Tim Andraka

Hi Lucrezia, I’m doing well, I’m really excited to be talking with you. It’s nice to have a chance to discuss my artwork with you.

I have always been intrigued by wildlife compendiums including visual encyclopaedias, field guides, and other fictional creature collections as well. I enjoy making artwork that boils down to plausible nonsense. Prior to deciding to do a natural history collection my ideas had no common thread to link them all together. Many of my ideas and surreal illustrations revolve around wildlife so I thought it would be fun to juxtapose the serious detailed appearance of scientific illustration with whimsical surreal animals.

There is not really any specific message that I am trying to convey. Many of the ideas are just something I thought was weird, unsettling or silly and wanted to share. I also enjoy seeing how different people interpret each piece. Some people resonate with specific animals or objects that carry on a meaning of their own. If I had to identify one specific aim, I suppose I want the artwork to serve as a reminder not to take anything too seriously. It’s okay to lighten up and things don’t always have to make sense. This is ironic because I often get stressed out and take the artwork incredibly seriously. These moments often result in a decline in the quality of my ideas and the artwork. So reminding myself that this is for fun really helps the process and makes me feel better. I also hope they provide some mild amusement to others as well.

That is an incredible compliment. When I was in high school, there was a massive raptor drawing proudly displayed in the back of the classroom. It was done in a pointillist style and I was absolutely stunned at the level of detail that a collection of dots could accomplish. Shortly after, I thought I would attempt the technique on an iguana drawing and I have not looked back since. I have since explored many different techniques with fine liner pens on bristol board paper and have found a style that allows me to communicate my ideas effectively. This style usually involves a mix of dot work and fairly sporadic cross hatching. I tried experimenting with watercolour, but found that I enjoyed scanning the drawings in and colouring them digitally in photoshop while adding text as well. I try to emulate the muddy desaturated colour palettes that you would find in vintage botanical and wildlife illustrations.

I aim for a style that is not too realistic, but detailed enough to come across as a scientific illustration. It’s a silly way to play with expectations and make people take a second look. I do enjoy when people tell me they had to confirm that something was not true. My goal is not to misinform, but rather to mildly amuse.

I first approached Etsy when I decided to start creating my own prints and selling my drawings. Even though Etsy is notorious for its steep fees, I have remained there because of its simplicity. They take care of many logistics including sales tax, and marketing. Two things that I really do not enjoy. I have a full time job that is unrelated to art so my time to draw is both limited and precious. Etsy allows me to make the most of that time.
I enjoy making the prints at home and experimenting with materials that will make them look best. I believe that if someone is willing to spend money on your artwork, that it should be made with the best materials possible and with care from the artist. Etsy affords me more time to make sure each piece is the best it can be before it is sent to its new home.

I have been asked about t-shirts previously and do not have the capacity to make them on my own. Teemill is a company in the UK that has nice quality sustainable shirts that are made with renewable energy. I was impressed by both their shirt quality and their mission so I feel comfortable selling my artwork on their apparel.
There is not much reason behind the limited number of designs. I intend on adding a few of [the] other designs in the near future. I currently don’t sell artwork on my Etsy to people outside the US, so this provides a good alternative to anyone that might want one of my illustrations.

It’s so endearing when a person enjoys my artwork enough to add it to their own body. It is also a great method to find and follow phenomenal tattoo artists. All the pictures people have sent me have been translated with incredible talent. Many of the artists have created tattoos that look better than my original drawings.

I am incredibly flattered whenever someone requests a commission, however drawing is the way that I explore and filter the nonsense out of my brain. I like to use the limited time I have drawing to explore ideas that I am personally curious about and further develop my wildlife compendium.
However, I always welcome suggestions for species that people would like to see. I usually enjoy the challenge of trying to find a whimsical or horrific illustration using the restraint of a specific organism.

I settled on specifically doing my natural history collection fairly recently. Before I was exploring many different directions including comics and other whimsical one off pieces. With my current focus, I aim to release the drawings as absurd field guides in multiple volumes over my lifetime. The presentation of these books will be reminiscent of the Peterson field guides with a hard cover and filled to the brim with illustrations. The first volume will hopefully be complete in a couple years. I want each volume to have roughly 100-200 illustrations.

In 2024 I plan on continuously releasing at least one illustration every week in order to expand the collection.