Mostly Utroms
 

A combination of focusing on Utroms and struggling to find a comfortable turtle design for myself has led to 98% of my tmnt stuff being Utroms. Mostly fitting in its own universe, and inspired by my personal greatest question revolving around IDW Krang: "Where is his mother?"

The answer I've made for myself is "she's dead". And then I ended up creating a whole character around it, which now has become a story on its own.

Her name was Temre and she was one of Krang's predecessors as General.

She came from a large military family. Her scar comes from saving a stranded exploration team from some of the native life on Morbus; she injured fending them off, but was ultimately mortally wounded by Traxus when Krang was extremely young.

Deviantart link for the whole biography: http://bat-snake.deviantart.com/art/...io-2-576050248

I tend to not work in watercolor, but I had some leftover paint from a prior project and came out with Krang's first escape on Morbus


One thing I really want to put together is a speculation on Utrom anatomy, which I've been struggling with for a while. It's not easy, especially considering that I'm not a professional biologist and physically could not handle dissections in high school.

Finally for now, the (fairly old in my art development time) comic from which my icon comes from. Pretty much a summary of the last time Krang saw his father. I put the pieces together and couldn't pass up the opportunity.

I have combined Utrom Empire, Stare Dad, and This is Fine Dog, and I am unashamed. It will probably be recreated in accordance to how I've improved in the last several months since this one.

There's still a lot more I've done, but I'm not sure if they'd comply with the rules?

This name is strangely familiar and i probably know who this is :D Finally got accepted huh?

I sure was :D

"Worth Abandoning"
 

"I have seen the cost of your pride. And I have no use for it. Not anymore. I could have you forcibly removed. But you're not worth saving. You're not even worth killing."

I've been drawing Utroms enough in frequency that I feel like I can revisit old art and redo it.

For example, a scenario while Krang is in the lift after abandoning his father to die. Now, the last remaining survivors of his species are huddled in a bunker, scrambling to prepare for their hibernation; the rest are dead as a result extermination of resources or slaughtering in the rebellion - both of which have dragged the planet into its own doom. And it's all Quanin's fault. But Krang was willing to give him a chance; he's his father after all. And he had the gall to assume that they would survive on their dead planet.
What's a guy to do but cry a little while he has the chance - before anyone can see and while he's in a truly isolated place? He failed his species, he failed his home and his father has fallen out of the wagon.

This is the first version from early August


And this is the new one from a few days ago

It seems that I may have to make a third post in a row, since I have a little more to share and it's been a couple weeks since the last one.

IDW Krang and Ch`rell are my favorite antagonistic Utroms, and I realized that this is would pretty much make up a highly annotated, watered down version of what a meeting between them would look like. Also, it's what a quick squish not-to-be-fully finished work presently looks like for me.

That's...probably not what the prongs are for, they're probably just birth defects.

My Christmas illustration, in a universe where Temre didn't die when Krang was an infant


And finally, a depiction of Leatherhead finding Dr. Xeinos after TCRI was destroyed. In the basement of a building that probably needs to look a lot more gonked up. Also, I cannot draw alligator heads as well as I'd like to.

It's in my concept where Leatherhead is a little older than the TMNT, though...so it was intentional to attempt making him look young. Tried to aim for a teenage boxer/wrestler look, but that'll develop in time.

Huh...seems this has made my 100th post...*blows kazoo*

I'm hoping to get some kind of response from someone...because I have another update.

This "draw the squad" challenge inspired a "where the IDW TMNT villains are now"


So here it is

I'm not actually sure what Stockman, Koya, and Blugeon are doing, but this seems pretty close.

This is from September and will most likely be redrawn. But I've yet to rave here on how much I adore the Utroms that Sophie Campbell drew. Especially Churk. But he's not here.
I like to think that the military transport team's commander is the type of intimidating military guy who flaunts photos of his grandchildren. Not quite sure who to compare him to? Like the eye-patched mustache-twirling villain in spy films who babies his pets. "And now that we've had our evil scheming...let's go play with my puppy."

Unfortunately, new recruits don't always know that, and sometimes get trapped with him while he's excited about having recently seen his grandchildren/having a new grandchild. (Double spoiler for language. It is also quite large accidentally)

You can really tell how far I've come in four months

I never knew Utroms lead such interesting lives. You definitely are getting better.

It's mostly my own interpretation; I would love to see something more official, but I'll have to go with wild speculation. Well, mostly wild, making guesses based of their physiology and what very little we have been given. At some point, I might compile my thoughts together.

This was made in November, and will certainly be redone, since the tub is awkwardly formed in front of Temre's tentacles; it might even have to be completely redesigned.

Quanin is questioning why Temre is bathing their son; after all, they have a nanny for that. A nanny who, at this point, has become more of a personal aid to Temre, since she was the one mostly caring for him.

At this point, I was having a bit of trouble figuring out the leg formation of the walkers...so now, I'm probably going to go with the hoverseats of the 23k Utroms, or walkers like what the original Krang had...but without the screen.

I actually like that first picture of Worth Abandoning because of the shadowing on General Krang's form. (Also, he looks more 'squishier' for some reason imo.)

As for the "Draw the Squad" challenge, I do like your humorous take on the idea.

I personally find the shading to be too intense on the original, which is part of why I did a second version; I had been experimenting with shadows that were were a little kinder to the eye. Or at least mine.

My latest redraw has been with Quanin spending a little time with Krang while his mother sleeps. I had drawn Temre handling him most of the time, and in other instances of Quanin holding him, he wasn't tolerating it.

This is the first one.

I was clueless as to how to handle Utrom sleeping arrangements, and still am, so I started off extraordinarily simple for a General and Supreme Council Member.
Quanin is a lot more alert, I'm still using long tentacles next to their eyes (we need an anatomy chart and come up with some actual names for their extra tentacles...and what they're used for). Krang is tiny, and Temre's lower jaw looks weird to me. And still no official configuration for her scars.
This version has a (barely used) cradle. Look at that thing, it's huge for a baby that tiny.

This is the second.

This time around, the bed is something of a four-poster canopy that's probably in the middle of their room. Quanin is more relaxed, and with him laying against Temre rather than against her, and with the blanket pulled up higher around them, it looks cozier. Bedding is brown instead of purple. Krang is a bit bigger, and for them, is probably cradled more properly.

The cradle is absent from this version; unless they have something itty bitty, I doubt Utroms use them a lot; unless they have bassinets attached to their walkers, a concept I find adorable, but can't seem to configure. In fact, there's probably quite a lot that Utroms wouldn't share with humans, but that's something I'll get into another time.

Stockman taking a money bath over Shredder's dead body... I could see that. :lol:

It's been a while since a post, but I think I will go Professor Obligado themed here. Because Obligado is great.

Some of these are from last November, and I ended up switching his color because it wasn't quite "right" with him...or Xeinos for that matter, who I depict as his daughter.

This first one is a depiction of seeing his mother and father while his memories were being preserved, and is on my list of things to be redone.
Obligado (and his father) have been switched to a gray-green color.

They clearly have an awful taste in design.

I like to think that Obligado had siblings, and that he was the oldest of them. He was a pretty awesome older brother. The kind that would help to make science fair projects and make them bad@$$. But for the most part, was a reliable babysitter.


A page of sketches, in red ink because that was the only pen I had at the time. I was experimenting with Nalmar, his companion earlier in his adventuring career, who was also Xeinos' mother. I worked with two different ideas, one where they never had a child, and one with Xeinos. I loved the idea of Xeinos being his daughter so much that I went with that one.

Nalmar is basically a hippie; I've coined "Primalist" as an Utrom version of it. She introduced him to a lot of the narcotics he enjoys. She also preceded Obligado in death decades before The Grape, having contracted a virus that is basically if Parkinson's and Hypermalaria (from Futurama) had a really ugly baby.

This is linked to my deviantART because I'm not sure if it's okay for the forum (mostly for blood?), plus there's a story attached.
I'll link this one too, since I'm not sure what the consensus on some of the material is here either. It's the point where I switched Obligado's color.

This is more recent, and more exploration of his childhood.

It's based on what I could grasp on how Obligado was remembering his parents. He was wistful seeing his mother and laughing when seeing his father. So from there, I'm thinking that his mother was comforting and his father was "fun". Father encouraged his exploration and let him do whatever; his mother knew it was useless to interfere and stop them, so she tried to advise caution. If things turned out bad, she would step in, fix up scratches, and confirm that he learned his lesson.

And finally, totally not involved with Valentines tomorrow, another snapshot of one of his adventures with Nalmar...who I've considered at this point to be about 6-10 years younger than him. Young enough to be one of his students or a novice instructor, but not young enough to be mistaken for his being his daughter.

During one of their expeditions on a two-mooned planet, they stopped to enjoy the sky...and have most likely gotten really, really high. Nalmar in particular, the hippie that she is.

That's about it for now; I might do some redraws and load them here at some point.

I like the way they sink into the grass. Neato.

Thanks! I'm really proud of it. I actually struggled with getting that effect...and then I learned how to use layer masks XD.

I got a Macbook Pro last weekend to better myself as a graphic design student, and did a little art test with Photoshop



This is certainly the best Temre has ever looked, and I've definitely gotten a better grasp on her scar.

Another edition to the Obligado set



If Peter Laird can have those mutant Venezuelan raptors talk like Gollum, I can give homage the "hide from the Wraiths under the tree" scene. That has immediately followed an Indiana Jones situation.

I made a plush Utrom a while ago. He's not totally done yet, needing eyelids and some kind of scalp ornamentation, but he's about as done as he can get.

https://36.media.tumblr.com/006dbd1a...ylgo1_1280.jpg

That hat is sort of his thing now. I don't know what kind of hat it is, though.

I like the plushee :tsmile:

I'm very happy with him, myself.

In a change of pace, here's my idea of what 87 Shredder's mother looked like while he was a child.
https://40.media.tumblr.com/6145eb18...uylgo1_540.png
I definitely want to draw her more now.

Now that #56 has shown what Utrom bedding looks like, I took the liberty of re-doing something I did about five months ago.

I'm not sure if this counts as OCD or not, but Temre has a ritual where she has to report entries in several journals before going to sleep, otherwise she simply can't settle down. Sometimes it can be a test to Quanin's patience, and from the looks of her tea, she'll be there for a long while.

I wish I didn't have a third post in a row, but I still have something new, depicting the moments after Temre was dropped on the exhaust pipe that burned her.

She had been leading a protection squad for some researchers on a dangerous planet, of whom Obligado was part of (who probably could have made a pretty good protector on his own), and she was attacked by one of the aliens she should have been capable of fighting off (which would be something like the mutated Gollum Raptors from Mirage vol 4) She was picked up off her walker, and did manage to get away. However, she had been dropped on researcher's habitation system exhaust pipe and was severely burned. The other soldiers chased it off while Obligado - and his companion Nalmar - were looking after her while proper medics were alerted.

Hey, I did the remake!


Finally got that off my chest.

Honest question: what led to your obsession with Utroms?

I suppose it's an affinity for obscure fantasy societies in general.

On a real-world note, I had an obsession with learning about bats - and then snakes - in most of middle school.
Through most of high school, I had something similar for the Rat Creatures from the Bone comics...who are still awesome, if not even more obscure. Then I watched Doctor Who and enjoyed the Daleks.
I tried to create my own faction; a group that escaped the Time War and tried to reverse back into Kaleds somewhere deep in the universe.
Ch'rell was the first Utrom I would ever see, and that was from Phelous' review of Turtles Forever, and I ended up watching three versions at once, then went into the comics. I wanted to look into Utroms for more inspiration for that group of Daleks, but they ended up being exactly what I wanted.

Even with the Rat Creatures and Daleks, I'd still have a lot of enjoyment in figuring out what they were outside of how they're shown in canon. Where are the female Rat Creatures, I'd ask. What is life like for a single individual Dalek among the millions, I'd ask. With Utroms, one such question is how the **** they cram all their organs into their little round bodies.

Developing Temre was probably the final nail in the head, because I haven't looked back since then. I haven't even posted all the potential I've worked on for her - especially as a combatant and military leader.

I've enjoyed looking into single groups of things for a long time, and Utroms are just the next tier in that.

STUPID STUPID RAT CREATURES!!! :tgrin:

Don't get me started on how much I loved those two XD
http://i.imgur.com/0Gw4P48.png
(Sketched in about...five minutes?)

They introduced me to quiche and began a legacy of obsession that has brought me to Utroms.

There are a few sketches I've done that I should have put up a while ago...but still didn't.
http://i.imgur.com/aZ5dbdI.png
I like to think that the dinosaur-studying Utroms had some trouble with Velociraptors, but eventually just came to tolerate them.

And, for the first time on this page, the turtles and Splinter. With...Xeinos and Leatherhead. I found them living with the turtles in Mirage vol. 3 to be really sweet, including Xeinos' friendship with Splinter.
http://i.imgur.com/BAaUld1.png
I deliberately drew them without masks and their armor, mostly because I don't think they'd need to wear that stuff while they're just hanging out at home. It's not like they can't tell each other apart otherwise.

I like these sketches.

A comparison of Krang and Temre. In most depictions, it seems pretty clear that Krang takes after his mother, even if he just looked different from Quanin for artistic simplicity. But I still wanted to compare Krang to Temre even with their close similarities - and not just from Temre's scar and slightly different skin tone (and that's only because she wasn't an indoor child like Krang was)

I suppose they're at some kind of intergalactic UN?

Several times; that art would mostly be found on my deviantART, as I haven't loaded everything I'd ever drawn.

I have several thoughts on Utrom life, and this is one of them.

Utrom mouths are pretty big, probably so when they were living pre-civilized lives, they could eat quickly without getting attacked by their natural predators. But it also helped to protect their offspring from danger, like a few types of fish on Earth.
It's considered archaic for modern Utroms, even gross by some, but there are those that will still do it. They usually live in rural groups, and have their own opinion on those that object to mouth carrying: stuck up.

I discussed earlier that Temre used to carry Krang with her everywhere (I think). This is one such example where she'd even bring him to meetings and briefings.

This is the grossest thing of them yet Dx

Now just imagine when the Utroms on Burnow Island finally get children and Ma`riell is one of the first of them and she is carrying Glurin everywhere she goes, making the others wonder in curiosity xD(when we go with the idea of Glurin being Ma`riells child seeing as Dr.Xeinos is not available in the IDW comics lol)

I'm sure that with how few of them are left, it would only make sense for most of them to bring their babies with them everywhere, especially considering the way the Burnow Island facilities are.

Continuing in the story of Temre's burn recovery; her relationship with Quanin was already starting to bloom before she was wounded, but it flourished while she was recovering. Even when most of it was spent doped up on painkillers.
http://i.imgur.com/PHgMeC5.png
Temre's mother's name is Ny'ena. She's a field medic, and obviously was a big head in Temre's recovery.

You have a final design for her yet?

She's pretty much come down to it, save for trying to figure out setting her apart from Krang.

I often put sketches together into one page, and this is the first one I've done in quite a long time. These are in pencil and ink.

This is one of many designs I've done for Temre's armor, but I think this one is my favorite. I might build on it more at a later date.
https://67.media.tumblr.com/a76f8128...uylgo1_540.png
Two of the sketches are from attempts at a study for more energy and posture in Utroms - which is not an easy task. Churk ended up on it.

I have one big story in mind for when Temre gave birth to Krang, as a slice-of-life event, and part of it involved Quanin injuring himself cutting food for her. Because she had been in situations arguably more painful, Temre had the energy to tease him about it while the midwife (a Neutrino) stitched him up.

Continuing Temre's "bring the baby everywhere" parenting, she would really just not have a care in the world where/when/in front of who she fed him.

Krang's android body would probably be a horrifying mix of the IDW and original, but I haven't figured it out yet.

I did, however, make a needle-felted Krang.
http://i120.photobucket.com/albums/o...psjv2c3uel.jpg
http://i120.photobucket.com/albums/o...psuz0a54is.jpg
http://i120.photobucket.com/albums/o...psmo06hrmz.jpg
I poked myself with the felting needle twice while working on this.

And yes...it did hurt. A lot.

I like to think Ma'riell had caused a lot of damage with the frills on her back as a child/baby. Or at the least discomfort.
I also like to think of Ch'rell as being the older sibling.


I got around to drawing Shredder's mother again, but this time in watercolor and with her boys.

I had to take a picture with my iPad...so I had to toy around on Photoshop with the color.

Kazou Saki
 

Is the Shredder's mother in the 1987 cartoonverse with Kazou Saki being the other brother?