Surreal Zoology: 25 New Nonsensical Scientific Illustrations Of Wildlife By Tim Andraka

When asked how he balances the bizarre with the believable, Tim explains that he tries not to censor himself when an idea feels too strange—though not every sketch hits the mark right away. “I try not to shy away from ideas for being too bizarre, but sometimes I am not able to translate the concept well. As a recent example, I have been working on a drawing of a gargoyle emerging from an elephant's head and I am not quite satisfied with it. I often put drawings like these in a drawer and revisit it in a couple months. The space often provides room for a better solution.”

Much of his inspiration comes from the kind of vintage visuals that once lived in dusty science libraries and Victorian cabinets of curiosity. “I find most of the illustrations from vintage ecology books on Pinterest. Albertus Seba definitely stands out the most in terms of how he formats his work and in style.” But when it comes to artists who have truly shaped his direction, Tim lights up. “Redmer Hoekstra was the artist that initially ignited my love for pen & ink illustration. He creates intricate surreal pen drawings of whimsical animals. Luigi Serafini—someone brought his book (Codex Seraphinianus) to my attention a couple years ago—completely shifted the direction of my work. I was trying to do four-panel comics at the time. After I saw the way he did surreal sequences, it changed everything. And Kate Lacour is another amazing artist that plays around with surreal and grotesque concepts in her book Vivisectionary. Her concepts are brilliant!”

Despite the momentum of his growing body of work, Tim remains focused on building his surreal bestiary. “I have considered [publishing a book]! However, my main focus is to continue drawing illustrations to add to the overall collection. That being said, I am always open to collaborating with other artists.” True to his spirit of creative ambiguity, he adds, “I definitely enjoy leaving room for interpretation.”

When asked which of his strange creations he’d actually want to encounter in real life, his answer is perfectly on-brand. “Honestly, I don’t think I’d enjoy interacting with any of those creatures. A long time ago I drew a man that grew his beard out to be a moped. I’d like to hop on the back of that and let him show me a good time.”

And as for the reaction his work usually gets? “I find it amusing when people always ask what drugs I’m on.”