Our furry, scaly, and feathery friends inspire us to create, comfort us, and of course, sow chaos in the studio. We asked a group of creators to share their thoughts on the matter—and photos of their pets!
Mocca & Chai
“My bunnies are so important both for me and my business! I almost exclusively draw cute bunnies and of course I’m inspired by my own two cuties a lot. Without them I also wouldn’t have my small business: I started using Instagram for bunny pics, slowly incorporating some bun drawings I made. I then started making and selling cute bunny merch and made a new account only for my business. So without them Café Bun Studio wouldn’t exist!
They’re also a great source of comfort and joy for me, be it watching and hearing them eat the third lettuce in a day or floofing Chai (Mocca doesn’t like touch). Because I’m chronically ill and sometimes can’t leave the house that often having these little floofs around me at all times is extra special.”
— Darian @cafebunstudio
Sam & Dean
“Sam, the tuxedo cat, is truly a studio cat. He loves to keep you company if you are quietly creating. He’ll spend all day watching/sleeping in close proximity during creative work days. Dean could easily be an emotional support animal. He just wants to be cuddled, and if you’re having a hard day, he’ll happily purr away your stress.
Both of them are comforting little presences, but they can be menaces too! Sam is known to get into things he shouldn’t… and eat my projects if I’m not careful! He’s also an advocate of work/life balance, in the form of playfully biting your butt at approximately 2pm, and demanding you give him attention. If Dean sees a paintbrush, he will steal the paintbrush. They fascinate him, and he loves to carry them around in his mouth! He will also drink my glue/paint water if I’m not watching him closely.”
— Highnote Papercraft
Cookie, Whiskey, & Mocha
“I have pet rats, one of the most loving and sympathetic mischiefs. They like playing around, enjoy playing hide-and-seek, love cuddles and always be there when I need them. They know when I’m down and will run in a circle and squeak until I open their cage, hold my hand out, then use my arms as a bridge to run and give me hugs and kisses. It can never be a lonely day when they’re around.
They’re an inspiration for my merch journey as I’m struggling to find cute rat merch so I decided to make them myself (Also if you ever saw any cute rat merch, please send them my way! I’d love to support them!)
They’ve all crossed the rainbow bridge in recent years but they will still be loved and missed. Maybe one day when my heart is healed, I’ll have more of them in the future.”
— Fern @flowermelodies_77
Emmy & Choso
“My pets make me happy by keeping me company and making me laugh with their shenanigans. 🥰 They help me take breaks from working when they beg for attention, food, or playtime. 😆 Most of all, their snuggles, pets, and cuteness levels provide me with essential daily doses of serotonin and dopamine. 🤪“
— Marien @marien.crystal
Ramsey
“Ramsey is my assistant & my muse! <3 He gives me so much inspiration to create art but that doesn’t stop him from getting in my way. Every time I’m packing orders or taking product photos he loves to sit right on top of whatever’s the focus because he obviously deserves all of the attention instead! I wouldn’t have it any other way though.”
— @happyarden
Cookie
“Cookie inspires me to create things I love, she sits by me while I craft and keeps me company especially on days when I need support, she’s my reason for getting out of bed on the bad days, and my reason to keep creating on good days.”
— Elise @bigellis
Amelia
“Amelia is my emotional support animal, but she’s not very supportive of my art, since it means my hands are too busy to pet her. She will literally nudge my pencil and/or tablet out of my hand so she can replace it with her lil forehead. And she’s never once said ‘Wow, you did a great job!’ to me. I can’t work under these conditions! (Just kidding, she’s the best, I love her.)”
— @HeyKatu/WitchbriarCottage
Neko
“This is Neko! He passed away about 8 months ago and he inspires my creative work a lot! I’ve started incorporating more cats into my work to honor him. I draw to help process my grief over him as well. He was a grumpy cat who rarely gave me comfort but I had him for 17 years and loved him to bits. I miss squishing him every day.”
— Sophie @swordsofstars
Mr. Bones
“Mr. Bones is a helpful little bean! He loves to leap off of the sides of his tank at 3 AM in the pitch dark and land on his leaf pile, scaring me immensely, which really amplifies my creative drive. Otherwise, he’s a wonderful little model for my lizard cartoon drawings, which have been so useful lately for keeping me creative and inspired!”
— Naya
Leo
“Leo likes to be emotional support. He has his own office chair to sit on in my office, so he is either in his chair or at my feet when I am working on things. He also likes to remind me to take breaks by standing up on his back legs and booping me on the thigh.”
— Rulkye
How do your pets inspire you to create?
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