Rat-Ape (Ape beast).

Rat-Apes in first and second series of game were portrayed as completely different creatures. In first episode we had unique hybrid of human, rat and ape, while in second episode they lost all rattish attributes, and with it - all their peculiarity. They become just big bulking bipedal apes, it is too banal, so I decided to draw rat-apes of old style - fussy mean pipsqueaks. Let’s leave role of big bulking monsters for Bug Beasts and Silver-Cyan Craymen.

Rat-Apes are smart enough, but humans should consider their thoughts to be perverted. But hey, humans and Rat-Apes are very much alike. Keep in mind that Trickster decided to deal with rap-apes on the score of their similarity to humans – they are transition phase between other beasts and human beings. Trickster gets his jollies by toying with humans because of their contradictoriness.

Instantly after picture was published, one of first coming Thief fans noticed significant mistake – rat-apes have bare palms, which are similar to humans. That’s true – fur on hands in my picture looks pretty ambiguous. I considered this remark to be case comment, and I am taking it into account.

One question remains – who are those rat-ape-humans by their nature? Changelings, who once has been human beings or chaotic beasts initially? Notice, that those crazy rat-apes from Constantine’s mansion wear rags of same color with clothes of guards from same building before its transformation to nest of beasts. This fact denotes human origin of rat-apes. For variety’s sake, I also have drawn alternative breed – original, forest breed, which was used by Constantine as prototype for changelings. This is good explanation for hairiness of aforesaid hand – this is a hand of natural, forest rat-ape.

What to do with bulking bipedal apes from Thief II? One of Hollywood directors, making another sequel for popular film and trying to correct mistakes of previous sequel’s director, has found an easy solution: "Let’s settle an agreement – we just never saw this.".