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Bored Panda reached out to Tim to learn more about his artwork. First of all, the artist shared the inspiration behind creating these bizarre and fantastical wildlife illustrations.
Tim wrote: “I studied Biology in school, however, I decided not to pursue those studies any further. The artwork provides a small connection to my wildlife interest while simultaneously providing a creative outlet for me. I am heavily inspired by vintage ecology books such as the pieces by Albertus Seba and Patterson Field guides. I also draw inspiration from Victorian cabinets of curiosity. A huge piece of inspiration outside of actual animals comes from the Codex Seraphinianus and other surrealist works. I enjoy coming to imaginary solutions and explanations to the natural world.”
We were curious to know how Tim balances the elements of realism and fantasy in his artwork. He explained: “I believe that the elements of realism are largely assisted by the medium. The pen & ink work appears all throughout scientific illustration and the presentation lends itself towards being factual. This crutch allows me to make anything absurd while keeping it somewhat believable.”
Tim has collected over 142K followers on Instagram through sharing his illustrations. We asked the artist to tell us what kind of reaction or response he hopes to evoke from viewers.
“When I sit down to sketch, I am usually looking for something that I find silly or weird. When I try to predict a specific reaction to a drawing, I am always completely wrong. Once any piece of creative work is released, its meaning no longer belongs to the artist. Sometimes people have input that is way more insightful than the original idea. I often get corrected about animal anatomy or behavior. Ultimately, I feel extremely privileged that people care enough to express any feelings they have about the artwork,” wrote Tim.
We also asked Tim to walk us through his creative process from concept to completion.
“The first part of the process either takes a couple of minutes or a couple of days depending on how creative I am feeling that particular week. Usually, to come to an idea, I will focus on a specific species and sketch different shapes until I arrive at something bizarre and plausible. Then I ink it in on a piece of paper. To finish it off, I scan the finished drawing into Photoshop and add some color,” answered Tim.
Tim shared what in his opinion makes for a successful blend of reality and imagination in wildlife art.
“For me, the most important part is that it is believable. Like a math teacher says, you have to show your work. I need to show step by step how the caterpillar becomes a butterfly. Those in-between stages are the most important part of communicating each idea. Conversely, sometimes that lack of explanation is best for the delivery.”
And lastly, the artist added: ”Try to make time for what you enjoy and call your mother.”
