How Crystal Ninja Scaled Her Sparkle Empire with AI-Powered Teaching
# Community Spotlight
# Hyper Realistic Avatar
Meet the artist blending rhinestones and AI video to run a thriving creative business
Audrey Van Zee
Kellie DeFries
Kellie DeFries, the creative powerhouse behind Crystal Ninja, has been dazzling the world through her business for 20 years. From celebrity commissions to a sparkle expo cruise, Kellie has built an empire of sparkle, one crystal at a time. Behind the shimmer is a savvy, tech-forward business owner who’s embraced HeyGen and AI tools to scale her vision, teach her VIP Rhinestone Artist community, and streamline creative chaos.
From sparkle queen to AI powerhouse
Based in San Diego, Kellie is the inventor of the Crystal Katana tool and leads a retail storefront, an e-commerce site, and a thriving online VIP education hub. Her VIP program offers three tiers—from beginner to pro—equipping students with monthly kits, training, and even certification. But it’s her embrace of AI, particularly HeyGen, that’s transforming how she reaches and teaches her audience.
“I don’t want to put on makeup every day to film lessons,” she says. “I use HeyGen to teach licensing, onboarding, and creative content without getting camera-ready.”
Kellie’s avatar videos made with HeyGen welcome new VIPs, explain membership benefits, and even deliver full-length lectures. All powered by avatars that look just like her, pink hair and all.
Streamlining content creation
Before HeyGen, video creation was a full production: scripts, lighting, multiple takes. Now, Kellie drafts a script with ChatGPT, runs it through HeyGen, and layers her signature sparkle in CapCut.
“HeyGen saves me hours,” she shares. “Instead of reshooting or editing myself 10 times, I type what I want, and the video says exactly that.”
She uses HeyGen’s Avatar IV photo to video tool or hyper-realistic video avatar with voice mirroring and embeds her mini-avatar into the corner of her B-roll clips for product spotlights, VIP updates, and social posts.
Building tools and teaching other artists
Kellie’s not stopping with video. She’s building custom apps with tools like Replit, Make.com, and V0 to help answer frequent questions like calculating rhinestone counts and recommending the right adhesives. And soon, she’ll automate HeyGen personalized videos with those tools, too.
“I’m building all this not just for me, but to help other artists,” she says. “They’re overwhelmed with shipping, designing, and now content? I want to give them back time.”
She’s already released an “Intro to AI” course inside her VIP program, and long-term, she’s aiming to provide more support for creatives to integrate AI into their workflows.
Community connection
Kellie got connected to the HeyGen community at the first meetup in Los Angeles in November 2024. Now, she’s part of the San Diego HeyGen community where local users meet in person to share tips and learn together.
Crystal clear results
Whether she’s working on a custom commission or creating a digital walkthrough for her VIPs, Kellie is proof that creative grit plus AI tools equals unstoppable growth.
She’s teaching, scaling, and sparkling without compromising her artistic soul.
“AI can’t glue a crystal yet,” she laughs. “But it can handle the rest.”
Want to see more from Crystal Ninja?
✨ Visit crystalninja.com or visit Crystal Ninja in San Diego, CA
