if the four horsemen were cute girls (+ guys)

let's get biblical in here; the four horsemen of the apocalypse are super interesting figures and have been re-interpreted in pop culture over and over, so you know that I had to take a crack at it. it's especially interesting to think that humans have been stressed about sickness, poverty, and war for hundreds of years...solidarity with our pasts I guess?

∆ My book Unfamiliar is available here! -
∆ Thank you to Amarante for providing a good portion of the music! Listen to them below:

[zecromgen]

One thing I noticed with the Red Horsemen was that the little bodies attached to thier chest also remind me of military badges of honor, which I think is a really neat detail.

[ellycepelkey]

I got to admit, Pestilence is my fav design, she looks so innocent if she had a resting face and didn't have the gas mask, so if they were like REAL people sort of people might let their guard down and approach her which would get them sick. It shows that when you're sick and it isn't like the black plague or it shows any outward appearance you look fine even though you're health is crumbling, and let's admit, if you were sick and coughing a lot or throwing up you wouldn't want anybody to see that, when you're sick you're in a vulnerable state. So when you're sick you may look fine but you're not. And that's why I like Pestilence's design.

[bookishdraws]

I like how pestilence almost seems like she would reach out a grab you. With famine, something is being withheld, with war there is a sort of choice in the matter, but with pestilence it seems like she is actively hunting you to infect you. I could see her flying around very quickly, like a mischievous fairy and just infecting millions in her wake.

[The_one_goblin]

My personal favorite interpretation of the white horseman is from Good Omens! Pollution is the white horseman, and in both the book and show it’s stated that “pollution took over when pestilence retired”

[kailiahseekings]

The four horsemen being drawn in your art style is pretty adorable.

[mations]

you should turn cameras into cute boys and girls! like through history, pin holes, polaroid's/instant, digitals, etc.
it could make some really cool designs!

[lauriemcclure]

I think you should draw the seven Heavenly virtues next and I like your art style, it's cute

[monster-enthusiast]

The horsemen are one of my minor obsessions, so here's what I've gathered from researching them.
(This is from the book of Revelation as it's quoted the most from what I've seen regarding the horsemen.)
First off, my understanding of the confusion with the white horse is that Conquest and War were too similar, so for modern media interpretations they went with Pestilence. I've also heard that it's because Pestilence (sickness) is the result of Conquest but I think that's unlikely.

The first horse is Conquest: "And I looked, and behold, a white horse! And its rider had a bow, and a crown was given to him, and he came out conquering, and to conquer." The way I take Conquest is to mean "glory" and stealing people's land. Conquering some other group of people. I image he wears a crown because it was kings who made the decision to conquer. (Domination over others, greed, status, glory.)

The second horse is War: "And out came another horse, bright red. Its rider was permitted to take peace from the earth, so that people should slay one another, and he was given a great sword." War is the result of the kings desire for Conquest. It's bloodshed and slaughter. As the quote says, it's a disruptor of peace. (Bloodshed, slaughter, violence, chaos.)

The third horse is Famine: "And I looked, and behold, a black horse! And its rider had a pair of scales in his hand. 6 And I heard what seemed to be a voice in the midst of the four living creatures, saying, “A quart[a] of wheat for a denarius, [b] and three quarts of barley for a denarius, and do not harm the oil and wine!” And she covered in the video, it's not Famine from scarcity or ill crops. It's Famine caused by the greed of kings. And since this comes after War, we can usume it's during war times. Kings would hike up the prices for food so much that the lower class wouldn't be able to afford them and they'd go hungry. Meanwhile, they kept all the wine and such for themselves. (Hunger through exploitation, ruling class greed, cruelty, oppression of the lower class, starvation.)

The fourth horseman is Death: And I looked, and behold, a pale horse! And its rider's name was Death, and Hades followed him. And they were given authority over a fourth of the earth, to kill with sword and with famine and with pestilence and by wild beasts of the earth." Self explanatory. (Death.)

The horsemen are said to mark the start of the apocalypse/bring the apocalypse. With that in mind, it implies the world will end when Kings conquer another land, bring bloodshed and slaughter, exploit the poor during war times so their people go hungry and starve while they sit with their luxuries, untouched, and then bring about the resulting death of all the people. Which I think is horribly ironic considering how many capitalists are Christian. (Also considering Jesus said to feed the poor and stone the bankers or whatever.) Seems very anti-greed anti-oppression to me. Seems like nobody got the memo. (This is also why I'm not the biggest fan of modern interpretations of the horsemen because I feel like it loses the main purpose behind their presence in favor of "bad stuff = apocalypse." The apocalypse will be brought about by the greed of man.)


Edit: also here's some quotes I pulled from Google:

"The Book of Revelations in the New Testament lists the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse as conquest, war, famine and death, while in the Old Testament's Book of Ezekiel they are sword, famine, wild beasts and pestilence or plague."

"Under another interpretation, the first Horseman is called Pestilence and is associated with infectious disease and plague. It appears at least as early as 1906 in the Jewish Encyclopedia. This particular interpretation is common in popular culture references to the Four Horsemen."

[Jessica-lvug]

i like the poses you gave them, i found some meaning in them too. famine has both of his hands full, signifying the greed that leads to man made famine and the lack of a helping hand in times of it, he's turned away from you like his attention is only on himself. war has one hand covering his chest in almost a protective manner while the other is reached out dripping filth, leaning into that aspect of how those who start wars keep themselves safe but enact suffering to everyone else. pestilence is hunched over with her hands free, kind of like she's unpredictable and always ready to pounce and grasp onto anyone she can, which is the nature of sickness. death has a straight posture like she's always looming over you, her docile stance suggests that instead of reaching out to take you, she waits for you like she's the one you go to when you take your last breath from her colleagues.

[charlotteturner]

I have 3 siblings so my dad would yell out HORSEMEN! To call for all 4 of us

[Ilikegreen]

Fun fact: the color pallet you used for death's hair is also the colors of a rotten corpses (I don't know if that was intended)

[Kindrick]

In some interpretations, the white horse is pristine, while the palid/pale horse is sickly, as in how human skin looks when the person is deathly ill. But these are in descriptions of their horses, and while the horsemen tend to have matching attire, the exception seems to usually be Death, who is more commonly depicted as the Grim Reaper, a faceless figure in tattered black robes.

[doodlydungeon]

the four horsemen are such interesting ideas, I'm loving your take on them.

[tsakeboya]

Lavender: What if the 4 horsemen where cute girls?
Tatsuki Fujimoto: Hold my beer.

[NoNameNerd_]

I love how the first three are like scary/malicious entity's and Death, although scary, is kind and/or peaceful showing how after all the hardships the other three brought the final end is in fact someone's final rest

[WillowsSketchbook]

haleys soft voice + art style is the perfect combo 💕💕

[ellieanated]

when Haley touches on already established topics like this in her videos, it’s like a museum: her art are the exhibits, and she’s the tour guide walking us through them

[AterciYT]

I see them as like a family, death: the mom. War: the dad. Famine: eldest child. Plague: youngest child. Famine would definitely be the older sibling to make fun of the younger and manipulate them into doing his chores

[Etombs]

I like pestilence a lot! The juxtaposition of the terrifying gas mask with the frilly outfit really scratches my brain. Great work!

[Annie.s_Galaxy_]

Its actually very interesting how you made the pale horseman's irises gigantic, because the way doctors test if a patient is in critical condition is to shine a light in their eyes, and if the pupil doesn't contract to block the light out, then it means that they are, ultimately, about to die and needs serious attention.