:3 It looks like my old rat... Sadly, my rat died because my brother thought it would be funny to feed him rat poison... But enough about my life >>

I love the colors :3 It feels like im really there with it.

Really? Thats fucking sick. I hope he got some help, because thats not something a sane person does!

Indeed =\

Words are not sufficient to express how this makes me feel, so a fav will have to do. <3

Tell me about it. Speak out against dog abuse and you're a hero, speak out about rat abuse and you're just crazy.
Even though the two species are remarkably similar in intelligence, social structure, bonds to humans etc

Some people are just a bit too dim to get their head's around anything that falls outside the confines of their own experiences.

I guess it's a good thing I rarely get rats (the wild variety) in my house, because I can't deal with the concept of traps/poison...one time I had a rat in my house and everyone kept telling me to kill it.. my sister wanted me to bludgeon it to death with a broom (!?!?!?)... I shooed it outside instead --;

heh. I have mice in my rat shed, they're attracted by the rat food. I do keep it in bins they can't get into, but there isn't really any way to stop the rats kicking it out of their cages, and the mice actually going into the cages after it, so Im kinda stuck with them. Theres no way I'll use any traps or poisons on them, much as they can be annoying, its just totally inhumane.

I agree :/ I mean I know animals kill and eat other animals, and none of them are immortal, but I really don't like the idea of prematurely ending their lives in such an unnatural and cruel way, for no real point. Like it didn't bother me when my cat used to catch mice, because she actually ate them. I dunno.

As an aside... how do you bludgeon things with a BROOM?! Those springy brushy things? It would be more of a severe brushing.

I'm not sure. Maybe she wanted me to use the handle. >_>

I dunno...
I did have my aunt use a broom to sweep a mouse, rather gently, outside and towards a nice woodpile to hide in, so that was a good broom use.

ew! a rat!

nah, jk i love rats

awesomest picture evar! :3

Oh man... whew. I love rats to bits (I own three) and this would kill me if it happened. Rats are wonderful creatures. I just wish more people realized that.

:( Jeebus... at my old job there was a bit of a mouse issue, and I had a heart attack when they started putting glue traps everywhere. One of my bosses and I proceeded to get rid of every last trap we could find, until we came across one with a still live mouse on it. We managed to rescue him (after trying EVERYTHING to get the glue off, low and behold baby oil worked), and when he finally came to his senses he was the sweetest, cutest little thing.

Not exactly a rat story, but as far as my experience goes mice and rats have that same God-awful reputation and neither deserve it, nor do they deserve the completely inhumane methods we've developed to "get rid" of them.

crazily well rendered, how did you do the fur if you dont mind me asking? Is it a texture or individual strokes? /curious

Just individual strokes with a mouse. Im kinda crappy at fur, trying to get better :P

looks real good i think! Vary realishtic

The beauty of this picture is what makes it so hard to look at. The back lighting, while still capturing all the wonderful nuances of the fur, perfectly compliments the tragic message it conveys. What hits the hardest is how it reminds us of just how incensitive and ignorant humanity can be towards our fellow creatures.

Dog, cat, wolf, tiger and even rat. They are all God's creatures and have a right to live. I salute you for standing up for the rights of the beautiful rat!

I had never had real experience with rats until my cousin, and later my girlfriend, got rats of their own. I realised how sweet and intelligent they are, and how severely disproportionate people's stereotypical ignorance-based reactions to rodents are.

This is amazing and very well done. The texture of the fur is awesome and the expression is portrayed very well. I've always hated the fact that people tend to think a life is less valuable just because of size or species. Instant favorite.

jeez, the detail in this...

His face... haunting. That squeezed-shut eye look, not the way they close their eyes when they're very pleased, but the way they do when they're not feeling well... I know it, not from rats (yet), but from my mice. But these larger cousins have so many of the same expressions, though the facial structure is a little blockier on a rat (or, to look at it the other way, a bit daintier on a mouse). Another great rendition of a subject you know from whiskers all the way to soul. I love your rat art.

This reminds me of the time when I was at my co-op. The receptionist had heard scrabbling in the recessed ceiling and the president, my boss, ordered in exterminators. I never saw any but there were mouse droppings in the ceiling. And they killed the ones they didn't catch. I don't know what they did with the caught ones. They never actually saw any rodents at all.

I love rats and mice and rodents.

Poor things. D: Rats are so adorable and really are intelligent little critters, how anyone could stand to put out rat poison is beyond me.

I need me a pet rat. My dad doesn't like them, but I managed to get him over hiss issues with the hamster.

If you are ever allowed one, get two. They can't be kept alone :P But they're much better pets than hamsters, they're more like little dogs. I've got a hamster too, and while I love him, he isn't in the same league as my rats.

Hamster bites...... do rats bite?

You draw such beautiful rats. The fur detail here is beautiful. And such a sad and as someone else here said, haunting, expression.

I thought it was a photo for a minute...and to done with a mouse :O. you have alot patience.

Some people couldn't understand why I spent to time and money taking my rats to the vet for check-ups or when they got sick. But then again I don't think they take their cats or dogs to the vet :O.

Absolutely freakin' gorgeous, and a lovely message.

God, I love rats.
My teacher was talking about how we were supposed to be dissecting them this year, and I knew I wouldn’t be able to do it. Luckly, my school didn’t have the money to do something like that…
As much as I’d love to be a vet, I can’t stand any kind of animal being killed souly for the purpous of being cut up by a class of minors who may not even have any interest at all in becoming a vet, or working with that kind of stuff in the future. Its such a damned waste, just to cut open a animal and poke at its organs for a few moments, and then toss them out. Rather it be worm, cat, frog, rat, or whatever else they dissect.
I can’t stand the ‘their just rats’ people, shit, their just wolves to, why should I care about them? I hate the ‘it has to be cute and fuzzy and resemble something that lives in my home before I want to protect and save it’ that kind of thinking gets all kinds of animals killed, not only rats but other animals like snakes and sharks. Its just disgusting, and those people claim they are for the welfare of animals, but that is not at all true. They are for the welfare of the animals they like. And its fucking hypocritical.
The closes thing I’ve had to a rat was a ferret, hopefully, this summer I can get a rat from one of my friends who breeds them… because those animals are damned smart., I love em to death.
I even talked my family out of using rat poision at a young age.. cause I couldnt stand to see it.
Anyway, the fur in this looks so real, and I love the little hands. Even though its such a sad picture. Nice work.

Poor ratty. This makes me sad ;-;

Did I read that right.. you did this with a MOUSE? x_x How long did it take you?

I do all my art with a mouse, don't like tablets :) I can't remember exactly how long it took, think it was about 7 hours or so.

Jeeebus that is crazy (and impressive)
My hand is too shaky for the minute control you need with a mouse... even a tablet is hard for me to get clean lines with though >.<

Rat poison is insanely cruel >.< It's a hard picture to look at, but it's one that needed to be drawn. People that do poison traps really need to be shown it and be told "THIS IS WHAT YOU'RE DOING TO ANOTHER SENTIENT CREATURE" =_=