Too Late to Start a YouTube Channel in 2021? - Game Design, Sketching Class & New Free Procreate Brushes
This week, advice to creatives looking to start a YouTube channel in 2021. I also share a new sketching markers class and talk about a fantastic designed Xbox Indie game + some FREE Procreate Brushes
Welcome to all of you that are new! This is the fourth publication of The Creative Draft, and this week I wanted to try something different. On one side, I came across a beautifully made indie game I want to recommend, not because of the gameplay itself, which happens to be great too, but because of the amazing art behind it.
During the past year, I have been growing my YouTube Channel from zero to 33K today, June 15th, 2021. It has been an amazing journey so far. I get asked a lot about starting a YouTube channel. It's a question like if it’s worth it, the gear to use, how to overcome the fear, the technical stuff, and things like that. So I wanted to share my experience in the hopes of helping a bit to those of you that might have that question.
I’m sharing a traditional illustration class on sketching with acrylic paint markers by James Chapman. He is an illustrator and children's author based in the UK that creates colorful pieces with amazing characters using Posca markers.
If you are not familiar with The Creative Draft, it’s a periodical publication of updates with resources around art, digital illustration, and illustration career—tools for all creators out there, illustrators, designers, and digital artists.
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The Menu for This Week
👉 The Wild at Heart - Beautifully Crafted Indie Game
👉 YouTube in 2021 - Is it worth trying? SPOILER: Yes! and here is why-
👉 Class of the week - Illustrated Sketchbooking in Full Color Online Class
👉 This Week’s FREE Brushes - Grab those Free Procreate Brushes on Gumroad! 😉
The Wild at Heart - A Beautifully Crafted Indie Game
If, by chance, you own an Xbox or play on PC or Mac, have a good look.
“The Wild at Heart” is an indie game I’ve been playing recently. Every time I sit down to play, I’m amazed by how wonderful this game’s design is and how beautifully it had been illustrated. I’m definitely not a games-person, but the whimsical, magical world created and developed by Moonlight Kids is worth diving into! The aesthetics, music, all the landscapes, and unique characters are the reason why this game is such a visual treat and what makes it so different from others.
You can play and admire the amazing world of “The Wild at Heart” on Xbox, Windows, and Mac.
Is It Too Late to Start a YouTube Channel in 2021?
One of the Most Common Questions I Get Asked! Should I even bother trying?
Since I started my illustration career in early 2019, YouTube was something I always considered doing, but I didn’t know how to start. At that time, Instagram seemed to be the go-to platform for artists to showcase their work, so I decided to focus just on that. Yes, there was Behance as well, but you know…
Through 2019 I invested a lot of time on Instagram, building my portfolio, talking to my audience, creating illustration challenges, and sharing some learnings about illustration. Then all of a sudden, every time things were working fine, some random and questionable Instagram algorithm change would jeopardize all that effort. Needless to say, that would affect our mental health. You all are probably familiar with that. At that point, it was clear enough that I needed to diversify my platform to share my work and my knowledge with a broader audience.
YouTube is scary. The first time I thought about doing a video, I got really stressed. It was something completely new. I had never talked to a camera, I had never worked on a video format before, and there were many things I didn’t know at the time. I mean a lot! I also questioned if it was too late for me to start, as I saw many other established YouTube artists already telling their stories. And that’s when it clicked. I wanted to share my story too. I wanted to create a channel where I can give back to my community, what I have learned about art, about the art & illustration career. So I took a chance.
I posted my first YouTube video on Tuesday, Nov 5th, 2019, at 10 PM CET. In that video, I talked about how I started my illustration career and why (I posted another video before that as a 1-minute teaser for the channel, but it doesn’t count). Anyway, by the time that video went live on Nov 5th, I had had ready and scheduled another 4 or 5 videos. It took good 3 months to produce those initial videos, as I learned about the camera gear, sound, lighting, the YouTube algorithm, thumbnails, and titles, and much more—all in just a short period of time. So if you think creating an Instagram post or story is hard, making a video is 100 times harder. But you know what? It’s totally worth it. Looking back, it was not only a great choice but the right choice.
YouTube is a forum for creators where you can have your own voice and build a community. It’s a platform that will give you all the insights into your content for you to thrive and explain all the analytics to improve and reach more people. They will tell you exactly how to improve and become a better creator. And yes! It comes down to titles and thumbnails, but that’s not all. You need to create good content as well, and here is the key to what I want to share with everyone reading this thinking about starting a YouTube. Just do it. Grab any camera that you have, or invest a bit into a new one. The one we are using is quite affordable.
The most important advice that I have when it comes to content is simple. Don’t copy others because it works for them. Use your own voice; tell your own story. Don’t worry if at the beginning it’s odd to talk to the camera; it’s never going to be perfect at first. Just good enough. And when it comes to quality, mind the audio. I would say the audio is the most important part of the content. Invest in a good mic, the one I use is the best out there, quite affordable, but there are many other great options, like the Rode VideoMicro. Most important, don’t overdo it or overthink it, and it will be great!
Illustrated Sketchbooking in Full Color Online Class
Comprehensive class by James Chapman the Posca Wizard
If you’ve been following me on Instagram and YouTube , you might know I love working with acrylic markers. Having a medium that is so versatile and can be used on different surfaces makes you want to customize everything around you!
If you’re struggling with choosing colors and deciding on color palettes, try this exercise of creating quick illustrations only with 3 or 5 colors. It’s something I do from time to time to learn, explore and evolve!
👉 My tip: try looking for your favorite markers and colors you like online. I noticed that, for example, in Amsterdam, the choice of shades at local art stores is much more narrow and limited than colors offered online.
👉 My favorite markers so far are Posca and Molotow for their strong bright colors. Remember, you don’t need all the colors out there! Molotow ones are refillable to save some unnecessary plastic going to waste. You can easily start with some 5-10 colors, and step by step, add some shades to your collection. To begin with, consider getting small color sets as they’re more price-friendly. Below you can check a good starting sets I found and like:
✏️The Posca Pack I use on Amazon (great price-quantity value!)
https://geni.us/poscamarkers
✏️ The Molotow Pack I use on Amazon (my favorite markers)
https://geni.us/Molotow
Independently if you’re into markers or haven’t used them yet, I strongly believe that trying out different mediums and switching your usual tools is great for working outside your comfort zone, fighting art block, and helping your creativity.
If you’d like some help with filling in your sketchbook with colorful eye-catching illustrations, Posca guidance, or just company when making art with markers here’s the class I took a few days ago.
James Chapman is a Posca wizard and creates awesome cinema-inspired illustrations in his sketchbook. Check out his work at @chapmangamo. He shares his experience and tips in the class above. I like a lot and admire his choice of colors, so it was really cool to see him create a few illustrations from the very begging to finish. He’ll help you edit your illustrations in Photoshop and prepare the file to print it or post it on social media.
FREE Procreate Brushes Week #1
A New Section: FREE procreate brushes you can download on Gumroad.
The first set I can recommend is by Filipz and is a set of 12 custom brush sets for Procreate; you can find here 👉 https://gumroad.com/filipz#WmWZS If you are familiar with Filipz work, these brushes will be a great addition to your library. Brushes are free, and you don’t have to pay for them. But it’s always nice if you show your appreciation, so please consider supporting the brush creator with a small donation, as a thank you or to support their work.
Remembers, the brushes I mention above are not mine, are FREE to download at the time I’m sending this on the respective creator’s Gumroad page. 
Now, if you want to check my Procreate Bruhes and color palettes, the link is below. Every artwork I create, from the drafts to the final artwork I make using my very own Procreate Brush Sets. The only place where you can get my brushes is my website or my Gumroad page. Have that always in mind
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