Ultra-realistic animal masks seem to strike the surreal sweet spot between "terrifying" and "adorable", as seen with Japan's viral gigantic wearable felt cat heads, but the minds at creative planning office Shindo Rinka and modeling workshop 91 (pronounced kyuu-ii) is taking things a step further by making that creepy/cute blend a service. If you're willing to pay, you can now order custom-made super realistic masks that'll turn you into a human clone of your pet.
In a similar campaign to the "it's me" series that let you look like Dr. Zeus with super realistic orangutan masks, the "My Family" mask allows you to order detailed replicas of your family pet's face to wear as headgear.
In a press release, you can see an example of a finished product modeled after Rui, a bengal cat who lives in Kyoto.
It's time to clone your kitty!
First a mold is sculpted, "fur" is applied, and then the patterns and colors of your pet are filled in in detail.
Applicants submit a photo of their pet for reference
Now you're ready to become your cat's terrifyingly realistic doppelganger
So there you have it. A service where you submit a photo of your pet and have expert craftsmen create super lifelike replica headgear of them to dress up as. As of now, the only way to purchase one is through an online contact form on the Shindo website (you fill out your information and check the box that says "My Family"). While you can try your hand in English, there's no word of international shipping or language service available, so those serious about inquiries may want some Japanese help. They are quoted at the price of 300,000 yen, plus shipping.
You can see a little bit of the headgear in "action" in the below video.
And maybe once you've become your pet, hit the bar with a rhino and orangutan.
Read more stories from grape Japan.
-- Japanese Twitter Celebrates Feline Goofiness With “Poorly Taken Photos Of Cats” Competition
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-- Turn Your Drink Into A Super Cute Shiba Inu Beverage With These Bubbly Shiba Glasses
- External Link
- https://grapee.jp/en/
10 Comments
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kurisupisu
So ‘realistic’ that the mask’s eyes are a completely different color from those of the cat......
garypen
The best part is that it's not creepy at all.
kwatt
This seems like American furries.
nandakandamanda
The cat looks freaked out in that top shot.
The eyes are fixed, and the irises are wide open, maybe because the original pet shots were taken in the evening in poor light.
How do you see, anyway? Especially that Rhino with eyes in the sides of its head!
roughneck
I have a human pet. Hope they can replicate that too. ;)
ZoomZoom
So, in the eyes of the cat, is this way into the uncanny valley?
Luddite
Why?
semperfi
Luddite
Why?
.
Good question.
Underdeveloped / immature personal core identity, I surmise.
.
Brian Wheway
WTF? has the world gone mad??
bearandrodent
It’s 300,000 yen. I wish I had money to burn.