“Give It Your All, No Regrets”: Ben Krefta on the Artist’s Journey

I came across Ben Krefta when one of his YouTube videos showed up in my recommendations, and the things he talked about really hit home. He spoke honestly about the emotional side of being an artist, especially the frustration of putting in so much effort and still feeling invisible online.

After checking out his art (which is amazing, by the way), I was honestly surprised that he, too, struggles with reach and figuring out the right path forward. It reminded me that no matter how talented or experienced you are, these challenges can affect anyone.

I decided to ask if he’d be open to a little interview, hoping his perspective could offer some encouragement to other artists feeling stuck or unseen.

Who is Ben Krefta?

Ben Krefta is a UK-based freelance designer and illustrator who’s been working professionally since 2001. While he’s best known for his anime-style artwork, Ben’s creative skillset goes way beyond just drawing. He’s worked across several disciplines, from digital illustration and graphic design to tattooing and web design. Over the years, he’s taught high-level Photoshop techniques and taken on all kinds of creative projects, always with an eye for detail and a drive for quality.

Born in Kent in 1982, Ben grew up with a love for cartoons, comic books, and video games. He was especially drawn to the bold and exciting artwork he saw in Marvel comics, gaming magazines, and box art. As a kid, he’d spend hours copying characters and inventing his own designs, from robots to weird monsters. Even though he didn’t always have friends who shared his passion, drawing remained a big part of his life and eventually became a career spanning over two decades.

Find Ben Krefta:

Interview with Ben Krefta

Ben Krefta has been making manga-style art for over 20 years. Like many artists, he’s trying to find his way in a world where it’s hard to get noticed and easy to burn out. In this interview, he talks about what keeps him going, how he deals with the ups and downs, and what it’s really like to keep creating when things feel uncertain.

▆ What’s something you wish more artists knew about sharing their work online?

Mange expectations. Log into any social media and it seems like everyone is posting their art and receiving likes, comments and engagement. The reality is, only a relatively small percentage of artists will get the opportunity to have large followings and you don’t get to see the thousands of artists who try but don’t quite make it. For the vast majority, building a following takes a long time, and / or a considerable amount of effort. A little luck helps too! 

It’s certainly possible to build up a following, and you might get a quick, lucky break, but be prepared to post consistently over long periods (several months or even years), and then simultaneously, consider a way to stand out, but without selling out and giving up your integrity as an artist.

▆ Can you share a moment where you felt especially discouraged — and what helped you keep going?

I work semi-professionally and am still on a journey to make art my full-time career, so every day that I’ve not reached the goal can feel a little discouraging. However, I take some solace in simply coming to terms with the reality that pursuing an art career is objectively hard, and that anything worth having wouldn’t be easy to achieve. Concentrating too much on the social media part of running an art business can also feel discouraging. Breaking up the week or month with tasks other than attending to social media keeps me sane!

▆ Do you think it’s still “worth it” for artists to build an audience through social media or blogs these days?

Every individual needs to come to their own conclusions. Maybe they enjoy posting to social media or are already getting what they want from it? Or maybe they have found a way to have success through other communities, or off-line show, events and IRL connections. All I want to do is discuss my own personal experiences and hope that other artists can use that asa data point to help them make up their own mind.

▆ What would you say to someone who’s posting regularly but feels like no one is noticing their work?

I’d suggest running little experiments. Post something educational, entertaining, informative, personal, motivational, honest. See if there is a type that gains more interest than others. If nothing is working, learn how to make better content. This is going to take some time, but the idea is to improve the quality of your art, how you write strong descriptions/posts or titles which grab attention.

▆ Has your view on success as an artist changed over time?

Definitely. When you first decide to become an professional artist, there’s a lot of hope and optimism, like with any new venture. For me, I thought, I just need one big job, one killer piece of art, one fancy looking website to show it off or one viral social media post and I’d be set for life! But I’ve learned that difficult things, like an art career, take a long time can take a long time to build. A few years if you’re lucky. Decades if you’re not. The journey has its ups and downs but if you give it your all, you’ll have no regrets, even in the event things don’t pan out as expected.

If the algorithm gods gave you one wish, what would you want them to do for your content?

I don’t want millions of views. I want people who genuinely like what I’m doing to know that I exist and have something worth paying attention to. If the gods are listening- either throw my content out to a large enough crowd to see what sticks, or suggest it to like-minded people who’ll see value in my stuff to a point where they’d be more than happy to pay for it!

Final Words from Mari

I’d like to thank Ben for taking the time out of his busy schedule to share his thoughts with me. I hope both new and experienced artists find comfort and inspiration in his honest and encouraging words.