Anthropomorphic ginger steampunk cat detective examines a clockwork…

By @CaylaCatz · Jul 22, 2026

167 likes · 82 comments

QT: Steampunk Detective An inventor disappears. His daughter is concerned and hires her friend Alicia who happens to be a wonderful detective. Alicia studies the inventor's workroom, the half-made robot with a clockwork heart, and the tools left behind. Quiet clues like breadcrumbs that might find a lost father. What do you think happened to the inventor? Where did he go? Is he coming back? A couple of people made suggestions so I incorporated the suggestions into a backstory that tells a little more about what happened to the inventor. https://budgetpixel.com/blog/the-case-of-the-missing-inventor I also published the image on Instagram cactus_haiku with a senryu. Not really a good senryu tho so didn't redo it here. I also published it on bluesky.

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About this image

This whimsical steampunk fantasy artwork depicts an anthropomorphic ginger tabby cat detective dressed in Victorian leather wear, a goggle-adorned top hat, examining a wooden brass clockwork automaton with a brass magnifying glass across a cluttered workshop desk. The richly detailed scene features warm aged wood and brass tones, scattered vintage inventor tools, an open case file detailing a missing inventor investigation, and a round porthole window looking out over a spired steampunk city skyline. Intricate background gearwork and wall clocks reinforce the retro-futuristic, mysterious industrious steampunk aesthetic.

Comments (82)

@CaylaCatz · Jul 23, 2026
It shines freely here. Talking is so easy here that I was shocked by X, at how often X shadowbanned people, even paying subscribers. It's crazy. I went to X initially because BP pays credits if you do certain things on X. I guess I thought if I could find a good place to post stuff, maybe I could BP another place is better than BP. I think if more people find BP is a great place to talk about AI art, there would be great exodus of AI artists leaving X and coming to BP. The people on X are really nice but the platform is shockingly bad.
@CaylaCatz · Jul 23, 2026
thank you! It's fun. I took people's suggestions when I first posted it and made a little blog story out of it. I'm thinking it might be fun to do that game where one person posts a paragraph (and an image in our case) and then a different person adds a paragraph/image to the story and then a third person and so on. So it becomes a chain story. I'd have to think about how to do it tho ... and have more time than right now, lol
@CaylaCatz · Jul 23, 2026
not really. I think if you're working with wood and metal, that might be the sort of tools you might need. However the inventor has gone missing so we can't ask him, lol.
@suga2309 · Jul 23, 2026
Great story setup, Catz! 😉✨ I have a feeling the inventor planned his disappearance and expects Alicia to solve it. Wishing you the best in finding a platform where your art can shine freely! ⭐🌟✨
@dezie · Jul 23, 2026
Amazing image. The inventor had to take care of some business of his own. He didn't think to tell anyone, so he took off.
@TTRPG_Player · Jul 22, 2026
The inventor got most likely kidnaped to great some device for an evil eprson. Maybe they brought him through a protal in alternative world
@CaylaCatz · Jul 23, 2026
So you think the inventor is in the robot? Oh! I hadn't considered that. But the robot is not finished. No legs.
@CaylaCatz · Jul 23, 2026
I hope so. I just hope the bots and credit farmers don't ruin it for us ai artists who like to chat
@suga2309 · Jul 23, 2026
Every great community starts as a hidden gem. 💎Perhaps BP is the secret path artists were meant to find. 🎨
@CaylaCatz · Jul 23, 2026
for fun I wrote up your suggestion and @TTRPG_Player suggestion to in a little blog story https://budgetpixel.com/blog/the-case-of-the-missing-inventor