Nature's guardians are central to digital artist Ted Chin's dreamy works. To make his creations, Chin scours stock imagery, licenses his favorites, and then uses Adobe Photoshop and a Wacom tablet to build whimsical compositions. “I like to mix the animal spirit with nature in my work and add a [bit] of surrealism,” he explains.

“Animal symbolism in religious iconography and allegory has been used in associating certain qualities with certain animal species. I think I create these animals sort of as guardians or spirits of nature. And in each [work], it’s the moment we encounter them in the most mysterious ways I could think of.” 

Amanda Arnold is the associate editor.