# Strangely Surreal Illustrations Brandi Milne's Artwork Exudes Emotional Distraught and Distress By Farida Helmy | Published 2014-06-18 | Art & Design Source: Trend Hunter, https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/strangely-surreal-illustrations References: [inspirationhut.net](http://inspirationhut.net/inspiration/strange-artwork-brandi-milne/) & [brandimilne](http://www.brandimilne.com/Site) There are so many juxtaposing feelings in these strangely surreal illustrations by self-taught illustrator Brandi Milne. At first, the images seem to be Halloween-themed because of the smiling pumpkins and skeletons seen in some of them. But then when you look closer, some of the artwork takes on a Christmas theme with tiny elephants donning reindeer antlers. But then when you look even closer, you see that each of the images features wildlife -- whether it be a sick lamb or a dying deer or floating whales with their mouths wide open with pink swans swimming into them -- and they all seem to be lost, sick or dying. Aside from the use of animals in her strangely surreal illustrations, Milne creates work that always has a shy female figure with no features except drawn eyelashes as the muse of the piece. ## Trend Insights (Trend Hunter) - Score: 5.0/10 - Popularity: 95% | Activity: 48% | Freshness: 8% - Audience gender: 50% men, 50% women - Primary generations: Gen Z, Millennial, Gen X - Top markets: North America ## Categories [Trend Hunter](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends) > [Art & Design](https://www.trendhunter.com/artdesign) ## Key Themes ### What's Driving This Trend - **Surreal Animal Art:** There's an opportunity for using Milne's style in designing merchandise and for creating animated features and gaming environs. - **Emotive Halloween-themed Art:** Milne's Halloween-themed art that includes festive creatures and emotive animals can serve as inspiration for designing marketing materials and advertisements. - **Playful Christmas-themed Art:** Milne's Christmas-themed art that features reindeer elephants and emotive animals can serve as inspiration for designing Christmas cards and merchandise. ### Who This Affects Most - **Art:** Art galleries can sponsor exhibitions of Milne's strangely surreal illustrations, while creative studios and advertising agencies can work with Milne or use her work in designing marketing materials. - **Merchandise:** Merchandise companies can leverage Milne's style in designing products like t-shirts, phone cases, and bags that appeal to animal lovers and fans of surreal art. - **Animation and Gaming:** Animation studios and game developers can use Milne's style to create unique characters and environments that feature emotive animals and add creative depth to their work. ## Related on Trend Hunter - [Glamorous Artful Bronze Sculptures](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/sweet-jane.md) - [Whimsical Childlike Furniture Series](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/the-eternal-child.md) - [Playful Modern Art Shows](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/brent-estabrook-debuts-storytime.md) - [Vibrantly Colorful Dynamic Artwork](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/kayla-rumpp.md) - [Apocalypse Post Pandemic Art](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/contemporary-urban-art.md) - [Surreal Love-Themed Sculptures](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/joakim-ojanen.md) - [Human Embraced-Inspired Sculptures](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/wallmounted-sculpture.md) - [Cartoonish NFT Collectibles](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/i-like-you-youre-weird.md) - [Almost-Extinct Animal Sculptures](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/fauna-series.md)