K4 CAT

1. Character Design
Tile cats, known as “WaMao” in Mandarin, are traditional clay roof ridge beasts prevailing in northwest Yunnan’s Dali area. The Bai people who dominate the local ethnic population for long, believe that the fierce-looking cats are auspicious items which can bring households with enduring safeguard and wealth.

Many crafters in Dali as the religion of Bai minority took over the job of making clay sculptures from their grandpa at a surprising age 10. And now, they are recognized by the province as an inheritor of intangible cultural heritage.

In 2019, Tile cat was selected as the inspiration of the mascots of Kunming Metro, and four animated tile cat figures were created by Beijing Urban Construction Investment & Development Co.,Ltd. They are the good examples to compare the fading traditional minority culture with modern popular IP industry.