Jackie Droujko

I Turned Disney Princesses into Monsters | EARLY RELEASE

Remember that “casual Disney princess” phase that took over the internet? Yeah… I was very much part of that trend. Not just as a kid, as an adult too. Because honestly? It’s fun!! Get over it!!

But now it’s spooky season, and my inner Tumblr-era self demands more. So in this video, I’m taking that same redesign obsession and turning it into something darker: Disney princesses as monsters.

I’m talking evil mermaids crawling out of the water, forest-dwelling Rapunzels...

Two WIPs + My Current Art Challenge

Life’s been a little hectic lately. I’ve been working full-time the past few months (fingers crossed it sticks long term), moved into a new place, prepping for my next mentorship, keeping up with YouTube… and I’ve got something big coming up that means I need to make a lot of new art. Can you guess what it is?

Even with all that, I’ve been itching to draw again. But this time I don’t want to fall back on my usual safe zone. Most of my characters end up on flat backgrounds, g...

Extended Cut: Character Design Mentorship

Over 100 artists applied. Only 11 made it in. In this extended version, you’ll see exactly how my mentorship critiques work - raw, uncut, and way more detailed than the YouTube edit. I dive deep into design choices, portfolio structure, and how to push an idea from a rough sketch to a professional project.

If you’re serious about character design, this is like sitting in the classroom with me for an hour. You’ll see what worked, what didn’t, and how I guided students to find cla...

What To Do When You Hate Your Art | EARLY RELEASE

Okay, so this was supposed to be a clean “how to use references” tutorial. I blocked in a piece that felt like my “best ever”… and by the end, I hated it. 🙃
But the failure turned into the lesson. This video is part storytime, part brutal self-critique, and why it’s totally okay to move on instead of overworking a piece.

What you’ll get from this video

• A real self-critique checklist you can copy (values, lighting logic, focal...

  2025-08-21 00:43:26 +0000 UTC View Post

✈ South Korea Trip 2 - Bookings Are Now OPEN! 🇰🇷

My second South Korea group trip is officially open to the public! 💛 Early access is now over, and spots are first-come, first-served.

📅 May 19-25, 2026
📍 Seoul + Jeju Island

We’ll kick things off in Seoul with hanbok dress-up at Gyeongbokgung Palace, wandering Gwangjang Night Market, and, of course, the best Korean BBQ of your life. Then we’ll head to Jeju Island - think volcanic craters, beaches, waterfalls, tea ...

Why a Sketchbook Is 10x Better Than a Camera for Travel | EARLY ACCESS

What if I told you your sketchbook could help you remember your travels better than your camera?

This week’s YouTube video dives into why sketching while traveling creates deeper, more meaningful memories. I’m sharing the neuroscience behind it (yes, real science!), personal stories from my Japan trip, and practical tips to help you build a travel sketching habit.

✨ Whether you're an artist or just looking to be more present while traveling, I hope this inspires you...

Queen E by Winterhalter | ANATOMY OF A STUDY

*EDIT: reuploading because the last video didn't properly upload!

In this episode of Anatomy of a Study, I break down my full process painting from a master portrait, focusing on colour, value structure, and brushwork. It’s my first real study in a while (and my first time painting on the iPad again in forever), so I let myself explore, experiment, and rebuild my workflow from the ground up.

2025-07-30 18:14:55 +0000 UTC View Post

ANATOMY OF A STUDY | Practicing Painting like an Oil Master

Hey hey! I haven’t done an Anatomy of a Study in a while, but it felt SO good to slow down, open up a master painting, and just… paint. This time I studied a portrait of Queen Elizabeth by Winterhalter (the king of shiny cheeks and silky gowns). Here's a little WIP peek:

2025-07-29 16:23:06 +0000 UTC View Post

🎉 New FREE Crash Course on Digital Painting!

I just released a completely free digital painting crash course - made to help you level up your skills step by step.

• 7 videos (about 70 mins total)

• 60+ pages of PDF guides

• Tools, tips, and full breakdowns for sketching, clean lines, colour, lighting, and more

2025-07-25 16:00:18 +0000 UTC View Post

Fixing YOUR Art! 6 | EARLY RELEASE

This weeks video is about improved art submissions from my Patreon discord!

My Blender Sketch Process | 10 Min Breakdown (FREEBIE!)

I just got back from Japan and made my first Blender sketch in months (and it shows lol). I was originally going to turn this into a YouTube video, but I have since a better idea for my Youtube. So here’s a full 10-minute, unfiltered look at my real process as I try to remember how to use Blender after a long break.

In this video:

• Blocking out a full figure wit...

  2025-06-25 23:56:15 +0000 UTC View Post

cooking up something delicious... wip

SPACE DATE 5 IS COMPLETE!

I wanted to take a moment to share some thoughts about the journey of making Space Date 5. These last six months have been intense, honestly some of the hardest I’ve ever worked on a project! But also very rewarding.

When I started, I was stepping into a lot of new territory. After four previous Space Dates done all in 2D, this time I wanted to push the visuals furt...

How I Promote My Short Films (and Why This One’s Different)

Space Date 5 premieres Friday, June 20 and I’m SO excited to finally share it with you!! In the meantime, I wanted to give you a behind-the-scenes look at how I’m planning to actually get people to watch it.

This video is all about my marketing strategy --> what I’m doing differently this time, what I’ve learned from my past short films (the ones that flopped and the ones that went viral), and how I’m trying to give this launch the...

How I Made My First 2D/3D Animated Film | EARLY RELEASE

Hey everyone! I’m so excited to share an early deep dive behind the scenes of Space Date 5 - the fifth chapter in this little space romance series that’s been a huge part of my life these past six months.

This BTS video breaks down all the big steps I went through, from those first super janky storyboards (like, really rough sketches that barely made sense) to tackling the crazy challenge of building 3D backgrounds in Blender for the very first time, and syncing everything ...

First drawing in a while | WIP

I had this URGE tonight to draw. I mismashed two references to get this final piece. First ref on the face angle and then I really loved the hair on this below reference but then was ALSO excited about the jacket!

Sketchbook Tour from Japan! + Thoughts

Hello all! Thank you all for your support and loyalty while I've been hosting 2 group trips to Japan this month. Leading 48 artists through Japan is crazy - some people even went on their first flights for this trip! NUTS!

I wanted to share my reflections on my trip through my sketchbook with you all. I'll share some of these drawings on Instagram, but here you will see the full sketchbook and what I learned during this trip.

Be sure to join my 2025-05-27 03:33:57 +0000 UTC View Post

Green Cowboy | FULL-LENGTH PROCESS + PSD

Go behind the scenes of my latest painting with a full-length, uncut process video, the layered PSD download, and a step-by-step breakdown.

Thank you for voting on which painting process you'd like to see! This piece won by a landslide. In this video, you see the full, uncut, 37-minute video of me finding a reference, taking inspiration, and sketching out this concept. I talk a bit about my thoughts going into it, and how social media actually pushed me (in a go...

VOTE For My Next Process Video!

Hey everyone!

Last night I knocked out these three sketches and I recorded the entire process of each one! (these sketches took between 15-45 minutes) These are for my upcoming YouTube video all about that super relatable feeling of:
"Why does my art look so ugly?"

You know the feeling. You’re halfway through a piece, everything looks weird, and you’re wondering if you should just give up. That’s exactly what I want to talk about in the video: how to ...