Summary
TheTeenage Mutant Ninja Turtlesare reptilian heroes who protect their city to the best of their abilities byutilizing their signature weaponsto ensure the criminals they face think twice about breaking the law. Almost always seen sporting colored bandannas to help highlight the differences between brothers as well as give them a cool visual design to work with,a piece of recently released fanart has given the Turtles a totally different look by swapping their iconic bandannas for oni masks, resulting in a redesign fans need to see!
Shared on Instagram by Lyle Cruse (@lyle_style), this Art Director/Illustrator/Designer has worked with Disney, Warner Bros., Marvel Studios, and Universal, and has contributed his artistic talents to more than a few projects that fans know and love.
More recently uploading art featuring Spider-Man, Moon Knight, Batman, Optimus Prime, and even aDragon Balltribute for the series’ late and great creator, Akira Toriyama, Lyle has also recently shared inspired poster art for iconic ‘80s movies likeDie Hard,The Goonies,The Princess Bride, and more, showing off exactly how versatile Lyle is when creating something nerdy.
The Ninja Turtles Claim the Year’s Biggest Comic, as TMNT #1 Already Passes 300K Sold
IDW’s relaunch of Ninja Turtles has become the year’s highest selling comic book issue, as it Surpasses 300K pre-orders ahead of its release.
Leo, Donnie, Mikey, and Raph’s Oni Redesign Beg For An Official Comic Adaptation
Fanart Design by Lyle Cruse (@lyle_style)
A signature wardrobe accessory that dates back to the team’s comic book debut in 1984,Leonardo, Donatello, Michelangelo, and Raphaelfirst wore matching all-red bandannaswhile out on their nightly crime-fighting patrols, giving them a more uniform and gritty design that fit their early adventures well. Eventually shifting away from this monochrome designin favor of more colorful sashes, the Turtles’ current blue, purple, orange, and red color schemes, along with their differing fighting styles, offensive weapons, and personalities, help to effectively turn each brother into their own unique hero, with Lyle’s folkloric oni mask redesign furthering this idea perfectly.
Mentioning that he decided to “flip their masks to kabuki,” Lyle draws each Turtle in his signature art style, giving the brothers a stylish never-before-seen design that simply works. Color-coding each mask with their respective hues, Lyle illustrates the team with slight differences in facial features and teeth, further separating them as individuals. Throw in some textures and glowing eyes that make each ninja pop brilliantly off of a darkened background, and Lyle’s want to “do a full character design of not only their bodies, but also other characters in their universe” is something that fans can get behind.
The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are more popular than ever, especially with the comic’s recent relaunch breaking records along withthe sequel toTMNT: The Last Roninmaking waves with each new issue, with this redesigned fanart following in that fresh and new direction. Bandanas are still the go-to look for theTeenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, butLyle Cruse’s (@lyle_style) take on these Heroes in a Half Shell makes a case for why Leo, Donnie, Mikey, and Raph need to don these masks in an official capacity, and soon.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TMNT) is a multi-media franchise that began with Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird’s comics in the 1980s. Throughout the years, their comic books expanded to movies, TV shows, video games, and toys. Most notably, the animated Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles ran for nearly a decade and has become a nostalgic staple of the ‘80s and ‘90s. Several other movies have featured the four anthropomorphic turtle brothers (Leonardo, Michelangelo, Donatello, and Raphael), including the trilogy of live-action films in the ‘90s and the more recent movies Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and its sequel Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows.
