Who Is 'Shadman' And Why Are So Many Celebrating The Controversial Artist Being In Prison?

No matter when you first joined the online space, one of the most prominent things you can find online is Fan Art of current pop culture characters, with almost everyone with a pen having their own version of a modern character posted somewhere. Depending on when you joined the online fan art space, however, there's one name that you either have no recollection of, or you already know what to expect from, which is Shadman.

Who Is "Shadman"?

Shadman is the online alias of 32-year-old Shaddai Prejean, a Swiss-born resident of Los Angeles who first made a name for themselves with drawings posted to Newgrounds in 2009 before uploading various drawing tutorials to YouTube in 2010.

Shadman's art is best described as a cross between rule 34, which is to say adult in nature, and shock humor, which is meant to scare the viewer by being overly obscene. In an effort to maximize the shock value aspect of his art, Shadman would regularly do art that either featured characters currently active in pop culture, or tap into '90s nostalgia by creating art to ruin childhoods.

Why Was Shadman Arrested?

On October 26th, 2021, the now infamous digital artist was arrested for assault in Los Angeles. Various pictures taken of Shadman during the years prior had him brandishing various large knives and firearms, leading many to not be surprised that he was arrested for something violent.

Due to his arrested also being close to Chris-Chan's arrest many have linked the two as being similar in that they were hated by the Internet at large and went behind bars at similar times. This shows itself in various memes made where the two are referenced at the same time.

What Is Shadman Known For?

Shadman was most known for doing either one-offs of various characters or creating continued storylines in a comic pattern for characters that created enough attention from others online. This lead to him creating various The Incredibles comics featuring Violet and Helen, several images of Belle Delphine, as well as Resident Evil one-offs and long-form comics. During the 2016 election his adult comic featuring Hillary (or Hiloli) Clinton and Donald Trump.

For the full details on the Shadman, be sure to check out our entry for even more information.