YouTube icon PewDiePie got the chance to draw alongside the professional animators at WIT Studio, the anime company responsible for Attack on Titan, Spy x Family, and many more.
Swedish YouTube celebrity Felix ‘PewDiePie‘ Kjellberg went viral in 2024 for teaching himself how to draw, recording his progress for one month and 100 days. His extreme improvement in such a short time left viewers equal parts baffled and impressed, so much so that he caught the attention of one of Japan’s most famous animation studios.
If you’re an anime fan, you’ve definitely heard of WIT Studio. They famously adapted the first three seasons of Attack on Titan before handing off the project to MAPPA in 2020. They’re also the minds behind breakout shounen hit Ranking of Kings, Viking epic Vinland Saga, and magical romance The Ancient Magus Bride, to name just a few of their works.
WIT Studio are responsible for the first three seasons of Attack on Titan.
WIT is known for their clean drawing style and fluid animation, which Kjellberg got to view firsthand during his visit to their office in Tokyo, Japan. The company had sent him a special invitation via e-mail, offering him a once-in-a-lifetime chance to record a tour of their studio and even draw with their employees.
The YouTuber admitted that he was extremely daunted by the idea and nearly backed out due to the pressure, but eventually took the opportunity and dove headfirst into the world of professional animation.
First, PewDiePie joined the lead animators in a warm-up exercise where they took turns drawing each other in increments of 30 seconds to three minutes. Kjellberg even modeled for one of the drawings, and later compared his sketches to those of WIT’s workers, who gave him feedback like making bigger drawings and using single lines.
PewDiePie draws alongside legendary WIT Studio staff
He then got the chance to animate a small sequence of a person jumping off of a box, and even created in-between animations for one of Levi’s iconic battle sequences in Attack on Titan.
In-betweens are the small movements behind key sequences in an animation. To do this, animators must trace over those key frames and make incredibly small adjustments to create a fluid motion, a task that PewDiePie discovered was shockingly difficult.
“This is a lot harder than it looks,” the influencer remarked. “But it was really cool to see the images in their raw form and how insanely good they look.”
“I was already impressed by how much work goes into making an anime, but trying it myself made me really understand it. I’m way more impressed now.”
As a parting gift, the animators presented him with some Attack on Titan merch and even a custom drawing of himself as a member of the Scouting Regiment in their style.
YouTube: PewDiePiePewDiePie as a member of the Scouting Legion, drawn by staff at WIT Studio.
Aside from rubbing elbows with some of the GOATs of anime, PewDiePie’s experience at WIT just goes to show how challenging making an anime really is… so it’s a little more understandable that certain projects come out a bit wonky, especially when they’re rushed. (Looking at you, One Punch Man.)
