I’ve been in a little bit of a YouTube rut recently. So I thought I’d take a moment to step back and review who I’m following, who I’m loving, and pick up a few new favourites along the way. As my last two YouTube run downs seem to have proved popular, I thought I’d share my list with you guys as well. My editions from 2017 and 2018, still ring true and I’ve included a few of my forever faves below this year’s updates.
But if you’ve exhausted those lists are are looking for some more, or you’re just in the mood for a bit of a YouTube viewing party here are some of the creative video makers I’m really enjoying at the minute.
Frannerd
I’m going to be honest, I included Fran in my very first YouTubers list in 2017. But I’ve recently fallen back in love with her videos and watching her move to New York. Fran is brilliant at documenting her creative processes and showing how she tries out new things. Seeing someone as skilled and talented as Fran get her head around a new medium is so inspiring, you have to keep learning no matter how good you are.
Hollie Arnett
Okay, so Hollie was in my original list as well but she is one of my favourite internet people. She’s smart and talented, but she’s also endlessly giving with her knowledge (seriously check out her blog!). Her vlogs are a wonderfully warm and friendly look into her day to day, and often include so real lettering inspiration.
Holly Exley
I love how honest Holly is about all of the elements of being a full time illustrator in her vlogs. She’s not afraid to have the big discussions about money or spec work and competitions. Her speed painting videos are so calming. Plus her work is almost as wonderful as her pups are cute.
Minnie Small
Minnie’s videos are so wide ranging it’s hard to sum up her channel in a few lines here. In her own words she’s an artist who’s “here to work on turning our lives into whatever we want them to be, surrounding ourselves with beautiful things and seeking out inspiration in life’s experiences every step of the way”. She covers every corner of being a full time maker from the tools she uses, to testing out new styles, to how she shapes her space. She’s open, honest and reminds me to keep pushing myself. Plus, there’s something I love about having another London based maker in my feed regularly.
Bon Apetit
I know that I’m largely focusing on visual makers, but I think it’s so important to learn from people outside of your field and to try to be creative in new mediums. One of my favourite, non-illustration, sandboxes is cooking. Bon Apetit is has definitely fed that passion. Whether that’s Brad fermenting something and teaching me to play and have patience or Claire making a gourmet version of something that seems completely fixed to remind me of humble origins and what we can learn from imitation, Bon Apetit is so much more than a cooking channel to me.
Leigh Ellexson
Leigh Ellexson is another great master of the studio vlog. I adore how she edits her videos but more importantly I watch her videos and just want to be her friend. Her paintings are full of joy and colour (something I’m always inspired by), check out her acrylic bunnies painting video to see what I’m talking about.
Uinverso
If you just want to watch beautiful things being made, I can’t recommend Uinverso’s channel highly enough. I’ve followed them on instagram for a while but only recently found their videos. They don’t have a lot of content up at the minute but everything that is there is on that wonderful almost magical tipping point.
Favourites you should check out from the past lists too!
I mentioned Sha’an in my last list, but I had to mention her again because she’s posting regularly again and she’s my absolute favourite. Her studio vlogs are wonderfully put together and really give you a little insight into her world. She seems like the absolute loveliest person, and watching her work and create such amazing work has really inspired me to hone what I do. Also, if you didn’t know her watercolours are stunning!
In my last list I shared my love for New Age Creators, and if you haven’t checked them out already please please do. Marie is part of that team, and that’s where I first saw her. Now I’m a big fan. I love her blog, as I mentioned in my rundown of creative blogs, and her solo channel is pretty dang great. She’s documenting her time freelancing as well as her travels, and lots of beautifully shot insights into her life. Her recent (well when I’m writing this recent) postcard from France video was absolutely stunning and definitely worth a watch!
Jordan is a new addition to my subscriptions list. Her videos are arts and creativity based mainly. All of her videos are just so calming, I think it’s a mixture of her voice and the editing style but they always put me in such a chilled out mood. So if you’re on the hunt for a new evening time favourite look no further.
I can get a bit frustrated by vlogs that all look the same, but Lucy’s 168 hours is a wonderfully refreshing (and beautifully put together) antidote to that. Her videos are creative and just so honest. I love her style and her love of tea is something I can definitely get on board with. I’m personally really looking forward to seeing her Sunday Social series grow.
In my last list, I included lifestyle and fashion favourites on the list, and I’m doing the same again here, because I love What Olivia Did. I took me a good while of reading Liv’s blog to realise she had a YouTube channel and I’m so glad that I did. If you like her blog you’ll love her videos, they’re created with the same aesthetic and even more personality. Liv is in my list of dream lady friends. Her videos are mainly style based, but she does some great travel and lifestyle bits too. I love that she’s started talking about ethical fashion now as well. Her “Inside the wardrobe of” series is so good that whenever she releases one I save it for Sunday breakfast, my prime YouTube spot.
Natasha was the first design youtuber I watch and subscribed to, and her videos kind of led to a whole day of design-tube binge watching. Her videos cover every and anything design-y and they’re awesome. I’ve particularly loved all of her London recommendations and vlogs, as someone who lives in the big smoke. Her unboxings and reviews are ace as well, as, in fact, is all of the rest of her content. If you like this list, Natasha has two really great lists of creative youtubers on her blog, which really helped get me into the creative side of youtube.
Robin’s paintings are absolutely stunning, but that’s not why I love her channel. I love her channel because she’s hilarious. She makes pure comedy gold out of the things every artist has thought, or felt, or done, or had said to them.
Logo designer Will Paterson, is one of the most popular design-tubers with good reason. He mainly focuses on logo design, brand identity and Adobe Illustrator. Will’s laid back style make his videos so easy to watch, which means you find you’re learning things without even realising.
Charli is a freelance designer based in the UK and all round super cool lady. Her videos are about everything from branding, to designing t-shirts and apparel to working with clients. Her enthusiasm about what she does really shines through her videos and always inspires me to get going.
I love the Sad Ghost Club wherever they are. If you don’t know them already, The Sad Ghost Club is a club for anyone who’s ever felt sad or lost, which is kind of everyone at some point. Their youtube channel is still quite new, but their sketchbook club is so lovely.
As well as being one of my favourite blogs to read, The House that Lars Built (AKA Brittany Watson Jepsen) also makes some of my absolute favourite videos on youtube. They are beautifully shot and produced craft videos. I feel like calling them craft videos underplays it, perhaps aspirational DIY or mind blowing make and do projects might be better, either way everything Brittany makes is stunning and makes me want to be better.
As I mentioned in my first Book Club post, Ariel Bissett has really helped reignite my passion for reading because she always just seems so damn excited to have a book in her hand.
the only names i know here are frannerd, lucy moon, what olivia did and ariel bissett. i love frannerd and i follow her on IG – her artworks are always so adorable! i subscribed to lucy moon but i haven’t been keeping up with her updates. i did watch olivia and ariel at some point but then i wasn’t hooked or anything. for olivia, it’s because i haven’t explored her feed yet. for ariel, i’m not sure why but i wasn’t into her – oh well, i have my own reasons LOL. the thing with booktubers is that, i find it difficult to find one that i really, really love. most of them are either too….chatty in a sense that when they get excited, they tend to scream and be like “OHMYGOOOOSSSSH” and that’s just not my vibe, lol. i did find one though and her name is hannah from a clockwork reader on youtube. i find her very chillax and calming, nothing overdone when it comes to personality and reviewing books and maybe you’d be interested to check her out
Ooh I’ll definitely check her out! I’m not usually a big booktube follower but something chilled and calm when it comes to book reviews sounds great
oh i forgot to recommend will darbyshire for you! i don’t know if you’re familiar with him but his videos are definitely like lucy’s, in a way. but his works are more…how do i say this, ‘filmmaker’ vibe if you will while lucy’s are less like that, like you’re watching some kind of indie short movie i guess.
Sorry it took me so long to reply to this! I love Will’s videos – 100% going to include him in any updates of this list