"Twitch is all about innovation" - Twitch streamer julieee22 discusses her creative animation streams, art style, advice, and more

It can be incredibly hard to find your niche on Twitch, but Twitch streamer Julie “julieee22” has definitely done so. An animator from Osaka, Japan, she has made a mark on the Amazon-owned platform with her captivating live-animated streams. With bright, warm pastel colors, Julie brings something special to Twitch.

The Mayor of DoodleTown, julieee22, recently spoke with Jason Parker of Sportskeeda about her streams, inspiration, and much more. One of her streams recently went viral, thanks to her unique and comical raid animation.

As a Twitch streamer, Julie is genuinely unique with a healthy mix of adorable animation/art style and quality comedy. The community is quite welcoming, and there’s always something interesting going on in DoodleTown. Every stream is animated, and if you haven’t checked out her streams, you should definitely do so.

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Twitch streamer julieee22 on her inspiration for her streams

Q. Thank you for taking the time to chat with us! You're known for hosting live-animated Twitch streams, but what inspired you to create this style of content?

Twitch streamer Julieee22: Since I was introduced to Twitch in 2017, I had always wanted to create something unique that can only exist on a livestreaming platform. I really liked the live interaction we could have on Twitch. When I first began streaming, I was a mixed media artist just sharing my art process with anyone who wanted to watch. I didn’t stream with a “facecam” at that time. It was a couple of years later that my friend showed me the animation program called Adobe Character Animator.

This way, I could have “a facecam” like all the other streamers do! After watching a few tutorials on YouTube, things just started to click and I couldn’t stop at just having a facecam. I wanted to create more! I saw the potential of having an “IRL stream” with this animation set-up. I didn’t want to make entire shows with a script (that’s too much, and I can’t write), but I thought it would be cool if the chat could write out small lines for characters, kinda like how Cardbord_Cowboy does. (Yes, he has a huge influence on my set-up 🙂).

And all I needed to do was have a place for people to visit and make small talk with a character fueled by the chat. Anyhow, to be honest, my initial inspiration of DoodleTown was just me wanting to visit a “konbini” (a Japanese convenience store) since I missed going there a lot. Now, we can visit konbini together among many other places in DoodleTown.

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Q. For those who might not be familiar with your work, what should people who tune in to your stream expect?

Twitch streamer Julieee22: There are two parts to my stream. One is a live animation set-up where we hang out in our town, walk around and explore, get snacks from the convenience store, have a coffee at the café, and so on! The other part is staying inside and doodling. I enjoy watercolor, ink, and sometimes sculpting, and drawing acrylic paintings. I also make things for my online store during those streams as well. So, those two parts of the stream might look totally different, but I enjoy them both.

I also like having different types of events. The latest one we hosted was for Halloween. Other than seasonal events, we have done sessions called “DTU,” where we get together and talk about cultural differences on holidays or events. Oh, one thing you can pretty much always expect is yapping! I love chit-chatting with everyone.

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Q. Your stream is incredibly cute, with bright, colorful characters and designs. Is this pastel art style your preferred animating/art style?

Twitch streamer Julieee22: I have no idea! A lot of people say I have a distinguished style, but to me, it’s just how I draw and paint, and this is the only way I know. Also, my style has always been evolving, especially when I’m exposed to new mediums. I’m still new to animation, so, as I learn more things, my art style will probably evolve.

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Q. How much of your animated livestreams is prepared in advance? Is it particularly challenging to do something like this?

Twitch streamer Julieee22: A lot of my current stream set-up is a compilation of many assets that I have made over time. For new events and places we visit, or even new channel point redemptions, or alerts, everything I make starts on paper. I'll scan these watercolor drawings, prep them, and animate them. So, leading into new additions to stream, there's definitely a greater level of effort to create things and test them out and there's always new things I'm working on for DoodleTown!

I wouldn’t say it’s challenging though. But keep in mind, I'm a bit stubborn. If I set my mind to something, I have every intent to make it happen. Still, there is a lot of time and energy that goes into every scene. The payoff is great in the end once I see everyone excited and interacting with the town.

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Q. Your streams are often quite comical! You've said in the past that you come from Osaka, where there's a pretty rich comedy scene. Were there any comedy duos or acts that really helped inspired how you interact with your audience?

Twitch streamer Julieee22: Oh, my! Yes, I love comedy! Both Japanese and American/English! I don’t have any particular shows or individuals that inspired me, since I never thought I would be performing anywhere.

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Q. Twitch is all about innovation, and one of the more recent popular trends is V-Tubing. Do you think your animated style of streams has much in common with these or is what you do different?

Twitch streamer Julieee22: I actually don’t know much about V-Tuber set-ups, so it’s kinda hard to compare. My set-up doesn’t require a face-tracking camera and only my mouth is automated via my mic. Other movements are triggered by me pressing buttons, so it’s kind of analog in a sense.

Most importantly, I don't label what I do as V-Tubing and that was never my intent. I understand that this phrasing has become synonymous with using a "virtual" facecam, like I do. My main focus is world-building with my community, and I just happened to choose live animation as one of the tools to deliver that. All I ask is people show up and experience the stream for themselves.

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Q. In the past, you've also done interesting special events, like an interactive game stream. Was this any different from a normal stream, in terms of setup or technology used?

Twitch streamer Julieee22: It’s just that I have more buttons to press! (I hope you are talking about our scavenger hunt-style game, not the space invader game at the arcade.)

I don't know anything about programming, so when I have “game-like” parts during my stream, it’s all usually just visuals. Nothing is actually programmed to be able to play like a video game. I just press a lot of buttons to make it feel like it is!

There have been times when I set up puzzle games for people to find clues for secret commands or keywords that can be used during our special event streams. So, I do make some cutscenes and hint animations, but I use the same system as my normal set-up. There is no special technology involved and the plug-ins and programs I use are very well-known basic ones. It just takes some determination to set them all up to bring it all together!

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Q. Do you have any plans on branching out the style of stream you create? New art styles, things of that nature?

Twitch streamer Julieee22: I don’t have much control over my art style, but I always find fun and new things to do for a livestream. I haven't done many collaboration streams, so I want to do more of those and make more friends!

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Q. Have you had to deal with any particular moments of toxicity or rude viewers, and if so, how do you deal with that kind of negativity?

Twitch streamer Julieee22: In general, my community is a pretty positive one and I have never really had a straight up toxic troll in chat. Sometimes, people comment on my English or my accent or being Japanese, but I usually ask questions. Not targeted to that person in particular, but to everyone in my chat. Like a rude comment to me is not necessarily rude to others, and if we can talk about why we feel it is rude or not rude casually, it’s great! I like discovering other ways of seeing things.

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Q. What sort of advice would you give to someone who loves creating art and would want to make a similar style of stream?

Twitch streamer Julieee22: It’s 100% possible to make your stream innovative without any programming skills! A lot of tools are available too. Everything is possible. Focus on what you want to do, not what you can do. And just figure out how you can make whatever you want to work!

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Q. You've also released several coloring pages, coloring books, and activity books on your art website. Have you had any feedback on these from your community?

Twitch streamer Julieee22: Yes! I actually made that content on my stream. It’s been a couple of years, but people still download and enjoy them! I used to host a little activity called “Let’s Color Together” on my Twitch channel, where I make an image every month for all of us to get together and color. Most recently, we also had a charity event, where we colored along and raised funds for Starlight Children’s Foundation.

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Q. Are there any other art Twitch streamers who you would like to do an animated collaboration with in the future?

Twitch streamer Julieee22: Oh boy... There are so many talented streamers on Twitch.. I would love to visit DandiDoesIt’s planet, LaurensLair’s lab, CelestialBeanArt’s spaceship, and TomThink’s studio to hang out with Mr. Duck. I actually want to visit many more streamers if we aren’t strictly talking about art streamers. I think it will be fun to mix live animation and live video!

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Q. What's next? What lies in store for the Mayor of Doodletown? Do you have any major plans for your stream you'd like to share or a message for your viewers?

Twitch streamer Julieee22: There’s always something new in the works in DoodleTown. Right now, I’m working on opening up a TV station in our town! I want to have TV shows and a recording studio where we can visit together on stream! Also, I will be working with my chat to develop a whole new scene in the town.

This project will take some time to develop since this is my first time taking ideas and building a place in collaboration with chat, but I’m very excited for it. Those are the two big things on my plate, but knowing me, there will be silly little projects coming up as I get random inspirations.

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Julieee22 is the Mayor of DoodleTown and a Twitch streamer who livestreams on Monday and Tuesday afternoons, as well as Thursday and Friday evenings. She can also be spotted on Twitter.