# Blurry Beast Art Rop van Mierlo's 'Wild Animals' Book is Filled With Cute Creatures By Meghan Young | Published 2011-01-08 | Business Source: Trend Hunter, https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/wild-animals References: [itsnicethat](http://www.itsnicethat.com/articles/3370-rop-van-mierlo-wild-animals) & [wild-animals.nl](http://wild-animals.nl/) The 'Wild Animals' book brings a whole new level of adorableness to [baby animals](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/fahlo). It features amazing [watercolor paintings](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/drawmypet) that look childlike at first, but are actually much more detailed and skilled than instantly discerned. Rop van Mierlo's [self-published](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/parks-2) 'Wild Animals' is both "a wild book for civilized people [and] a sophisticated book for wild people," as he puts it. Ironically, he had the tip of his ear bitten off by a dog. Thank goodness he still put together 'Wild Animals.' ## Trend Insights (Trend Hunter) - Score: 5.7/10 - Popularity: 69% | Activity: 94% | Freshness: 8% - Audience gender: 50% men, 50% women - Primary generations: Millennial - Top markets: North America, Europe ## Categories [Trend Hunter](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends) > [Business](https://www.trendhunter.com/business) > [Books](https://www.trendhunter.com/books) ## Key Themes ### Key Themes Behind This Trend - **Watercolor Art:** Disruptive innovation opportunity: Develop new techniques and technologies for creating intricate watercolor paintings. - **Self-publishing:** Disruptive innovation opportunity: Create platforms and services that empower authors to self-publish their own books. - **Animal-themed Books:** Disruptive innovation opportunity: Utilize augmented reality or interactive features to enhance the reading experience of animal-themed books. ### Where This Applies - **Art Supply Manufacturing:** Disruptive innovation opportunity: Develop eco-friendly and sustainable art materials for watercolor artists. - **Digital Publishing:** Disruptive innovation opportunity: Build digital platforms that offer self-publishing solutions for aspiring authors. - **Education and Media:** Disruptive innovation opportunity: Create educational apps or media platforms that introduce children to wildlife and animals through interactive storytelling. ## Related on Trend Hunter - [Striking Urban Wildlife Art](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/clare-allin.md) - [Historical Humankind Coffee Books](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/the-book.md) - [Wild Food Recipe Cookbooks](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/the-wild-game-cookbook.md) - [Animal-Inspired Habitat Lip Balms](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/endangered-animal-lip-balm.md) - [Artistic Animalistic Tequilas](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/dobel-atelier-animales-endmicos.md) - [Almost-Extinct Animal Sculptures](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/fauna-series.md) - [Unique Artistic Books](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/amusebouche.md) - [Canadian Animal-Themed Kitchenware](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/our-animals-maple-syrup-jar.md) - [Unique Hybrid Mystery Figurines](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/animal-x-vegetable-gachapon.md)