SINGAPORE - Creative director Rizky Budiyanto, 31, was doing recce work in Chinatown with his business partner when they came across a knock-off Minion toy at a souvenir shop.

"I told him, this looks like the Minion we have in our office," Mr Rizky recalled. "That was when we came up with the idea of what if the Minions were to come to Singapore for a holiday."

That idea spawned a series of amusing images of the 30cm-tall figurines posing as tourists at famous Singapore landmarks such as Chinatown, leaning into a bowl of Katong laksa, and even admiring a pile of durians.

"We hope people who've visited Singapore for a holiday would see our pictures and remember visiting places here," said Mr Rizky, who has been in the creative industry for 10 years.

Mr Rizky and his business partner Sher Iqbal Texeira are self-professed huge fans of the banana-coloured creatures that co-star in the movie franchise Despicable Me.

Both men, who run production house A Creative Alternative, have at least three of the poseable toys around their Rose Lane office. Mr Rizky even has Minion-themed sandals and a passport cover bearing their image.

It goes without saying that they are looking forward to the upcoming movie, Minions, starring the creatures themselves.

The process of taking the photographs was an ad hoc one, said Mr Rizky. The duo carried their figurines around with them while they were working on projects for clients, and took pictures when they found a good spot.

The pictures they eventually posted online were the result of three days of this work.

"People would stop and watch us when we were taking pictures," he said. "Some even asked us to pose for pictures with them."

He said the reaction to their project has been positive so far, but he hopes viewers would share some constructive input. He considers the project complete, but is open to ideas for a follow-up.

"Most people tell us the pictures are very cute, but we hope they can tell us what else we can do too, and help us improve," he said.