Gabe, the Space Devil

Studio Ghibli’s Star Wars Lap Pun Cheung

earlier today, crewniverse member ian jones-quartey shared a steven universe fanvideo on twitter:

the video was made by a young fan named Stevie Naranjo; his youtube channel is packed with steven universe fanvideos featuring his gem OCs, self-insert Blue Topaz and Sapphire, Blue and Pearl’s child. its your standard deviantart fodder, sure, but stevie clearly works hard on these and puts out a video about once a week. i chatted him up and he said his dream was to get blue and sapphire on TV with the rest of the gem crew.

now what bothered me was the response this got from fans. ian himself was super positive about it, but the comments are full of scathing hate:

i get it. he’s not the best artist; he’s just starting out. but i don’t think there’s any good reason to mercilessly criticize a kid for making videos about a show he likes? when i first started drawing, this was the caliber of stuff I was making:

if i had gotten the same kind of negative feedback then, I probably would have quit right then and there. young artists need to be encouraged, not torn down! steven universe is a show that appeals to a wide range of ages, and I want kids on the internet to be able to enjoy the show without being pushed out by older fans. 

i kinda wanted to do something for stevie in particular, too, to make up for all the negative comments towards his video. so, if you feel up to it, maybe you could draw some fanart of his OCs?

(the one on the left in both is blue; in the second pic that is his gem form i think? on the right is sapphire)

here, I already did one to get you started:

Don’t be that person that tears a child down and makes them feel unwelcome in the fandom.

bc sometimes you just want a little mood music for re-reading the handbook and plotting galactic domination (or for writing a darkfic or battle-scene).

Dvořák: Symphony №9, “From The New World” - IV - Allegro Con Fuoco

Holst: The Planets, Mars

JS Bach: Toccata and Fugue in D Minor (mandatory listening for all vampires)

Grieg: Peer Gynt, Hall of the Mountain King

Saint-Saëns: La danse macabre

Mussorgsky: Night on Bald Mountain

Verdi: Requiem, Dies Irae

Schnittke: Seid nuchtern und wachet (Faust Cantata); VII. Es geschah (It came to pass) IT’S AN EVIL TANGO. ABOUT FAUST. BEING DRAGGED. INTO THE UNDERWORLD. Come on. 

Orff: Carmina Burana, O Fortuna

Tchaikovsky: Symphony 5, 1st movement

Humperdinck:  Hansel and Gretel, Witch’s Ride (Hexenritt)

Prokofiev: Romeo and Juliet, Dance of the Knights (Montagues and Capulets)

Grieg: Piano Concerto

Mahler: Symphony No. 1 “The Titan” 

Mozart: Requiem, Dies Irae

Mozart: Requiem, Confutatis

Mozart: Don Giovanni, Finale

Prokofiev: Scythian Suite, Dance Of The Pagan Monster 

Bruckner: Symphony no. 9, Movt. 2. Scherzo. 

Shostakovich: Symphony No. 5, 4th Movement (let’s be real here, you’re a villain, Shosta is probably your favourite composer.)

Rimsky-Korsakov: Scheherazade 

Berlioz: Symphonie Fantastique, March To The Scaffold 

Berlioz: Symphonie Fantastique, Dreams of a Witches’ Sabbath

Liszt: Totentanz

Shostakovich: String Quartet No. 8 in C Minor (II) 

Mussorgsky: Pictures at an Exhibition, Gnomus

Vivaldi: The Four Seasons, Summer (Presto)

Bartok: Music for Strings, Percussion & Celesta, third movement

Stravinksy: The Rite Of Spring, The Adoration of the Earth

Rachmaninoff: Prelude Op.3 No.2 in C-sharp minor 

Mahler: Symphony 5, 2nd Movement

Mahler: Symphony 9, 3rd Movement

Franz Liszt: Hungarian Rhapsody No.2 (for all you Jokers and clown-themed villains out there)

Tchaikovsky: Marche Slave 

Beethoven: “Moonlight” Sonata, Movement 3 

Rachmaninoff: Piano Concerto no.2 op.18 

Chopin: Funeral March

Prokofiev: Romeo and Juliet, Tybalt’s Death

Prokofiev: Sarcasms

Prokofiev: “Suggestion Diabolique”

Mozart: The Magic Flute, Der Hölle Rache

Wagner: Die Walkure, Ride of the Valkyries (for releasing the flying monkeys…)

Wagner: Siegfried, Fafner’s Death (BECAUSE DRAGONS)

Wagner: Götterdämmerung, Siegfried’s Funeral Music 

Wagner: Flying Dutchman Overture

Tchaikovsky: Swan Lake (Swan Theme) (to be played underneath your tragic backstory… right before you stab whoever’s telling it)

Marschner: Der Vampyr, Overture

Ravel: Gaspard de la Nuit (sad, creepy Gollumesque villains, this one’s for you)

Rachmaninoff: Isle of the Dead

Ligeti: Requiem

Prokofiev: Alexander Nevsky 

Elgar: Dream of Gerontius, Demons’ Chorus

Liefs: Organ Concerto, Introduction

Strauss: Also sprach Zarathustra (to be used during the dramatic reveal of your planet-sized superweapon…)

Mahler: Um Mitternacht

Schubert: Erlkönig

Bernstein: Kaddish, Din Torah

Edgard Varèse: Amériques, final movement

Bartók: The Miraculous Mandarin

People are asking us how the art we share can be so good.

The answer this time isn’t so simple. An artist has his own way on shaping his style, he takes his time to experiment and so it becomes quite difficult for others to try learning his art style and making it their own. It’s even wrong.

But we can tell you that many artists learn by getting inspired by others’ art. Watching an artist while he paints can be motivating - and of course it can teach you a few technical tricks.

So, here there are ten YouTube channels you should check out.

1. FZD School of design

It’s a school founded by Feng Zhu, amazing concept artist with a lot of experience in video games, films and commercials. His videos are real episodes/lessons and they are very helpful. And, well, they even have a school in Singapore…

2. China digital painting

This channel doesn’t feature tutorials but shares full video processes by Chinese artist. In this period we are seeing many young artists inspired by an art style that’s typically Chinese - it features dramatic lighting and mood. Though such a technique can be found in other artists like Bouguereau and  Rembrandt.

3. Ctrl + Paint

A channel dedicated to the digital painting in Photoshop. Very helpful for those beginners who want to learn how to use this software and how to get better with art in general.

4. Level Up!

One of the most known groups of digital art of Facebook can be found on YouTube as well. The founders are Wojtek Fus and Darek Zabrocki. Each session (episode) features a different digital artist. This is great because you can compare the different painting processes. The main theme of this channel is concept art and fantasy/sci-fi illustrations.

5. JJ canvas

This is the channel of Jorge Jacinto. He uploads speedpaintings, but they are very inspiring if you want to look at how a wonderful surreal landscape can be created in twenty minutes - in time-lapse of course.

6. Webang111

Another channel with time-lapse videos. Very inspiring if you are into colorful and cartoony illustrations.

7. Ross Draws

His art is wonderful and his videos are super funny! Check out his channel if you want to see how a fantasy illustration can be created from a simple idea - I mean, he starts with two rough lines to close the video with a breathtaking illustration. Crazy.

8. The Portrait Art

Okay, we know. This channel is not about digital art. But it’s amazing art anyway and if you are into realistic portraits, you can get inspired by watching these videos.

9. Cubebrush

Another channel with time-lapse videos, but a few are commented. The videos are about 2D and 3D paintings.

10. Noah Bradley

This artist is a master in the concept field and he doesn’t only talk about his digital method but about his career as well, giving lots of hints on how to become a better artist and how to enter in the art industry.

Art By:  Ástor Alexander

Portfolio: https://www.artstation.com/artist/astoralexander

To see more concept art check the blog out at: