How Jeison Rodriguez makes his viral artworks pop
May 23, 2023 – minute read
What does the creative process look like for creators on YouTube Shorts? In this series, we’re excited to bring you behind-the-scenes to get an inside scoop of what the inspiration journey looks like for creators on YouTube Shorts. Get a glimpse into what tools creators are using on Shorts, how they film their content and how they keep the ideas coming.
Today, we're featuring Jeison Rodriguez, a digital artist who tells us how he employs editing skills to showcase how his amazing artworks are made.
How did you find inspiration for this Short?
I got inspired to create textured cartoon art after seeing artists who created Pokémon in "real life" through editing or drawing programs.
It took a lot of practice to perfect my art. I have to give credit to my subscribers for helping me get this to this point. Through their daily requests, I was able to generate a lot more content and through this improve my editing. I like to listen to the feedback my audience gives me as a way to always keep improving in my art and in my Shorts.
Is there a way you like to approach titling your Shorts?
I like to create short and concise titles so that viewers know exactly what the video will be about. The video is about the process, so by giving viewers an idea of what I'm drawing, viewers will typically stay through to see the final result.
How long did it take for you to create this Short?
Most of my videos usually take 30 minutes to 1 hour to create. In the case of this video, it took 30 minutes, but other times it can take up to a week to film, edit and publish a video. What takes up most of my time when doing these edits is searching for the images that I am going to use. People tend to think that it takes me longer to edit, but one edit can take me less than an hour, while searching for images can take up to 2 hours, since you have to use high quality images, with the right contrast. Sometimes I can't find images and I have to create them myself. It can be a boring process, but when all the material is ready it becomes exciting to start editing.
The key tricks to improving the result of my artwork is to pay attention to the small details: not only do you have to apply the textures to the characters, you also have to apply lights and shadows, improve the tones and soften the edges so that the cut edges of the characters are not noticeable in each element.
For example, when I make animal characters I like to go to the edges to make hair of different sizes and in different directions, those small details give incredible results even though sometimes we believe that "no one will notice if we don't do it."
We often want to include everything in the video that we create but that can lead to unnecessary length and can affect overall retention. It's best to choose the key moments and parts that allow you to get your story across. ”
Jeison RodriguezWhat's the latest editing tip you learned recently that you can't do without now?
Only include the best parts. We often want to include everything in the video that we create but that can lead to unnecessary length and can affect overall retention. It's best to choose the key moments and parts that allow you to get your story across.
What are some ways you use analytics on Shorts to help shape your content?
I like to pay very close attention to the real-time report on Analytics. This helps me understand what days and times my audience is the most active on YouTube. Based on this information, I can strategically schedule my next video upload.
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What does your schedule look like for content creation? Any tips?
I upload three videos daily. Trends are very important to me so one of my daily uploads is focused on trends and the other two videos are based on the request from my followers.
What software do you use to edit your videos?
I use Adobe Photoshop to edit the images and Camtasia to screen record the processes and trim the recorded clips. Using Photoshop can seem intimidating at first but directly on YouTube you have thousands of tutorials that will teach you everything you need to know to start creating your own works. You might not like your results at first, but don't give up! This is how we all start, making mistakes is how we learn and progress.