TMNT - Sleep (Color)

Finally uploading this one! This is one of the images I'll be selling prints of at Albuquerque Comic Expo in June. This image is a mix of traditional and digital - I colored the base with Prisma markers, then did the shading digitally. The original pencil line art was just darkened in Photoshop to retain the sketchy quality.

In honesty, I drew this up because of the mental image of Raph there. I wanted to draw all four of them once that one solidified in my head. I spent a lot of time thinking about what each of the Turtles' rooms would look like. While I did give each of them at least a part of the bedding that matches their bandana colors, I didn't want to straight-up match everything. After all, they're living in the sewer and anything they have as likely scavenged from somewhere, so they can't be too picky.

Leo, I decided, would be the most traditionally Japanese of the brothers. He has a mat on the floor, padded slightly on the sides so the curve of his shell fits nicely into a pocket in the middle so he can sleep on his back. The customized blanket with the clan symbol is the result of Donnie helping him make a stencil and draw it on with markers. I always imaging his room as very clean and minimalistic.

Raph would definitely be the one to fight for a bright red sheet when that sucker showed up. I doubt anyone would oppose him calling dibs, either. Thrashed into a weird position until he got comfortable and half-wrapped in the sheets until he was the right temperature seemed fitting as well. (A friend worded it as "angry sleeping pose.") In my mind, Raph is the one among them who's the most concerned with not being "naked," keeping as much gear on as he can stand. Partly it's out of a slightly warped sense of modesty and partly out of a need to feel ready to fight at a moment's notice. That's just my head-canon, though.

Donnie's probably got more books and tech on his bed than we can see in this small-framed image. I imagine his laptop isn't far out of reach, possibly right beyond that left hand there. I imagine he built himself a custom bed frame with shelves on the headboard and storage drawers underneath. Hugging the pillow seemed fitting for him to me. On the note of the pillow, it's a blueish-purple, but everything else was randomized because I figured he'd be one of the brothers who really didn't care much about the color of his bedding, as long as it was comfortable.

Mikey, lastly, cares the least about what bedding he's got, so usually ends up with whatever's left over. Unlike Raph, Mikey's in full gear simply because, with how high-energy he is throughout the day, by the time he gets to bed, he's ready to fall on his face. He's got posters on the walls, though I couldn't decide what would be on them, and so little of it shows anyway, I just did a general color wash and left it to the imagination. Someone also mentioned that it looks like he might be lying half on the floor, which is totally possible, as I could see him with a mattress on the floor rather than a full bed frame.


Pencil version: