The turtles skin tones??

[TheBlueTurtle1]

Just was wondering when the turtles first had unique skin tones and why?

I seem to first remember them with the 80s figures, and in the turtles in time snes game.

Is there a back story to the colours chosen for each turtle? why were they notused in the 80s show?

[Donatello19]

Playmates did this with the original figures so that parents wouldn't feel like they're buying the same figure 4 times.

[Redeemer]

Playmates did this with the original figures so that parents wouldn't feel like they're buying the same figure 4 times.

Good Explanation

[Garfield]

probably for similar reasons that they gave them different mask colours, to differentiate the looks for selling merchandise. I'm guessing that advertisers felt that four green turtles with the same shade of green in red mask just wouldn't sell as well if they didn't change up the colours.

I'm miffed that they switched Raph and Mike's skin tone, in newer stuff.

[TheBlueTurtle1]

probably for similar reasons that they gave them different mask colours, to differentiate the looks for selling merchandise. I'm guessing that advertisers felt that four green turtles with the same shade of green in red mask just wouldn't sell as well if they didn't change up the colours.

I'm miffed that they switched Raph and Mike's skin tone, in newer stuff.


Yea, I kinda like Raph to have the soft green, but I guess they felt the stronger green suited the angry gruff personality.

The question is do you guys like the individual skin tones? or like them all to be the same shade of green?

[Discogod]

Yea, I kinda like Raph to have the soft green, but I guess they felt the stronger green suited the angry gruff personality.

The question is do you guys like the individual skin tones? or like them all to be the same shade of green?

If they're all in red bandanas, then I prefer the same shade of green. When they're wearing their individual colours, then I prefer different skin tones. That's purely down to the original figures - I loved the way dark green & orange looked for Mikey, light green & red for Raph and so on.

[Slade]

If they're all in red bandanas, then I prefer the same shade of green. When they're wearing their individual colours, then I prefer different skin tones. That's purely down to the original figures - I loved the way dark green & orange looked for Mikey, light green & red for Raph and so on.

Mark this for me as well, except I prefer Raph and Mike to be switched.

[Mzx10484]

I loved and still love Donatello's dark green/brown colour from the Playmates vintage toy line !! 8)

[BabyTurtles]

I like Mikey's light green skin color XD it goes well with the orange mask :)

[Bossa Nova]

Yea, I kinda like Raph to have the soft green, but I guess they felt the stronger green suited the angry gruff personality.

The question is do you guys like the individual skin tones? or like them all to be the same shade of green?


I really love the individual shades of green, it gives them much more individuality and I like how it compliments their different colored masks too :lol: I prefer Raph with the darkest hunter type of green, Leo a true sort of emerald green, Mikey an almost blue-ish seafoam green and Don...well, I know he typically is given the brownish, olive green. But for some reason his is the only one I like to change when I color him, and I tend to give him a much softer, sort of pistachio green with a hint of gray instead of brown. So I guess Donnie's special in my world. Either way though, variety is good :D

[MsMarvelDuckie]

Hmm, I've always considered Mikey as more of a malachite green than sea-foam- he's much too dark to call it a sea-foam shade- malachite still has that bluish tone to it, but fits his color palette better. Unless you mean the lighter tone in the new cartoon- but that's more of a spring green, I think.

[Bossa Nova]

I guess I just like Mikey on the lighter end of the spectrum as well :) He's also the only one I ever tend to color with a yellow plastron and a green shell, his brothers all have varying shades of browns instead. I could see how giving Mikey a deeper shade of blue-green would also be appealing, I guess I'm just so used to the lighter tone that I automatically gravitate toward it. Plus, it makes it easier for his freckles to show through :lol:

[MsMarvelDuckie]

What freckles? That's something that was created just for the Nick version- and I've never understood the reasoning behind giving a turtle freckles- he's neither human (which is the only reason I could see him having them) nor a red-head. Granted, he did have a few in his BRIEF appearance as a human in "The Gang's All Here" episode of the OT, but he lost them when he turned back to his normal self. And he's never had them anywhere else. Turtles don't have freckles- that's strictly a mammalian trait. (And it looks weird on them, anyway.)

[Bossa Nova]

Uh, sorry if my preference for the turtles' skin tones bother you? :ohwell: Before I watched the Nick version I had seen some versions (fanart) of Mikey floating around with freckles and I thought they were very cute, so I was pretty happy when Nick decided to go that route for him too. I also like to portray Leo as having freckles as well, though his are more sparse and spread through his body as opposed to primarily on his face. Truthfully, it would make sense that all the turtles would have spots and "imperfections" on their skin, because that's just the way skin works, animal or human. One could argue the turtles have a lot of mammalian traits now that they are mutated, so I don't know why Mikey having spots on his face that resemble human freckles is so upsetting.

I also don't know what being a red-head has to do with having freckles? People with other hair color have freckles too.

[BabyTurtles]

Mikey's freckles are adorable XD

[MsMarvelDuckie]

Uh, sorry if my preference for the turtles' skin tones bother you? :ohwell: Before I watched the Nick version I had seen some versions (fanart) of Mikey floating around with freckles and I thought they were very cute, so I was pretty happy when Nick decided to go that route for him too. I also like to portray Leo as having freckles as well, though his are more sparse and spread through his body as opposed to primarily on his face. Truthfully, it would make sense that all the turtles would have spots and "imperfections" on their skin, because that's just the way skin works, animal or human. One could argue the turtles have a lot of mammalian traits now that they are mutated, so I don't know why Mikey having spots on his face that resemble human freckles is so upsetting.

I also don't know what being a red-head has to do with having freckles? People with other hair color have freckles too.

No, feel free to like it all you want- it's just not my cup of tea, for the reasons noted above. It's not upsetting, per se, it's just not very logical (IMO) from the standpoint of their origin. Call me a purist, but I tend to think that giving them too many "human" traits just tags them into the "humans in strange costumes" category, much like so many "humanized" aliens and fantasy races have become. I'd rather see them stay closer to their true nature as turtles- since that's what they really ARE, mutated or not. Having a shell and being green would then just be relegated to the realm of "Oh, look- they're green and have shells. They must be mutants." Kind of like so many of the Marvel X-Men mutants have become. Making them TOO human takes away from the strangeness of what they are in relation to the rest of the world, I think. I actually think it's cute for Nick- it fits their tone (and unfortunately, their portrayal of him, which I find underwhelmingly dumbed down). Incidentally, the fan art you mentioned mostly started shortly before the Nick toon first came out, but by then the concept art and even some of the merchandising was already out there. So that's why so much fan art came out even before the actual premiere. Enough people had already seen them that the concept of a freckled Mikey had caught on. Hardly surprising, in this day of instant imaging.

As for the red-head thing, it's a more common trait among "gingers" than any other hair-color, as it's a trait of more northerly countries, where hair and skin tones tend to be lighter (Nordic, Scots, etc). But I just can't see a turtle with freckles, since they're still technically reptiles, and turtles tend to live in warmer climes where darker skin tones would be more common. In any case, isn't having a humanoid form, intelligence, and personality enough mammalian traits? How "human" do we really want them to be? Or more to the point, how "human" do we make them before they cease to even be considered turtles at all? The spots or what-have-you on a turtle are much different from human freckles, though. Most turtle species actually have various markings of different colors on their skin- predominantly on the head, legs, and shell, but they are usually distinct from the rest of the body- ie, stripes or actual spots as opposed to something like "freckles" which are simply a clump of melanin-heavy pigment cells, much like a mole. And I don't buy them having those, either.

[BubblyShell22]

I love the different skin tones as it gives them more personality and distinguishes them better than if they had the same skin tone.

As for the freckles, I don't mind them at all. In fact, Don has even stated that the Turtles could be derived from the diamond back terrapin, and you can plainly see that the other Turtles also have spots on them. They aren't as pronounced as Mikey's freckles, but they're still there if you look closely.

[Bossa Nova]

MsMarvelDuckie, I can understand where you're coming from in wanting to differentiate the turtles from actual humans in costumes. Really, it makes perfect sense to me. I guess for me, I'd prefer to spend exploring these differences they have from humans in their actual behavior, living situations, relationships, morals, beliefs and the like. It really is quite an interesting subject to get into, but when it comes to their physical traits, I don't have that big of a problem if they tend to err on the side of human. Their looks still don't change the basic idea of how they have been raised and what they are. Of course, they CAN if that's what the fanartist or author in question wants, but not all artists and authors are alike, and some may prefer the turtles slightly less turtle in looks while still retaining what, in essence, makes them mutants.

[Garfield]

The question is do you guys like the individual skin tones? or like them all to be the same shade of green?

I more prefer them to have different skin tones, at least with the toys. I guess its because that is how its always been presented, so I'm so used to it. With other portrayals like cartoon, movies, and comics; i'm fine either way.

[TheBlueTurtle1]

I always loved Don being brown/green with the Purple.