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Socar MYLES · Posted: Sun Dec 16, 2001 8:39 pm

This is a departure from the usual--a rather anthropomorphic rat. Ordinarily, I would not draw a 'furry'--I prefer real rats--but this was a commission from a fellow rat lover.

I had some fun with the background textures.

Bob the Newt · Posted: Sun Dec 16, 2001 8:53 pm

rats. you draw rats

Gothic Gerbil · Posted: Sun Dec 16, 2001 9:31 pm

Absolutely love the background in this one! It is really really awesome. The rat itself is actually kind of annoying to look at for some reason. Maybe because it looks a bit too cut-out on top of the background like that. Mayhap if he was put behind one of those layers of matting. And I'm really not sure what to make of that second stick strapped to him, the one jutting higher than the other one if stick it be. Other than that, your fur is really neat, good job.

LoTekK · Posted: Sun Dec 16, 2001 9:57 pm

to add on to gothic gerbil's comment about the rat looking like a cut-out, my first impression was that if the background border thingie is supposed to be a window of sorts, a little more depth might help... as is, i think the rat and the scenery behind the "window" complement each other nicely, but the clean border kind of detracts from the overall picture...

[edit] on second thoughts, i realized that the scenery in the background looks way too close for that much hazing by atmospheric perspective... [/edit]

just my two cents...

otherwise, the rat looks awesome, and so does the backdrop scenery...

[ December 16, 2001: Message edited by: LoTekK ]

Socar MYLES · Posted: Mon Dec 17, 2001 8:43 am

Bob the Newt - Congratulations. That's the most useless comment anyone's ever made on my work. Yes, I do draw rats. I DO know this. You don't need to point it out.

The background in this picture isn't really supposed to be particularly representational--it's not a wall with a window in it. It's a design...a backdrop. I think I've done this effect better in the past, though.

Overall, I'm happy with the backdrop and I'm reasonably satisfied with the rat (and thrilled with the textures on the clothes, which will show up very nicely in print), but I'm not so sure about how well they go together.

Ah, well...I'm so overrun with work at the moment...none of my pictures are quite as polished as they should be. I'm calling this one done, in all its imperfection.

EDIT - Although I'm done with this one, critiques are still welcome. I save them all in Notepad files for future reference.

[ December 17, 2001: Message edited by: Socar MYLES ]

Solayna · Posted: Mon Dec 17, 2001 8:57 am

Hm... The legs look a bit odd

Bob the Newt · Posted: Wed Dec 19, 2001 4:16 pm

you draw rats

JeffTheKing · Posted: Wed Dec 19, 2001 5:33 pm

you dirty stinking RAT!!

Teaweed · Posted: Wed Dec 19, 2001 6:01 pm

*snigger*

Teaweed gives Bob the Newt a lolly and sends him on his way

Actually, the thing I like most about this painting are the colours. Any chance of more works with a similar palette?

Eric Pommer · Posted: Thu Dec 20, 2001 5:40 am

Overall I really like this, and I am very impressed with the background. I don't know much about anthropomorphic rats, but as a non-rat expert, the proportion of the rat struck me as a little off. My eye wanted the tail to be a little bigger and heavier, and something about the shoulder/neck combination seemed off. Still, very cool overall!

Psionic · Posted: Thu Dec 20, 2001 5:44 pm

I think this is stunning, with lots of time and effort put in and also very skillfully done!!

c · Posted: Thu Dec 20, 2001 9:22 pm

omg it's splinter.

oh wait splinter was kinda scrawny, but hey he still kinda looks like he belongs in teenage mutant ninja turtles. i hope you're not offended myles!

oh wait it's a she, i didn't see the boobies.

looking really nice, i like the translucent ear. but the border is kind of distracting, and the tendency to have shadows turn into pure black is something you should keep an eye on.

Socar MYLES · Posted: Sat Dec 22, 2001 12:08 am

Teaweed - I see no reason why not.... Usually, I wouldn't go for so much green and yellow, but I like the effect in this picture. I'll probably try it again.

Eric - Yeah, a rat's tail is generally about the same length as the rat itself...so it probably SHOULD have been longer. Ah, well. Oops.

c - Hm...weird. There shouldn't be any pure black in this picture, because I didn't use any, and I didn't use any multiply or burn layers (which can generate black.) The shadows are various shades of dark green and red. Maybe the .jpg compression did something to them...it looks a lot lighter in the .psd version. Bizarre.

bigfoot · Posted: Sat Dec 29, 2001 12:59 am

Fantastic!
I can easily see this on a book cover!
The only crit is...the ears need a little
less light shinning on them.(they are a bit
lost). Or,just outlining them would fix it.
Great Job!