Lili des Bellons illustrates a fluoro world of monsters and robots

Paris-based illustrator Lili des Bellons’ latest series Arc is a set of illustrations that are “free, without constraint and personal” and provided a chance for Lili to experiment. The images are full of fluoro pinks and purples, which feel poppy and fresh, and offsets the hieroglyphic-like characters scattered throughout the series.

Lili’s catalogue of references is broad and she says she’s inspired by pop culture, medieval art and the iconography created by old poster artists in Europe among other things. “For my ideas I try to imagine planets, strange forms that are sometimes monstrous,” says Lili. “I create a story for my characters and then a credible context for them to exist in.”

As part of the illustrator’s process, Lili always starts with creating a protagonist. “A gateway character that invites people into the illustration,” she says. “I try to make him human, even if it’s a monster.” Lili also tries to imagine the whole image before starting properly as composition has become an important element in her work, seen through the crisp details and organised jumble of icons and figures. Describing her style as “easy to consume, but leaves a strange taste”, the beauty in Lili’s work is her precise execution of these imagined and vibrant worlds.