Sketching Kindness: The Adorable Art Inspired by a TikTok Thread

Lori Joy Smith lives and works on Prince Edward Island.

I first met the (aptly-named) artist and illustrator Lori Joy Smith back in 2014, when I lived on Prince Edward Island. At the time, I had a little shop there, and sold some of Lori’s prints. Everyone who came to the shop loved Lori’s work. Her illustrations radiate kindness and light, and make the harsh edges of the world feel a little softer.

Recently, on Instagram, Lori posted a series of drawings that are so sweet and thoughtful that I couldn’t stop thinking about them, so I asked her if I could share them here.

Her inspiration for this series came from the comments section of a TikTok video she stumbled upon a while back. In the video, the creator, who was feeling down at the time, asked viewers to share something cute or whimsical they do—little gestures of joy. The responses were so delightful that Lori kept returning to them, again and again.

Moved by the kindness and charm woven through those comments, she decided to carry that magic even further, and turned them into a series of drawings.

These are just a few of the drawings. You can see the full series, spread across three posts, on Lori’s Instagram account. And you can find out more about Lori Joy Smith and her lovely work on her website.