About me


Hi there!

I'm Milène (sher/her), also known as Meowlayn, and I'm a queer French illustrator.

I'm a monster lover at heart, and I enjoy drawing illustrations of my fantasy characters as well as bookish and otome tribute arts.
 

Engineer by training, I'm completely self-taught. After an eye-opening event in 2020, I realized that life was too short and I decided to become a full-time illustrator!

When I'm not working, I enjoy reading romance/adventure fantasy books, playing the piano, or playing visual novels and simulation games.

 FAQ

Art Journey

  • I’m completely self-taught! I’ve drawn ever since I could hold a pen, by creating OCs from my favorite universe (Naruto, Sugar Sugar Rune, Fruits Basket…) or random characters here and there. I would draw traditionally - my favorite medium was a mechanical pencil and a piece of paper.

    Later as an adult, I switched to digital art and learned a lot by drawing things I love - first otome fanarts, then OCs, and video game/bookish fanarts - and by watching Youtube tutorials and Twitch streams. There are tons of artists out there showing their process for free, and it’s helped me a lot in the early stages!

    I really recommend these artists Youtube channels for tutorials and inspirational content:

    Nowadays I invest some of my earnings into online courses regularly in order to improve my skills in addition to my (almost daily) practice. Here are the courses I completed and can recommend:

  • I’ve always dreamed of becoming an artist ever since I was a kid, but couldn’t attend art school, which is particularly expensive here in France, and offered little work opportunities back then. I managed to keep the spark alive for a few years, but had to stop drawing once I reached adulthood - I went to engineering school and then started working a corporate job, and had too little time and energy for art. I stopped drawing for 9 years.

    But then in late 2019, I decided to give Inktober, the famous October art challenge, a go, and found my spark again! I invested in a trusty Wacom Cintiq 16 (I still work on it every day!) and kept drawing for a few months…

    Unfortunately (or fortunately?), I officially burnt out from my corporate job in April 2020, right at the beginning of COVID. After a few weeks of sick leave, I decided to give illustration a serious go. I managed to negotiate with my company and left to pursue my dream.

    I first took the time to draw at my own pace and heal as best as I could, but I was lucky I quickly got my first private clients! Over the years, I’ve developed a Patreon, a shop, my social media presence, got to work with more clients and connect with fellow creatives…

    There were times when I doubted myself for not having a “formal” art education - but I quickly realized that it’s the skills and portfolio that matter the most! Not only that, but there are skills that are (still) not taught in school, such as running a business, calculating your worth and pricing yourself properly, forging a lasting relationship with clients… Skills that I was lucky to get through my non-art education and corporate job.

    And so, that’s where I am today - and I’m sure it’s only the beginning of my art journey!

Tools & Process

    • Software:Clip Studio Paint

    • Device: most of my work is done on my Wacom Cintiq 16 at home. If I’m travelling or whenever I go sit at a café to work (so I don’t stay cooped up in my home office 24/7), I use a Galaxy Tab S9 Ultra paired with a Wacom One stylus.

    I’m not sponsored for any of these products, but I really cannot recommend Clip Studio Paint enough!

    That being said, you don’t need fancy equipment to produce great work. A pen and paper is all you need to start practicing! My advice is to start with what you can. And if your goal is to become a professional illustrator, then research what would work best for you, and set some of your earnings aside to reinvest later in your business, be it equipment, softwares, merch…

  • I use a mix of these brushes that I’ve tweaked to my liking!

  • I have a handful of tutorials and tips on how I draw things on my Patreon (fantasy ears, SFW and NSFW merfolk anatomy, noses…) and I’m aiming to add more over the months.

    I also have timelapses and layered psd files in my shop for those curious about my process!

    Lastly, feel free to contact me if you have a question! I may not be of great help if it’s something that can be found easily on Google (best I can do is copy paste a link), but I’d be happy to answer anything specific to my process or my experience!

Commissions

  • Unless stated otherwise on my Commission page, my private commissions are currently closed, since my primary focus is now commercial projects (+ my Patreon and shop).

    I’ll make a public announcement on social media if/when I ever reopen them!

  • When hiring an illustrator for a commercial project, the client does not buy the copyright of the work itself but a license to use the illustration in a specific setting, such as promotional use of the commissioned work, use on merchandise…

    That means that the client does not have unlimited rights when commissioning a piece. The artwork is being created for a specific purpose. As such, the license come with restrictions such as time, product/number of units, location of use, exclusivity...

  • I do not offer unlimited commercial use - but I do offer licensing options with a long duration, high number of units, and various product options (and can adjust them on a case-by-case basis).

    A licensing agreement without limitation comes at a very high fee (the more value you ask for, the higher the price). Since most clients only need to use the artwork for a very specific usage (a book cover, an art print…), creating a custom quote adapted to your project ensures a fair price where you only need to pay for the usage you need rather than to cover all possible use of that illustration across all media, forever, which would be much more expensive!

    Additionally, my rights as a French illustrator fall under Droits d'auteur/ French Author's Rights, where unlimited licenses are considered null and void. I have to grant rights under specific terms for the contract to stay in place so clients can use the work they paid for!

  • I do not accept WFH nor Copyright Transfer contracts.

  • I offer non-exclusive licenses (with very few exceptions) of existing artworks. Usage rights will be determined on a case-by-case basis and granted for a fee, after a licensing agreement has been signed by both parties.

    Note: I only grant licensing for fanarts if the Licensee has proof of a signed agreement with the IP owner.