The first controversy to hit the latest TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES was the look of the turtles themselves. The designs never really won anyone over with the peak of positivity simply coming in the form of tolerance. That's probably strike one right there, but conceptual artist Kelton Cram had a few different designs he was instructed to flesh out, before director Jonathan Liebesman settled on what we see in the film.
In Kelton's words:
Jonathan Liebesman had a lot of the ideas in his head about the different personalities of each Turtle, and how that would determine the size, costume, and accessories. It was all based on the original TMNT, but with a more cinematic approach. Donnie, the brain with the gadgets, Mikey the surfer, Leo the traditional one, and of course Raph the rebel.
The process was very thought out and took about 6 months. I was fortunate enough to work with Liebesman very early on and help design the Turtles in 2D. once the basic silouettes and ideas were approved, we quickly moved into 3D, where we sculpted and resculpted the different Turtles multiple times. Liebesman loved being able to go into Zbrush with the artists and push and pull the anatomy. Ultimately he was able to achieve exactly what he wanted through this process.
Kelton on the design of Shredder:
Shredder had a lot of changes throughout the process. The script would have big rewrites, and we completely revisited Shredders look and function. I got to spend a lot of time making numerous versions for Shredder.
While the design for the Turtles wouldn't have affected the end result too much, I wonder what alterations (if any) will be applied to the sequel. Given that they're aiming for a 2016 release, I can't imagine too much will change. Here's hoping the studio and director Jonathan Liebesman listen to the fan's criticisms and take that into account when crafting the next Ninja Turtle venture.
TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES is now in theaters, if you dare.
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