My Top 5 go-to YouTube Illustrators
One way to refill your creative-well is to surround yourself with other artists and to be inspired by their work. Recently, I've been doing this by watching a bunch of YouTube illustrators online.
However, if you don't already have a list of favourite artists you're subscribed to, it can be very overwhelming sifting through all the art and creatives available on YouTube. This is exactly how I felt!
Originally, I really underutilised YouTube and only used it to listen to music or watch the latest movie trailers. It was only in 2020 when I started curating a list of artist who documented their art and process on their channel.
Therefore, I've decided to share a list of the top 5 YouTube illustrators I love watching while I'm either creating my own art or when I'm just busy with household tasks.
Fran Meneses (Frannerd)
Fran is an illustrator, author and content creator born in Chile, but is currently living in Brooklyn, NYC. She is known for her online shop, We are Nice Humans, her Ugly Sketchbooks and her comic-book-like illustrations based on her life.
What I love about her art
I love the simplistic nature of her art, especially in how she uses pens and markers. I also find it interesting how she uses alternative colours, like purples or blues, for shadows in her drawings.
In regards to the subject matter, she is one of the first illustrators I've come across who draws scenes from her own life, commenting on ordinary events that happen in her day-to-day. I enjoy seeing this, because this made me realise that our own lives can also be interesting and worthy enough to draw and be put into our art.
These are some of the Instagram Illustrations on Fran’s Instagram Profile.
Why I enjoy watching her YouTube videos
Fran's YouTube Channel mainly contains studio vlogs where she shares a window into her life, giving viewers or aspiring illustrators a realistic perspective on how life as an illustrator could be like.
For example, she shares mundane things from her day-to-day, but she also talks about her current projects - explaining her thought process, techniques, materials and referencing resources she uses.
I enjoy how she explains her thought process of an idea and the different steps she goes through when illustrating a comic; starting from the thumbnail, rough sketch, redrawing it on the iPad and colouring the final drawing.
It is also insightful to see what she does to ensure she gets the composition or proportions of her drawings correct. In this video, she shows how she takes photos of herself doing the thing she wants to draw or how she films herself doing something, in order to take screenshots of different figure poses.
Video from Fran's YouTube Channel posted on 29 January 2021.
Something else Fran regularly shares in her videos are materials and sources of inspiration. She is a huge advocate for 'watering' your creative self (your plant) by going to a museum, having a drawing date, listening to music or reading books. I love that she shares these sources, because it gives the viewer the opportunity to check it out for themselves and see if they would like it as well. This way she is contributing to other people's 'creative libraries'.
Things I've learned from her
The idea and practice of an ugly sketchbook.
Study multiple artists' work and use different references to develop your own illustration style and prevent yourself from copying one particular artist's style.
Drawing from memory is a myth! Use references and if you don't have one, take a photo of yourself as a reference.
Using alternative colours, like purples or blues, for shadows in your drawings instead of greys and blacks.
If you'd like to check out Fran's art, you can find her on YouTube, Patreon, Instagram, and her website.
2. FurryLittlePeach (Sha'an d'Anthes)
Sha'an is an illustrator, artist and author based in Sydney, Australia. She is known for her two children's books, Bandits and Zoom, her annual art prompt challenge, Peachtober, and her bright and colourful art style.
What I love about her art
Sha'an has a talent to create colourful worlds that are filled with childhood wonder, imagination, and magic. Seeing what she creates for the different prompts throughout the month of October and the stories her images tell is the reason I look forward to it every year!
This is Shaán's Peachtober video for 2021.
Apart from her use of colour and drawing concepts, I find Sha'an's use of shapes, patterns and textures super interesting! She is also very good at reusing textures, characters or iconic shapes and designs in her work like her trees, mountains, apples, apple cores and snails, which makes her art work easily recognisable and resonate with each other.
Why I enjoy watching her YouTube videos
It is so interesting to see her process and how her paintings develop from start to finish.
Sha'an usually tends to draw rough sketches in her sketchbook, brainstorming ideas and, based on these rough sketches, she'll draw basic thumbnails for an idea. Only after this step will she select a thumbnail to redraw and refine the sketch even further.
She'll then trace it onto a piece of paper via her lightbox or by using her tablet as a lightbox, before starting the painting process. The different layers of colours and her use of textures add so much depth and contrast to her artwork. It truly is magical to watch the artwork unfold.
This video shows Sha'an's process of creating a new art work.
Apart from her physical art, she also makes videos on:
How she approaches projects from start to finish.
Tips on creating a portfolio on your website.
With these kinds of videos, Sha'an not only gives insight to her art itself but also the business side of it. I love it when artists do this, when they share their experiences and knowledge. It is a way to give back to the community and help other artists with similar situations they might be facing.
In regards to Sha'an's art, it is extremely fascinating to see the range of different projects she is commissioned for. Some of her most interesting projects for me, was The Whale Tale Project, an art piece and time laps she made for the Netflix documentary, Chasing Coral, and murals she created for Ala Moana Centre in Honolulu, Hawaii.
Things I've learned from her
Learning about the wonderful world of Prismacolor Premiers. I never knew colour pencils could be so soft and bright! I've also never thought of using them with watercolour or acrylic paint.
Using your window and natural light as a lightbox or tracing surface.
When using watercolour paint, start with the lightest or brightest colours first. If you try to add lighter colours on top of a dark colour, the page will get overworked and the colour will just get muddier and duller.
Using thumbnails to brainstorm a concept and to work out your composition.
The importance of documenting your thought process for a specific project and posting this on your portfolio for future clients to see.
Overall, I find her video's super energising, colourful and motivating to watch. She's definitely someone to check out if you want to get pumped up to be creative.
If you'd like to check out Sha'an's art, you can find her on YouTube, Twitter and Instagram or check out her website at https://www.furrylittlepeach.com/. You can also listen to an interview of her on the Creative Peptalk by Andy J. Pizza.
3. Jake Parker
Jake Parker is an American comic book and picture book artist, with experience working in the animation's industry. Some of the animated films he worked on include Rio, Epic and Horton Hears a Who. He is also known for the online art challenge, Inktober, which he started in 2009 as an attempt to improve his inking skills with a brush pen.
Apart from being an independent creator, he is also a co-founder of SVSLearn.com, an online art educational platform that teaches people how to become professional illustrators.
What I love about his art
When I think of Jake's artwork, I mainly think of robots, machinery, and space. Even though it is very different from the illustrations I usually enjoy, I like it due to its interesting concepts and character designs. Some of my favourite examples of this is his AppBots series he drew in 2021.
These are some of the AppBots on Jakes’s Instagram Profile.
Jake's ability to take something familiar and turn it into a character or something unexpected is truly a unique skill. Apart from his machinery and space drawings, he also creates illustrations with a fantasy or mythological element to it, like his comic, Skyheart.
Skyheart takes place on Airth, a world that has literally been torn apart by a pre-historic war between the gods who created it. The main character, Wake - a delivery boy who lives in this world, goes on a quest to save his mother's life force which has been trapped in a power-crystal.
The idea of an ancient world and characters that need to go on a quest fighting evil is the perfect combination of magic and technology. These types of illustrations are my absolute favourite!
I also love the soft muted tone of the artwork in this comic and the concepts remind me of the illustrations in Nausicaä, Laputa in Castle in the Sky, Treasure Planet and Ledgend of Zelda.
Why I enjoy watching his YouTube videos
Jake Parker doesn't upload videos on his YouTube Channel as regularly as other artists, because he believes in only creating a video if he has something of value to say or share. Therefore, when he does upload videos, they are usually very informative and instructive. He is passionate about giving advice on the illustrator industry or sharing tips on how to grow as an artist.
One of my favourite examples of these kinds of videos is his video on "Design 100 Somethings". Different from the "Draw 100 Challenge", this challenge isn't about getting better at drawing something you're bad at. It is about practicing coming up with different creative ideas and pushing through creative barriers. Similar to writers revising and writing different drafts for their novels, illustrators can practice this by taking one subject and designing 100 variations of that thing.
When professional concept artists and illustrators are given a task to design something, they're usually required to go through several design passes. This is not something you'll be able to do just based on your drawing skills alone. Your creative mileage will also play an important role in coming up with different ideas or scenarios of what to draw.
I appreciate Jake's advice not only because it is a good challenge for artists to improve their drawing, but because it gives aspiring illustrators a realistic idea of what could be expected of them in the industry. This will help someone figure out if this industry is in fact something they would like to pursue and, if so, how they could practice the required skills.
Apart from these types of videos, Jake also uploads videos where he shares his thoughts on different topics and answers questions while drawing something or flipping through his sketchbooks. This is similar to the livestreams he hosts from time to time.
Things I've learned from him
The idea of having a creative bank account and that we need to constantly be making deposits into it if we want to make withdraws. Similar to the idea of refilling your creative well, you need to do things you enjoy that refills you with creative energy and inspire you to create.
Finished, not perfect. It is more important to finish a project than having nothing to show others because you feel your work is never ready.
Creativity thrives through constraints, therefore take part in creative challenges.
Spend time building up your creative library by practice drawing the things you're interested in and eventually you'll be able to do it without using an actual reference.
If you'd like to check out Jake's art, you can find him on YouTube, Patreon, Instagram and on his website. You can also listen to him and three other illustrators (Will Terry and Lee White) on their podcast, 3 Point Perspective.
4. Kristiāna Doroščonoka (Kriksis)
Kristiāna (Kriksis) is an illustrator from Latvia currently living in the UK. Her illustrations can be characterised by her use of earthly and muted colours, which suit the nature scenes she is known for. Some of her recurring themes are drawings of a moth girl or children, birds, foxes and forests. She is also known to take on personal projects, illustrating and self-publishing her own stories.
What I love about her art
I enjoy her loose, scratchy, textured style, which can especially be seen in her landscapes drawings. Kriksis is very bold and experimental, with different art mediums like Lino prints, soft pastels, pencils, watercolours, gouache, alcohol markers and so much more. It is inspiring to see the diverse colours and textures she can create with these different mediums and how she uses it to develop characters and scenes for her personal projects.
This is a sketchbook tour of Krikis' Personal Projects on her YouTube Channel posted on the 9th of April 2023.
Some of my favourite art pieces of her (seen in the above video) are the moth girl sticker, an acorn house, a fox with a green scarf, her flower girl illustrations, her bird drawings and an illustration of a girl walking in the woods. I really enjoy the imaginative world she creates with her illustrations and the stories they tell. She is currently working on a personal project about a tiny girl living in a forest with birds, and I cannot wait to see what she does with her illustrations!
Why I enjoy watching her YouTube videos
On her YouTube Channel she shares videos on colour swatching, art supply hauls, art time-lapse videos, sketchbook tours, sketching challenges and insight to her own illustration personal projects. My favourite videos are where she explains her thought process for her personal projects. It is interesting learning about her story concepts and seeing how she develops characters, different scenes and the colour palette for the story.
Her process reminds me of the Domesika course, Sketchbook Techniques for Children’s Illustration by Ema Maylyauka, which I’m currently busy with. Just like Maylyauka, Kriksis’ sketchbooks aren’t all about creating flawless and beautiful finished artworks. She makes drawing part of her brainstorming process.
This also made me realise how similar illustrating is to writing a story. Just like writers, illustrators create different drafts for a story. They experiment with different colours and compositions, as a writer would experiment with different words or phrases.
I just love this, because it reveals an authentic view of how one could start illustrating your own story.
Things I’ve learned from her
Using a sketchbook not just for sketching, but also for making notes and brainstorming ideas for future stories, projects or products.
Having different sketchbooks for different purposes.
Setting rules for specific sketchbooks, like a time limit, a limited colour palette or art mediums, to force yourself to experiment and just have fun.
Using mapcrunching to practice drawing landscapes.
Don’t wait for someone to give you an illustration project to work on. Start your own project while you wait for opportunities to come.
If you’d like to check out Kriksis’ art, you can find her on YouTube, Patreon, Instagram or her website.
5. Jess Karpishin (Jess Karp)
Jess Karp is an American mixed media illustrator with a wide range of styles and art mediums. It is truly amazing to see the diverse artworks she creates and how masterful she is in these various art mediums.
What I love about her art
Jess celebrates all aspects of life by using different colours and mediums in her art. She focuses on telling a story and how to convey the right emotions to accompany it.
It is hard to depict her style or put her into one category, because she is so diverse. Her art ranges from figure drawings, nature scenery, portraits and more whimsical, fantastical illustrations.
Jess Karp's Alphabet Series posted on 30 December 2022.
Her Alphabet Series is an excellent example showcasing her range and the art pieces she can create. Some of my favourite pieces (in this series) are the adventurer, the mountain face, the watercolour house, the king of kindness and the queen of quality.
I love the concepts and ideas she came up with for this challenge. It is so inspiring and incredible to think one person created all these different types of art.
Why I enjoy watching her YouTube videos
Jess Karp’s motivation behind her video’s is not only to grow as an artist herself, but to inspire other artists to learn new things, experiments and grow in their art.
On her YouTube Channel, she creates instructive and informative videos. Showing how she experiments with different art mediums and subject matter. She also documents art challenges or projects she takes on, encouraging other artists to participate in similar projects.
This is an example of a video where Jess shares watercolor and ink technique for sketching a European street scene, it was posted on the 29th of April 2023.
In the above video, Jess shares her thought process for the sketch and also valuable basic tips you could try if you’d want to create something similar. Even though it isn’t a step-by-step real-time tutorial; it is still enough for you to get started on experimenting with watercolour and ink.
However, if you’d like to see Jess sketch in real-time, you can check out her Patreon option, Awesome Apples, where she hosts live Zoom sessions.
Things I’ve learned from her
When practicing how to draw something or how to do shadowing, practice by only drawing in one colour.
Learn and study how to draw something by doing 100 drawings of it.
Don’t just stay with one art medium, experiment! You’ll be surprised by the different styles and art you’ll be able to create.
Create art challenges for yourself. For example, drawing every day for a month, using the alphabet as drawing prompts, drawing with a time limit or drawing a bunch of public (Plein air) sketches.
If you’d like to check out Jess’ art, you can find her on YouTube, Instagram, Patreon or on her website.
Conclusion
Apart from these 5 YouTube illustrators, there are a few others I also like to watch and I would like to give them a shout-out as well:
I hope this list of recommendations is helpful to you. Even if you only find one new creative source of inspiration or motivation, I would deem it as a success.
Let me know which YouTube illustrators you’re planning on watching or share some of your own recommendations in the comments below.
Keep filling that creative well, my fellow creative friends!
