Léo Bragigand

My life has been surrounded by art since day one. My mom ran a gallery, and my dad was an artist, so it's no surprise I ended up becoming one too. I grew up helping with painting and learning to draw, straddling two worlds—the one that's all about ideas and the other that's visually satisfying. As time passed, I struggled with these two sides of art. One could make you loads of money and was meant for the higher spheres, while the other more illustrative work was seen as stuff for kids. 

I started searching for a way to enrich my love for visually appealing works, and that's when I stumbled upon my passion for comics, cartoons, and animation. I started making comics and satirical drawings, and that's when I met my first mentor, Cabu—a famous french cartoon artist. He taught me so much, but then he tragically passed away, leaving behind his wisdom. 

I decided to study at art school, but it wasn't my jam. So I explored the technical side of animation, but even that didn't feel right when I worked for a studio. They only cared about money and technical stuff, not the art itself. 

Frustrated but determined, I turned to Instagram to share my work. At first, it was tough to get noticed, but then it hit me—I should merge these two worlds that mean so much to me! So, I started creating technical works with heaps of ideas and stories woven in. And that's when I found success on Instagram! Now, I'm doing what I love most—drawing with stories and ideas in them—and it feels like I've found my happy place. I'm just going to keep growing and learning, sticking to this philosophy that makes my art truly me. 

@helbe_artist