Oswald the Lucky Rabbit - by Juan Carlos Valdez

I was inspired to redesign one of Walt's original animated characters, Oswald the Lucky Rabbit. As everyone knows, Oswald came before Mickey Mouse. Mickey's design was inspired by Oswald. So much so, that Mickey looked like a copy of Oswald with different ears. Although on closer study of the characters, there are more differences than that. I wanted Oswald's design to look different from the current Mickey design. I didn't want to use too much of the roundness that Mickey has and I didn't want to go backwards. Meaning that, I didn't want to design Oswald like Mickey. But I did want him to fit with the current design. I'm not too fond of how he is being used.

I wanted to keep the iconic aspects of Oswald, the long ears, the shorts, and the black body. His face at first glance looks like Mickey, but the difference is that Oswald's face is shorter and wider, while Mickey's is longer and rounder. Oswald's cheeks are also chubbier than Mickey's. I wanted Oswald's body to be longer and more athletic. Since he is a rabbit I felt that would better represent him. I definitely didn't want to add gloves or shoes, that would be too close to Mickey. So here is my design, hope you like it!