Ninja Turtle 3D Character Study
Cowabunga, dudes.
Being a child of the early 90s, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is deeply embedded in my psyche.
So I channeled this into another fun 3d character study. I’ve only had time to finish one turtle so far.
Donatello is the best turtle, don’t @ me.
![](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/9699cd653dd980e503aa9dd22c1db8e4a4785465b438d66ddabb94ef40564da1/TMNT_Donatello.gif)
Some things I wanted to explore:
• Character Design – I wanted to illustrate the character myself
• Cartoony rigs – Lots of squash / stretch / exaggerated forms
• Animation! – I wanted to push my comfort level with a challenging shot
• Smears + Duplicates – Graphical interpretations of motion blur
• Comic Book Style – Half tones, energy lines, etc.
Created in C4D // Rendered with Redshift // Finished in After Effects
![](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/073513f236ba5ee8e9f9dc21401fa4e2f030fcbaef8e041dc08cd935383b4aa7/PG_Donatello_Layout.jpg)
I illustrated Donatello in vector, then painted in the shading/volume in Photoshop, before modelling him in C4D.
![](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/41baafc7e756b3919ef82c0926f83ecd216d6341ccb2f4e7d5e6bfbf45deabb5/TMNT_Donatello_2D.gif)
![](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/f0cc54236b40c5dc5011fd0dda760f1c2b84879b10213487b0947246b8b78efa/TMNT_Donatello_3D.gif)
Early on, I explored a 2d cel-shaded look before deciding on the more realistic rendering style.