Im sure this isnt the most effective way to model, it looks like the models have to be pretty high poly too, but proportional modeling is soo cool.
I basically followed Modrons turtle tut.
https://blenderartists.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=44686&highlight=turtle
since im a newbie, it looks like crap, some of the verts didnt go up as much as the other creating those lines. But if any one wants to expand this, (maybe add some biceps, triceps, a rib cage perhaps) or totally different ideas such as Modrons turtle, that would be awesome!