Meet Kaela Croft | Licensed Star Wars Artist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Kaela Croft and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Kaela, why did you pursue a creative career?
From a very early age I was always drawing and as I got closer to graduating high school I started making money doing personal artwork for clients over the internet. I realized that I might have a shot at turning my passion into a career. I found joy in taking clients visions and brining them to life. Some people don’t have the ability or the time to draw, but they have these characters in their head that they want to see come to life.

It’s a service I’m always happy to provide. However I wanted to do more with my artwork. After meeting so many of these great artists from pop culture conventions, hearing their stories and all these big companies they’ve done work for I decided to set a larger goal for myself. Star Wars is something I’m passionate about and wanted to one day show my artwork next to so many artists I look up to. I wanted to be an official Star Wars artist.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
Most of my artwork is done digitally in Photoshop. Occasionally I’ll draw on paper, but I like the ease of digital art nowadays. I enjoy clean, eye catching, semi-realism in my artwork which consists of Star Wars, elves, and my own original characters.

My serious journey started in 2010 at Star Wars Celebration V where I had my first portfolio review with Lucasfilm. I remember being so nervous and worried they would tell me I wasn’t what they were looking for, actually, they said quite the opposite. They loved my outfit and character designs, saying that is where I would shine. The hardest part was finding someone who had one of the Lucasfilm license, be it Star Wars, or something else. I just wanted my foot in the door.

I was introduced to Topps trading cards where I would go on to be a sketch card artist for 5 years working on so many sets I can’t even count. I did works for Star Wars, The Walking Dead, Warcraft, and Stranger Things.

I had made it, I was not a Star Wars artist, officially. There’s always room for improvement right? Well I wanted to go further and do large pieces of artwork, so I began applying for Star Wars Celebration’s (SWC) Art Show, the same place I met all my idol artist. In 2016 I was accepted into my first show SWC London. My mind was blown and I could not believe I was actually going, I made it. I still remember being so nervous vending next to some of the biggest Lucasfilm artists. So far I’ve then shown at SWC in 2019 and 2022 after that.

Going from being the small time artist I was back in 2010 in awe at all these big time artist to being one of them still blows my mind. I’ve made so many friends in this journey, watching them follow the same path and I could not be more proud of all of us. It’s cliche, but don’t give up or ever think you can’t, because if you want it, and you’re not afraid to fail, you’ll make it eventually.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I have actually done this for my best friend Erin. We took a drive through Guenella Pass, where we detoured for a bit of off roading on Argentine Pass, I would recommend 4×4 vehicles with decent clearance though. There’s loads of cool views and some mining buildings to visit on the trail too. Once we make it down to Georgetown there are plenty of places to eat but Cooper’s on the Creek is my favorite place.

Another fun mountain place to visit is Bishops Castle. It’s become quite popular over the years but it is very much worth the trip! Just go, I promise you won’t be disappointed.

Closer to the Denver side of things coffee at Enchanted Grounds (Littleton location) is my go to place for a chill place to draw and play some DnD if you’re into that. For lunch you can go wrong with Iwayama Sushi, tasty bites from Hawaii. Dinner and drinks would be at Breckenridge Brewery (Littleton location) , besides being a fan of their beer, they also have good food at their restaurant. The tour was also one of my favorites out of my many beer tours I’ve gone on.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I doubt he’ll remember me, but Troy Alders who did my portfolio review at Star Wars Celebration V, you and other members of the review gave me the best advice to keep bettering my artwork and ultimately set me on my past to be a Star Wars artist.

Website: https://www.artstation.com/kaelacroftart

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kaelacroftart/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kaelacroftart

Other: Drinking and Painting Events: https://www.paintnite.com/event-owners/kaela-croft/