Discovered "The Only Turtle Left" Tragic Artwork
 

I discovered searching through the DeviantArt website, which is probably one of the heaviest and tragic pieces of TMNT artwork in going through the TMNT fanwork. (Some of you may have seen this same topic at a different TMNT forum that I posted beforehand, but I wanted to mention it here too! Sorry beforehand if somebody already posted this fanart earlier.)

I have to admit that this artist really captured the distraught heartbreak of each individual Turtle when it dawns on each one, of being the ONLY turtle left alive. The ominous colors of the background, and the body language truly stands out here! The brotherhood family loss is beyond palpable.

And the detail...just WOW! :o You can tell that each one fought to the bitter end to save his brothers with all of the bloody lacerations, cracks in their plastrons, bruises, and other injuries; but sadly still they couldn't be saved...

My compliments to that artist (uses the name DeadPea) since it usually takes a lot for fan artwork to really make me revisit it over and over and over again.


Michelangelo:

http://th07.deviantart.net/fs71/PRE/...ea-d53kjhw.jpg

My personal caption: The most carefree, upbeat, warm-hearted, and spirited turtle has had his innocence shattered, it will take a lifetime to ever get back to that place...if ever...

http://deadpea.deviantart.com/art/MI...hers-308328116


Donatello:

http://th03.deviantart.net/fs71/PRE/...ea-d50rw8s.jpg

My personal caption: The introverted turtle who was always behind the scenes and helping with the technical aspects of their battles, will truly understand how it feels to be completely alone and unnoticed.

http://deadpea.deviantart.com/art/DO...hers-303632380


Raphael:

http://th03.deviantart.net/fs71/PRE/...ea-d4xmjh4.jpg

My personal caption: The toughest and hardened ones can be the most passionate and emotional, after this...it will ignite a revengeful fury that will never be quenched from a scar so deep.

http://deadpea.deviantart.com/art/RA...hers-298343704


If you go to the websites below each artwork, it will provide the artist's DeviantArt site with higher resolution and a bigger image. These are the type of artworks that inspire tragic TMNT fanfiction.

The artist is still working on Leonardo though....sorry Leonardo fans... :(

Update: He's also planning one tragic artwork for Splinter as well (when he discovers all 4 Turtles have died.)

I am of the opinion that they're trying a little too hard to be edgy, but that's not to harp on the art itself, which obviously takes great skill to create.

Great pieces, but really depressing subject matter.

They're definitely well drawn and colored! Also over-the-top melodramatic!

i think the donnie one is the most striking. i like the raph one the least...something about the pose. They're all beautiful though.

"little too hard to be edgy"? "over-the-top melodramatic"? In this artwork...?

C'mon guys, didn't the Mirage/Image comics have just as heavy emotional scenes/depressing scenes? Maybe not as heavy as 3 brothers dying, but the separation of all of them in their eventual futures.

Well I guess when you deal with life/death battles, what else can one expect then...

This art is incredibly Amaizing , even if it is a little sad. I wonder if there is a Leo version?

Art is arguably the most subjective thing on earth, or at least in entertainment. You did put this here in a public place to share your thoughts on the work, it's to be expected that others would do the same. One might say that the mirage comics' "emotional scenes" felt more natural. But again, it's all open to interpretation. It's not all the fault of the subject matter, some of it lies in the execution of it. Blood, for example, is in my opinion incredibly tacky in this particular case. It takes the class out of it. Something truly sorrowful, seeking such a raw emotional response, should flow with ease, rather than use extreme imagery or suggestion to force those feelings.

bit over-the-top. Of the three you barely see one of the turtles face, which is a bit redundant.

Nice understanding of muscle, anatomy and drawing fabric. very nice coloring job. The blood splats in Don's picture is too much and are really distracting. The background in Mikey's image is more interesting them Mikey himself.

I like Raph's Carapace.

These three pieces (how I wish there was one for Leo and Splinter), is actually what reignited in me my childhood love for the Turtles in the first place, so yes, you could call me a fan of these.:D I saw Raph's picture first and of the three it's still my favorite. The attention to detail, such as how he's curling his toes in anguish, pulling himself in, is so human, and so true to life, that I still feel very sad if I stare at it for too long. Before seeing these pics, while I still loved the Turtles, I hadn't really thought about them too much over the past few years, and on a whim I decided to check up on DA just what was new. It was only once I saw these that I remembered just what it is I loved about the Turtles in the first place, their deep bonds of brotherhood, the potential for grittier, raw emotions, opportunities to explore darker themes and just plain bad-ass fighting.

Yeah, I got all that from these three pics, but I'm not going to care how lame it sounds. Thanks to them, I dove headfirst back into the TMNT-verse and only wish it had been sooner.

Great artistical skills, doubtless. But I have never experienced the Turtles like that. I agree with the opinion, that feelings are forced here. Feelings which you might get when you put yourself in these situations. In my subjective opinion, the Turtles comics, toons and movies never caused such morosely feelings in me. And I have just noticed that I don't set value in these feelings regarding the Turtles.

Thanks for explaining it Powder :) , I was just wondering what parts of the scene seemed too excessive considering it was all about death.

I wasn't being critical or anything, but just very curious as to why this artwork seemed so extreme when both the comics and this fan art dealt with death so intensely.


Couldn't agree more Bossa Nova, even though the fanart is VERY heavy and possibly overdramatic, it forces the viewer to feel and confront the full weight of the Turtles' emotions as potential consequences in being involved in such dark, gritty, and bloody fighting action.

Mel Gibson would love these...

Reviving this thread because Leo just went up. The set is complete! :D

I'm a huge fan of these myself, but I'm a sucker for tragic stuff so... yeah. :P I have to say I'm a fan of the blood and cuts on them because it gives the impression that these scenes follow immediately after that fateful battle, showing them mourning before they've even cleaned up or properly left the battlefield. It's that first, raw moment when the last of the enemies has been put down and it hits them - my brothers are dead.

http://i.imgur.com/mzhCvBb.jpg

artist: Deadpea on deviantart

These things are really well done!

These are amazing.
I gotta follow this guy on DA

Whoa, awesome pics. They really capture the emotions of the Turtles as they deal with the loss of their brothers. The Leo one's my favorite, but I'm biased. Can't wait for Splinter's.

Thank you demonsweat for adding the Leo art piece! Appreciate it! :)
It shows how amazing DeadPea's work is when it was just posted today, and DeadPea already has over 50 comments!

The colored bandanas of Leo's brothers around his arms give it that extra dramatic effect, with Leo trying to symbolically hold onto them despite his lifelong separation from them now.

The-this is so sad *sniff* and so beautiful at the same time :cry:

Man. They were all heavy, but I really got that punched-in-the-gut feeling from Leo. He carried them figuratively for so long, and now he's carrying what's left of them literally. There's so much bad allegory out there that good allegory is stunning to behold.