#rgtext

someone asked me a while ago how I draw slugcats and I wanted to make a huge guide going into how I rationalize their anatomy but I’ve been so busy w college I haven’t been able to touch it in like a month! So I decided to post these few notes I had! One day I’ll get back and make an entire guide but for now have these little notes :)

Animals I tend to gravitate towards for slugcat references are: otters, weasels, cats, and monkeys!

fr tho, how do you get them to look like that? its so neat looking

Great question!! My slugcats are shiny because I believe the species is similar to our planet's terrestrial molluscs (slugs). This is not simply due to their name, which is non canonical to the universe of Rain World, but because of in-game dialogue, sound cues, and official art!

I believe that slugcats originally evolved from the purposed organism mentioned in the bright magenta pearl; "a small slug to clean the insides of pipes." Since slugcats are the perfect size to fit snug into pipes and the squishy, squelching sound you can hear when slugcats slide/jump through them, it makes a lot of sense to me that they are descendants of these cleaning slugs. As well, it looks like every slugcat other than The Saint does not have fur in official artworks. And they were described as having a "mochi" like texture by the devs on the most recent anniversary stream.

[at this point I began writing an essay as to why this all reinforces the themes and lore of the game because I’m insane but I will stop myself]

TLDR; my slugcats are shiny because I believe they are hairless and have mucus-y skin which allows them to easily slide through and clean pipes.

Tho also no hate to ppl who draw them furry, it’s very cute! I love how creative the community can get with some of the designs :)

Anyways here is a small tutorial on how I do the shine on slugcats sometimes. My method changes from drawing to drawing but its all kinda based around this! I hope it helps!

The Hunter is definitely my favorite! You can’t get better than this lil guy :)

I connected so much with their story when I first played Rain World. Their selflessness, their battle with terminal illness, how they spend their last moments doing everything they can to save someone. It was so cool seeing a slugcat that was so involved in the lives of the iterators for the first time. And on top of that the gameplay was amazing! It was so much fun to challenge myself to learn how to fight and move through the regions quickly and efficiently in the face of danger. Just such an awesome experience.

But I also ADORE The Rivulet! I actually made an OC back in 2020 named Seven Speaks who followed The Rivulets story to a T. The story of an aquatic, salamander-spliced slugcat repairing Looks To The Moon which then allows her and Five Pebbles to reconnect was something that was very meaningful to me. So seeing it actually play out in the game almost exactly how I imagined it years before was incredible! It was everything I could have ever wanted for a continuation of the story! I definitely cried lol.

The Spearmaster is also a big favorite :) I love their story, their gameplay, and the broadcasts! I really really loved how their campaign fleshed out the iterators and their relationships. It’s so sooo cool. They’re kinda like an easier version of The Hunter to play which is fun when I don’t want to race the clock. I usually play as them nowadays.

And AHH THE SAINT! THE STORY! When I first realized what The Saint was my mind was blown. And don’t get me started on the chimney canopy change… I honestly think that was the most effective part of the entire game as a whole. You start in an area of the game where your first instinct is to go “oh I should go to Five Pebbles first, I’ll climb the wall.” You have this whole idea of exactly how you’re going to get there, I mean at this point you’ve done it so many times before. You make your way through Sky Islands and run across the top of chimney, everything is going great, and then the final screen changes. It’s gone. It’s all gone. The confusion of it all before the realization sets in. Five Pebbles collapsed. AH! I don’t think I’ll ever experience something like that again. It was so effective.

I’m going to stop myself before I start writing an entire essay on everything about this campaign. The Saint wrapped up the story of Rain World in a way that was very emotional and fulfilling to me. The only thing I would change is the dialogue between Moon and Pebbles at the end… It fell flat for me when it should have been such an impactful scene.