Meet this artist's wonderful rat characters inspired by everyday life

Filipe Pagliuso is a character designer and illustrator based in the city of Ribeirão Preto in southeast Brazil. He's worked for the likes of Games Workshop and Magic: The Gathering, but he makes sure he still finds time to develop his personal work inspired by everyday life in his city, including a fun project that serves as a more cartoonish alter ego.

The rat Beto Rato and his family and friends are the main characters in a personal project that Filipe developed with his wife. Their idea was to create a private universe where they could make their own in-jokes hile representing intimate aspects of Brazilian culture.

Ever since creating the first characters, Filipe has used them in a Christmas card for his wife. Over the years, the couple has continue to expand the universe by adding new characters that represent their experiences together.

Filipe introduces us to some of the crew below. For more inspiration, see our character design tips and the Pixar rules of storytelling.

Beto Rato

The rat family lives in a burrow near a restaurant door. The main character in this world is Beto, a “lovely, talkative middle-aged rat who’s a bit conceited and addicted to cheese”.

“He’s quite naive and has a huge heart, although his belly seems even bigger!” Filipe says.

Seu Ratenôr

The owner of the local grocery store, this character is a clear example of how the couple take inspiration from real characters in everyday life.

“Nobody knows his real age or even where he came from because he’s always telling different and absurd stories about his life,” Filipe says.

Raimondo Van Der Rato

A great inventor… or perhaps not! Raimondo is Beto’s cousin and is a source of great pride. However, most of his inventions don’t work properly, even if he claims otherwise.

Rita Rato

Beto’s life mate is a gracious, happy and charming flower lover. Rita is Beto’s inseparable companion and the perfect match for him, Filipe says.

Ratatinha

Ratatinha is Rita’s best friend and her confidant. She's a funny and stylish hippie mouse who owns a candy shop.

Ratolino

Beto’s best friend is a street mime artist, but he tends to be apathetic and demotivated. Even so, he does his best.

You can see more of Filipe's work on his ArtStation profile. Note that some pieces contain nudity.

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This article originally appeared in ImagineFX. Subscribe to ImagineFX to never miss an issue. Print and digital subscriptions are available.