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InspirationIllustration

See the world through illustrator Brianna Miller's eyes in Jelly World

Get ready to see the world like never before. In her new book Jelly World, Oregon-based illustrator Brianna Miller has taken familiar references and pop culture icons – mixed them with her memories and subconscious thoughts and reinterpreted them in strange and surprising ways.

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Collage of colourful cartoon drawings featuring pop culture characters, animals and surreal imagery in a rubber hose art style, with "Big Mac and Me" and "Jello Hello" text overlaid

Available from Burn Barrel Press on 17 December, Jelly World is a collection of Brianna's one-of-a-kind drawings from her sketchbooks. Pulling together four years' worth of material, each page is bursting with recognisable imagery acting out of character, such as Beevis and Butthead cross-dressing and Donald Duck's girlfriend Daisy pole dancing.

Calling to mind the likes of prolific American cartoonist Robert Crumb, the characters and subjects in Jelly World are depicted in an innocent, rubber hose art style that further contrasts the debauched antics they're getting up to. The overall effect is funny, familiar, and a little bit shocking.

Having started as a way to pass the time during a nine to five office job, the drawings that would go on to appear in Jelly World transformed into a diary-like sketchbook where Brianna would delve into memories, pop culture and abstract thoughts. "When drawing in my sketchbook, I treat the compositions more like little experiments where I push the limits of how and what I draw," she tells Creative Boom.

Red and white book cover of Jelly World by Brianna Miller with an open red slipcase showing illustrated characters inside and fresh oranges on the cover
Open sketchbook spread from Brianna Miller's Jelly World showing densely layered illustrations mixing pop culture characters with colourful drawings and handwritten text on a red book cover

"It's an extremely freeing exercise to layer illustrations and draw over certain existing elements. Similarly to how I feel like I'm falling into my drawings as I work on them, I find even more coincidences within the pages after I finish them. The moments where I see a subconscious connection between visuals after I finish a spread are the most enjoyable."

A running theme throughout the drawings in Jelly World is for each image to speak on many layers. Brianna says this is comparable to how the brain functions and sifts through lots of different layered thoughts and memories. "80s and 90s references, such as Beavis and Pennywise, were pivotal figures of my adolescence; characters that still float around not only my brain but other people's too," she adds.

Brianna Miller's illustration featuring cartoon characters including a figure on a pole, anthropomorphic animals and objects with exaggerated expressions in a rubber hose art style
Illustration from Jelly World showing four cartoon characters in provocative poses and outfits, including a figure in a checkered swimsuit and two characters in colourful undergarments and fishnets

When learning about her history as an artist, the road towards Jelly World feels almost inevitable. During first grade, she was suspended from school after sending a crude drawing to a classmate which featured a Cartman-Esque character exposing his backside. Instead of landing her in trouble, though, her mum saved the drawing and continued to encourage her artistic expression. She still has the doodle to this day.

As for the name Jelly World, this is taken from the way Brianna perceives the world around her. "Iconic imagery undulates in my mind similar to a jelly-like substance and is easily transformed or altered when it reaches pen to paper. Shared connection of memory between myself and others is a way I navigate, interpret and digest experiences in this world - this Jelly World."

Brianna Miller's reinterpretation of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs with surreal and darkly comedic character designs against a vibrant rainbow background
Two contrasting illustrations: left shows a cartoonish figure in yellow gloves and red boots smoking a cigarette; right depicts a portrait surrounded by dice, smiley faces and flames in vibrant colours
Brianna Miller illustration featuring a pink-faced character with sunflowers, a blue-green creature holding flowers, SpongeBob SquarePants, a daisy, Motel 6 sign and "Big Boy" text with colour palette
Vintage advertising artwork with cartoonish characters, including Teletubbies-style figures on the left and men in red shirts with Modelo beer bottles on the right, with German text
Four colourful cartoon characters with exaggerated features wearing wigs and fishnets in Brianna Miller's rubber hose art style
Colourful illustration featuring grotesque cartoon characters with exaggerated features, alongside references to Maruchan Ramen, Cup Noodles, and a "Graduate of Jesus University" badge
Collage of colourful cartoon drawings featuring distorted pop culture characters and references, including text reading "people in oregon don't tan" and "the truth
Brianna Miller's colourful illustration featuring grotesque and cartoon characters, including red demons, monsters and recognisable pop culture icons arranged around a central figure with exposed muscle and bone detail
Collage of eclectic drawings featuring pop culture references, cartoon characters and surreal imagery in Brianna Miller's distinctive rubber hose art style, with text including "Redneck Dementia", "Jude Sill" and "Nirvana
Collage of Brianna Miller's surreal illustrations featuring distorted pop culture characters, vintage toys, monsters and text fragments arranged densely across the page in her distinctive rubber hose art style
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