Okay, this is terrible - it really is nothing more than a rough sketch, but given a deadline and lack of motivation, I decided to work with it for the time being. I'll be getting a better version up eventually! Anyways, this is my character for 'Retrovertigo' - a rat group started by .

The lineart was provided by and I used it for the sake of showing colours and markings - in no means do they need to be perfect (if anyone wants to draw her), she's really just a blotchy mess.

Sure, the shade of orange and green eyes aren't exactly realistic (it might looks nicer as a more muted orange), but that's not what we're going for - it's just for artistic fun and we have rats with piercings, tattoos, ridiculously unrealistic and dramatic back stories, and so on and so forth. So, what did I do? I turned myself into a rat! I know the following story is completely unnecessary, but I was bored and I try to give substance to all my characters.

Name: Charcoal
Age: Six Months
Weight: 260 Grams
Species: Norway Rat (Rattus Norvegicus)
Variety: Standard Mismarked Variegated or Dalmatian
Fur: Velveteen (Bright Orange and Dark Gray)
Eyes: Bright Green
Mischief Rank: Gatherer

Her clothing consists of a modified long vest and a flat cap. They were stolen from a doll found in an antique-oddities shop where she used to live with her family and both are a dusty off-white. Her collar is black leather with silver studs. The ankh necklace is sterling silver like the chain and also like me she wears two silver hoops in her left ear (the top is smaller than the bottom) and one in her right. Not shown in this image are fingerless leather 'gloves' on all four paws made by her own hand.

Some other defining features include a particularly long tail (that would reach past her nose when measured over her back) and dark circles around her eyes as though she is consistently tired. The fur around her head is reminiscent of hair and hangs in long slightly-curly clumps and her fur is "plush velveteen" - a variation of velveteen + rex genetics. Her brow whiskers are far more curly than those on her muzzle and her fur is plushy and exceedingly soft.

Charcoal is obsessed with humans. Her mother came from a generic little pet shop that, like most, didn't know all they needed to about fancy rats - in no way did they treat them poorly, but they failed to separate the does and bucks, so when a fire broke out in the middle of the night, it was a pregnant young rat that ended up escaping.

What ended up happening when the fire began to spread was a panicked parrot knocking its cage into the rodent aquariums - the fancy rat cage was shattered and the rats fled out the door once the fire fighters arrived. The pregnant doe took up residence under an oddities/junk/antique shop down the street and gave birth to a large litter of rat pups. This is where Charcoal spent her early life and spent much time exploring the shelves and studying the pieces of magazines that lined their nest.

She grew enamored of humans and their society and now strives to learn all about them. As is such she attempts to imitate them in some ways such as dressing as they do by stealing doll clothing and modifying it to fit her needs. However, she eventually grew bored of her siblings and mother (who really didn't show much interest in her strange behavior) and left the shop to explore the world.

Charcoal eventually met Chester and convinced him to leave his ship rat family and come with her. They joined a rat pack soon after and have been there as close friends ever since. She is a talented thief and an eager collector and as a result makes a good gatherer.