Measured Updated dailyMarkdown copy
Reference photo pinned beside your version
A viral culture and creative format on TikTok and Instagram
Keep the reference photo on screen or on the same canvas next to your work so viewers can compare them directly.
4
accounts it worked for
10x
median, times their usual
#33
of 63 in culture and creative
Editing trick
Video, Slideshow, Voiceover
Why it works
Viewers can see how you simplified or stylized reality, which makes the post worth studying and saving. Several accounts use a split cover slide or a corner-pinned photo.
Hook formulaReference vs [my study/drawing] of [subject]
How to make it
- 1Place the reference beside or in the corner of your work
- 2Show the structure or mid-step version
- 3End on the finished piece next to the reference
Examples
Best first, one per account. Each links to the original post.
- @edan0182
8K followers, TikTok
“How I sketch portraits quickly with my own method”
126x their usual views, video, art
- @stillleariningart
6K followers, TikTok
“Day 62 learning to draw”
22x their usual views, slideshow, art
- @hamed.elshal
200K followers, Instagram
“”
9.9x their usual likes, slideshow, art
- @kankyuo
21K followers, TikTok
“1:11 video length explaining how i do anatomy”
6.9x their usual views, voiceover, art
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How this is measured
- Every post is compared with its own account's usual reach, not with other accounts. "14x their usual" means the post got 14 times the median views of that account's recent posts.
- TikTok videos and Instagram Reels are measured on views. Instagram carousels have no view count, so they are measured on likes against the account's usual likes, and say so.
- A post makes the library at 2x its account's usual or more. A format is a repeatable move (what is said or shown, or how it is edited) that several accounts used in breakout posts. It is listed here once it worked for 3 or more different accounts.
- Formats rank on how many accounts they worked for and how far above usual, damped so a fluke on one tiny account cannot outrank a format that worked for ten.