Year of the Rat

6 looks for the Year of the Rat

Every picture below is the rat in that look, as the visualizer draws it. Pick one to open it in Classic with the sign already set, add your song and export.

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  Starlight

  The sign in starlight: a night sky and the Milky Way, a ring of stars a light runs round once a bar, and inside it a pen of light joining a star sign's own stars line by line, then drawing its figure round them as on an old star map (a Chinese sign's animal drawn star by star). The figure strides and swishes its tail, the stars twinkle with the high notes and a shooting star crosses once a loop.

  Make a Starlight video
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  Element Sky

  The sign's figure drawn stroke by stroke by a pen of light in its element's colours, then alive: legs striding, tail whipping, wings and fins beating, head lifting on the beat, in a sky made of its element: embers and flames for fire, ridges for earth, wind for air, waves for water, growing stems for wood, turning rings for metal. It is drawn again each loop.

  Make an Element Sky video
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  Zodiac Wheel

  The zodiac wheel in brass: the twelve signs of its zodiac round a dial that rests on yours, turns once round each loop and lands on it again, a rete turning inside with a star for each band of the music, and the sign's figure drawn at the hub while the wheel rests, moving to the song.

  Make a Zodiac Wheel video
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  Horoscope Card

  A horoscope card for the sign: its figure drawn in gold ink in a medallion and moving to the song, its dates or years, its element and ruler, and a line for fun (or your own words), a foil shine crossing the card once a bar.

  Make a Horoscope Card video
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  Neon Sign

  The sign's figure as a neon sign on a brick wall: at the top of each loop the light runs along the tubes one after another, drawing the sign, then they hum with the beat as the figure moves, the sign's name lighting last in neon script below.

  Make a Neon Sign video
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  Your Sign

  A birthday card for your sign: a garland of star lights chasing the beat, confetti of little stars, the figure doodled on by a sparkler pen, then bouncing and striding to the song, and your greeting.

  Make a Your Sign video

About the Year of the Rat

Earthly Branch

子 (zǐ), the first of the 12 animals, from the Rat to the Pig

Its own element

Water

Yin or yang

Yang

Next year

2032, the Water Rat, from Lunar New Year

The year begins

At Lunar New Year (late January to mid February), not on 1 January: a birthday in January or early February belongs to the year before

How the rat is drawn and how it moves

At the top of each loop a pen of light draws the rat stroke by stroke, in the order a hand would, then it comes alive with the music.

It scurries with quick little strides, its long tail whipping and its head lifting on the beat.

Each 8 second loop (the Loop length setting) holds 12 strides and 6 swings of its tail: whole cycles every time, so a clip loops without a seam.

The rat's horoscope card, for fun

The Horoscope Card prints one of these lines, written for this site to be played with and never a prediction. Variation picks another, and Your message puts your own words on the card instead.

• Quick thinking finds the perfect track first.
• Clever plans and a catchy hook. Classic Rat.
• Gather your favourite songs like treasure.
• Resourceful and ready. Remix what you have.
• First in the race, first on the dance floor.