I’m genuinely surprised by how often she’s praised for her "beauty," even though her design is, to put it mildly, questionable. Among the Ancients, there are good examples of storytelling through design—Golden, for instance, whose outfit and hair reference her connection to the sun. Lily, unfortunately (or fortunately?), doesn’t make the cut.
Now, onto the main points.
I. The Mismatch Between Name and Design
The first thing that stands out is that Lily doesn’t evoke the imagery of an actual lily flower. Why is most of her design dominated by dark green? If she’s named after a white lily, why does her appearance focus more on the stem and leaves rather than the flower itself?
In the Korean version, her name translates to "Holy Lily," which immediately brings to mind purity, innocence, and lightness. Yet her outfit, on the contrary, looks dark and visually weighs her down, contradicting the idea of holiness.
If her design used lighter tones—white, pastel green—she would appear much more delicate and true to her name. Imagine her in a dress resembling lily petals: long, flowing, with soft draping. This would emphasize her gentle nature and spirituality, especially given her role as a symbol of freedom. (This is something I tried to achieve in my redesign, and I think it turned out quite well.)
And another question—what’s with the bandages on her arms? Frankly, it just reminds me of the edgy OCs every other artist drew between 2017 and 2020...
A real lily has prominent pistils and stamens. In Lily’s design, they only appear as small pink accents in her hair. Why not use them more effectively—for example, incorporating pink into her clothing or accessories? This would strengthen the floral association and possibly hint at her connection to Dark Enchantress.
III. Lack of Visual Transformation
My final point concerns her story arc. According to lore, Lily was rebaked and corrupted. Yet, her appearance remains unchanged. This creates visual dissonance—why introduce such a major plot twist if it isn’t reflected in her design?
In my redesign, I explored how her split self could manifest visually. For example:
1) Her dough became darker—a result of rebaking.
2) Her hair gained pink gradients, directly referencing Dark Enchantress’ design, where pink is a key color.
3) Her cloak developed an unnatural purple gradient, symbolizing decay. The idea was to suggest that Lily, through her own foolishness, lost part of herself—her original purity and, by extension, her freedom.
Ideally, this would add depth to her character and make her story more compelling.
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