I don't know but in the comic with Ayzee getting her palisman, Hunter tells her to "just pick something that's alive." But in the comic with Masha, they say any creature will come to life after it's carved. Both of these IMPLY that the palisman must be based off of an animal (real or fictional) but it's not explicitly stated.
Now that I think about it, back in Ayzee's comic Hunter's argument for not carving a sword palisman is that it wouldn't be effective since it was made of wood. So it may be possible that normally inanimate objects would be animated to some extent?
I like telling my users that I can be bribed with food for faster service. Waffles knows what she's doing