You’ll never guess what these animal sculptures are made of

Balloon animals have always fascinated us. They’re fun, they make people happy and they provide hours (ok maybe minutes) of entertainment for kids. But mostly they fascinate us because making balloon animals is a serious art form, and you have to be super talented to take a balloon and turn it into a monkey or a rhinoceros without popping it (it’s hard enough blowing up a regular balloon without popping it). You also have to be super talented to do what digital artist Sarah DeRemer has done with them (lucky for her it didn’t involve blowing up any balloons).

You may remember DeRemer from her Hybrid Animals photo series we covered back in November. The photos were simultaneously terrifying and adorable, so naturally we were really excited when we discovered her new photo series Balloon Zoo, where she created hybrids of real life animals and balloon animals. She used Photoshop to blend images of latex animals with their living counterparts — and the results are lifelike and stunning.

DeRemer explained to us her purpose in creating the photos. She said, “Balloon Zoo is a digital art series that plays with the idea of combining living objects with animals. Specifically in this series, it plays with the idea of toys coming to life. I know that balloon animals are a commonly recognized thing, and I thought it would be fun to make them more lifelike in this playful series. As with previous series, I rarely make art to convey any sort of meaning, but instead to explore different aesthetics.”

Take a look at the photos of the adorable and cuddly balloon animals. Seriously, you won’t be able to resist wanting to cuddle with these guys.

See? You want to cuddle with that squirrel and bunny right now, don’t you?

Featured images via