Japanese illustrator imagines a world where people live among giant animals

This mysterious Japanese artist, who goes by the pseudonym Ariduka55 on social media, creates illustrations that bring life to a whole new fantasy world where giant animals live and evolve alongside humans. These illustrations are inspired by our ordinary world, except that the small animals - cats, dogs, rabbits, owls, raccoons - are close in size to a three-story building.

The artist seems to enjoy pampering us with illustrations featuring soft and cuddly animals - pandas, rabbits, dogs, and the like - through it's pretty obvious that cats are the apple in the artist's eyes. The atmosphere in the paintings is almost always ethereal and peaceful, with storytelling elements in their compositions. Many of the illustrations are marked with soft sunlight shining through various objects, including leaves and windows.

15 PHOTOS

1. A world where you can sleep on a giant furball. Perfect world.

2. A calm and slightly gloomy illustration with a Korean tit (Baepsae). There is a common idiom/saying that "a tit will break its legs trying to walk like a stork", which in its simplest form means not pretending to be someone you are not.

3. It looks straight out of a sci-fi movie where the main character is a stray cat. For months, locals tried to lure the kitten out of its hiding place with the promise of toys and treats. "Look, it's not a laser pointer, well, at least it's shiny"

4. The art of camouflage. We're not sure why (maybe because of the big round eyes) this cat reminds us of Totoro from Studio Ghibli.

5. A quiet autumn afternoon in a temple saturated with both color and falling leaves.

6. An unlikely hero was about to kill a villainous wizard when suddenly a wild menacing fur ball crossed his path. Unlike much of the Western world, Japanese culture views a black cat crossing your path as a good omen. In fact, black cats are generally considered good luck in Japan and much of Asia.

7. Surreal image. We can't decide what we like about this picture - the cherry blossom bushes or the fact that this cat is wearing a pair of gorgeous blue horns.

8. Another tribute to sound sleep on fur clouds.

9. One of the most famous elements in Asian folklore is the Moon Rabbit. This is a pareidolia-based myth that identifies the Moon's markings as a rabbit. Although it originated in China, the myth eventually spread to other Asian cultures as well.

10. The fox plays a role in Japanese culture, which is extraordinarily rich and complex. The beliefs that developed when people lived much closer to nature are preserved in stories, festivals, and language. Even in these rational times, the fox has a magical aura that still lingers.

11. Japan perceives the butterfly as the "soul of the living and the dead", as a result of the widespread belief that the spirits of the dead take the form of a butterfly when they travel to another world and eternal life. The butterfly is also often used as a symbol for young girls as they spread their wings and transform into women, and is also believed to symbolize joy and longevity."

12. A white cat hides from the midday sun under a curtain of draped flowers.

13. If you squint your eyes slightly, you may notice that this is not an ordinary hill. It's actually not a hill at all.

14. In folklore, tanuki were known as masters of illusion. They could shapeshift into any shape they liked—anything from an old bedridden woman to a bottle of white wine. Once disguised, they used small rhymes to lure people into their games, and while they were not harmful, they tended to end in some inconvenience or embarrassment.

15. Another beautiful composition featuring familiar elements - a cat, a girl and soft sunlight pouring from the window.