Digital Art Inspo: The Charm of Animals Doing Random Human Things

Mar 24

Written By DAB

In a previous interview, we chatted with digital artist Hester Brink, who uses animals and creatures to create surrealist pieces. She outlined how a big part of her work is a yearning for “lighter things, positivity, and beauty.” Animals are common subjects in art for several reasons, but depictions of animals acting like humans often encapsulate those light, positive, and humorous charms that Brink spoke of.

Anthropomorphism – where we attribute human traits, emotions, and intentions to non-human entities – is innate to human psychology. An article from Psychology Today notes how the careful use of anthropomorphism can help us better understand other animals and their personalities. Anthropomorphism in art, in particular, is an ancient tradition going as far back as the Upper Paleolithic period, where a human figure is given the head of a lion in a statue. Now, popular culture is full of humanized animals like Mickey Mouse and Miss Piggy, who sit down for interviews and walk red carpets to our collective amusement.

For today's article, we'll take a look at different examples of anthropomorphized animals doing random human things to inspire your next digital piece:

*Dogs playing poker. Credit: Wikipedia. No changes made to the image* *CC BY-SA 2.0*

Of all of the casino games that have existed, poker continues to have a rich place in our cultural sphere, often depicted in novels and films. However, one of the most famous portrayals of poker can be found in Cassius Marcellus Coolidge’s Dogs Playing Poker series. The 18 paintings consist of anthropomorphized dogs playing poker in a series of different settings, becoming some of the most recognizable paintings in the world thanks to appearances in The Simpsons, Family Guy, and The Thomas Crown Affair. At the time of their creation, poker was played behind closed doors and out of sight, so Coolidge brought dogs into the forefront and turned them into our first poker icons.

Of course, the human element is more prominent nowadays, with many becoming household names and creating global brands through their success. Chris Moneymaker is probably one of the best-known figures, having won the 2003 World Series of Poker, ushered in the online poker boom. Moneymaker continues to be an icon for the game and is currently the top professional player for the US online poker platform Americas Cardroom. Funnily enough, Moneymaker is an animal lover who once brought home a dog he found on the roadside, who then gave birth to 10 puppies, which he helped rehome. Both Moneymaker and Coolidge's dogs have an "everyman" appeal, so while the paintings may be fun and kitschy, they also suggest a universal desire for windfall luck and success à la Moneymaker.

*Frogs performing kabuki theater. Credit: By* *Utagawa Kuniyoshi,* *Public Domain*

Perhaps less famous (but no less charming) than Dogs Playing Poker is Utagawa Kuniyoshi’s Famous Heroes of the Kabuki Stage Played by Frogs. Created in 1875, this ukiyo-e (woodblock print) was created by the Edo period artist during a difficult time in Japan’s history. Depictions of kabuki actors were forbidden during Kuniyoshi’s time; he had gotten into trouble with the magistrate for some caricatures he drew. Kuniyoshi found a loophole by portraying these actors as animals to continue depicting the world as he knew it.

In his Famous Heroes piece, Kuniyoshi dressed frogs in traditional kabuki costumes, where they embodied famous folklore characters and historical legends. While some may argue that frogs aren’t particularly expressive animals, Kuniyoshi gave his anthropomorphic frogs fierce expressions and dynamic compositions. One can almost imagine the frogs performing before you through these lively details. This tradition seems to have carried over to a piece of Chrono Trigger fan art, where the amphibian icon Kermit the Frog is reimagined as the franchise’s knight character, Frog, flowing cape and all.

*Cats making music. Credit: By anonymous - Art UK,* *Public Domain*

What can’t cats do? Many recent animated movies, such as The Secret Life of Pets and the recent Oscar-winning film Flow, like to imagine how cats would behave when left to their own devices. However, they’re not the first to land on this idea. Flemish artist David Teniers the Younger (1610 - 1690) took inspiration from Ancient Egypt with the ‘singerie’ (or monkey scene) genre, where monkeys are given fashionable outfits and placed in human scenarios like staying at home, drinking in bars, creating sculptures, courting mates, or even gambling and smoking.

An Interior Scene with Cats, Monkeys and Owls Making Music, however, puts cats in the center of the scene, looking at a music book. Monkeys, owls, and instruments surround them, and we wonder what sound they must make. Teniers the Younger made art in the 17th century, where Dutch paintings would showcase daily human life. But by exchanging humans for animal characters, it seems the artist is poking fun at the silly things we do. Like the other paintings we discussed earlier, the trend of anthropomorphic animals in art seems to offer some subversive commentary about our world — in a delightfully curious way.