Eric 4/19-4/21

I've been battling a cold for a couple of days, which knocked me out of the sketching mood. However, today I did three for Monday through today.

These roughs are for my next next show, River Rat and Cat. It's small, and will tour throughout the schools in Kentucky and the region this fall. Here is a brief synopsis of the show, pulled from the publisher's website:

No one has ever understood the mysterious friendship of River Rat and Cat. From the day fastidious River Rat hauled a drowning sodden Cat from a sinking basket (thinking Cat was some unique collectible), all of the river creatures have been dismayed by the camaraderie of this unlikely duo. Cat proved to be imaginative, grand, fussy and thoroughly needy, while Rat is material, practical and thoroughly self-reliant. Lately, Rat has become frazzled by Cat's demands and has undertaken a program to make Cat more self-sufficient. However, Cat is determined to remain a pampered feline. Unbeknownst to River Rat and Cat, their downstream neighbor, Dale Beaver, has cast an eye on the one remaining tree, a tree currently owned by River Rat and inhabited by Cat. Beaver needs this tree if the Dale Beaver Dam is to remain the tallest on the river. Beaver must break up this friendship so that Rat will evict Cat.

There you are!

I'm keying in on Beaver's highly militaristic style. He never comes onto stage without a march and cadence. His costume is inspired by WWII British uniforms, with many natural touches added, like the bottle cap medals and the ivy citation cord.

I think of River Rat as a hoarder. He lives for his possessions, and will do anything for them. He's that hobo who lives by the river and has his shopping cart full of wares. His pockets are stuffed full of his worthless treasures, and his clothes reflect his focus: his possessions are what matters, not his appearance.

Finally, there's Cat, who's a bit of a runaway. Cat's a house cat who is living the wild life outdoors. He's pampered, spoiled and out of place, but he loves it. He reminds me of the those young boys from highly proper backgrounds who want nothing more but to play in the mud.

I liked getting back to my usual sketching style, although I think they all have big heads. I also am very deliberately choosing not to go "all out" on the animal qualities. This attempt is just adding tails to character-inspired costume.

So, we'll see how it all goes in my design meeting tomorrow!