I decided that sometimes i make things that are supposed to be white too dark and heavily shaded, and then they end up looking grey or some such shading colour. I drew two wolves, and decided to make them white and give myslef something to practice on. The howling wolf in the background is not too good (all around), but the browner foreground wolf came out okay. Now it just needs a background... Prismacolor coloured pencils on sketchbook paper. Image © 2002 Laura Westrate

Probably the last project i will have to do for my 11th grade year! I researched a dozen Egyptian gods with animal heads to see if i could figure out why ancient Egyptians may have chosen each animal to represent their gods. Pretty interesting... There are flaws in these drawings (such as the scarabs front pair of legs and the "claw fringes"), but i still think they all turned out really cute. I especially like Sobek and Bastet :) Seth is a "Seth animal" just so you know... drawn/interpreted from some sort of hieroglyphics i found. Thought he was cute too. Prismacolor coloured pencils and ink.

BTW, i'm leaving later today on that Yellowstone trip for two weeks, incase anyone emails me and thinks me rude for not answering right away...or something. So, bye :D

Don't worry, Dutt really is harmless, just don't ever agree to play Follow the Leader with him...

He doesn't think the purple tint is funny :P Just another drawing i did while watching Titan A.E. the other day and trying to work on facial expressions. I would try to ink this, but i'm afraid it would lose the strength some rougher drawings seem to have in pencil, so this is as finished as it's going to get. Hope that's alright.

This is what watching Titan A.E. one and a half times within 6 hours will do to you... Heh, it's kinda cute though.

The last of my babies died. I had Nemo put to sleep today after school. He was so thin and constantly struggling to breathe :( With him a big part of me feels like it too has died. I kept almost the whole litter of Zelda's kids from birth to death. Zelda is the red-eyed rat in the bottom left corner. She gave me the best birthday present ever... (only 3 days early)

Nemo was special to me ever since he first started to get pigment in his skin. I wanted to keep him so badly. He was so beautifully marked, but i was only going to be allowed to keep the females, and my breeder friend told me "Baldie" was a boy. Luckily though, we couldn't find homes for any of the babies except one female, and my parents knew what would most likely happen to them if we gave them to the pet store, so they didn't make me. Over 2 and a half years later i finally gave the last of them up. Good thing is though, no more of my current rats should die (of old age at least) for almost a year. That should be a nice break for me ...ohh...

And yes, the picture of him under the end of the dead rat's tail is mirrored. I didn't realize that until it was too late to fix it.

Thank you Zelda; thank you all ya little furballs ... I'm gonna miss you guys so much.

Everyone love connect-the-dots, right? Sure. I made this for part of a quiz that fellow students coming along on the Yellowstone trip will have to take. One thing i learned about connect-the-dot pics though is not to put in too many dots, or you can see what the picture is before you even start! I had no bison reference pic when i did this so i hope it looks okay...

I give up. I can't keep my paws off of Flash now that i know how to use it just a tad. I found a quick sketch that was a few months old and played with it in Flash until i ended with this. Oh the poor squirrel...it almost looks like a car hit it once or twice. Yes, that's why it only has one ear too, oops...

Okay, i lied, but i will take a break after this... least i should. I have exams to study for... Anyway, this is a drawing i did in my sketchbook, scanned and then coloured in Flash 5. I finally figured out that program (by trial and error) enough to do something with it! The dog is my best friend's golden retriever. Her name is McCray, but i call her Flexi Dog 'cause she bends and sits in ways that shouldn't be possible unless you're a ferret! She's dead cute like that too...

I've felt so stressed out with school and just not myself lately... I've really needed a break, and there isn't one in sight. It's so not like me to show/talk about my personal feelings, but I’ve been worn so thin lately, i can't keep it all in. My friends at school have helped me so much in the past few weeks and they don't even know it. I figured out that my main problem might be that no one really accepts me for who i am or what I do. To most I'm just the shy rat freak who rarely talks to anyone and draws pictures that others just laugh at. But its not true, and it’s not who i want to be. I just don't know where to go from here. And I’m confused and dazed... i don’t know what else to say. I'm sorry.. I think i need be gone for a little while longer...

By the way, I've decided to change my fursona's name. It's no longer "Runt", but "Cricket" so all of you who might care know. ...Bye...

Prismacolor markers and gel pens on sketchbook paper. Dutt and Cricket © 2002 Laura Westrate

I was having fun with a doodle, until i couldn't figure out how to finish it off. After much time and frustration, i ended up with this, and i really like it! Wasn't worth the time put into it though...

This is Dutt. He is my new love. He comes everywhere with me. He's about 8 feet tall, weighs 350 pounds, and is from the planet Hepsaan. He might look scary, but he is very kind, at least to me. Do not cross him. I don't want to know what he can do... I love him, yes i do. *snuggles Dutt*

This is the first drawing i have done that my mom has had a problem with... It's brush pen on 11x14 inch Bristol board and up for bids on Furbid: http://www.furbid.ws/cgi-bin/auction.pl?furry&1020134203 Some extra colouring options, etc. are offered if bidding goes high enough, so check it out please :D

Gift pic for Melissa O'Brien 'cause i love her art (http://vcl.ctrl-c.liu.se/vcl/Artists/Melissa-O%27Brien/). She can get her lines to be so smooth and really neat other effects, plus, she is super nice too. I really hope you like it Melissa! ..i do :)

Hecate, Frisket and Melsa © 2002 Melissa O'Brien
Pic © 2002 Laura Westrate (so is the big-butted dead dog i guess, but i don't really want it..:P It's just supposed to be a random dog, and it's a coincidence if it resembles anyone's character or real dog.)

*Insert Linkin Park's song 'By Myself'* (my "theme song" of sorts...)

The most detailed drawing i did while watching my 4 rats in the living room today (in my sketches section). I squeaked at them and Mori looked up just like this. She looked really cute (as is normal for her). I think i captured her face quite well if i do say so myself...

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Winged fox drawn with coloured mechanical pencil leads.

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Winged raccoon drawn with coloured mechanical pencil leads.

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Winged cat drawn with coloured mechanical pencil leads. I might sell these on Furbid if anyone wants them. Three 4x6 inch pics on acid-free paper...

Yeah, i got back early! Good to be home. Glad i don't have to go to college just yet. Drew this on the paper tablecloth with crayons supplied at a restaurant near where we stayed. My mom drew tulips *shudders* Guess she missed our hometown...

Just a cute little ermine i drew while listening to a friend of mine's music (www.nautilusmusic.com *nod nod*) Also, so you know, i will be gone for 3 days visiting a college in Evansville, Indiana, so that's what's up if i don't answer emails and the like. Cheerz!

Small (2 and a half inches square) birthday card for one of my best friend's birthday. Tara will be 17; which means i will be soon enough as well! Weeee... Her favorite colour is purple and this is tied to the box containing a bracelet i made charms for using mainly purple beads. It's cute :D

Not only is this a pic for Rio, whom i had to put down today (3-26-02), but also for all my other rats who have passed away; 23 of them, and i remember every one. From Keta who lived 3 days, to Pearl, Wilburt and Rio who lived to be 2 or more years old. Lulu with her broken back, Pipin’s broken nose and stubby teeth. My sweet Midge and her tumor, Igor my worried little man. Mink and his feet… I love them all more than i could say. Its so hard most times to have a pet you love so much, but know they will be gone in one to three years.

For those of you who don't understand pet rats, imagine the love you have for your dog, cat, bird, whatever, overflowing in a little critter that people run away from and insult, and who will die in the time it takes other pets to even become an adult. I love the way they’ll lick your fingers, groom your hand, fall asleep on your lap. I watch them eat, and the comical ways they find to sleep, the silly things they do. I love it when they grind their teeth with joy, pleasure, happiness. Each rat is so different from one another. They are just so wonderful and i wish more people could understand... Sleep well my little friends; you are loved.

Logo for a shirt on CafePress which i doubt anyone but me will want. But that's okay, i do want it. BTW, i'm putting pics up on Furbid again. Tell me please if there are any pics you want me to sell. http://www.furbid.ws/cgi-bin/auction.pl?alluser&Lrattie

I had a half-day of school today (March 15th) so my mom took my best friend (Tara), aunt who is visiting from CA, and my grandma to see the da Vinci horse and butterflies. I took 48 pictures today! Mostly of the pretty butterflies... This is just a pic to commemorate my fun day. Do you know where i was?? lol

Sorry for the wrinkles, etc. but this is drawn on a paper grocery bag and i couldn't get them to go away. I love it when teachers give the option of drawing/decorating stuff for a project! This one is for part of my AP English project on 'Henderson the Rain King' by Saul Bellow (fun book). BTW, i have opened a Cafe Press store 'cause i REALLY need money for Yellowstone and no one wanted the pics i had on Furbid. Email me if there is a pic you would like to see offered either place! www.cafepress.com/Runts_Store

I was going to add a necklace with the glass beads i made on it, but i figured that i had been working on this long enough. I've started seeing it when i close my eyes.. that can't be good. I have a problem with making muzzles too big too... This is 100% Painter Classic and Wacom tablet done.

I've been making glass beads for about 2 weeks since my mom is taking a class and brings her stuff home. It’s real fun to do. Just today i decided to try making rat beads. They turned out okay, and I'm getting better too. The albino in the middle was my first, then the black hooded one and the black-eye-white was third. They are about an inch and 3/4 long and 3/4 of an inch wide (main bead part). I hope to figure out a way not to use the mandrill and have a hole through them. I wont ever string these on a necklace as i am sure the tails will break off, but they are fun to just play with :P They are hard little buggers to photograph too. They reflect and shine too well in the flash.

It is actually at that angle on the real paper. This is for sale on Furbid (http://www.furbid.ws/cgi-bin/auction.pl?furry&1014767777 ) to help send me to Yellowstone for a school trip. This is slightly brighter in RL too, btw. Prismacolor markers and white coloured pencil on 5x7 inch paper.

My AP Biology teacher broke his leg playing soccer with other teachers from my school. He will probably be in a wheelchair for several weeks and out of teaching for at least the rest of this week. I drew this for our class of 9 to sign. His name is Mr. Beaver, how handy, didn't have to think much about what animal to make him! lol