How to draw Scabbers the Rat
Rats aren't usually considered magical creatures.
They are the subject of nightmares for many people,
and have a central role in the very non-magical book 1984
by George Orwell. They also star in some of the world's
greatest disasters, by bringing the plague-infested fleas
from Asia to Europe by catching rides on ships. They also
steal thousands of tons of wheat and other food from human
storehouses, and can be deadly in crowded slums.
And yet they are favorite pets for many people, and are
often used in research laboratories.
But there is one magical rat, who plays a large role in
J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter® Books. Which goes to show
you that the human imagination can turn any animal
into a magical creature!
Ron's rat, Scabbers, is a ratty-looking rat who seems to
sleep a lot, at least until we find out who he really is!.
If we wanted to, we could show him sleeping. However, I
liked the scene that introduces us to Scabbers, on the train
to Hogwarts. You'll remember that Malfoy came into the car
with his friends Crabbe and Goyle, and after a few insults
they tried to start a fight with Ron and Harry Potter. Scabbers
put an instant stop to it by biting into Goyle's finger
- and he wouldn't let go!.
 (Our
model's name is "Madge." The photo is included
here courtesy of her owners at the Lawrence Hall of Science,
UC Berkeley).
You have a model for Goyle's hand that's always willing
to pose - it's stuck on the end of your arm. When you're
making your first sketch of your hand, make sure to leave
enough room on the paper for the rat. And don't try to take
a short cut and simply draw around your hand - it won't
look very good if you do.
Now we have to imagine what Scabbers would look like if
he was being violently waved around in the air, with his
little rat teeth sunk into Goyle's finger. The very best
way to do that is to imagine ourselves being swung
around in the air, holding on to a giant hand with our teeth.
I know you don't look anything like a rat, but you have
a backbone, and arms, and elbows, and knees, just like rats
do. And they all bend in the same directions. If you don't
believe me, look up "skeletons" in Google.com,
and make some comparisons between us two-legged critters
and the skeletons of dogs, cats, or rats.
 When
I imagined myself swinging around in the air, I felt myself
bending in the middle, and my arms went out to the side.
I also felt my hands opening up, just like Goyle's hand
is in the sketch.
So now we start making our sketch of Scabbers in midair.
I first drew an oval where his head will go, then drew a
curving line for his backbone, and on down to the tip of
his tail. Then I added an oval where his rib cage would
go,  and
put in the skeleton lines for his legs and arms (OK, "front
legs" - but rats do seem to have hands).
I used my scanner to reverse the direction of Madge's head
so I would have a better model for the front end of my picture.
 You
can see that I moved the right front leg because I thought
it was a better composition this way. I gave the tail more
of a swirl. I've put two sharp little rodent teeth into
Goyle's finger. And I've erased most of the skeleton and
drawn the outline in nice curving lines. Now we just add
a small amount of shading (we need to keep the shadows consistent
with the hand we've already drawn, remember).
Madge is a pretty, fancy-colored rat, but Scabbers is just
an ordinary rat. J. K. Rowling describes him simply as fat,
and gray. We can use a dull pencil to shade Scabbers, remembering
to follow the direction of his fur with our strokes, and
remembering that his tail and lower legs are naked.
And there we have him! If you want to get fancy, you could
draw in a train window behind Goyle and Scabbers. Or you
could make Scabbers look a little mangier, and a little
fatter, and a lot older. Remember to keep your finished
drawing, and to sign it!
You might also want to learn how to draw these critters...
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