TMNT

When I was 6 years old, every Saturday, I used to get on my blue BMX and visit my uncle to watch TMNT. Then, in 1990, "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - The movie" came out and that is really how I remember them. That 80's vibe, the moody Taxi/Joker New York setting and characteristic costume design...

I scraped the internet for inspiration. These are some of the most influential moodboard pins I had; a lot of blue, moonlight, the Manhattan skyline, a gritty feel. The composite work is aweful too and the contrasts are way off, although this wasn't something I was particulary drawn to visually.

My mom had baught this Van Damme poster at the local video store and put it up in our garage as a joke, next to my dads stationary bike. It ended up in my room of course, and I still think that movie kicks ass. The martial arts used to look so much more estethic than they do nowadays on screen, it's like that comparison between Freddie Mercury with Kanye that went viral.

So, I'm bringing back the good stuff and also pay a little photographic tribute to my childhood (who are we kidding) heroes.

Looking at som moodboards I started with the sky which is created using a gradient adjustment layer in Photoshop. On top of that, I created a 50% gray fill layer, sat the blend mode to overlay, and converted it into a smart layer. I then applied a vignette to it using Camera Raw filter. Since it's a smart layer, I can always go back later and fine-tune it non-destructivly. I never cheat like that. Also, I found a typeface called "Machine" and re-created the logo, again on a separate smart layer so that I could size it dynamically.

Next, I added the skyline and moon (which I made a little more purple):

Article in progress* please come back later.