All images Tng Nm, shared with permissionFelines Evoke A Floating World in Tng Nms Whimsical IllustrationsFebruary 19, 2025ArtIllustrationKate MothesAccompanied by delicate insects and social betta fish, the cats in Tng Nms illustrations (previously) alternate between curiosity, serenity, friskiness, and determination. The artist portrays a diversity of feline natures, merging their likenesses with flowers, waves, foliage, and clouds.Nms characters are playfully anthropomorphized, donning patterned kimonos and hair ornaments. The series emerged organically from practice sketches of flowers in the ukiyo-e style.I felt like it was missing something, so I tried to add a cat as the protagonist, Nm tells Colossal. Somehow it still doesnt feel right, so I think of adding a companionfishes, butterfly, dragonflylike they were encountering each other in a specific moment. Fittingly, he called the series An encounter.An accompanying collection, A Floating World, takes further inspiration from the genre, directly referencing the Japanese word ukiyo. The term describes a hedonistic lifestyle in Edonow called Tokyoin the 1600s, spawning a style of art that captured the mood and interests of the period. Famed artists like Hokusai or Hiroshige focused on woodblock printing and painting to represent scenes from history, folk tales, kabuki actors, flora and fauna, landscapes, and more.For Nm, ukiyo-e provides the starting point for exploring a range of subject matter. Hes currently exploring ideas for further illustrations that incorporate different animals and visual cultures.Find more on the artists Behance and Instagram.Next article