Year: December, 2006
Tools: mouse, psp7, photoshop
Notes: I have stood here before inside the pouring rain With the world turning circles running 'round my brain I guess I'm always hoping that you'll end this reign But it's my destiny to be the king of pain

Kyuss watches Schism watch the rain, and wonders what goes through his head.

I don't know where this came from. I was one of those pics which wasn't planned but just came out when I sat down to draw. On reflection, perhaps I was trying to vent. I’m currently feeling very misunderstood and judged by someone very close to me, someone I always thought knew me well. It’s made me question the entire idea of ever believing people really know you, even people you've known half your life.
Perhaps subconsciously I've used Schism to represent my feelings that no-one ever really knows another person; Schism is a very misunderstood character.
He's pretty much blind, and he cannot speak. He lives in a world of sensory deprivation, and is in constant pain due to a number of medical issues bestowed upon him by the lab. He finds it very hard to relate to other rats, so they, in turn, do not put a great deal of effort into relating to him.

Kyuss looks rough in this. I've changed his markings a little bit. The ruff around his neck is now only grey to a point, and then goes back to orange as it goes over the back of his head. If I'd thought about it hard enough previously, this would have been implemented from the offset. Agouti based rats with grey tummies only have the grey on their underside, not over their back too.
Don't know what the fuck is up with Kyuss's hair. The pic of Josh I used for 'hair reference' was one in which he looked kinda dishevelled.

I try and draw Schism as much like a real rat as I can. Although I like to keep all my characters close to real rats, I don't anthropomorphize Schism at all. I kinda want to emphasise the fact that he is detatched from my other characters, that there is a spark of 'life' and personality which is missing from him. He is physically and emotionally unable to get close to others, much as he'd like to. He is a very bleak character. I love Schism.
Lyrics © The Police