Tall Tale
This is an illustration inspired by my pigment-challenged rat, Pewter.
Pewter has albinism; he experiences the world in a wholly different way than pigmented animals. His strange whitish coat, highly reflective eyes and his head bobbing (as a visual aid in spatial recognition) make him very unique and mysterious.
These visual challenges, combined with his small stature, don't put him very high up on the group hierarchy of dominance. This illustration is a way for me to put him on par with powerful animals in myths and lore. In those tales, the animals' initial handicaps are counterbalanced by unique strengths — tigers imbued with camouflage and courage, dragons who are all-seeing and kitsune who are dog-fearing shapeshifters that bear keys to the granaries.
