Shadowing Practice: My BIGGEST Sketchbook TOUR Ever… 👀🎨 (+Q&A) - Learn English Speaking with Video
Creating lesson...
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This video is brought to you by Skillshare.
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Over my years as an artist, I've made a lot of drawings and filled up a lot of sketchbooks.
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And yes, I mean a lot.
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But not every one of these sketchbooks was filled with these perfect rendered artworks.
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Some of them were awful, but the most common thing I hear artists struggle with is not seeing progress in their art
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and just not knowing what to practice or draw in order to improve.
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So today, to show you guys how I learned to draw like this, I'm going to be sharing my entire art journey from my latest sketchbook all the way to my first ever sketchbook.
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Spoiler alert, you're about to see some very embarrassing drawings.
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So, here's how we're gonna do it.
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I picked out 10 of my sketchbooks and ordered them by the date they were created.
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On the left is my first ever sketchbook, and the final sketchbook on the right is the best one I've ever created.
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And while I flip through them, I'll also be answering a bunch of your burning questions about drawing, improving, and a...
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5 a girlfriend!
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But before we get to the good ones, we first got to start with my first, worst and oldest ever sketchbook.
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So, let's begin.
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And here we go.
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My first ever documented sketchbook when I was 4 years old!
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You can already see from the borders of this front cover that these are kinda tough.
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I think I like Toy Story.
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I think that might be Zerg?
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Who is this guy?
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Okay, let's get into the sketchbook.
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Okay, so the first question is what age did you start drawing?
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And even though I was 4 years old in my first ever sketchbook, I'm pretty sure I have drawings from literally when I was like 1 years old or something.
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But damn, it's the family!
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Look at me, look at my head!
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We've got dad and mum.
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The kill is tiny.
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Now why do I actually look like a banana?
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Now the second question is what did I use when I first started drawing?
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Well, it looks like I used my fingers.
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What do you- Damn!
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It looks like we have another self-portrait.
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I got three fingers, a six-pack, some boulders for my feet, and uh, whatever this thing is.
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I'm not gonna lie.
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This is gonna fire.
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I can't wait to see what's on the next page.
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Oh hell no. Okay, so the next question is what made me start drawing and YouTube?
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Well as you can see from this sketchbook, I pretty much always drew for like my entire life.
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Damn, this is crazy.
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To be honest with you I don't know exactly why I started drawing, but I remember I just found it
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so cool to be able to draw my favorite characters from my favorite movies
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And literally I remember I'll spend entire recesses of lunch times
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Just drawing while everyone else was outside playing so I just I just loved it so so much.
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Damn look at these guys But that was pretty much the gist of my first ever sketchbook.
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I think it's safe to say that it's definitely It's definitely a sketchbook.
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But now let's move on to my second sketchbook where I was 11 at the time.
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And one year before I became shrimpy.
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And not gonna lie, this sketchbook was one of the reasons that I was able to get very good at drawing.
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Okay, so here we have my second ever proper sketchbook.
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As you can see, I've customized the front cover.
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We have a pencil, a pug, and of course we have this epic title, the dance drawing folder.
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And rather than that we have...
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Damn!
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We have a self portrait of me in my basketball jersey.
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This genuinely looks terrifying.
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Wait, do I look like that?
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And the next question we have is how did I become such a pro at drawing?
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Well, you're about to find out.
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The way I became so good at drawing is by doing this.
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When I was about 11, 12, 13, I would literally just copy pictures of my favorite NBA players for hours on end.
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Hey, we got Steph Curry!
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But doing this just helped me unlock the ability to essentially use references from a really, really young age.
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So over time I became really good at copying and making my drawings look very accurate to the references I was using.
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So gaining that skill helped me a lot when becoming a pro artist, and you'll see how it did a little later.
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But ultimately, this sketchbook was my phase where I was just obsessed with drawing my favorite TV, movie, and video game characters.
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So let me know in the comments if you recognize any of these.
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But with that, it's now time for my first ever sketchbook after becoming...
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Shrimpy.
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Okay, this sketchbook here might be the most important one I've ever created, and you better see why.
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So this sketchbook starts out almost identical to the previous one.
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But then I started getting quite lost and I was drawing these random-ass drawings with literally no meaning.
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Hold up, damn, this is kinda cool.
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But that brings me to the next question, which is who is your inspiration slash favorite artist?
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And there's only one answer.
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It all started one day when I was like 12 years old or something, and I was just scrolling through YouTube like any other day.
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But that was until I stumbled across one video in particular, which was this video by Dex.
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And almost instantly upon watching this video, I was more inspired than anyone else on the planet.
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So from that point on, everything I drew was Doodle Art inspired by Vex's style.
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And I mean everything.
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I'd even tried to copy his artworks as accurately as possible, so it felt like I was wrecked.
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And not gonna lie, I was starting to get pretty damn good at it.
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But then, a very clear problem came up.
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I was terrible at drawing anything other than Doodle Art.
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So you know what I did?
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Sigh.
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I think the next question will answer that.
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The next question is, what would I tell my younger self when I first started drawing?
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And the thing I would say is, Doodle Art is great, but also try some other styles.
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At this time, I was so obsessed with the Doodle Art style
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that I became too scared to try or learn anything else.
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Here you can see I tried drawing some original characters, but they still looked very similar to Vex's style.
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What is this?
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But honestly, I didn't care.
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Because I found doodling so so fun and that's all that mattered to me.
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It was kinda like I was only upgrading one stat in a video game, while ignoring all the other ones.
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Yet despite my unusual approach, I was starting to get extremely good at this style.
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Now this fifth sketchbook is when I started to get a lot better at drawing.
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In this sketchbook, I started blending markers a lot more often, and this made my doodle art look way more clean and professional.
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But that brings me to the next question.
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What's the best way to find motivation, and what do you do when you feel like you can't draw good?
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That's a great question.
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The first thing that helps me stay motivated is having an artist that I look up to.
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And as you can probably tell, this was Vex.
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Because I loved his art so much and was so inspired by his videos, every day I would wake up and I would be so excited to draw, so I could get better and be like Vex.
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And damn, look at that progression between these two already.
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But Vex was my sole motivation for multiple years throughout my art journey.
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Oh, damn.
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And whenever I wasn't happy or felt like my original art wasn't good enough, I'd literally go and use my copying skills to replicate Vex's drawings as closely as possible.
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Cause this was really comforting and it motivated me to keep practicing so I could draw like this completely on my own.
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Now, the rest of this sketchbook is filled to the brim with doodle art and these Copic Marker drawings.
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And to this day, I'm still really proud of how the sketchbook looks.
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And the final question before we move on to the next sketchbook is...
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Can you say hi to me?
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Hi Aerox.
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But get ready because these five next sketchbooks get exponentially better than this one.
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So let's start off with...
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Number six.
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Now this sketchbook is when I started to really understand it and get out of my comfort zone with my drawing.
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I drew more portraits, characters, and even started developing my own style of doodling.
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So while I flip through, let's answer some more of your questions.
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Starting off with...
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Can you draw?
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Eh, not really.
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How did I find my art style?
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Great question.
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Finding my art style took me a long, long time.
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For literal years, my style looked extremely similar to Vex's, which was the direct result of me copying too much when I was younger, and not learning how to create artworks on my own.
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But that struggle wouldn't last forever.
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Although my style hadn't developed yet, I was starting to get extremely good at colouring, blending, and producing artworks that just looked good.
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Yes, they weren't completely my own style.
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Ooh, I really like this one.
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But just through repetition and trying some new things here and there, My drawings were starting to look less like Vex artworks and more like shrimpy artworks.
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Now this 7th sketchbook is when I made one of the biggest decisions of my entire art career.
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I bought this lovely sketchbook when I first created my TikTok account and when my friend Janu
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told me to watch Demon Slayer for the first time.
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Prior to this, I had never watched any anime before, So I had no idea what to expect.
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But from the first episode, I absolutely loved it.
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So as a result, I began drawing anime characters in my artworks and videos.
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Which brings me to my next question.
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What is your favourite anime?
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I actually get asked this a lot and it's not an easy question.
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I've watched Demon Slayer, Attack on Titan, Jujutsu Kaisen, a bit of Naruto, Death Note.
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I haven't watched One Piece.
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But if I had to choose one out of all of those, not gonna lie, it's probably Demon Slayer.
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But this sketchbook is when I found my love for drawing anime, and for the first time, drew something other than doodle art.
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Yet, once again, I ran into my biggest problem yet.
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These drawings were still not completely original.
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Although I had been drawing for my whole life, my artworks were still always heavily inspired by another art style, another artist or a famous character.
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So, something had to change.
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And this sketchbook is when it finally did.
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This is my 8th sketchbook, and possibly the most important one in my collection because for the first time, I actually got outside of my comfort zone.
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In all of my other sketchbooks, I would obsess over every page looking perfect.
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That also made me never try anything new because I was too scared of it looking bad.
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But trying and learning new things is an extremely valuable thing to do as an artist, which is why this video is brought to you by Skillshare.
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I'm sure you all know of Skillshare.
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It's the largest online learning community for creators with thousands of classes led by industry experts across film, illustration, design and of course, drawing.
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So instead of falling into the habit of drawing the same things over and over again without learning anything new,
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like I did, with Skillshare you can actually learn new skills and art styles from professional artists.
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You can learn character design with Gabrielle Piccolo, watercolor portraits with Chris Hong, or even 2D animation with Jayden.
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Literally any skill you want to learn, there's a class for it on Skillshare.
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But the coolest part is that me
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and Skillshare have teamed up to give you guys one free week and a big discount for their platform.
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Giving you guys access to step-by-step tutorials on literally anything you want to learn about art.
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So if you're one of the first 500 people to hit the link in the video description, that will let you claim 20% off your first year of Skillshare.
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But with all these new skills under my belt, it's now time to answer your craziest questions and reveal my greatest two sketchbooks. Are you ready?
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Ready?
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This is my 9th sketchbook, a sketchbook that I filled up from 2023 to 2024, and one of my best.
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So let's answer the question, do you need to draw every day to get good?
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Well I think yes and no. If you're a beginner, I suggest drawing as much as possible, whether that's an hour a day or 10 minutes a day.
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But the more you practice, the better you'll become.
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Shrimpy, what's your social security no- wait what?
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What's better, acrylic markers or alcohol markers?
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Personally, I think alcohol markers are better because there's way more techniques you can use and you can actually blend.
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Ham.
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What inspired you to start a YouTube channel?
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Well, just like every other kid when I was young my dream was to be a YouTuber.
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Initially, I wanted to become a gamer, but when I started to become good at art, I instantly started making videos about it.
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And eight years later, we now have an absolutely beautiful art community.
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With you included!
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But it's now finally time to reveal my latest sketchbook and go through your wildest questions.
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So let's not waste any time and get into it.
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Slim says do you work out and yes I love going to the gym and I work out everything except for legs.
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What is Evil Shrimpy's true identity?
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Evil Shrimpy was actually not always evil.
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He was originally named Phineas and was best friends with Shrimpy before something went very wrong.
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But more on that lore in my next videos.
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What brand is your microwave?
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Looks like it's a Blanco.
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Do you have a girlfriend?
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Well as of right now, I am a single Pringle.
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What's your dream art project or collaboration?
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Not gonna lie, my dream projects are the ones that I'm making over my next couple videos, so stay tuned.
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What is your favorite Discord GIF or emoji?
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Not gonna lie, it's gonna be this one by my boy Sander.
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If I had to draw one thing forever, what would it be?
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Well, the thing I really want to expand on is the story of Evil Shrimpy vs Shrimpy.
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I'm actually writing it up right now, and I can't wait to share it with you guys.
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But thank you all so much for watching.
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That was my art journey so far, and I can't wait to continue it with all of you.
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In the world of art, there are many tools an artist can use to bring their vision to life.
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Markers, pencils, digital art, or even 3D.
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There's another way to make art that I haven't ever tried, one that might shape the very future of art, and that medium is...
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Virtual Reality.
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This B1 speaking lesson is built on the video “My BIGGEST Sketchbook TOUR Ever… 👀🎨”. The speaker keeps coming back to these words: sketchbook, drawing, style. This video has 204 sentences and 2594 words to shadow. The speech runs for 12:30. The speaker talks fast, about 208 words per minute, so expect linked and reduced sounds. 84% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English; the rest is worth studying before you start.
Key vocabulary in this video
The 15 most advanced words in the video, with pronunciation and meaning:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| sketchbook noun | /ˈskɛt͡ʃˌbʊk/ | A book or pad with blank pages for sketching; a sketch pad. |
| doodle noun | /ˈdud(ə)l/ | A small mindless sketch, etc. |
| shrimpy adjective | /ˈʃɹɪmpi/ | Resembling or characteristic of shrimp; shrimplike. |
| artwork noun | /ˈɑɹtˌwɝk/ | A painting, drawing, sculpture or other piece of creative, visual art. |
| marker noun | /ˈmɑː(ɹ)kə(ɹ)/ | A felt-tipped pen, a marker pen. |
| inspire verb | /ɪnˈspaɪə(ɹ)/ | To infuse into the mind; to communicate to the spirit; to convey, as by a divine or supernatural influence; to disclose preternaturally; to produce in, as by… |
| portrait noun | /ˈpɔɹtɹət/ | A painting or other picture of a person, especially the head and shoulders. |
| anime noun | /ˈæn.ɪ.meɪ/ | An animated work that originated in Japan, regardless of the artistic style. |
| obsess verb | /əbˈsɛs/ | To be preoccupied with a single topic or emotion. |
| blend verb | /blɛnd/ | To mingle; to mix; to unite intimately; to pass or shade insensibly into each other. |
| motivate verb | /ˈmoʊ.tɪ.veɪt/ | To provide someone with an incentive to do something; to encourage; to actuate. |
| pencil noun | /ˈpɛnsəl/ | A writing utensil with a graphite (commonly referred to as lead) shaft, usually blended with clay, clad in wood, and sharpened to a taper. |
| scare verb | /skɛɚ/ | To frighten, terrify, startle, especially in a minor way. |
| flip verb | /flɪp/ | To throw so as to turn over. |
| motivation noun | /ˈmoʊ.tə.veɪ.ʃən/ | Willingness of action especially in behavior. |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| flip through verb | Synonym of thumb (“to turn the pages of (a book) in order to read it cursorily”). | |
| work out verb | /ˌwɝk ˈaʊt/ | To calculate. |
| come up verb | To emerge or become known, especially unexpectedly. | |
| fill up verb | To make (something) completely full. | |
| find out verb | To discover, as by asking or investigating. | |
| get out of verb | To leave, exit or escape from; to become free of. | |
| go through verb | To travel from one end of something to the other. | |
| hold up verb | To wait or delay. |
Sentences worth repeating
Short, complete lines from the video that you can reuse in everyday conversation:
- Wait, do I look like that?
- Can you say hi to me?
- How did I find my art style?
- Shrimpy, what's your social security no- wait what?
- What's your dream art project or collaboration?
Grammar in this video
The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:
| Structure | In the video |
|---|---|
| Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now | I've made · I've ever created · I've customized |
| Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it | is brought · was filled · were created |
| Relative clauses who / which + clause — extra information about a person or thing | question, which is · particular, which was · artist, which is |
| Verb + -ing enjoy, keep, stop… + -ing — verbs that are followed by the -ing form | start drawing · started drawing · started getting |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 49 contractions and reduced forms, such as gonna, I'm, I've. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- The “sh” and “zh” sounds: shrimpy /ˈʃɹɪmpi/, motivation /ˈmoʊ.tə.veɪ.ʃən/, exponentially /ɛkspə(ʊ)ˈnɛnʃəli/, repetition /ˌɹɛp.əˈtɪʃ.ən/, progression /pɹəˈɡɹɛʃən/
- Long words — get the stress right: motivation /ˈmoʊ.tə.veɪ.ʃən/, exponentially /ɛkspə(ʊ)ˈnɛnʃəli/, repetition /ˌɹɛp.əˈtɪʃ.ən/, watercolour /ˈwɔ.tɜˌkʌ.lɜ/, illustration /ˌɪləsˈtɹeɪ̯ʃən/
How to practise with this video
- Listen to the whole video once without speaking and note the words you do not know.
- Start at 0.75× speed, shadow it sentence by sentence, then go back to normal speed once it feels easy.
- Record yourself and compare with the original, paying attention to words like sketchbook, doodle, shrimpy.
What is the Shadowing Technique?
Shadowing is a science-backed language learning technique originally developed for professional interpreter training and popularized by polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. The method is simple but powerful: you listen to native English audio and immediately repeat it out loud — like a shadow following the speaker with just a 1–2 second delay. Unlike passive listening or grammar drills, shadowing forces your brain and mouth muscles to simultaneously process and reproduce real speech patterns. Research shows it significantly improves pronunciation accuracy, intonation, rhythm, connected speech, listening comprehension, and speaking fluency — making it one of the most effective methods for IELTS Speaking preparation and real-world English communication.