Revisiting YouTube Videos I Made

I was flipping through an old sketchbook recently when I remembered these videos I made to try and document my journey existed and thought I’d share them here. These were early experiments with filming my creative process, and I was still figuring out how to work with a camera watching. Each video captures moments in learning how to work with different materials, along with all the mistakes and frustrations that come with trying something new. What surprises me most when rewatching them is how much clearer my artistic reasoning has become. Back then, I made choices instinctively without being able to articulate why. Now I can explain decisions like why one shade of blue possibly worked better than another, or why a particular combination of mixed media materials may have produced the result I got. These videos document not just technical growth, but the development of that confidence in my ever-growing artistic skillset.

These videos focus primarily on working from prompts in Moriah Elizabeth’s Create This Book series, which had recently released its second volume when I filmed these. There are now 3 books in total for the series! The structured prompts offered direction during a period when I needed creative guidance to get back into regular practice of making art. I think somewhere deep down, I was also anticipating it would work similarly to the 100 Days of Happiness project experience I had years earlier which was something I chose to do as a daily photo challenge that helped me through a really rough period in my life. But it’s a lot easier to snap a single photo once a day than complete a piece of artwork or even a rough sketch. I think this helped me realize just how rigid terms like consistency can be, and how harmful those constraints can become without flexibility to determine what consistent looks like for one’s nervous system without going into overwhelm and hitting a crisis point. Because of this, the videos jump around in page order as I worked on whichever prompt sparked an idea and also felt doable at the time. And thus, what started as an attempt at structured creative consistency became something more realistic: occasional documentation of whatever I could manage to create and film. Something I still live by to this day, as flexibility is what allows my nervous system to feel safe without the added pressure of an overly rigid definition for consistency.

Create This Book, Page 97: Create Nostalgia

Create This Book, Page 97: Create Nostalgia

What I Remember About Creating This:

Rewatching this video now, several choices puzzle me. I open the book to show a partially completed sketch of pointe shoes on a stage with curtain hints at the top, then without explanation, jump to redrawing the concept in an entirely different sketchbook. The abrupt shift offers viewers no context. The silence feels even more jarring as there is no narration, no background music, nothing.

The prompt sparked memories of childhood ballet classes and how deeply I loved identifying as a ballerina like most little girls. That nostalgia obviously drove the subject choice. But abandoning the original sketch midway reveals my perfectionist tendencies taking over and that the first attempt felt inadequate. I convinced myself the paper quality in Create This Book wasn’t good enough and that better paper would yield better results. I also convinced myself that completing prompts in a better sketchbook where I could easily remove the pages would prepare me for assembling a professional portfolio, though I was still very much working as an amateur learning the basics of how to present myself as a confident and professional working artist.

Technical Observations Looking Back:

I started with laying down a very light pink, deliberately matching the pale ballet tights I wore to class as a child where we had a choice of either pale pink or white. The lighter pink for tights contrasts with the darker pink I chose for the shoes, establishing some visual separation.

But the shading barely exists. The legs lack dimension entirely. I either forgot or ignored directional lighting, missing opportunities to show where shadows would naturally fall on the legs themselves or where the shoes would cast shadows on the stage. The stage brown reads so light that it nearly merges with the pink tights, especially under poor video lighting.

The orangish pink outline around the legs and shoes does help them pop against the background. I understood layering and blending conceptually, but execution shows I just added another layer of a slightly darker brown over the entire stage rather than actually blending colors. That darker brown would have served better as strategic shadow placement beneath the legs and shoes instead of an overall wash.

For the curtains, I followed a formula I still use: lightest value in the center, second darkest on each side, darkest as outline. This was meant to create fold definition, though I don’t think I considered how actual stage lighting would interact with fabric.

The Filming Experience:

My wrist positioning looks painfully awkward, especially early in the video. I’ve caught myself doing this in recent filming sessions too, which makes me wonder how much I’ve worsened my own wrist problems over time. Genetics and legitimate medical conditions like arthritis or carpal tunnel contribute to the pain I experience, but watching this footage reveals I’ve probably been aggravating those existing issues with positioning habits I developed unknowingly.

I also constantly rotate the sketchbook while coloring, another habit that persists to this day. Taping paper down to break this pattern only makes me compensate with even more awkward wrist and arm angles. And throughout much of this video, my arm blocks the artwork and thus what viewers are able to see. Being left-handed means my hand naturally covers what I’m working on from most camera angles, and I wasn’t conscious enough of the camera position to adjust my approach. Beyond those visibility issues, achieving a stable overhead view with just a tripod has proven more challenging than expected. True top-down perspective without camera shake requires careful positioning, and I’m still working out the best setup with what I have available to me.

These extra technical sides of filming present their own learning curves beyond just the artistic process. I need to be more proactive about charging the camera before starting, keeping extra SD cards on hand, and checking available storage space. I’ve had too many sessions where I discovered halfway through that the camera wasn’t charged or the SD card was full, interrupting the creative flow when I’m already focused on the artwork itself.

Connection to Current Practice:

That perfectionism about paper quality still surfaces, though I now recognize it as a legitimate concern about materials and tools rather than pure anxiety. Create This Book taught me that initial choices profoundly impact results. Paper quality, medium selection, and surface texture aren’t minor details. Computer printer paper versus proper sketching paper fundamentally changes what one can achieve in their final artwork. Switching to better paper wasn’t fear-driven perfectionism. It was recognizing material limitations that exist regardless of skill. I now plan material choices more deliberately upfront instead of discovering constraints halfway through.

Create This Book, Coloring the Cover

Create This Book, Coloring the Cover

What I Remember About Creating This:

Why does the cover for both this video and the one before it say Episode 1? Only one could be Episode 1. That’s a detail I clearly missed while working on the cover images and thumbnails for the videos. I’m also not sure why I published this video second when I definitely colored the cover before I worked on the Create Nostalgia prompt. The chronology got jumbled somewhere in the uploading process.

I do remember the sprinkle placement being much more challenging than I initially planned when coming up with an idea for the cover. I love the color combination of a dark background, like black, with pops of vibrant colors. I wanted to do sprinkles as a show of respect for Moriah Elizabeth, the author of the Create This Book series. Most fans will be familiar with her longstanding obsession for sprinkles, which has come through in various art she’s done on her squishies over the years, particularly in the lead up to this book series.

Technical Observations Looking Back:

I still love my thick Sharpie markers like what I used here for the black background. They cover the space really well without looking streaky. The coverage was satisfying and consistent, creating that dark base I wanted for the vibrant colors to pop against.

I chose to paint the sprinkles with acrylic paint, I think because I didn’t own a full set of colored Sharpie markers at the time. I’m not sure why I used a dotting tool for this as it was quite time consuming and not as efficient as just using a paintbrush might’ve been. Each individual sprinkle required deliberate placement, making me consider color distribution and spacing across the entire cover. It still ended up looking cohesive and really good at the end in my opinion, though, and I’m still really proud of how this cover came out.

I also abruptly ended this video without filming the part where I added gold paint to the background behind the title of the book. I remember loving how gorgeous the gold metallic paint adhered to this piece on the front cover. For a while I became obsessed with finding uses for gold paint in my artwork. Gold metallic paint is just so pretty, and discovering how well it worked on this surface sparked ideas for incorporating it into future pieces.

The Filming Experience:

The veins in my right hand are so prominent and look kind of gross with the way they are popping out. Ugh. It’s one of those details you notice when watching yourself on camera that you don’t think about while creating.

I’m not sure what this music choice is in the first half. It doesn’t seem to fit nearly as well as I once thought it did. I was going for a more chill vibe with the music, which this achieves, but it doesn’t really flow with the action taking place in the video. The pacing just seems off for some reason looking back and rewatching it now. The music choice in the second half of the video is much better. It’s still chill but has a bit more of a beat and is maybe a little more uptempo, which seems to flow better with the visual pace of the work.

I know I absolutely hate the sound of my voice on video, so I wanted it to just be a speedpaint with music over it instead of narrating what I was doing. That may not have been the best choice, though I’m still not sure how I would’ve narrated what I was doing in this video either. Describing the placement of individual sprinkles doesn’t exactly make for compelling content.

It seems halfway through the video I also got a better idea of how to avoid putting any of my head or face into the frame. The visual of what I’m doing is easier to see here than in the first video where my wrist and arm covered most of the work. Here it is much easier for the audience to see what I’m actually creating. I had gotten a pretty good setup for filming a top down view while creating artwork with this video. I don’t have any memory of how I did that now, though. I was living somewhere different than I am currently, which likely affected how I was able to set up the tripod at different height levels due to differences in available space around me.

Connection to Current Practice:

That love of dark backgrounds with vibrant pops of color has stayed with me. It’s a combination I return to repeatedly because the contrast creates immediate visual interest. My black colored pencils get used up faster than any other color in my sets, worn down to stubs from constant use. I’ve had boxes of just black colored pencils on my wishlist for years because I go through them so quickly. Looking at my more recent artwork, though, you might not immediately see this preference since I’ve been working with more vibrant pastels lately than dark colors. But that underlying attraction to high contrast color combinations still influences my choices, even when working in lighter palettes.

The gold metallic paint discovery led to a phase where I looked for opportunities to incorporate metallic elements into various pieces, experimenting with how they caught light and added dimension.

The filming improvements I made halfway through this video showed me that camera awareness develops with practice. Being conscious of frame composition while creating requires a split focus that doesn’t come naturally at first. I’ve gotten better at positioning myself and my materials to maintain visibility for viewers, though I still catch myself blocking the work occasionally.

The narration question remains unresolved. I still dislike hearing my recorded voice, but I’ve started wondering if brief explanations of material choices or technique decisions might add value that music alone cannot provide. It’s a tension I haven’t fully worked through yet.

Create This Book: Creating a Doctor Who Fanpage

Create This Book: Creating a Doctor Who Fanpage

What I Remember About Creating This:

The continued hesitation at the start is noticeable. Ten seconds of slowly opening the book before actually beginning feels longer than it should. I opened the book to the prompt page showing a brief sketch and line art, then immediately switched to a separate sketchbook again. The desk setup looks identical to the Create Nostalgia video, suggesting I filmed these two videos in quick succession.

I was obsessed with Doctor Who at the time, and two of my favorite characters from the series have always been River and Clara. Those are the episodes and storylines I tend to revisit the most, when I am able to access Doctor Who on streaming. River’s notebook replicates the Tardis, so pairing that with autumnal, maple leaves representing Clara’s arc felt appropriate for a fan page. I still think the original concept still holds up, though I have better skills and understanding of art techniques now that could improve upon the final piece created in this video.

Technical Observations Looking Back:

The watercolor application is streaky. It doesn’t look terrible and almost works with the overall aesthetic, but I could have achieved smoother results with better brush selection. I only owned one watercolor brush then. Now I have variety, which allows me to choose brushes based on the effect I want rather than making do with what’s available.

Paper choice matters enormously with watercolor. This paper wasn’t suited for the medium. It warped or curled during the painting process, requiring flattening under heavy books after drying. Proper watercolor paper prevents this almost entirely and allows paint to behave predictably.

Watching myself paint reveals I’m working from the wrist here rather than the shoulder. This increases repetitive strain injury risk, particularly carpal tunnel. I know the advice not to overdo it but implementing it while managing camera awareness is sometimes harder than it seems in the moment. Interestingly, my wrist angles look less awkward here than in the first video. So I may have been at least a little more aware and conscious of not overdoing the wrist movements.

Something about this piece doesn’t quite achieve what I wanted from a technical perspective. Watercolor may have been the wrong medium choice instead of colored pencil. It’s always good to challenge ourselves to improve and do better at our craft, and I think one of the ways I could’ve done better here is to have selected a different medium to begin with. Or thought more about how different mediums for a mixed media piece would interact and get me closer to a possible end result that would’ve been more fulfilling and satisfying.

The Filming Experience:

The sketchbook sits too low in the frame, nearly cut off at the bottom edge. My left hand and arm block visibility throughout much of the video. I did manage to keep my head completely out of frame though, showing some improvement in being aware of the camera. As I watch, I can’t help but continue thinking that my arm’s shadow looks absurdly like a giraffe. Also, I keep rotating the sketchbook as I work, that persistent habit appearing again.

I do think the first few minutes of music match the pacing well and flow cohesively. Then the transitions become abrupt. The third track changes everything—more chill, less upbeat, with unexpected country twang. While I like blue grass country music, it is a bit jarring here. The later selections turn somber, completely mismatched to the visual pacing and the vibe I was apparently aiming for initially.

Narration explaining color choices and paint application would have added value here, though this video doesn’t feel incomplete without it like the previous one did. It seems like it would have been an enhancement rather than necessity.

Connection to Current Practice:

Owning multiple watercolor brushes now means I can select tools for specific effects rather than adapting my vision to fit available supplies. Understanding paper requirements for different mediums has become fundamental in my artistic endeavors. Proper watercolor paper prevents too much warping and allows more predictable paint behavior, eliminating excessive post-process fixes.

The shoulder versus wrist painting technique remains inconsistently applied. Knowing correct form and actually maintaining it while juggling camera awareness is an ongoing challenge. Physical habits contributing to strain don’t disappear simply because I understand they’re problematic. Isn’t that just so human of us, though?

I still like my original idea for this fan page, and the symbols I chose made sense. But medium selection matters as much as technical execution. Watercolor alone may not have suited this particular vision, even though I couldn’t articulate what I actually wanted to achieve in the moment. Sometimes the gap between concept and result stems from choosing the wrong tools for the job, experimenting along the way, and treating it as a learning experience to do better next time.

Create This Book: Creating Straight Lines

Create This Book: Creating Straight Lines

What I Remember About Creating This:

Even before clicking play on the video, I’m struck by it saying Episode 3 when it’s clearly Episode 4. It should say Episode 4, and it would had I been more attentive to how I was labeling two different videos as Episode 1.

I flip open the book to the prompt, then immediately reach for a different sketchbook. The same behavioral pattern I did in the previous videos. It does look like I showed what materials I intended to use for this artwork, an alcohol marker. So that’s a bit of an improvement, I guess. Pretty early on it’s clear that I switched from the alcohol marker to Sharpie permanent markers. I do remember this being an easier and somewhat better choice since I only had a single set of alcohol markers but multiple sets of Sharpie markers.

For this design, I decided to do a piano as it was the first thing I could think of made up of straight lines that could be a simple, quick video. My other idea was a bookshelf with more detail that I decided to keep for a different project.

Technical Observations Looking Back:

I still think the piano worked well for the straight lines prompt. It’s recognizable, geometrically straightforward, and didn’t require overly complicated planning. I did measure and sketch out the different piano keys with a ruler and mechanical pencil but I must’ve skipped showing that part in the video. The marker switch from alcohol markers to Sharpies made practical sense given my limited supplies at the time, too.

Straight lines with markers require steady hands and confidence in your strokes since there’s no erasing mistakes. The black and white piano keys create strong visual contrast without needing color blending or shading techniques. Still, my lines could’ve been straighter and maybe coloring with a ruler to guide me for more consistency would’ve been better. But at the same time, those tiny almost unnoticeable imperfections are something I absolutely love. Because it proves that I did a thing, and that this is my evidence for my journey in learning, growing, and evolving as an artist.

I don’t have any more extensive technical observations for this piece compared to the others. It accomplished what it set out to do: demonstrate straight lines through a simple, recognizable object. Sometimes straightforward execution is all that is needed.

The Filming Experience:

The sketchbook sits in the lower right corner at a weird angle, making it a little awkward to watch me create. The camera angle isn’t quite as top-down as I remembered and what I was wanting. There’s a bit of a weird fisheye lens distortion happening, too. I only have a single video camera and it doesn’t have a fisheye lens. So that’s a bit strange to me. Perhaps it’s the angle or positioning creating that visual effect.

I don’t think I like this music choice much. It definitely grew on me towards the end of the video though. And the pacing on this video is quite quick. I probably didn’t need to speed it up as much as I did. A few seconds slower throughout may have worked better, but this isn’t completely terrible.

It is the shortest of my Create This Book videos at only 3 minutes, whereas the others run closer to 10 to 20 minutes. I do vaguely remember not wanting to mix and match music tracks for a longer video, so I think this was an attempt to challenge myself. I think I wanted to see if I could fit the video into a single music track. And now that I know I can do it…should I have done so? Should I do so for future videos? Maybe, maybe not.

Connection to Current Practice:

This video represents a different approach than the others where I was prioritizing completion over any real complexity. Sometimes the best response to a creative prompt is the most direct one. Not every piece needs layers of technique or elaborate planning. I think the piano worked because it fulfilled the prompt requirements without overcomplicating the execution.

The material switch from alcohol marker to Sharpies came from impatience rather than philosophy. The alcohol marker kept drying out, and I was no longer having fun with it. Having multiple Sharpies meant I could grab a fresh one if the current marker started running dry, keeping my momentum going. That practical problem-solving of finding workarounds that let you maintain creative flow rather than stopping to troubleshoot remains relevant. Sometimes the best material choice is simply the one that won’t interrupt your process.

Learning what doesn’t work matters as much as discovering what does. Shorter doesn’t always mean better, and forcing a video into an arbitrary time limit for the sake of easier editing creates its own compromises. I’m not sure if I’ll revisit this challenge again if I choose to make videos while creating the prompts from this book.

What Revisiting These Videos Revealed

Looking back at these experiments reminded me that creative growth often happens in stages we cannot always see while living through them.

The choices that seemed sufficient then now show me exactly where my understanding has deepened. Colored pencil pressure I thought was adequate reveals itself as timid. Watercolor applications I considered successful now show opportunities for richer saturation or cleaner edges.

More importantly, these videos document valuable experiments in just starting something, and finding your own way through uncertainty to a level of expertise and mastery.

But more than identifying technical gaps, these videos document something I consider far more valuable: a willingness to experiment and look like a foolish beginner. Each piece represents a challenge attempted, a new material tested, a creative problem approached without certainty of the outcome. That willingness remains more important than the technical execution captured in any single video.

The filming itself taught lessons separate from the artwork. Positioning the camera to capture detail without interference requires a new spatial awareness I had not yet developed. Editing footage into something watchable demands decisions about pacing, music selection along with licensing, and which moments deserve more emphasis. These production skills developed alongside artistic ones, both requiring patience with imperfect early attempts. I’m still working on the filming and editing, as I often draw or paint without remembering to film or document any of it. I sometimes forget to charge the battery in my camera or clear out space on the SD card, too.

Revisiting these works has sparked new ideas for which of my older pieces might deserve reconsideration. Some could probably do with complete redos using my updated skillset and better material choices. Others might benefit from thoughtful additions that honor the original while demonstrating growth and evolution of the original concept. And, of course, there’s probably a few that should remain untouched, preserved as honest documentation of where the journey began. I’ve also thought about redoing this challenge entirely, possibly completing the entire challenge of finishing Create This Book (1, 2, and 3 because now there’s a third in the series. Seriously, Moriah?!?)

The sketchbooks filled with unfinished experiments and abandoned ideas look like data collection. The videos and finished artworks look like research. Each page representing a question asked, a material tested, a technique attempted. Not every experiment produces a finished piece worth displaying, but every experiment produces information worth remembering.

What old creative work have you revisited recently? Did it reveal unexpected lessons about your growth, or just make you cringe? I’d be interested to hear what you discovered when looking back at earlier attempts.