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A quick one one of Rat Bastard

That’s what they call it these days, right? A speed painting? A color study, a comp, a preliminary drawing or painting, an idea. This is done with Photoshop — no pencils, no paint, no paper or board. “No muss, no fuss” as the commercial used to say. There’s about seven layers in this Photoshop image, so the shadows are on one layer, the background is on another, etc. It’s sheer play.

Here’s the art for the promo card I’ll be handing out this holiday season while going to parties and haunting New Brunswick, N.J.  Xmas week. Also, check out the Rat Bastard Facebook fan page right here.

It’s been a long time since I’ve worked on Roscoe and his cohort on a consistent basis. In my old life as Rat Bastard illustrator C.J. Huja, I had a certain naive idea of what Roscoe and the inhabitants of his world should look like. They looked like whatever came out of my pencil — there was no real development. A few sketches and there was Roscoe.Most characters were never more than one or two sketches before they were finalized. I had no real understanding or training in character development.

When Imagine Entertainment optioned Rat Bastard for a TV show on UPN in 2000, I saw other artists’ interpretations of my characters. Being in awe of those who worked in animation, I was impressed when they took Roscoe’s ears, and move him to the side of this head, much like The Secret of N.I.M.H. or some of the Disney characters. They made him more realistic, his ears being more like the way a rat’s ears actually sit on its head.

After the option expired and Imagine’s efforts pointed elsewhere, I continued to study the character designs of Roscoe. He looked very much like he could be a character from “Batman The Animated Series”and I tried to incorporate the look into my own new, improved version of Roscoe. He was more angled, more animation friendly in some way. But the more I tried to force his ears to the sides of his head, the more I felt something was missing.

At some point, I started drawing my original design, with a more exacting animation friendly line work, but kept the playfulness. After all, Roscoe was the sum total of all my cartoon experiences as well as comic book inspiration — Mort Drucker, Looney Tunes, Terry Toons, Don Martin, Al Davis, and many others. I wanted an element of shear goofiness. I wanted Roscoe’s eyes to be uneven, his posture unheroic, and his ears to sit on the top of his head like Mickey Mouse. I’d always loved the notion of Big Daddy Roth’s “Mickey Rat” and Roscoe was my Mickey Rat. A gun-toting rodent, the anti-Mickey.

Here’s as good’a place as any to post this. No idea who posted it on YouTube, but there it is. Batman director Kevin Altieri did an amazing job on this. Check out John DiMaggio (voice of Bender on Futurama) at the beginning and very end. He was replaced by Greg Proops (not sure why). EG Daily (of zillions of cartoons like Power Puff Girls and Rug Rats, and Pee Wee’s girlfriend Dotty in Pee Wee’s Big Adventure) voice’s Roscoe’s ex-girlfriend.

I could go into what I liked and what I wouldn’t have put in, but it’s a short — it was eye-candy to show the suits at UPN back in 2000.

Enjoy.

Something about little quick drawings — sometimes they look okay.

Roscoe Rodent Returns — and ready to draw his blaster. I’ve got piles of drawings just waiting to be scanned.

Been busy doing some freelance stuff for Wiley Books (the folks who make all those great how-to computer program books). So here’s a quick study of Carmen in action.

Here at the Jersey Shore: Water temp: 70 Air temp: 68. The water is 2 degrees warmer than Malibu, CA today ( looked on the magical internetter box ). So what am I doing besides not surfing? Running back and forth to Lowes sprucing up the house before our 3rd annual July 3rd party. Red Bank has the biggest fireworks show in the state, and Judie & I throw a big BBQ / New Brunswick Mafia reunion. But I’m on a roll here and need to keep battin’ out the art. So here’s a color / tightened-up version of the Carmen Monoxide character designs.

Been working on my web site –so please excuse the lapse in info. Web sites are a drag, so I’m cheating, and drawing some preliminary character designs for the Rat Bastard model sheets. “Did he say model sheets? Does that mean a show deal?” Fact is; there’s always a show deal. There’s always “something in the works.” The old saw ” When all is said and done, more will be said and done.” And sticking with that notion, I’d better get a few things done. So here’s some Carmen Monoxide studies that are pretty close to what I’m leaning towards.

Carmen is technically a criminal. As such, she’s a cheater, a liar, a con artist, an actress. Here she plays cute to sucker some guard. The juxtaposition of the other image shows a contempt for the way she has to behave for her cause.

This one is really close to the look. The teenage girl who is just slightly more girl than teenager, but still wise beyond her years. She’s from a rich family — used to only the best. She may be a freedom fighter who lives amongst the the common folk, but when it comes to gear, Roscoe’s outdated quiver is just not acceptable.