Falling for Fandoms

Combeferre：The man gazing at the sky

"While Combeferre was raising a wounded man, he received three bayonet thrusts through his breast; he cast one last look toward heaven, and breathed his last."

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Obviously, this painting references the original Les Misérables—the scene of Combeferre's death.

I particularly love the colors in The Night Watch and Liberty Leading the People, so I used them as references. I also drew inspiration from "Masquerade," one of my favorite songs from The Phantom of the Opera. In the book, their deaths all feel absurd and grand, yet they end just as absurdly—even Combeferre's death is brushed over hastily. But this kind of ending, without grand fanfare, though silent, is deafening.

The highlight on Combeferre isn't based on much logic; it's simply because the Chinese translation of his name, "公白飛," contains the character for "white" (白), so I thought it suited him perfectly.

I really enjoy the sense of motion in certain famous paintings—where every figure, whether protagonist or secondary, has their own business to attend to. Though I may not have fully achieved that, I still tried my best. Combeferre is helping up a wounded soldier; the soldier on the far left intends to stop him, not knowing whether he means to save or harm the injured man. When he later realizes Combeferre is trying to help, he moves to intervene—but is killed by one of the soldiers. Beneath that soldier lies a wounded young man. Behind the soldier who kills Combeferre, Enjolras is fighting another soldier, watching his closest friend die before his eyes, while the soldier seizes the moment to stab the man behind him. An old man, seeing the soldier attack Combeferre, tries to step over Courfeyrac—who lies on the ground, trying to hold him back—but is struck from behind by another soldier with a short sword, never seeing it coming. In the background, a soldier is quietly carrying away his friend, who is part of the rebellion. There are three already dead in the painting, and two more will die in the very next moment. I particularly love this sense of absurdity and chaos.

Hello everyone, and thank you to all who participated in giving prompt ideas via the google form!

Prompts are optional, ofc, but for those who wish to use them, without further ado, here they are!! :D

Day 1. Beach Day

Day 2. Alternate Universe

Day 3. Illness

Day 4. Baby/ Children

Day 5. Formal Wear

Day 6. Rainy Day

You are putting the thunderbolt on trial for the storm.

A Group Which Almost Became Historic 

It's been over a decade since I first read Les Mis, and first drew this, (which still floats around in reblogs, the original post now being deleted with my old blog) and I thought I ought to finish this for Barricade Day. At the time, that illustration was the most ambitious I had ever drawn.

In the last ten years, Les Mis has perhaps felt more pertinent than ever. In Australia, where I live, bigoted, far-right political parties that were previously considered fringe are leading polls on the back of racist, anti-immigration rhetoric. I donate regularly to a charity that supports refugees that is local to me, the Asylum Seeker Resource Center, and am going to do so again today. I encourage you to do the same, either to the ASRC, or to an equivalent charity in your area.

Epilogue

Happy Barricade Day! After all, June 6th is the day they made their sacrifice, so I’m not late, right?

The inspiration for this drawing came from the Toledo Cathedral—the sense of the heavens opening up, which also corresponds to the final song of Les Misérables, "Epilogue."

In the painting, I wanted to depict the scene Jean Valjean vaguely sees as he passes away. Fantine takes his hand, leading him toward heaven, while the Bishop stands beside him, illuminating the path behind. And in the background are those who fell during the battle.

The upward composition gives the feeling that their voices fade into the "valley of the light," reflecting their destiny of "climbing to the light." I wanted the darker surroundings to contrast with the light of heaven, showing that they now dwell in that place beyond—echoing the lyric, "We will live again in freedom in the garden of the Lord."

Jehan loves playing the flute, so perhaps the "distant drums" are sounds he conjures.

Behind Valjean, there is a mural of women—intended to represent the "lovely ladies," along with little Gavroche and his sister Éponine above. These figures embody the suffering people of the earth, much like the lyrics of "Wretched of the Earth."

POV: You are Marius entering the back room of the Café Musain

Yes I did use Phoenix Wright as a pose reference. I’ve never played Ace Attorney but it felt appropriate. Happy Barricade day

Stills under the cut

𝑯𝒆 𝒘𝒉𝒐 𝒅𝒊𝒆𝒔 𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆, 𝒅𝒊𝒆𝒔 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒓𝒂𝒅𝒊𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒇𝒖𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆