while there’s still time.”

Oh so ur a writer?? Prove it. Drop the last sentence of ur wip in the tags

#We have to get it into him while there’s still time #melonpalooza #writing #tmnt

[turtle-in-the-mums]

This is one of the reasons for the quote “When a writer is staring out the window, she IS working!” 

some people think writers are so eloquent and good with words, but the reality is that we can sit there with our fingers on the keyboard going, “what’s the word for non-sunlight lighting? Like, fake lighting?” and for ten minutes, all our brain will supply is “unofficial”, and we know that’s not the right word, but it’s the only word we can come up with…until finally it’s like our face got smashed into a brick wall and we remember the word we want is “artificial”.

#On writing

[turtle-in-the-mums]

Introducing the boys to the world is a daunting storyline to attempt, but I love it so, so much. The reason I’m reblogging this, though, is Leo’s pose. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a fanart with a character in this kind of position before, and I want to encourage artists to play with this kind of thing! Little “slice of life” moments, with all their awkward body positions, lounging-around-home clothing (or lack thereof), and domestic settings--yes please! Also the cat that’s only a silhouette and eyeshine on the windowsill--I love that kind of “Easter Egg”.

Rise Leo is such a scrawny little guy--he reminds me of some of the guys I knew in high school. They were all bones and bottomless appetite--they didn’t fill out until their mid-twenties or so. Leo, according to the movie, did the same thing--only started putting on muscle after his bones finished growing.

Maybe after the invasion ppl accepted them ?🤷‍♀️

#sophisticated-dino #rottmnt #art commentary

[turtle-in-the-mums]

I love this. Turtley TMNT FTW! 

--Leo’s theatrical reaction is SO in-character for him, and the sketch carries all the DRAMA he’d put into his very noisy display. I can hear his canon voice wailing “I’ll never be pretty again!”

--Little Mikey stretching and leaning in like a cat and wagging his tail like a dog--that’s adorable. What’s impressive is that he’s STILL adorable six years later when bargaining for a few more minutes of scratching.

--The entire Donnie sequence is perfect. Again, his lines are totally in character and I can hear his VA saying, “Nature is a cruel and unforgiving mistress” and “Sweet baby Galileo YES”. I love it that he’s bouncing one leg before April offers scratches, then his opposite foot is wagging as he’s being scratched. On a side note--it’s a big deal that Donnie not only lets April scratch him, but doesn’t hesitate to relax and let her scratch his throat and under his jaw. She just assumes he’ll let her do it without further permission needed. I love how tightly bonded this family is. Another side note--I’m betting “shedding treatments” are one of Donnie’s longest-running set of projects. Lotions to reduce the itching at the very least. This being Donnie, he might have come up with more extreme potential solutions to the problem over the years. He’s the guy who thinks it’s perfectly reasonable to fire up a chainsaw to carve a snowman, after all.

--Donnie pulling off Raph’s scute--maybe it’s one that came off but got wedged in partially under or between some other scutes that hadn’t come off entirely yet. So Donnie wasn’t hurting his big brother, just wrestling with dead material caught in an uncomfortable spot. That’s my story and I’m stickin’ to it!

--Raph floating alligator-style rather than human-style is priceless. So is his face in the “Freshly Peeled” panel. I love turtle piles.

--One more note--I love it that you draw the turtles with tails! 

Turtles shed the plates (scutes) on their shell and their skin when going through growth spurts. Can’t be comfy…luckily April’s got them covered💛

#art commentary #tmnt art #turtley turtles FTW #butterflyscribbles #rottmnt

[turtle-in-the-mums]

Reblogging this because it shows something that struck me as I’m rewatching Rise. In the canon series and in the movie, Leo has two yellow stripes on each bicep and one each on his thighs. In a lot of fanart he gains another stripe on each leg. Frankly, I think he looks better with the extra stripes. A little rummaging of the Internet says that a turtle’s markings CAN change with age and other factors. The logical headcanon then becomes that the guys’ markings change over time. Which opens the door for all kinds of reimaginings of how the turtles would look as they grew older. Leo’s stripes might spread all the way down his limbs to his fingers and toes, or shift to wrap all the way around his arms and legs, or change color. The red marks on his face could widen and spread back toward the back of his head. His shell markings could get more complex and colorful--both plastron and carapace. The same thing could happen to Mikey, and even Donnie’s markings might spread or change color to some degree.

How each turtle handled changes to his own appearance and those of his siblings could be a nice bit of fluff-fic or fluff-RP. I’m too easily distracted to finish a fic these days, though.

twinsies

earlier:

#donathan #turtley turtles FTW #tmnt #Headcanon #random commentary #rottmnt

[turtle-in-the-mums]

Reblogging this because Donnie is just so perfectly done. I love the art style--don’t see this level of shading and contour too often. Putting Donnie in deeper shadow than Leo works on a number of levels, and those eyes. Those EYES warning you off getting too close or trying to take his brother away. I didn’t even notice the raised eyebrow at first, to be honest. I was too captivated by Donnie’s stare. Leo is essential to the picture, and those blue half-moons in his eyes give him just a touch of “fey” otherness, but he doesn’t have the impact Donnie does. At least not on me.

POV: You’re not passing the vibe check

Disaster twins my beloved (my brother also requested I draw Donnie so 2 birds 1 stone)

#art commentary #tmnt art #rottmnt #7acee

[turtle-in-the-mums]

Turtle stacking, tactical style! Thoughts--Donnie can probably only stand this because he’s got some sort of tactical vest on. Otherwise his relatively soft and flexible shell would probably make it painful to support Mikey’s weight for long. Also, I’m betting the guys use each other as weights for strength and balance training. Raph can do pushups with not one but two brothers on his shell. Mikey can keep his balance in a one-handed handstand on Raph’s shell while Raph does pushups. Leo does squats with Donnie on his shoulders reading a technical manual. Donnie’s leg exercises involve launching Mikey high enough into the air to complete at least one full somersault before coming down to grab Donnie’s feet for another push.

I tried my hand at @donathan 's tactical turtles.

I love their designs so much and the way donathan does anatomy is really fun.

This took me a while. For one because this a new way for me to draw anatomy, then I got it in my head to make a whole a** new procreate brush for the lineart and then I wanted to add a few shadows.

I hope you like it. :)

#tactical tmnt #tmnt art #avroditelovesthesun #random commentary

[turtle-in-the-mums]

Enjoying looking at Donnie here--avoiding Leo’s angry face. The thought occurred, though--what if it was Mikey defending his siblings? One of the great moments of the movie was Future Mikey’s entrance. It was all the more impactful because we don’t get to see Mikey as the badass bruiser all that often.

Speaking of Mikey--wouldn’t it be cool if the Tactical Turtles accidentally discovered their mystic powers? Like all of a sudden their markings are glowing (and blowing their cover) and ordinary objects are morphing into other objects (the canon guys did that on purpose in their fight with Shredder at the Crying Titan, so presumably it could happen by accident) and portals are opening and closing at random...and the guys have no training in handling it and no clue how to go about learning to control it. Oh, the plotbunnies...

Love your art! I saw the image of Donnie getting caught by the enemy- what about one of his brothers rescuing him somehow? I feel like they’d be especially protective over him, considering his soft shell.

leo to the rescue!!

#plotbunnies #Donathan #tactical tmnt #tactical donnie #tmnt #rottmnt

[turtle-in-the-mums]

I just love how Casey can climb up on adult Leo’s shell and lie on him without causing Leo any noticeable discomfort. Rigid turtle ribcage = no trouble breathing with a teenage human on your back. It’s a great illustration of just how HUGE teenage Leo is destined to be. It’s also wonderful that Casey doesn’t feel a need to ask before using Leo as a recliner.

Part 11. The end:)

Part 1 The sequel you might want to see

#somerandomdudelmao #tmnt art #art commentary