Art, memes, miniatures and my bad humor. Check my webcomic!

Louis' flower crown is mostly made out roses:

• red roses (passionate love, lust), related to his backstory but I'm not gonna spoil)
• white roses (purity, innocence). The one I put on his bad eye can mean two things : either that this incident is when he lost all remaining innocence, or that despite all this he did not becomes an absolute bastard, and therefore still has some 'purity' left

It's also a 'classy' flower that was liked by nobles. So it fits him, even more so that the thorns on his crown are both outwards and inwards : his seduction is a weapon, but also something destructive for himself

• The pink flowers are "Wild Roses" (Églantier, Rosa Canina (oh lol))

It's a wild flowers with sharp thorns, and looks a bit like a rose.

Dunno about flower language, but I picked it because 1. There is one in my parents garden so it was easier to draw and 2. This is a flower that grows pretty even in wilderness. Fitting for Louis, who remade himself after getting thrown in the slums.

• The last flower on his crown is the small purple buds : these are Belladona ; highly poisonous, and associated with prostitutes in the past (for the girls used his plant despite the risk to their lives to dilate their pupils and look more charming).

Once again, a duality on his flirting and it's consequences (related to his backstory) but also to the way people see him : "he's a slut!" "he's dangerous!"

All in itself, Louis' part of the drawing scream both sensuality, sexuality, and danger (to others and to himself)

Émilie's crown is made of wild flowers, obviously

• Poppies and forget-me-not : these are colorful and often found in France. They are also both symbol used to remember the fall of the WWI soldiers, so it's a subtle reminder of Émilie's association with the army. Also, poppies are from the same family as pavot (opium) and are therefore more dangerous than what it seems (tbh, you can't kill anyone with poppies. Make them sleep at most)
• Buttercup and daisies : common flowers, often associated with children. I picked these to signify that Emilie is still quite innocent in her way of thinking, she wants to "do good" and that is why she's in the army.
• Dandelion (in the bun) : a weed, one that people either disgust or find pretty. Reminder of her status of a commoner ; while she's respected by her men and most citizens, she's hated by the nobles in the army. Also dandelions grows everywhere no matter what; Emilie is the kind of girl that knows what she want, and how to get it.
• Ivy : Fidelity and perseverance, ivy is also a plant (sometimes poisonous) that grows no matter what or where, and grows big. Emilie is decided to use her status in the army to fulfill her wish to help people, and no classist/misogynist bastard will stop her. Also, she will helps those she consider her friends to the end.

Émilie's part of the drawing is full of fighting spirit, and she's a strong and free spirit as well, despite humbles origins.

first, the second one on a lilac background because i'm an undecisive disaster

and second, a little rant (that ended up being not so little) :

it's a fight against myself for me to post this, because i'm super insecure about everything i make, and i either think it's shit, or i think that it's not good enough to be posted online (even if i'm personnally happy with it). but i also realized that, if i wait to make something that i find worthy of being posted to start sharing my art online, i'm gonna end up never posting anything. so.

one of the things that convinced me to post this is the 2009vs2019 thing that i've seen artists doing on twitter and instagram. for most of them, the contrast is pretty striking. it was really reassuring in a way, because it reminded me that artists whose work i love and admire, they didn't start out that way. it's so easy to forget that getting to the level of detail and quality of what "popular" artists, who are often professionals, make, takes a very very long time; because when artists post something, we don't see that. we don't see the years of work, the thousands of hours spent praticing and perfecting their craft, the countless drawings that never got posted. we only see the result of that. and so our vicious brains (or at least my vicious brain, but i don't think i'm alone here) convinces us that we should also be able to do that, and that unless we make something that is on that level, it isn't worth sharing with the world. having such an easy access to other people's art and creations is truly amazing, it's one of my favorite things about social media, but i think it also sets a very high bar for beginner and/or amateur artists, and i end up putting a shit ton of pressure on myself in regards to what i consider to be "good enough" (the fact that i'm very perfectionnist doesn't help), because i can't help comparing my work to the one of people who have years of experience that i obviously don't.

one of my main concerns with posting this was "but what if in a few years/months i think this is really bad and i regret posting it". well, i'm happy with these drawings now. and if in ten years, two years or even a few months i'm not anymore, it's okay. it's okay to start small ; and there is no shame in acknowledging that you've improved, but also that you can and will improve. if in a few months/years, i'm able to make stuff that is a lot more complex and much better than this (and i hope i will), it doesn't mean that this was bad to start with. it means that it was a start. and if i want to share it, i shouldn't be stopped by the idea of an hypothetical "better" work that i will make later and that i should share instead.

sorry for this long long rant, but i needed to write this out, and now that i have, i realize that i just unwinded some lowkey toxic beliefs i had about my own art, and the idea of sharing it, so that's pretty cool !

In answer to your rant : one of the reason the contrast of 2009vs2019 of professional artist on Twitt/Insta is also the fact that they are professional. Meaning they get paid to work on their art, and therefore to train and improve on a daily basis. Beginners, and hobbyist, often don't have the funds, or time, but it's related, for that. So you improve more slowly.

Which is fine! You can be an artist without making it your main source of income, and honestly I prefer to do so in order to not put too much pressure on what I think as a relaxing activity. But this also means I need to realize I can't compare myself with 'pro'. And that goes for any beginner too.

Keeping you old stuff is also a good thing : it allows you to see how far you've come,and even if you cringe when seeing errors of the past, you know you can do better now. Or sometimes you're surprised with stuff you did, that you hated at some point, but reasier it isn't so bad, esp. with the level you had back then.

Art is constant progression, you just gotta remind yourself so from time to time!

Louis' flower crown is mostly made out roses:

• red roses (passionate love, lust), related to his backstory but I'm not gonna spoil)
• white roses (purity, innocence). The one I put on his bad eye can mean two things : either that this incident is when he lost all remaining innocence, or that despite all this he did not becomes an absolute bastard, and therefore still has some 'purity' left

It's also a 'classy' flower that was liked by nobles. So it fits him, even more so that the thorns on his crown are both outwards and inwards : his seduction is a weapon, but also something destructive for himself

• The pink flowers are "Wild Roses" (Églantier, Rosa Canina (oh lol))

It's a wild flowers with sharp thorns, and looks a bit like a rose.

Dunno about flower language, but I picked it because 1. There is one in my parents garden so it was easier to draw and 2. This is a flower that grows pretty even in wilderness. Fitting for Louis, who remade himself after getting thrown in the slums.

• The last flower on his crown is the small purple buds : these are Belladona ; highly poisonous, and associated with prostitutes in the past (for the girls used his plant despite the risk to their lives to dilate their pupils and look more charming).

Once again, a duality on his flirting and it's consequences (related to his backstory) but also to the way people see him : "he's a slut!" "he's dangerous!"

All in itself, Louis' part of the drawing scream both sensuality, sexuality, and danger (to others and to himself)

Émilie's crown is made of wild flowers, obviously

• Poppies and forget-me-not : these are colorful and often found in France. They are also both symbol used to remember the fall of the WWI soldiers, so it's a subtle reminder of Émilie's association with the army. Also, poppies are from the same family as pavot (opium) and are therefore more dangerous than what it seems (tbh, you can't kill anyone with poppies. Make them sleep at most)
• Buttercup and daisies : common flowers, often associated with children. I picked these to signify that Emilie is still quite innocent in her way of thinking, she wants to "do good" and that is why she's in the army.
• Dandelion (in the bun) : a weed, one that people either disgust or find pretty. Reminder of her status of a commoner ; while she's respected by her men and most citizens, she's hated by the nobles in the army. Also dandelions grows everywhere no matter what; Emilie is the kind of girl that knows what she want, and how to get it.
• Ivy : Fidelity and perseverance, ivy is also a plant (sometimes poisonous) that grows no matter what or where, and grows big. Emilie is decided to use her status in the army to fulfill her wish to help people, and no classist/misogynist bastard will stop her. Also, she will helps those she consider her friends to the end.

Émilie's part of the drawing is full of fighting spirit, and she's a strong and free spirit as well, despite humbles origins.