I stole from Jackie Droujko 👜
a YouTube Short bringing heat to work at hyper speeds
YT short of the week #014
Hello friend 👋
I am a mantra thief.
The beauty of this kind of thug life is that you can use the stolen mantras and build a belief system that fits your needs.
When in doubt. I repeat that to myself:
“We make what we want to see exist”
I stole that one from Octavia Butler.
So what do I want to see exist today?
Atomic stories.
Short-form video that you can connect into bigger structures.
Like video LEGO building blocks.
Jackie Droujko's YT short "DON'T you dare detail" is the closest that I could find to my vision for Atomic Stories:
Take a look:
Story beats:
1. The Hook
"don't go into detail"
My immediate reaction was:
How dare you, Jackie? I can go wherever I want.
Then I remembered she's a pro artist and rephrased it:
Great hook, Jackie. Tell me more.
2. The Why:
"If your goal is to tell this character's story in the quickest amount of time possible
then why finesse a drawing with smaller details?"
Jackie introduces the core concept of the short: a way to balance detail and efficiency in character design.
She solves a common problem: how to draw faster.
Now what's the problem I'm solving with my mantra kleptomania?
Focus drifting.
The stolen mantras are a LEGO set I made to stay on track.
Have a look at my shiny mantra stash:
"Life is right here right now" - Andrew D. Wagner
"Nothing real can be threatened" - Beyonce
"I will do what is required" - Alex Hormozi
"Every journey begins with a single hop" - Kermit The Frog
"There are no shortcuts" - David Goggins
"Do not switch the horses midstream" - Van Neistat
"Timing beats speed, precision beats power" - Connor McGregor
"We make what we want to see exist" - Octavia Butler
Oh, it gets cheesier. But that will do for you to get the point.
3. The Trick:
"here's a trick:
I can still throw in some details without compromising speed
I only render what's important like the focal point
which is usually the face"
Jackie reveals her secret weapon: selective detailing.
By focusing on the most important element (the face), she creates compelling characters without getting bogged down with unnecessary details.
She makes what she wants to see exist, and directs our eyes straight to that.
It works with me.
4. The How:
"good advice that people will tell you
is to start blocking out your big details
and then going into your medium details
and finally your small details
I don't have the patience for that because
I want immediate satisfaction right away"
Jackie acknowledges good advice and chooses not to follow it.
One can freely steal mantras and slogans (not legal advice) but also collect the ones you actively choose to ignore.
An evil mantra LEGO set of nah.
You know. Things like: “thou shall not steal”.
No thanks, Moses. I’ll pass.
I’m riding the mantra crime wave and I shall not stop.
5. The Process:
"I'm constantly imagining that my house is going to catch fire
at any moment so I'm getting the most important stuff out of the way
so if I stop at any moment the drawing will be complete and I'll be happy with it
so I always start with rendering the face after I block in the color
I detail in as much as I want because that's fun for me and I love this part"
If the tool you need does not exist. Make it.
🔥"Imagine that your house is about to catch fire"🔥
Jackie made herself a tool to draw as fast as she could without having to think anything but:
"This iPad could melt at any second; I must act quickly."
And oh yes. I'm taking that one.
This is how I steal.
6. The Payoff:
"once it's done I go into my medium block
and detailing and rendering in the rest of the body
by keeping the rest of the body undetailed
this helps the audience lead their eye to the focal point
which is the most detailed part"
In the final beat, Jackie ties everything together by explaining the benefits of her selective detailing approach.
Now, here's the kicker:
This short is one of the building blocks of her Long Form video "The secret to drawing FASTER".
I have no idea if this was intentional, but it works like a charm.
It shows you can build and connect your ideas with clear, purposeful beats.
LEGO blocks with self-contained ideas to create bigger structures.
With each short, you'll build a library of LEGO building blocks of content that can be remixed and expanded in endless ways.
Just like my mantra set. Which now has an extra brick to build faster.
See you next week 🫶
Matias Ruiz-Tagle
Founder of Atomic Stories