A grey squirrel looks for some food from a girl in the Botanic Gardens in Glasnevin, Dublin, Ireland on April 3, 2023. (Photo by Damien Eagers/The Irish Times)

Amezaiku is the Japanese craft of lollipop-making, which dates back to the 700s when artisans made mouth-watering and artistic lollipops to be presented as gifts. Carrying on the tradition is 26-year old Shinri Tezuka, the owner of a small shop in the Asakusa district of Tokyo called Ameshin.

In this Sunday, March 2, 2014 photo, animal barber Mohamed Mahmoud shaves a customer's initials onto the rump of a donkey in Cairo, Egypt. Clients typically request for regular trims to keep animals cool in the summer, initials in English letters, and patterns – but sometimes they give Mahmoud full creative license. (Photo by Maya Alleruzzo/AP Photo)

Gorillas at Royal Burgers’ Zoo, Arnhem, Netherlands, on November 28, 2013. (Photo by Vidi Photo/Startraks Photo New York)

Nikolai Tolstyh takes photos of paper animal silhouettes in a natural setting. The combination is surprisingly perfect: the surroundings provide both color for the cutout and a scene to frame the animal.

Early morning storms over the Masai Mara National Reserve, Kenya on August 26, 2016. (Photo by Action Press/Rex Features/Shutterstock)

Tempering the violence of modern weaponry with charmingly rendered creatures, artist Xiau-Fong Wee captures a dark humor in her quirky drawings. While some of the weapons appear terrifyingly realistic, others such as in the ray gun wielding bunny portrait, speaks more to the fantastical worlds of science fiction. The anthropomorphic dispositions of the spectacle-wearing creatures also range in merry reverie to stern seriousness, adding to the delightful nature of these well-executed portraits. View more of the drawings below.

A shoebill is displayed at Ueno Zoo in Tokyo August 28, 2012. (Photo by Itsuo Inouye/Associated Press)