The Shy Artist: Learning Art to Help a YouTube Channel
I don’t want my identity known. I make art because I want to—not to be famous or well known. I create art for Serenity of the Mind because I enjoy helping the content creator.
I started with colored pencils but found they didn’t translate well once digitized. It took a lot of time to build concentrated color, and the colors often behaved strangely on YouTube. Here is the first piece I did for the Serenity of the Mind YouTube channel:
Sleep: Serenity of the Mind – Restful Abstract Art and Music for Fast Sleep
The First Drawing: Neurographic Art for Serenity
The very first artwork I created for Serenity of the Mind was in the style of neurographic art. This technique involves drawing flowing, intersecting lines and gently rounding all sharp corners. It’s knowfor being calming and meditative—helping both the artist and viewer feel more at peace.
Creative Paula introduced me to this method. She explained that the process of softening hard edges is symbolic—turning mental tension into connection and harmony. I found it a perfect way to reflect the idea behind Serenity of the Mind—easing stress, embracing flow, and encouraging emotional healing through gentle, organic art.
Here is the YouTube channel for Creative Paula: Creative Paula on YouTube
Unlike Creative Paula, who is a great artist with galleries, I animated the neurographic art and set it tomusic so it “danced.” I felt this would help people relax and fall asleep.
Circle Art
Sleep: Serenity of the Mind: Otherworldly Dreams was inspired by circle art. Because it was difficult to get saturated colors with colored pencils, I decided to make the backgrounds with watercolor. That’s when I learned that not all watercolor paints are created equal—I needed to invest in better-quality paints.
In this watercolor animation, I used colored pencil for the circles. Making the circles saturated enough to appear well on the platform was challenging—it took a week to complete the circles. I also had to learn how to use Kdenlive to animate them.
However, because I missed a detail while drawing, some of the circles showed parts of the background unintentionally. Partial circles moved around along with the whole circles. You can see what I mean here:
Sleep: Serenity of the Mind: Otherworldly Dreams
Why Cheap Watercolors Don’t Work
Here is another video that illustrates why cheaper watercolors don’t deliver professional results. The green beans and greens were supposed to be green but came out muddy brown. These were labeled “professional” but were an off-brand.
Thanksgiving Music Video: Music to Relax to
We also learned something important about titling videos on YouTube. This video was primarily a watercolor painting with music, so it should have been titled “Thanksgiving animated watercolor with music” and placed under YouTube’s Film and Animation category. Proper titles and categories help prevent content claims.
Improving with a Watercolor Class
Unsatisfied with my watercolor results, I took a Craftsy class: Startup Library: Painting With Watercolors.
Instructor: Kateri Ewing
I learned a lot about watercolor papers, brushes, and most importantly, which paint brands yield professional results. I purchased Daniel Smith watercolor tubes, and here is the result. Even Paul Clark on YouTube said he liked it—I had been learning from him as well. I appreciate his loose, calm painting style.
You can purchase Daniel Smith watercolors in tubes or pans here (not an affiliate link, no commission—just to help readers):
Final Watercolor Animation
Sleep: Serenity of the Mind: Tranquil Twilight for Deep Sleep
The colors came out beautifully, and I managed to animate it fairly well.
Next time, I will discuss the difficulties of animating art.
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