Faux felines strut the catwalk for love, money

Content creators are using artificial intelligence to produce innovative pet images such as chic cat models, attracting advertisers and companies eager to pounce on their thriving popularity.

Since April last year, when Chen Jian posted images on social media platform Xiaohongshu of cats imitating human behavior, he has seen his number of followers grow rapidly.

One of Chen's posts of an AI-generated cat practicing baduanjin — traditional Chinese fitness exercises combining physical movement with breathing and meditation — has received more than 160,000 likes.

"I was shocked by the figure; after all, I was a newcomer with only a few hundred fans on my account," he said.

Chen's work is among more than 140,000 posts containing the keywords "AI" and "pets" that pop up on Xiaohongshu.

The popular posts mainly feature anthropomorphic depictions of pets doing human activities such as wearing clothes, dancing, taking academic tests, participating in fashion shows, or posing for photographs.

Many of these bloggers have positioned themselves as artistic content creators. Some have created AI pets in various styles from different eras, while others have cast them as the protagonists in a range of scenarios.

Hello, kitty

Chen, in his 30s, works as a visual designer at an internet company in Shanghai.

He studied the AI tool Midjourney after it was launched in March 2022. By entering the desired text, Midjourney can generate corresponding images using AI, taking only about a minute to complete the task.

"I picked up related skills in my spare time out of a sense of anxiety about being replaced by AI one day," Chen said.

His original aim was to apply AI tools to improve his professional skills and integrate them into his work.

"I figured this would help me complete tasks more efficiently and enhance the visual impact of my design," he said.

Chen's popular exercising cat was inspired by a real health issue in his own life.

"At that time, I had recurring mouth ulcers and made a special trip to the hospital. The traditional Chinese medicine doctor recommended I practice baduanjin daily to boost my immunity," Chen said.

As he tried the exercises, he also encouraged his colleagues to practice with him. He then came up with the idea of using AI to create images of a cat doing the same exercises to promote public awareness about fitness.

"AI tools were just gaining in popularity, and many people had little knowledge of the concept. Moreover, there were hardly any images of anthropomorphic animals crafted by AI, which probably explains why my work sparked people's strong interest and curiosity," Chen said.

As he dug deeper into the phenomenon, he noticed more than 70 percent of Xiaohongshu users were women, and pets accounted for the fourth biggest amount of the platform's content.

Chen said that interactions with his followers helped him understand that an increasing number of young people love cats as the felines help alleviate anxiety and boredom.

He also tested out other AI-generated cat models, but learned that the anthropomorphic cat was by far the most popular one.

"This revelation made me settle on the theme of my (Xiaohongshu) account and focus my attention on coming up with more works on the anthropomorphic life of AI cats," he said, adding he wanted to take advantage of the "rare opportunity" of high interest in his account.

Since then, Chen has drawn inspiration from TV dramas, films and trending social phenomena.

He has posted two AI cat models where some of their images are set against the backdrop of classic film scenes.

"They have brought me a steady flow of new followers, more than 1,000 a month," Chen said.

To date, he has garnered more than 50,000 fans, which in turn has attracted the attention of advertising agents.

Many cat food advertisers have sought out his services, but Chen said he turned down most of them as he didn't know much about their products.

However, he readily accepted associations with well-known milk tea brands, with car companies and internet app advertisers also knocking on his door. "These brands are renowned, so by assisting their promotions it also serves as brand endorsement of my account, making it win-win cooperation," Chen said.

The most challenging aspect of collaboration is how to integrate the AI cats with the brands, which requires both creativity and technical skills, he said.

As a designer with years of experience in advertising design, Chen said he does not find it difficult to understand his clients' demands. "In terms of the technology, besides using AI tools, proficiency in other design software is also necessary to create satisfactory works for commercial purposes," he said.

The popularization of AI has enabled everyone to try their ideas out. But the tough part is delivering creative ideas that can strike a chord with the audience, including the advertisers, he said.

Chen said in the future he plans to go beyond text and images to explore video creation through AI.