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Fan art is everywhere...

From bustling stalls at Comic Con to the depths of Instagram feeds - yet it exists in a legal and moral grey zone. Should it be celebrated or is it theft? A way for artists to have fun putting their own spin and an existing character, or the pre-cursor to a corporate headache?

In this post I'll unpack the history, economics, and ethics behind fan art, and ask where that leaves creators who simply want to make a living!

What exactly is fan art?

Fan art is artwork (illustrations, paintings, sculptures or crafts) created by fans that depict characters, settings, or stories from someone else’s intellectual property (IP).

If I drew a picture of Spider-Man, Harry Potter, or Goku, this would of course be considered fan art.

Unlike licensed merchandise, fan art is almost always made without the explicit permission of the copyright holder. It can be purely for personal enjoyment, shared online for free, or sold through online stores or conventions.

A Personal Shift in Perspective

For years, I believed selling fan art was wrong. How could I, or any artist, justify profiting from someone else’s ideas and creative labour?

If you’re creatively inclined and love to draw, why not invent your own characters, design their outfits, and give them unique backstories or personalities? After all, making something that is original, unique, and personal to you is more fun anyway, right?

But over time, my view changed. I began to see that, for many artists trying to earn a living, creating fan art isn’t just a guilty pleasure - it can be a necessity. In a crowded market, drawing what people already love and having instant access to an existing audience of fans can be the difference between a thriving art career and abandoning the craft altogether.

I want to discuss why I’ve arrived at this conclusion, despite my initial feeling that fan art is uninspired, of low artistic value and that selling it is both morally wrong and completely illegal.

A Brief History of “Fan Art” Before Fandom

Long before comic conventions and online fandoms, artists made their living by re-imagining stories that belonged to the culture at large.

In the Middle Ages and Renaissance, most painters worked on church commissions, creating vivid images of biblical scenes and saints. Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel ceiling (1508–1512) is a towering example: a masterpiece built on narratives that every viewer already knew.

Likewise, thousands of Madonna and Child paintings circulated across Europe—not because the subject was original, but because it resonated deeply with the public and with paying patrons.

In that sense, these works functioned much like today’s fan art. The artists weren’t inventing their own intellectual property; they were visually interpreting a shared mythology for an eager audience.

You could also argue that, in terms of cultural reach, yesterday’s Holy Bible functioned a bit like today’s One Piece tankōbon (manga book). A story everyone knew and shared, even if the initial presentation was spiritual rather than recreational.

As printing spread in the 18th and 19th centuries, illustrators carried the tradition into new realms. Engravings for Grimm’s Fairy Tales or dramatic depictions of Shakespearean plays filled books and newspapers, giving classic folklore a fresh visual life. These creators were celebrated, not scolded, for bringing beloved stories to new audiences.

Before the word “fandom” existed, artists were already thriving by drawing the icons of their era - proof that the impulse to honour and reinterpret popular narratives is centuries old.

Modern Mythologies & the “Death of God”

When the philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche declared in the 19th century that “God is dead,” he wasn’t celebrating atheism so much as observing a cultural shift: traditional religion was losing its central role in giving people meaning and moral direction. In the vacuum that followed, new kinds of myth-making stepped in.

Today, vast pop-culture universes provide many of the same functions that scripture once did. Star Wars, The Lord of the Rings, the Marvel universe, Dragon Ball - each offers epic narratives of good and evil, loyalty and sacrifice, personal growth and cosmic stakes. Fans memorize lore the way medieval villagers memorized parables. Quoting Yoda or Gandalf can carry as much symbolic weight in some circles as a Bible verse once did.

Fan art is more than a passing gimmick. It becomes a kind of modern devotional practice. Events like Comic-Con are the pilgrimages; cosplay the ritual garb; and sharing art online is the digital equivalent of creating illuminated manuscripts. By drawing these beloved characters, artists participate in keeping the myths alive and relevant, not unlike Renaissance painters reimagining scenes from the Gospels of their time.

The Legal Landscape

The moment an artist creates an original drawing, painting, or digital piece, it’s automatically protected by copyright. In most countries that protection lasts for the life of the creator plus 70 years. When a work is produced as a “work for hire” (as is typical in film, animation, or comics owned by a studio), the term is even longer - 95 years from publication or 120 years from creation, whichever is shorter.

As an artist, I’m grateful that my work is legally protected and that the fruits of my labour can’t simply be stolen. In fact, this protection just recently allowed me to take legal action and be awarded settlement against a business owner who stole and used my Day-of-the-Dead artwork verbatim.

Large entertainment companies guard their properties fiercely. Disney is the most famous example: it successfully lobbied for the 1998 U.S. Copyright Term Extension Act - often nicknamed the “Mickey Mouse Protection Act” - which added 20 more years to the standard term, ensuring that early Mickey cartoons stayed under Disney’s control. I can appreciate Disney wanting to retain the rights to it's original cartoons since Mickey has always been synonymous with Walt Disney and the company.

However, when a large corporation hoards the rights to an IP that has grown to biblical proportions, this isn’t about protecting an original creator anymore. It’s about monopolising the original creation and exploiting its fandom to enrich distant shareholders. That’s something I take issue with.

Fan art exists squarely in a grey zone:

For personal use and sharing online, fan art is generally tolerated. A drawing posted on Instagram, hung in a bedroom, or used as a phone wallpaper rarely attracts legal action.

I wouldn’t put it past some unscrupulous corporation to one day try to monetise a child’s Pikachu fridge drawing, but thankfully, for now at least, policing this kind of use is virtually impossible.

Personally, I don’t mind if anyone creates fan art of my original creations, or even takes photos of my work, prints low-resolution versions, and displays them at home. And this is despite the fact that I make my living selling art prints- albeit high-resolution, signed editions on quality card stock.

At the end of the day, I’ve realised that not everyone can afford art. And with pretty pictures now virtually free thanks to AI tools, the true value of my work lies in the exclusivity of owning a signed edition and in supporting me (a real, individual human being!) as an artist to continue creating.

When it comes to selling fan art commercially, this is often technically considered an infringement on copyright. An example of merch containing someone else’s characters is typically considered illegal unless the artist has a license or the work clearly qualifies as fair use. For example, a transformative parody or commentary artwork can be argued to not break copyright.

Exactly at what point art is considered “transformative” for example is vague and subjective.

There have been a few headline-making clashes:

Lucasfilm v. Ainsworth (2011): A British prop maker selling replica Stormtrooper helmets faced a long legal battle. UK courts ultimately ruled in his favour because the helmets were classified as industrial design rather than art. A rare outcome and not a general precedent for fan artists.

Blizzard, the studio behind World of Warcraft, Overwatch, and other popular games, is famously protective of its intellectual property. Over the years, it has sent countless cease-and-desist letters to individuals and small businesses selling unlicensed merchandise - everything from T-shirts and posters to figurines featuring its characters.

Japanese doujinshi (fan-made manga) markets use a contrasting approach. Manga publishers often allow small-run fan comics to be sold at events like Comiket (a doujinshi convention), viewing them as free publicity and a way to nurture future professionals. An approach I whole heartedly agree with.

The most interesting case features the pop-artist Andy Warhol:

In the 1960s and beyond, his work frequently involved taking existing images - photographs, advertisements, or celebrity portraits, and transforming them into art. Famous examples include his Marilyn Diptych (1962) and his series of Campbell’s Soup Cans.

While some photographers and original image creators sued Warhol for copyright infringement, courts often sided with him.

The key reasoning: Warhol’s work was transformative. He wasn’t merely copying the original photographs; he reinterpreted them, changed context, and created something new with a distinct artistic expression. This distinction - between straight reproduction and transformative creation is central to the legal concept of fair use.

To reiterate: Warhol literally copied a trademarked soup can and sold the painting / prints for profit. He also took a photographer’s image, adapted it ever-so-slightly, and the courts still considered it legal. In the world of fine art, it seems you can repurpose copyrighted content with only minimal transformation. 

These precedents are often cited in debates about fan art: if an artist can transform a character or image meaningfully, they may have some legal protection, but it’s risky, and commercial sales can still attract lawsuits.

Perhaps the video game equivalent of Warhol's example might be taking a World of Warcraft screenshot, printing it onto a huge canvas after adding a filter, and suddenly you have a “transformative” work of art. But, common sense tells me the legal system would side with Blizzard here.

Curiously, even if I pushed this example further, creating an existing Warcraft character with a completely unique style, pose, and colour palette - therefore transforming the original concept far more than Warhol ever did, and then sold it on a mouse mat on Amazon, I’d still likely be liable for copyright infringement. In other words, the same creative act is treated very differently depending on the medium and market.

Warhol’s victories highlight the tension at the heart of fan art law: copyright exists to protect creators, but transformative reinterpretation is sometimes recognized as legitimate artistic expression, even when it borrows heavily from existing material.

Economics and morality of IP Control

Franchises like Star Wars, Dragon Ball, and Pokémon aren’t just meaningful and beloved fictional worlds - they’re multi-billion-dollar machines. Corporations guard these properties fiercely because the financial stakes are enormous.

• Disney earned about $4.9 billion in 2024 from “Consumer Products & Licensing” alone.
• Bandai Namco pulls in over ¥120 billion (≈$800 million) each year from Dragon Ball merchandise.
• The Pokémon Company’s lifetime revenue has surpassed $90 billion from games and merchandise combined.

With numbers like these, it’s easy to see why corporations defend their IP empires so aggressively. Yet it raises a harder question: why should an independent artist selling a handful of prints be shut out of even a microscopic share of this enormous cultural and economic pie?

Many fandoms today hold as much meaning for their communities as ancient myths or religious stories once did. But unlike those shared cultural stories, modern pop-culture fictions are locked inside corporate portfolios. A multinational conglomerate, often run by executives far removed from the art itself, now decide who may create or profit from these worlds, not for cultural stewardship, but simply to maximise revenue.

Historically, artists painted saints, deities, and epic heroes without needing a license. Now, when our spiritual and narrative touchstones are company assets, creative expression and a means for artists to generate income is constrained. Telling artists to “just sell original work” ignores a market dominated by well-funded franchises that command attention, nostalgia, and marketing budgets individual creators can’t match.

Artists bring imagination, skill, and cultural value that exceed cold corporate interests. Yet when meaning-rich universes are treated purely as assets, the very people capable of birthing the next great mythology are left with fewer ways to sustain themselves.

The Case for Fan Art

Fan art is becoming a vital part of today’s creative ecosystem.

It’s a gateway for emerging artists - Reimagining well-known characters attracts attention and helps new artists build audiences that later discover their original work.

It’s part of community building - Fan art reinforces shared enthusiasm and keeps franchises vibrant long after official releases fade. For this reason, some companies recognise the fandom surrounding their IP and actively promote it. In the case of fans then selling the occasional fan art print, they might even avoid interfering in order to appear as though they aren’t some bullying tyrant, going after the little guy and causing backlash within the fandom community.

It creates a point of cultural conversation. Transformative pieces - gender-swaps, mash-ups, stylistic reinterpretations and so on all add fresh meaning and can stand as original art in their own right.

Many professional creators quietly welcome it. Game publishers have been known to buy fan art prints of their game at conventions and manga ka (the original artists) post fan art tributes to their creation to social media. This is great. It helps provide artists the opportunity to monetise their talents. sustain a living and finally cash-in on the thousands of hours practicing their craft. The problem with individual artists selling fan art often occurs once a company becomes large, and super invested enough in their guarding their acquired property at all costs.

Fan art, in other words, is less a legal nuisance than a living dialogue between fans and the worlds they love.

The Case Against Fan Art

At the end of the day, commodification of a creative idea or work now exists. The ability to sell one’s idea or creation to a larger company can benefit the original artist and founder. And even be the difference between them making a living or not.

Selling prints or merchandise of another company’s characters without a license is, by definition, a copyright violation. Without any legal protections, it would be difficult for anybody to create anything new, for fear of it being ripped off the next day.

Sometimes fan art can overshadow the artists who are focused on their originals. If online marketplaces are overflowing with fan art, this makes it harder for the artists with fully original creations to stand out or earn a living. Surely, they deserve customers without needing to piggy-back off existing fandoms?

Brand dilution and offensive uses - Rights holders fear their characters could be associated with low-quality work, explicit content, or messages that damage the brand.

From a company’s perspective, tight control protects both revenue and reputation. Even if they quietly tolerate small-scale fan art sales, they reserve the legal right to act when a fan creation crosses the line.

Where This Leaves Artists

For working artists, the fan art landscape is equal parts opportunity and legal hazard. Here are some practical, non-legal tips to navigate it:

Go “inspired by” or parodic: Create pieces clearly transformative: unique style, new composition, or commentary. Parody and satire can qualify as fair use in some regions.

Keep it small and local: Limited-run prints at conventions or direct commissions are less likely to draw legal fire than mass-produced online merch.

Blend with public domain: Mash-ups with classic myths, folklore, or works whose copyrights have expired (Shakespeare, Greek myths) to add originality while sidestepping claims.

Use fan art as a funnel: Draw beloved characters to attract attention, but always showcase and promote your own original IP alongside them.

Final Thoughts

Fan art is both homage and potential infringement.

It keeps beloved mythologies alive, yet it also shows how extended copyright terms can stifle creativity.

Artists walk a tightrope: without fan art, fewer creators might never build an audience or sustain a living; without copyright, corporations fear lost revenue.

Personally, I value copyright for safeguarding inventors and original creators from outright theft. But it’s hard to care about corporate profits or the wealthy investors who over-commodify and monopolise fandoms. I understand a company protecting its assets from direct competitors. Yet when big corporations crack down on individual fan artists - people offering fresh, imaginative takes on beloved characters - it rarely feels just. After all, without artists there would be no fan-favourite properties to protect, so why target the very creative class that built them?

The vast majority of aspiring professional artists are not wealthy, nor are they in it for the financial reward. Greed or power is not the incentive. Rather, they want the opportunity to engage in their passions, to bring creative and aesthetic value into the world. Some want to create fan art for the love of it, others as a means to survive by utilising their unique set of skills. Perhaps I'm just speaking for myself here? But either way, we shouldn't be so quick to criticise and condemn those who create an original take on existing characters, or attempt to earn a living.

Transformative work isn't morally wrong and not even illegal in the correct context.

It’s crucial to distinguish between transformative fan art and outright image theft. That is to say, new creations built from the ground up with a unique vision, talent and skill; compared to stealing (or direct copying) and selling someone else’s art /image.

Transformative work enriches culture, builds upon and clearly differentiates itself from the source; piracy does not.

Unfortunately, online copyright infringement bots and licensing agents scouring the internet for offenders rarely care about that difference.

Much like the courts which eventually ruled that Warhol’s paintings and prints were transformative artworks in their own right, thoughtful fan art deserves the same recognition. As long as it’s clearly distinct, not traced, and not a direct reproduction.

Still, selling fan art always carries legal risk.

The most common outcome is simply a takedown notice, but there’s always a chance of being sued for damages and legal costs, which can become a stressful and expensive ordeal.

Perhaps legal enforcement should be somewhat nuanced and rank in severity depending on the crime:

1. Blatant piracy and theft,
2. Direct reproductions,
3. Cheaply produced AI generated content,
4. Slightly modified works (like adding filters),
5. And only then, transformative art if you insist on going after the independent, starving artists and fans!

Strangely, I've noticed fan art often gets flagged for infringement before direct theft. The uniqueness of the fan art stands out. Where as Bootleg sellers routinely peddle what, at first glance, appears to be non-modified, licensed art, and copyright agents often assume (wrongly) that a licence exists. Or the seller simply lies about having one. In reality, it would cost hundreds of thousands of dollars to legitimately purchase a range of licences, and it’s absurd to think a small Etsy shop selling low-resolution, poor-quality T-shirts for example has paid for them.

Even if we don’t consider fan art transformative, perhaps a solution for selling it would be to offer artists an affordable, streamlined licensing model or profit-sharing system. An agreement that allows independent talented creators to contribute to the franchises and fictional worlds they love without fear of takedowns, while rights holders still receive their share.

It would make more sense for a company to gain a modest cut -say 10 % of each sale, than to pay out money hiring agents to issue takedown requests, where ultimately no one benefits.

Lastly- the take home question to consider:

I hope this gives a little more nuance to the issues surrounding fan art.

If you’re wondering, “should I create a business to sell fan art?”, the answer is no.

Firstly, you should always respect the law locally, or international. Secondly, despite arguments made for fan art potentially sitting in a legal grey area, dealing with any potential legal proceedings is not worth the hassle. You might be morally justified and even legally justified in some courts, but often the companies pursuing action against artists are mega corporations that have unlimited legal budgets. You do not. You or your lawyer will likely be unable to compete with theirs.

However, personally I believe certain fictional fandoms have become a huge part of modern culture. For some, they carry a depth of meaning and significance which has, to some extent, outgrown the idea of them simply being an entertainment commodity to capitalise on and profit from.

Therefore, is it right the a for a multi-trillion-dollar fortune 500 company to buy up everyone’s favourite IPs, monopolise them and exploit devoted fans to increase profits?

And in turn, should the artist class be constantly put on the chopping block for creating art that may or may not be considered ‘transformative’?

Taking Stock of the Situation

Welcome to another honest blog post - where I discuss what’s really happening with my artistic career, rather than sugar-coat the situation in order to appear more professional and successful!

My goal is simple - go from being a part-time to full-time artist. But is that possible this year?

We're now well over the halfway point in 2025 - the year is speeding by. So have I actually made progress towards my goal? It feels like the right time to take stock: to look at what I’ve done, where I’m currently at, and where I need to go next. If you're also chasing a creative career, or just curious about how mine is going, I hope this gives some insight into the reality behind the art.

Let's start with this Website!

I consider this site to be my central hub. I direct people here when they ask about my art, commissions or after having bought my art or products at events.

It’s had over 4000 active users after 7 months this year. I’m happy it’s getting at least some traffic. Although I would discount at least 500 of the visitors - especially from countries like India and China, since they seemingly only visit in order to then try selling me some SEO package, or steal my content.

I’ve posted on my Blog thrice this year. There aren't enough readers to warrant posting more than 3 - 4 times per year. Plus, right now, and each 1500+ word blog post like this, still takes a large chunk of a day to write and post with a few accompanying images. I’m concentrating more on Youtube instead– using it as my current social media / content creating platform of choice.

The shop was recently updated with 16 new listings. I'm giving producing and selling stickers a try. Although, I must admit, sales of my products online have been extremely low this year. It's tough times trying to sell art or luxury items to customers here in the UK when so many are struggling to pay bills right now.

I often think about replacing my website with a whole new design, making it more focused around my shop. Selling is more important to me right now, compared to taking commissions or using it as a portfolio / online business card. I’ve been considering this for, maybe, 3 or 4 years! But I'm just not convinced it’ll make much of a difference so far as generating sales goes. I'd continue to sit on the idea until I think the time is right to act.

I'm making my own game!

Since no one was hiring me to work on their projects this year, I decided to continue with my own. A two-player fantasy card game, Total Blast.

• I gave it more play tests
• Refined the Rule Book
• Received several price quotes to manufacture and ship the game from China
• Finished off the 8 remaining art cards, which all needed polishing and then colouring
• Attempted to promote on social media (I'll discuss this more later)
• Gave it its own YouTube channel along with several promo videos
• Added it to the Board Game Geek Database

It looks great! And so much fun to play! But, finding people interested in signing up for updates about the game is proving extremely difficult. How do I spread the word that this is a good thing I’m trying to build and drum up interest? I tried posting about it on a few Facebook Groups and Sub-Reddits, but they mostly got deleted off the bat and considered spam.

Other than paid ads, I don’t have a clue how to generate interest or even get eyeballs on the project. Until I get a few hundred sign-ups, I can’t guarantee I’ll fund the game once it goes live on Kickstarter. Very Frustrating!

And so, progress with Total Blast has kind of come to a standstill. There are still a few little bits here and there to tweak, but everything hinges on knowing there will be customers interested in pre-orders.

Complete and Utter Social Media Burn Out

I posted on 30 occasions. Each time being a development update for Total Blast. The result- it seemed like a pointless exercise. It felt like each post was barely getting noticed, pulling between 0 and half a dozen engagements (like/comments/shares) per post. Not great, considering the fact my combined social media following is well over 65,000 people! 

To break this down:

Instagam: 33.9K followers
Facebook Page: 2k followers
Facebook Profile: 3.3K friends
Pinterest: 6.9K followers
Tumblr: 4.8K followers
Linkedin: 4.3K connections
X: 10.1K followers

After a month of daily posting on all my socials, guess how many I converted into Total Blast mailing list subscribers? Zero!

I appreciate most people follow me for the artwork, and me posting about a card game I’m working on each day may not necessarily be their cup of tea. But still - the levels of engagement my posts receive just makes posting feel like a pointless endeavour. I feel like I'm done with social media posting. Certainly, on my current social platforms, if discussing or promoting Total Blast. In the future I might:

1. Just post glossy, finished character art on my socials. Perhaps That will to generate interest Development sketches, photos and notices aren't cutting it.
2. For Total Blast, create entirely new social accounts and start from the ground up.

I’ve posted to my existing accounts several thousand times over the years, and it feels like it would be a shame to give up on that. But it certainly seems like I’m not connecting with an audience who is genuinely interested in my projects and artistic endeavours.

It's crazy to think just how much time was poured into social media posting, replying and commenting, when instead I could have been creating art or simply doing something else.

It just felt like this was something I had to do if I ever wanted to build an audience and potentially end up making a full-time living from my art. Maybe I still just wasn’t using the platforms the ‘right’ way? Or perhaps I should have waited until my artwork and products were better before attempting to show them to the world?

Growing My Own YouTube Channel

Platforms like Instagram seemed to be failing me, and in the face of an AI take-over, I felt as though I now needed to prove to the world that I’m a human.

And so, I continued uploading videos to YouTube. I’ve been consistent, posting up a new video at least once per week.

39 videos created this year so far, plus a few shorts.

The quality is getting better, and while I’m never going to be perfect in front of a camera, I’m actually proud of a lot of the content I’ve created for the channel: be it my own personal rants about struggles to make it as an artist, or tips to help fellow creatives. Perhaps It feels like such an achievement because I know just how much effort it is for me to be front-facing and put myself online? As a neurotic introvert, it's not easy to say the least!

I have a goal of reaching 1000 subscribers.

Although ideally, I want them to be active, dedicated subscribers. Unlike the 65,000 I mentioned earlier on other social platforms, which have seemingly all deserted.

1000 subs (along with increased watch hours) also means I can monetize the channel, and YouTube will then give me half the money they’re making via the ads being attached to my videos.

To be honest, I thought it would be easier to build an audience than it’s currently proving. I feel like my content is good enough to warrant at least 4-figure views, but breaking double digits is often just not happening!

I don’t expect a million views on a video, but I’m waiting for my bit of luck to strike. For my 1 video to “blow up” or at least gain the attention it deserves. I'm committed to continuing with it. But in the mean time, I’m finding it very challenging to pour hours into creating content, knowing that its target audience is highly unlikely to ever know it exists.

I'm Still Selling my Art and Taking Orders

Approx. 150 orders have been fulfilled for Art prints, T-shirts and so on. Great that I’m able to get some orders in despite my social media efforts proving to be more effort than they’re worth.

Worryingly, orders are down around a shocking 75% from 2022-2023, and I think that’s mostly due to the rise of AI art.

I’ll continue to take orders, since I have the art prints here and ready to go. And I’m using print-on -demand services to fulfil shirt orders as and when, so that I don’t need to keep an inventory.

I kind of enjoy packing orders too. It's a welcome break from the screen; to roll a print, pop it into a postage tube along with a flyer and attach the postage label! Sometimes you just need to low-cognitive overhead job to give you some respite! And, of course, it's always very fulfilling to know a customer bought your art. Out of all the artwork in the world, they choose yours! That's pretty damn cool.

Selling at Comic Cons

I've attended just one con so far this year (MCM London in May), and will possibly do another two. The bigger shows here in the UK are just about worth visiting. Smaller shows aren't really worth it any more since I have no idea if I’ll even make any money or break even.

With over 40 shows under my belt, it's got to a point now where they feel more like hard work. I'll never forget the first few times attending large comic cons- it felt magical and exciting! I would be buzzing every time someone wanted to chat or make a purchase. I still enjoy some of the interactions I have with customers. Although many positive feelings are now somewhat replaced with apprehension, as to how many sales would have dropped this year over last, based on current trends.

One thing I did was to create a bunch of stickers. 16 designs, based on designs I already use on Art Prints and Tees. I found a good supplier in China, and they certainly sold better than my How to Draw Manga books. I'm glad I tested them out. Of course, selling a few stickers here and there is never going to earn me enough to consider myself a full-time artist, but as a side project, it's worth having them to sell in addition to my other products.

Job Applications... And Rejections!

I brushed up my CV, and created a new mini portfolio PDF. It included just 10 of my best works with a little extra info. I sent it to several companies and agencies who were looking for an artist with my skill set. And I waited…

I didn’t result in anything. No interviews. No replies. Actually, there was one reply- to my application. It was from an agency that specifically asked to work with me. They replied just to tell me that they don’t want to work with me!

I became despondent and took a break from applying.

Creating New Art... Or Not!

Other than finishing off the Total Blast character artworks I mentioned earlier, I haven’t created a single new artwork all year!

I'm supposed to be an artist!

The ideas are starting to build up and overflow since I haven’t created anything new and original. I’m keen to work on some new things. But I thought it was better to instead push my existing content out into the world, and do the YouTube thing.

My thinking - if I create artwork, but without an audience aware of its existence, then what’s the point? I’m talking from a professional point of view. Actualising ideas is great, but that can’t happen until the bills are paid. I can’t pay the bills until I sell my art and merch, and I can’t sell my art until I’ve built an audience, or have access to interested customers. 

What Next?

I have to admit, I feel a little uncertain. Part of me wants to double down - keep creating, keep posting, keep pushing. Another part wonders if it’s time to change direction and simply take a break from pursuing art full-time.

I know I need to start making new artwork again, if only to reconnect with what made me love art in the first place. And I still believe in Total Blast - even though I’ve hit a wall when it comes to getting eyeballs on it.

I’m not giving up.

But I’m also trying to figure out how to work smarter, not just harder. That might mean experimenting with new strategies, rethinking how I use my platforms, or even taking a temporary step back from certain things that clearly aren’t working. One thing’s certain — I’ll keep sharing the process. The wins, the failures, the “not sure if this even matters” moments. And if you’re on a similar journey, I hope we can keep figuring it out together.

Sorry for disappearing!

Continuing on from my previous post, I've continued work on my new card game Total Blast. What is it?

"Soon to be the world's best two-player card battle game — strategic, fast-paced, and packed with stunning artwork. Easy to learn, endlessly replayable, and designed for those who crave the perfect mix of skill and excitement!"

I had a goal: to a single handily create the game entirely from scratch- from concept to creation.

I'm no stranger to creating bigger projects on my own. For example, my How-to-Draw books were solo projects for the most part, other than the occasional check-in with my publisher's editor and graphic designer. Of course, the main benefit of my book projects was not personally needing to worry about sales and marketing. This was something the publisher handled.

However, I soon realised, tackling even a relatively small-scale game like this on my own was not going to be a quick to complete task. In fact, I pretty much went silent on the project for 2 years! I'm sorry for that. I think the whole thing just overwhelmed me, so I put it on the back-burner.

But, I have news! I've been making slow, steady progress over recent months. I'm determined as ever to make the project into a tangible product. It would be a travesty to not get such a fun game out into the world for players to enjoy. Not to mention, I'd feel horrible if having to throw out all the work put in to it thus far.

Latest prototype now completed and game is being tested and enjoyed 🙂

Progress

It took around 7 months before making the previous Development diary #4. Then a further 2 years to get to this one - diary #5. In that time lots of jobs are now completed:

• The Rule book jumped from being on version 2.5 to 3.3. That basically means it's now more or less complete, including an initial interior layout design.
• I printed out a new prototype with upgraded card arts.
• The game has now been play tested dozens of times.
• Character artwork all finished (which was the biggest task, art-wise)
• Promo Flyers were printed and handed out.
• Today I crafted the initial Cover artwork.

Updates are also being posted on the Total Blast Facebook group. If you'd like to follow along there, be my guest 🙂

Total Blast Flyer- this was handed out at shows I'd attended over the last year

Art Development Overview

As I mentioned in my last update, I wanted to add characters into the mix. Initially I thought about using a fun, chibi style like this little knight:  

For some reason, which I can't even remember now, I decided to scrap the cute, chibi style and instead make the characters a little more bad-ass! Characters now included are:  Thief, Ninja (below), Mage, Merchant, Spy, King, Alien. One representing each of the cannon types in the game. Plus, I've included a special, secret one I'll reveal later! Here's a little demo showing how I went from sketch to something a little more refined:

What’s next?

1. I need to figure out how much this game will cost to produce. I will begin gathering a few quotes- both to print here in the UK and in China.
2. I'll also look into fulfilment centres. I want to find out if it's worth getting copies of the game sent straight to foreign countries rather than ship out games from here in England.
3. Create a Box / packaging mock-up.
4. Find ways to promote the game. Ultimately everything will hinge on this! I'd like to order 500-1000 copies manufactured minimum. Yet right now, I've got no more than half a dozen potential customers interested!

I want to be a pro artist!

Many kids grow up reading comics, watching animations and playing video games. At some point in their teen years, they're asked "what do you want to do for a living"?

So, they ask themselves, is there a way for their adult job to involve movies, games or the stories they enjoy? There sure is! - You could be compose music for video games, draw concept art for movies, write comics... The possibilities are endless!

Back in the 80s (when I was born), through to around 2020, a career in art and design seemed to be a tough, yet viable option. So, I went for it. I decided I was going to be an pro artist!

So, I got educated. Then found work.

From my late teens onwards, I spent 5 years in higher education, obtaining various qualifications such as A level in art, an advanced NVQ in Art and Design and a degree in Graphic Media. Back in the late 90s- early 2000s, people around me at the time said these were a necessity in order to get a full-time employed job. Were they right?

I then went on to sample various art-related jobs. I found work as: graphic designer, web designer, fine artist, freelance illustrator, and tattoo artist. I actually got paid to design and create things! Was I living the dream?

Although, as much as I hate to admit it, making a liveable amount of money with my artistic skills was seriously tough! While I did find work (some times), it was by no mean easy to come by, nor lucrative. What's more, it was especially hard to find the type of work I was more passionate about - creating anime inspired art.

I was determined to not only find a series of sporadic low-paying art jobs, but to turn my artistic dreams into a flourishing, sustainable art career. So I persevered.

From Accomplishments to Disaster.

During my artistic journey over the course of my 20s and 30s, I had many victories: I built my own websites from the ground up, I authored several best-selling how-to-draw manga books, a colouring book, created art for games, sold my artwork to hundreds of customers at comic conventions, occasionally receiving VIP guest invites to events to demo or exhibit my art.

I was proud of the things I'd achieved. But still, the flourishing art career eluded me. And after 20 struggling years scraping a living from art, Covid happened in 2020. This was a further blow to my artistic journey by putting the final nail in the coffin to my tattoo business. A venture I'd kept up, part-time at least, for over 10 years.

I decided that instead of tattooing, I'd focus on creating art to sell both online and at offline events. It was perfect timing and it started to work! Sales began increasing for the first few years and it looked like I might finally be on my way to making the artistic dream sustainable. Things were finally looking up.

But then, perhaps, the biggest disaster yet. AI became a thing in 2023. As a primarily digital artist, I could no longer compete with AI image generation algorithms, which could pump out an entire high-end portfolio of artwork in a single afternoon. My sales halved. The next year, they halved again. My predictions for 2025? Sales are likely to half once more!

As of 2025, I'm now in my early 40s and my life as a self-employed artist has gone from difficult to completely unsustainable. My entire work life has always felt like surviving on a sinking ship, frantically throwing out water with a bucket to stay afloat. Rarely having time to enjoy the voyage... But now things got worse- my bucket has a hole and meanwhile this metaphorical ship is caught in a relentless storm!

Where do I go from here?

I spent a long time wondering if I should be honest. Should I publicly admit to these struggles or fake the persona of a highly-successful, in-demand artist? After all, maybe a new client will stop by this website and want to hire me? Therefore, I'd best look busy, in-demand and of high-value! Right?

The truth is, it's been years since a decent, high-paying work enquiry landed in my email inbox via this website. While I've had my own art websites active and online for over 25 years (more than 99.9% of artists), right now this site receives only a handful of visitors each day. Since there's such little interest in what I'm posting here, I guess don't feel like I need to impress anyone anymore.

And while, I know my art is good enough to sell (since it does at live shows), this website's shop isn't particularly active. The occasional item sale every other week is simply not enough to pay the bills. It might 'look bad' to say the website is struggling to seduce customers into buying, but I don't think most potential customers would even read this post, or particularly care whether or not I was some big-name artist or a struggling nobody.

I've seen the internet evolve a lot in recent years. I've realised that, people are now bombarded with so much new content each day, that anything I write here will be forgotten within 24 hours. Sadly, this seems to indicate that I can't sustain a level of notoriety and significance among the changing online landscape, no matter what I post on this website. The good thing, however, is that it means there's now a new level of freedom to say pretty much anything I want. If I want to vent frustrations, be angry at a lack of success or look unprofessional. It's fine. No one cares!

Is Youtube the solution?

At the end of 2024 I decided to post weekly about my current plight on my Youtube channel. Knowing full well that I am horrendous at presenting video content and hate being in front of a camera! Youtube is my last ditch attempt to put out content into the world in attempt to build an audience so that I can continue the artistic journey.

Even though I only update this written blog 2-3 times per year, I much prefer writing to speaking! But, like I say, almost no one is reading this stuff. Alternative social networks like Instagram completely dried up for me too, so I figure I'd better start making videos or otherwise my online presence will completely vanish.

My channel is there to discuss how to / if I can make a living as a fulltime artist moving forward. I've given myself until the end of 2025. If I can't figure out a way to make art pay a living, it'll be an end to a 25 year long journey.

2025 so far had been... difficult.

While I'm still in the swing of venting my frustrations, please let me continue. This year is a disaster! Many back-to back disappointments. I'm going to list them in case anyone else is crazy enough to try making it as an artist in 2025, so that they know what they might be up against!

• I've spent 52 out of 70 days so far ill with not 1, not 2, but 3 separate flus! As a freelancer, this is not good news! Time out recovering means no time to work / earn an income. There is no sick pay, no health care. Or even the option to go to work while unwell, doing the bare minimum and still get paid for the day regardless.

• My laptop kept freezing and eventually wouldn't start. I couldn't work until it was resolved. It took many full days for me to fix. At least that I didn't need to buy any new parts, as initially expecting.

• I applied to sell with the online art gallery/ retailer: 'Art Finder'. - They said no.

• I wrote to a number of illustration agencies to ask for representation. - Most didn't reply. One said no.

• I applied for several full-time related jobs via LinkedIn, e.g. creating game assets for E-Slot and Casino games. I even tried several cold emails to similar companies. - Barely received any rejection replies and no interviews.

• After having built up a few decades of  digital art experience, I thought I'd try offering Photoshop Art Tuition to students via crowd sourcing. Even with the first lesson given for free! - No enquiries.

Art Grants

I discovered a potential opportunity- Art grants. Arts council England offers up to £12,000 to level up your art business. This was just what I needed!

I literally spent days crafting the perfect application, detailing all the things I would do to help get myself overcome my current predicament; coaching, building a new website, creating a new selection of works, market research etc. I waited. Months later, I received a reply. "No". Since I had a chance to apply one more time, I tried again. I studied previous successful applications and adapted mine to fit, I went through my entire application form with a fine-tooth comb making sure it was spotless- that I put forward a compelling case, that every penny I asked for would be accounted for and worthwhile, tangible deliverables would be ready to show after finishing my levelling-up process.

"Someone has to get the grant, so why not me?", I thought. Again, the answer was "No". I was disappointed and confused.

I did all I could to put my best foot forward. It wasn't enough. Instead grant funding was given to projects such as "Research Trip to Nashville to explore Queer Country Music", "Exploring Alexithymia as an Autistic Arab Writer" and "LGBTQI+ Zimbabwe portraiture"!

You know what I learned? 20 years of struggling to make it as an artist, 20 years of practicing my craft and sacrificing a stable lifestyle without ever asking anything from anyone, until now. And then I'm basically told, "Fuck off you're not woke enough to be an artist"!

Winning Awards

On a positive not, I am now officially the 2024 UK Manga artist of the year!

It's true. But, to be honest, it's not really positive - it's more like a scam.

"Lux life magazine" contacted me to tell me I'd been first, shortlisted, and then second, that I'd won a so-called 'prestigious artist award'. I was now UK Manga Artist of the year. Apparently!

They then they wanted my money to make it 'official'!

I learned that, basically, it was one of these 'pay-for status' awards whereby some random entity sets itself up, puts on an awards event then charges people to be a part of it! On this occasion, I was curious to find out if I could still receive an award before the hard-sell was inevitably introduced.

While I did receive an award, I wasn't featured in their newsletter or whatever. And you know what? I don't care. No one cares. No one in the history of humanity has ever gone to a luxury lifestyle magazine to find out which UK manga artist is worth paying attention to this year! And ironically, I've only ever produced about 6 pages of manga (comics) in my life! None in 2024.

As I mentioned in my last blog post, it's hard to know what to do next. Both in terms of, "what to draw" and how to make a living from the only thing I know- producing art. So, in the meantime, I'm working on my personal project to create Total Blast- my 2 Player head-to-head card game. Both that and YouTube are how I'll be investing my life this year.

It's all about promotion. Can I promote my game? My art? Me as an artist with a set of unique experiences and back-story? Time will tell.

The 'Choosing what to create' dilemma

You want to make something. You sit there in front of an empty canvas, a blank sheet of paper, or digital file. What do you put on it?

There's an infinite amount of potential colour or line combinations you could create. And even if you have something in mind, like a drawing of your pet, there's endless styles, perspectives, and ways of taking on the task. Making the perfect choice and taking the most correct path is impossible. There is no correct path.

It seems like you have three choices:

1. Wait patiently for your internal muse to inspire you.
2. Start doing something immediately and hope for the best.
3. Get overwhelmed at your limitless ideas and possible directions to go in, subsequently having a complete meltdown.

I tend to do a combination of all three! Although I wouldn't consider them much of a choice. Sometimes it just depends where you're starting from. For example, if you're in the habit of focusing and creating on a daily basis, starting on the next thing isn't going to be as taxing compared to when you've had a long break away from it. Getting back into the habit to begin with is often half the battle. Knowing the general direction you want to head in also helps.

But what happens when the muse has left you, the goal is unclear, and overwhelm is kicking in?

Right now, I'm at a point where I don't know what to do for the best. Both so far as knowing what type of art to create, and also what steps to take in order to survive financially.

I'm supposed to be a professional, yet I'm stuck

Over the years, I've created thousands of artworks, graphics, and illustrations. Identifying as an artist is a huge part of who I am. Therefore, shouldn't it be easy to know what to do next?

This year I've begun feeling like "I'm done." Or that "I just don't know what else to do."

When it comes to ability, there's always room for improvement. I'm nowhere near the level of skill or talent I'd wish for. No artist ever is. But I feel like I've somewhat plateaued. Reached my limit. Peaked. Or perhaps gone as far as I am willing?

When I was a kid, I used to love 80s and 90s video and game box art like the ones above. I'd often draw my own sci-fi and fantasy characters based on this kind of stuff. It was great! Even though I was a million miles away, skill-wise, it didn't matter. I used to wonder, "Maybe one day I'll be pro and good enough to create box art for games like this?"

I'm sure creating art for relatively unknown B-movies and obscure games back then wasn't a glamorous job or particularly lucrative. No doubt I would have been better off training to become a doctor or something. I didn't know. I didn't care. If I could just create artwork on the same level, I would have achieved my life's dream!

Fast forward to 2024, and I'm now at a point in my life where I look at these and think, "I could actually do that!" Although the first cover in particular (Mirai Ninja) is still pretty badass!

Granted, the bar for this genre of art has risen massively over recent decades. I often see a million other pros out there producing next-level, mind-blowing images. But the goal was never to be the greatest of all time. I just wanted to feel like my artwork was on par with the box art I used to admire all those years ago. Now I do. See examples below. Considering where I started, the personal obstacles I've had to overcome, and my lack of genuine talent, I'm seriously proud of what I've managed to achieve.

I've reached the goal. More or less. Although imposter syndrome kicks in often and I start to doubt myself. Am I actually any good? Was it all just luck? I still don't really know what I'm doing!

So why am I concerned, frustrated, confused, and lacking direction? It must be because I've finally reached a huge milestone in my life, and yet at the same time, surviving as an artist got harder!

Let me explain my current situation

There are a million different art styles I've fallen in love with over the years, but for the most part I ended up going down the comic and anime route. Particularly, recent years were spent concentrating on anime fan art to sell as prints at comic conventions and online. It took a few attempts to get right, but eventually people started buying my work. It was awesome. I'd gone from producing How-To-Draw Manga books, which required hundreds of drawings, thousands of lines of text and several months of my time, to making single art prints, which sold at a similar price point to a book. And despite young talent rising all the time, I could still compete as a now 'old-skool' artist in his 40s.

Then it went bad. Even though my skills and product range are better than ever, selling art has become much, much harder. Due to increased competition, the rise of AI, and soaring living costs, I've seen my sales decrease by 70% in recent years. Paying bills and making a modest living solely from art has become difficult, to say the least!

I could continue to push out a new fan art piece every so often, but there's no way adding more of the same would get sales back up by 70% or beyond. Even if I were to double my output.

How should an artist spend their time?

To reiterate the title of this post, what the hell are artists supposed to do? What is the best way to invest our time? What should we be creating? How much time should we devote to the different aspects of our business, i.e. making, sourcing materials, promotion, and so on?

We live in an age where the answers to these questions are never far away. Ask Google or Youtube "how to be a professional artist" or "how to run an art business," and you'll find plenty of advice. But will that advice help YOU? The trouble with advice is that it's either middle-of-the-road general statements that anyone with an average IQ could have worked out for themselves, or it's specific to the advice giver's very particular situation.

What I personally want to know is, where do I, Ben Krefta, go from here? Given the fact I've done a load of stuff and lived on this earth for over four decades, what should my next move be?

I tried some things

They said to create a website. So, I invested several months learning graphic design and how to code and made a site. I then worked as a web designer for a number of years before making myself a new one.

They said get on social media, so I got on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter/X, Pinterest, Tumblr, Deviant Art, Art Station, Cara, Youtube, and TikTok. Missed SnapChat, but that's fine with me! When a following didn't present itself, they said to post consistently and engage with your followers. So I did, for years. I posted thousands of times and responded to thousands of posts and comments.

They said sell your products online. So I created Etsy stores, Amazon stores, an eBay shop, and a WooCommerce store on my own website. I also added several thousand products to print-on-demand sites like Zazzle, Society6, Displate, and Spreadshirt. (Check out my DesignbyHumans article for more about this.)

They said get offline and exhibit at comic conventions. By the end of this year, I would have attended 42 of them.

Despite doing what was expected of me, there was never a time where I felt successful. Where I had the opportunity to spend my work time doing the jobs I wanted, or earning enough money to keep a roof over my head and pay the bills. The inevitable consequence of that is to feel cheated, like a failure, that something went wrong. Maybe I was too dumb to notice my shortcomings? Maybe the world is against me!

I may not feel successful as a person overall, but I appreciate the fact I've had successes with the endeavours listed above. Without my first website, I would have never landed my first, albeit low-paying book project. Without setting up the stores, I wouldn't have sold over 5000 art prints or print-on-demand products. Increasing my follower count to 50K across my various socials probably even helped validate my application to comic cons and events.

What next

I am still learning what the hell I'm supposed to do. Although at this point in my career, I'd hope to continue pursuing selling my art in some capacity, as opposed to taking on work for hire.

Right now, this means needing to sell hundreds of prints every month in order to pay the bills. Yet anime fan art, at least in the style or to the standard I've been producing, no longer sells. Continuing to do the things I've been doing up until now simply isn't working...

I ask myself, "Why create another fan art to sell, if virtually no one cares? Why invest work hours into maintaining a website or social media presence if it can't generate a living?" Sure, there's nothing wrong with making art or posting online as a hobby, but this isn't a hobby for me. My hobbies are rock climbing and video games. Art is one of the only 'practical' skills I have, so I'm desperate to find a way to make the most of it and provide value to the world.

I'm trying to work out if the things I've attempted just need tweaking and improving, or if a new direction is necessary.

It seems clear that the content (the images I'm producing) or products (e.g. prints and t-shirts) I'm offering aren't quite hitting the mark. People still buy my artwork at events, or online, and I'm fairly certain there are future customers out there who'd love to get their hands on the things I'm producing. If only I could get their eyeballs on my art. Although, for the most part, the product range and certainly the content needs a fairly drastic change.

As for the promotional side of things, I'll need to try a new approach also. Social media posting, blogging, vlogging, or running ads like I have been isn't effective when it comes to selling. The competition is relentlessly grabbing attention with click bait, catchy hooks, psychological manipulation, or finding new ways to exploit a platform's algorithm. Meanwhile, half my posts are just 'me showing a thing I did'! I'm coming to terms with the fact that a pretty illustration or artwork is just an AI image prompt away. And so, now you need to combine the presentation of artwork with entertainment, education, or human connection.

This might all sound obvious, but I grew up believing in the "Build it and they will come" philosophy. I thought if I could just draw 'Rotox' (see image above), I'd be set for life! Perhaps if you or the thing you do is phenomenal, that philosophy still holds true. For the rest of us, it seems we need to work a little harder. And smarter. I've arrived a little late to the party, and there's a lot of catching up to do.

From here, I'll start figuring out how much time to devote to creating new projects and products and then learn how best to promote them. I'll update in future posts, so stay tuned.

Artist says goodbye to digital art

To be honest, when I first began my artistic journey, I was scared of traditional media. As a kid, I'd grown up using pencils and paper, but the thought of adding colour with ink or paint terrified me. What if I made a mistake? Unlike my go-to Photoshop App, there's no Undo button!

Strangely enough, the cure to my fears was to learn how to tattoo. I spent over a decade tattooing on a part-time basis. I then realised once you've tattooed another human, or in my case hundreds, making mistakes on paper becomes a trivial concern. 

While I have no plans to give up digital art, I'm pleased to be able to add traditional media options to my artistic skill set.

Art sold, and new art for sale

I first began taking private art commissions over 20 years ago. The most common request was to draw people's family members or pets in anime style. After a while, it felt like I strayed away from working on the kinds of images that made me want to pursue art in the first place. I then began putting out artwork I had a genuine interest in. Anime, game, tattoo or comic book related. Be it original character creations or fan art.

It worked! Everything I've put out as art prints has gone on to sell at least once. And hundreds of times in some cases.

Admittedly, some of my art didn't hit the mark. To this day, there's certain artworks I've created which I love, yet they don't get the appreciation that other pieces in my store do. As an artist it can be hard to know what will resonate with your audience. But I still believe that, working on what I want seems to be the best way to ensure my enthusiasm and achieving the best results I can.

It paid off recently when a buyer here in the UK bought the marker-coloured artwork above. Many thanks. She's Akio - a skilled female space pilot, who had dedicated her life to protecting humanity from any threats that might endanger it. Her final mission was to take on an invading alien race, which had been slowly but surely making its way towards Earth, leaving destruction in its wake. 

It seemed wise to add several other new pieces to my online store. These included:

Nyx

Once a child from the darkest depths of a sprawling, dystopian city, she was moulded into a lethal weapon by a shadowy organization that exploited orphans. Now a rogue operative, she navigates the underbelly of a corrupt, high-tech world, using her skills to dismantle the power structures that created her, leaving a legacy written in blood and shadows…

I wanted to go full-colour with this one. Neon pink light and neon green accents give it vibrance.  An anime character who's fun, confident and a little devious, stood against the death and destruction of her past.

Skull Astronaut

In the vast expanse of space, an astronaut’s final journey met an untimely end, the body drifting endlessly among the stars…

This one is more stark and monochrome, although the skull has a warm grey tint. I went on the make a more affordable art print version which has a more ominous red tint. I'd polled around 50 people which version they liked better and the results were split down the middle between this version and the red visor alternative. Although I will only ever be selling this monochrome version as a one-off original.

Blood Fingers

In the depths of a dystopian future, where humanity teeters on the edge of extinction, there exists the myth of the Cyborg Reaper…

Monochrome, but with a hint of red. An girl with a dark past. Why robotic hands? Why the blood? I like these suggested narrative hints of her past.

Neon Orange Hikari

In the sprawling neon-lit underbelly of the cyberpunk metropolis, Hikari carves out her existence as a skilled mechanic and scavenger. Clad in armour that melds practicality with rugged style, she bears the weight of survival on her shoulders. Literally! Her neon orange-red eyes, burn with intensity hinting at her deep-seated resilience and fierce determination...

Warm and cool grey used on the character with a neon orange backdrop accent. While I love full-colour, vibrant art, I feel keeping the pallet super limited i.e. black white and grey + 1 accent colour looks awesome. It's also for sale, but would love to hang on to this one and will be sad to see it go. 

Where to buy?

These new pieces all aim to blend subtle storytelling with vibrant or high contrasting tones, each piece reflecting a unique narrative or emotion. Crafted for fellow anime, game and sci-fi fans, using high-quality ink and materials to ensure vibrant, lasting colour.

If you would like to own one, they can be purchased directly via this website's store while available. All artwork is sent securely and insured with trackable shipping. The art is/will be signed in the bottom corner.

I always think, owning original artwork isn't just about decorating your space; it's about connecting with the artist's vision and bringing a piece of their creativity into your own life. Having met hundreds of other artists from various walks of life, I appreciate not everyone will resonate with my style or aesthetic taste. Although I also know there will be a small selection of people who view my art and will say, "that's awesome!" - this artwork is created for them.

Your support means the world to me and helps fuel my creative journey.

Another Housekeeping post

Can I tell you a secret? There's artwork in my portfolio from 20 years ago. Characters I'd drawn in 2004!

My gallery deserved another tidy. I still like a lot of my older artwork, despite the fact that it might not quite represent my current capabilities. So, should I remove older artworks to make room for something new? Or re-work older images in an attempt to level them up a notch? I began making a few minor improvements to an older character art. An hour later, I realised it would probably be better to simply redraw it from scratch. And in that case, I might as well just start something entirely new instead!

Originally, I'd considered removing a dozen images from the site, but in the end, I just reworked the Orange Masked Girl below, adding extra splatter effects to make it a little more interesting. It's more full-on Chicano graffiti style now. This was originally one of six masked girls I created 10 years ago, in 2016. Time flies.

Frieren

I also uploaded a new artwork I'd created of Frieren. 

Frieren is an immortal elf from the anime / manga series "Frieren: Beyond Journey's End." A Dungeons and Dragons style JRPG tale. She travels through various lands, accompanied by her companions, in search of bettering her magical abilities, such as casting spells that turn the ground into a field of flowers. Through her encounters with others and the challenges she faces, Frieren's character explores themes of resilience, companionship, and the passage of time. Her journey serves as a reflection on the nature of immortality and the complexities of existence.

Frieren Step by Step

Here's a stage-by-stage process of how she came together. Sketch - > Cleaned, Ink lines - > Flat Tones and Shadow - Rendering and Background. 

The final stage was to adjust colours and swap out the background for something a little more harmonious.

Lastly, a couple of close up shots...

The Frieren anime series shot up to the number 1 spot in the all-time best ever anime charts. It was good. Good enough for me to rate it a solid 7 out of 10, and to create fan art too. Although it's not quite able to compete with other anime I'd seen recently such as Dr Stone, Made in Abyss and Heavenly Delusion. I'm now feeling the need to create something less pretty and a little more bad-ass! Do you have any favourite characters from anime, games or films? An idea which might look cool? If you have any suggestions, let me know 🙂

Life of an artist in 2024

It's been a while since I regularly sat down with the intention to create new artwork. Strange, considering the fact that I present myself as a professional artist. Although being a modern day commercial artist means not only creating art, but also doing all the jobs surrounding the sale of the art. This includes: initial market research to help decide what might be popular with customers; promoting art via social media and other channels; creating sales pages online for each product; attending shows and events to connect with customers back in the real world; or packing, posting, and resolving issues with online orders.

Basically the business of selling art takes up so much time that creating art becomes secondary. This doesn't seem right. People don't become artists because they like selling and performing admin jobs. Most artists create art because they have ideas they want to express or to share their own aesthetic sense with the world.

Who values the artist?

The trouble is, the world doesn't properly acknowledge and reward creative types. When a best selling book is written, the publisher earns more than the author. When a chart-topping song is released, the record label takes the lion share. When art is sold in a gallery, typically the gallery takes a 50% commission, yet the artist pays for the materials used to make the piece. When a collaboration between talented writers, musicians, and artists creates a box-office smash movie, it's the producers and studios that cash in. Am I wrong in thinking people with money make money by exploiting others' creativity? Do movie studio shareholders care where the money comes from? Or about the comparatively starving artists paid an insignificant sum to generate them a huge pay day? Does anyone care?

It's true that there are creatives who made big bucks. Michael Jackson, Pablo Picasso, and Agatha Christie are listed as all-time best sellers in their respective fields. Each generating hundreds of millions of dollars. And many creatives alive today are comfortably living off of their artistic endeavours. Although I'm not sure people realise that for every success story, there are thousands who tried and failed through no fault of their own. I've personally met hundreds of them.

Why am I mentioning this? Because I hate injustice. Why become an artist and spend years devoting one's life to a creative pursuit, perhaps sacrificing luxuries or even basic needs? It would make far more financial sense to pursue a job requiring far less skill and time investment. Of course, if you're creatively inclined, money isn't the goal. But if artists weren't undervalued and could at least pay the bills, that would be great. And in my case, I'd love to be able to afford paying a team to run the admin side of my creative enterprise, allowing me time to do the job I signed up for. Perhaps I'll get there eventually?

I don't want to sound bitter. Instead, I hope to raise awareness about the plight of the many skilled artist friends I have who bring beautiful creations into the world yet aren't adequately compensated. Also, I'm a realist who thinks it's useful to make a counterpoint to the typical go-getter 'you can do it' advice other successful artists will espouse. Sure, that's what people want to hear. It's optimistic and inspiring, but naive. Making a living from one's artistic endeavours is tough, and for some, it will be an impossibility. Let's not pretend otherwise. 

With that said, I am an artist, so I need to create things. I have 🙂

Three things I've been working on:

For the most part, I've been thinking about anime fan art. I'll be attending a few upcoming comic conventions and wanted to offer up some relevant character art. I thought it would be cool to show a few progress shots, going from the mid-way point to the final, finished article.

Here's Senku from 'Dr Stone'. It's one of the greatest shonen manga / anime series ever made. Also it was originally drawn by artist Boichi, who's got perhaps the most bad-ass style in all of manga. My typical workflow starts with sketch, which I then ink to replace the sketchy drawing with smooth, neat outlines. These are filled with flat colours. Then I indicate where the shading will go with a darker tone, which gives it an animation cel look. I could leave it there but I always want to add smooth rendering to really make things pop!

Here's Gon and Killua from 'Hunter x Hunter'. As with Dr Stone, Hunter Hunter is top-tier shonen anime/manga. And I'm not the only fan- did you know the original author of Hunter x Hunter Yoshihiro Togashi gained over a million followers on X the day he opened an account! Often the term "fan art" is simply used to refer to art created by other artists of existing characters. The "fan" part isn't always true of some artists, but I truly am a huge HxH fan, so was happy to pay tribute to such a masterfully created story.

Nami from probably the most popular anime series to date, One piece. After having watched 1100 episodes (yes, a crazy amount), I thought it was about time I created another One Piece artwork after Zoro. I tried to incorporate Eiichiro Oda's style, and at the mid way point I was concerned with it. Maybe it just needed more purple (my favourite colour)? 😁 I continued refining the shading regardless and am now happy with it.

When I was a kid I loved air brush art. Maybe it was something to do with being an 80s baby? All the book covers and video game covers I loved back in the day had that smooth blended 80s airbrush look. When I found out you could recreate it using Photoshop back in the late 90s, it became my go-to art style of choice. Even when I experiment with different line styles, or face styles, I think the smooth, gradients and blends at the rendering stage help tie my digital portfolio together.

What is Berserk?

Berserk, crafted by the late Kentaro Miura, is a masterpiece manga that plunges readers into a nightmarish medieval-inspired world. At its heart is Guts, the "Black Swordsman," a lone mercenary marked by trauma and tragedy. Miura's storytelling delves into the complexities of human emotion, portraying guts as a deeply scarred individual navigating a brutal and fantastical realm filled with supernatural horrors and human malice.

Guts’ journey, from his mercenary days in the Band of the Hawk to the traumatic Eclipse event, unfolds against the backdrop of a world teetering on the edge of despair. Miura weaves a narrative that transcends typical fantasy boundaries, exploring themes of destiny, friendship, and the pursuit of identity. Guts’ relationships with characters like Griffith and Casca add layers of nuance to the story, revealing the fragility of human connections amidst overwhelming adversity.

Berserk's world is a character in itself—a grotesque and captivating backdrop mirroring the psychological and physical struggles of its inhabitants. From towering apostles to the ethereal realm of the God Hand.

Berserk's success lies not only in its evocative art but also in Miura's ability to elevate manga storytelling. The series is a visceral journey through the darkest aspects of the human soul, challenging readers to confront the brutality of existence and the indomitable will to persist in the face of insurmountable odds.

It's more than a manga; it is a literary and artistic masterpiece. A legacy which endures through Guts’ epic saga.

Ben Krefta is on a journey to becoming an artist worthy of creating a Berserk fan art tribute

Berserk left a lasting impact on Ben, inspiring his creative journey and leading him to eventually create this artwork. His artistic growth mirrors Guts' relentless spirit, a character known for his resilience in the face of tough challenges.

Decades ago, when Ben first got into the dark world of Berserk, he was hooked on Kentaro Miura's storytelling. But back then, Ben admits he wasn't skilled enough to capture the depth of Guts' character. In fact he could barely draw at all! Despite many frustrations, his determination to continually improve, led to years of practice and honing his skills. Deciding to document his progress, Ben created these progress images and time-lapse video below showcasing the stages of shading and rendering. This wasn't just about the final artwork; it was a nod to the countless hours spent perfecting his craft, a visual journey paralleling Guts' struggles in the pages of Berserk.

Initial Line Art

Planning Colours

Main Shading and Rendering Complete

A few final notes before completion

The Video

The time-lapse video below reveals the evolution from an initial sketch fully rendered finished art. Ben uses Photoshop with his trusty Wacom graphics tablet to add colour, depth and texture to Guts' worn appearance. Each shading layer is a deliberate choice, using his signature comic book airbrush style to add contrast and vibrance into the artwork. The video captures the gradual refinement of details and subtle nuances breathing life into the two-dimensional drawing. It's not just a showcase of technique; it's a visual narrative echoing the arduous journey of artist and character.

Ben hopes that sharing the creative process, the struggles, and triumphs of Ben's artistic journey will inspire others, in the same way Guts and Berserk did to him. The final stages of rendering mark a personal triumph. The last brushstroke isn't just about completing an artwork; it's overcoming self-doubt and creative hurdles.

I'm doing another tidy-up of my gallery

It's never an easy task deciding which artworks stay and which ones leave the gallery. There's usually at least one thing I still like about every image I've created.

When I was younger, I guess it's fair to say I had a small degree of aptitude when it came to art creation, but I've never been a naturally gifted genius. Creating each piece meant relying on a lot of grit, determination and trial and error over time to get artwork to a level where I was happy with the result. And therefore, removing any image from the gallery, effectively letting it die, always feels like a difficult job.

But with each passing year, my art gets a tiny bit better. I can see minor inconsistencies or errors with early work which bug me. And I ask myself, why am I presenting this as a representation of my capabilities?

Bye Bye Witch

Firstly- I created this anime witch art in September 2003 - 20 years ago! I'm amazed it stood the test of time, while many other artworks of that era had since been removed from my galleries. The face could use some tweaking and the background needs some work. There's a few other bits I'd alter to bring it up a notch. Having said that, I still like 85% of it. I'm going to keep it available for sale as a print, at least for now.

Goodbye to Cigar Girl

Cigar Girl - a Chicano / tattoo themed character I made up in 2009. 14 years ago. At the time I wanted to become a tattoo artist. As an exercise, I'd check portfolios from local tattoo shops and try to re-create their tattoos while attempting to improve them [see photo]. In the end, I went to the shop this tattoo came from, showed them my portfolio and and asked for an apprenticeship. They liked my work, but didn't give me an apprenticeship. I ended up teaching myself to tattoo. A job I held part-time for around 12 years.

See ya Skull and Snake

Skull and Snake – Again, this was a case of taking someone else’s art and attempting to improve it. The amazing thing about this one was the fact the original was created and drawn by an A-Level Art teacher [see egg-snake image]. Over the decades I’ve also attempted to land a job an an Art Tutor in a school or Lecturer at an art university. Other than a few short spells of 1-1 teaching and a one-off 2 hour Uni lecture whilst freelancing, I never managed to land a full or even part-time position. To be honest, I never understood how egg-snake man made it and I couldn't? For now I will have to impart my teachings through my How to Draw Manga book. This Skull and Snake artwork will, for the time being, stay available to buy as a print.

Goodbye to: Neon Pink Streak Portrait and Sci-Fi Sunset

Neon Steak Portrait  - It was an experiment, using some digital textured media brushes. Normally my work is all smooth and airbrushed, so wanted to try out creating something more raw, textured and graffiti-like. It was quick to produce compared to typical art I make. It's a bit sketchy and think it shows. It was fun trying out a different style. Buy the A3 Print here.

Sci-Fi Sunset - Similarly, using textured brushes, I wanted to create something a little more painterly than my usual smooth, rendered blends. I like the colour scheme, so perhaps I can use the orange and purple again some day in a different, new and more polished artwork? Buy the A3 Print here.

Hello to: Geisha, War Memorial, Junko, DnD Girl, Zoro and Guts

I'm replacing the above artwork with 4 new pieces created within the last 12 months. I'd like to, at some point, present a closer look at each of these with their own blog post. For now, they've been uploaded into the gallery as stand-alone images. That now makes 45 portfolio pieces. Let me know what you think of these.