lil lost boy illustrations (by zoé)

scientific illustrator and animal artist commissions are open

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squamata // @lil-lost-boy-illustrations

[lil-lost-boy-illustrations]

squamata // @lil-lost-boy-illustrations

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blue eyes // @lil-lost-boy-illustrations

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Co-evolution between South American chillies and birds, Zoé Duquenne (2026)

Digital illustration 210 x 297 mm

We often talk about animal-specific interactions, but we often forget the evolutionary mutual aid between animals and plants. The co-evolution between the genus Capsicum and the birds of South America is a magnificent example of this type of collaboration.

Capsica (or otherwise called peppers) are endemic plants of Central and South America. The latter have developed the ability to produce a protective molecule: capsaicin. Having irritating properties, chilli peppers locate this molecule in their seeds in order to deter mammals from eating the fruits. An evolutionary reason would be that herbivorous and omnivorous mammals chew their food before swallowing it, thus destroying the seeds with their teeth and preventing the plants from reproducing.

However, unlike mammals, birds do not chew their food and therefore can swallow these seeds whole. Thus the birds can feed on the fruit of peppers without having a burning sensation in the mouth and the seeds can come out, whole and fertile, of the bird’s digestive tract.

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I should just jinx them, Zoé Duquenne (2025)

Digital illustration

210 x 297 mm

[dappermouth]

do you think sperm whales get scared down there. in the so dark deeps.

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UTOPIA, Zoé Duquenne (2025)

Watercolour, pencil colour on paper 297 x 420 mm

Feminine emancipation through ecology

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Cité Utopia, Zoé Duquenne (2025)

Watercolour, colour pencil on paper 297 x 420 mm

Inspired by La Cité Radieuse (Le Corbusier, Marseille), Cité Utopia imagines an urban habitation embracing both human nature and the environnement.

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Pas Encore (Not Yet), Zoé Duquenne (2025)

Watercolour, colour pencil on paper 297 x 420 mm

Illustration of a brighter possible future. A leap of faith toward what could be.

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Animal sketches!!!

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Wild hyacinth, Zoé Duquenne (2026)

Colour pencil on paper, 210 x 297 mm

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Seule avec son chat (Alone with her cat), Zoe Duquenne (2026)

210 x 297 mm

This digital artwork explores comfort and balance. The main character of this illustration is the relationship between the woman and the cat. Lying on the same levels and coexist in each other’s reality as equals.