# Morbid Animal Digital Manipulations Nan Wang Has a Knack for the Weird and Wonderful By Josh Triantafilou | Published 2012-04-25 | Art & Design Source: Trend Hunter, https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/nan-wang References: [behance.net](http://www.behance.net/gallery/Digital-Painting-Character-Design/3621039) In these digitally rendered illustrations, Toronto-based artist and graphic designer Nan Wang creates [weird and fantastic creatures](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/fibredog) that seem as though they are going to walk (or hop or eerily glide) their way out of the frame. Her characters have a palpable sense of personality. In one illustration, a yeti lumbers clumsily down a snowy path, his lips curling towards his ears over poorly concealed overbite in an awkward but endearing smile that fits quite well with the straight-ahead but nevertheless vacant stare he wears. The cherry to this cake, so to speak, is an octopus on the yeti's head. In a word, these [digital drawings are whimsical](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/illustrated-bookmarks). They have all the levity of [Pixar](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/masters-of-anatomy) movie while hinting at a depth of personality often lost in digital art. ## Trend Insights (Trend Hunter) - Score: 1.9/10 - Popularity: 31% | Activity: 19% | Freshness: 8% - Audience gender: 50% men, 50% women - Primary generations: Gen Z, Millennial, Gen X - Top markets: North America, Asia ## Categories [Trend Hunter](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends) > [Art & Design](https://www.trendhunter.com/artdesign) ## Key Themes ### What's Driving This Trend - **Whimsical Creature Design:** Incorporate whimsy and depth of personality into digital illustrations of fantastic creatures. - **Palpable Character Personality:** Infuse digital art with distinct character personality that is lost in traditional digital designs. - **Cross-species Creations:** Combine different animal species in creative and unexpected ways for digital design projects. ### Who This Affects Most - **Graphic Design:** Innovate and disrupt the graphic design industry by utilizing Nan Wang's techniques of whimsical creature design and imbuing characters with palpable personality. - **Animation:** Animate Nan Wang's digital illustrations to create captivating, unique content that sets itself apart from traditional cartoon styles. - **Children's Books:** Create endearing illustrations for children's books that incorporate whimsical design and distinct character personality. ## Related on Trend Hunter - [AI-Generated Real-World Transformations](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/ai-generated-world.md) - [Otherworldly Wooden Art](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/wooden-sculptures-1.md) - [Striking Urban Wildlife Art](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/clare-allin.md) - [Whimsical Spirit Art Shows](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/anima.md) - [Biology-Inspired Porcelain Sculptures](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/shiyuan-xu.md) - [Cartoonish NFT Collectibles](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/i-like-you-youre-weird.md) - [AI-Generated Animal Designs](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/animal-generator.md) - [Digital Archetype Sculptures](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/christian-rex-van-minnen-1.md) - [Hand-Drawn Cartoon NFTs](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/madsteez.md)