Pet Society: Meet the Artists Behind the Game

Pet Society Artists
Pets, meet your makers. These are the artists who have created your world in Pet Society. Every day, their irresistible drawings of what I like to think of as the four Fs-food, fashion, flowers and furniture-make us go "Awww..." and make us give up our coins.

You can thank Michelle Chuang for setting the look of Pet Society. She was the sole illustrator working on the game when it was first released in 2008. Flavia came on board in 2009 and has taken over the reigns as Pet Society's lead artist. Antonella and Maggie round out the team.

It was a real treat for me to meet the people behind the best game on Facebook. Here are some of the impressions I got of the artists and the Playfish London office in general.

    They are an international bunch. I had lunch with seven people, and only two were from England.
    Michelle is from Taiwan. Maggie is from Hong Kong. Flavia and Antonella are from Italy. Catharina, the Product Manager who was interviewed previously, is Swedish-American.
    The artists all seem to love Japan, or the idea of Japan. At least three of them said that they enjoyed Japan Week the most.
    Flavia said that Japan Week felt too short and unfinished. This probably means that we'll be seeing more Japanese items in the game.


Pet Society Japan

    Flavia also looks up to Disney art for inspiration.
    Many of them seem to love the game. As Chorna Harun, the office manager said, "Before I started working here, I was playing Pet Society. And I thought to myself, I have to work for this company."
    They are often surprised by how some of the items are used in the game. For example, one of Flavia's friends used the Volcano Mask in conjunction with a bird's nest. The bird was singing happily as the volcano erupted.
    The artists are influenced by everything around them. During lunch, Maggie snapped a picture of a flower pot at the table. Maybe we'll see it in the game soon.
    They are surrounded by their work. Not only do they have the joy of seeing their art in the game, but their offices are covered with their drawings.


Pictures of Playfish London:
Pet Society Mayor in Playfish London office
Pet Society fish decorates Playfish London office conference room
Country Story Playfish London office entrance
Pet Society mural in the Playfish London office
This article originally appeared on Pet Society Anonymous.