June 1, 2026
Written by Olivia Elizabeth
As we approach almost half a year of this series, let us introduce June’s Artist of the Month, Hayley, better known as StarryGrimes– Utah native, producer, jeweler, and collector, Hayley, spent the majority of the early 2010s learning how to create and edit videos. Although never fitting into the “Utah mold”, she didn’t let that stop her from pursuing her creative passions. After spending 10 years dedicated to her craft, she has accumulated over sixty thousand followers on Instagram and produced countless edits that span many genres. Heavily influenced by the moving world around her, Hayley’s edits prove to be a time machine of past and present pop culture. We had the chance to talk with the multitalented artist about the importance of creative outlets, dreams to work with PinkPantheress, and her strong opinions on AI. Hayley shows us you don’t have to abandon what was once a childhood hobby, and to instead embrace, nurture, and let it grow.
All images and videos courtesy of StarryGrimes
PETTY: How did you come up with your persona, StarryGrimes?
HAYLEY: At the time, The Walking Dead was my favorite tv show and the main character, Rick Grimes, was my biggest obsession. So my username comes from him, and I just thought the “starry” part was cute. I actually kind of hate this username now, but it’s been my brand for 10 years now so there’s no way I’m changing it. However, I think it kind of works in a way. I make a lot of cute and “girly” things while mixing in a lot of projects surrounding horror and darker media. “starry” = cute, “grimes” = dark. I don’t know… I think there’s something there!
PETTY: How did you first get into editing?
HAYLEY: I was on Vine a lot in 2014 and I was so interested by people around my age making edits of movies and tv shows I was into at the time. I’m also a huge fan of music so the desire I felt to start creating edits of my own was super strong then. I taught myself Sony Vegas Pro and once I was comfortable with that software I moved onto Adobe After Effects, which was more complicated but resulted in smoother and more complex edits. I was going through a really tough time emotionally and physically, struggling in almost every area in life, and feeling like a zombie all the time and learning a cool new skill and devoting time to this hobby helped bring me back to life in a lot of ways.
PETTY: Recently you were able to create promotional videos for the social media of music festival, All Things Go. Walk us through the process, and what that opportunity was like for you!
HAYLEY: After 10 years of making my own passion projects it’s been so cool to finally get some recognition and work opportunities from some really cool groups and people. I’ve always felt like my editing page was something I needed to keep dedicating time to, and I’m glad I was able to abandon feelings of doubt and “should I really still be doing this now that I’m not a teenager anymore?” I really get a massive amount of fulfillment creating for other people. I was worried that once I go more professional with my editing that I would lose that joy and excitement to create, but it’s stronger than ever. It’s also connected me to other festivals and people in creative industries, which has been really exciting. I really feel aligned with these kinds of people and I’m so excited for my future, something I would have never said or even dreamed of experiencing when I was struggling as a teenager.
PETTY: It seems your work is heavily influenced by popular media and culture. Do you have a genre or corner of the internet that is your favorite to edit?
HAYLEY: I’m so split between fun pop y2k style music video projects and horror/thriller movies. I’ve always been so fond of the 90s/2000s aesthetic in media and music and I love how fun and loud everything was in the design of so many things. I’m super into Pinkpantheress and her vibe is just so fun and admirable, so centering projects around her and her music is always a blast. It’s one of my dreams to work with her one day. On the other hand, horror/thriller media is something I heavily enjoy as well. The Silence of the Lambs is my favorite movie of all time, it’s my perfect blend of psychological and horror. The Shining is up there for me as well. It may freak some people out when I go from a fun edit with bright colors and fun music, like any of my Pinkpantheress type projects, to an edit with blood, teeth, spikes, and knives. I haven’t shared a lot of that lately, but I have a few in my unposted folder that I’m super excited to share!
PETTY: When asked to describe yourself you used the word, collector. Having that in mind, would you consider the way you take pieces of mainstream media turning them into a representation of pop culture, by way of video editing, a kind of collecting as well?
HAYLEY: I’ve thought of myself as a collector since I was 6 years old. I may be more of a sentimental hoarder now with my magazines, bags, art, trinkets, etc, but collecting is a massive part of my life. I guess I sort of think of important things I’ve brought into my life like movies, music, and art as collections that have led me to be the person I am today. Some people may not think of it that way, but it does make sense to me and the way my brain works. I look at my editing page like this as well. I’ll be at 900 posts soon enough, and it’s crazy to scroll through everything and think of the progression I’ve made not only in my edits, but in my own life. This is probably corny but I think of my page sort of like a diary. Things I’ve watched and listened to being documented in this way is like my own life’s collection. Almost like a time machine. I think documenting and collecting is something everyone should get into in one way or another, I think it can really help to solidify your own personality and identity.
PETTY: Between editing new videos, to making jewelry and producing music, has one outlet ever inspired you to create another? Do they ever overlap?
HAYLEY: It’s hard to recall at this point in my life, I had my own versions of these creative outlets when I was a kid. Making earrings and bracelets for school sales, making flipnotes on my Nintendo DSi, and using my keyboard to make my own instrumental music. I think my love for music is so deeply rooted in my life that it helped pave the way for me to get interested in editing. The music is such a huge part of editing, sometimes I’ll have an idea for the subject of an edit and spend a super long time searching for the perfect song to use. I’ve also created jewelry inspired by movies and tv shows that I love. Moodboards are a huge thing for me, gathering images and ideas to bring a new thing to life is always exciting, and I do this a lot especially when combining my love for making jewelry and editing. I really love when things look beautiful, interesting, and sometimes a little weird and garish, and I love to make my own things that look that way as well. I hope that doesn’t sound too conceited, but it’s definitely a driving factor in my creative process for making my music, jewelry, and editing.
PETTY: What does your editing procedure look like? From the software you use, your inspirations, to how long a project might take you. What is your favorite part?
HAYLEY: I’m pretty much only into complicated projects lately, it’s where I get my most creative fulfillment. However, the process can be exhausting sometimes, mainly sourcing things like clips, audios, and images. Building up the edit is always my least favorite part and is really draining for me sometimes, but if I want to get this thing made and have people see it, it’s a necessary evil I have to overcome. I start a project in After Effects pretty much the same way every time - Individual folders for textures, PNGSs, my animations, overlays, and one for the project and the video itself. From there, I imagine what I want the flow of the edit to be like and sort through some of my pre-made transitions and maybe make a few more along the way. Hundreds of adjustment/solid/null layers and pressing CTRL + S every 10-ish seconds are always a part of my process. I’ve had to train myself to save as often as possible, I highly recommend getting into that habit if you work on a computer in any capacity! I usually end with deciding on what kind of coloring I want. I have a whole collection of colorings I’ve made over the years, and it’s like putting a pretty bow on top of the edit. I think a complex project takes me anywhere from 8-10 hours, depending on the length. I really wonder how many hours I’ve put into this over the last 10 years…
PETTY: What, or who, helps you stay motivated and committed to your passions?
HAYLEY: I can’t imagine my life without creative outlets. I have so many passions and ideas that I genuinely cannot keep them to myself or never have them made. I can’t think of a time where I felt creatively stuck, which is kind of a miracle, and I think I have my need to consume art, music, movies, culture, etc. There’s so many things to be inspired by in this world and once I made that a major focus in my life when I was at my lowest, things really felt like they were starting to change for me. I have a collection of playlists, RADIO VOL 1, 2, 3, and 4, each has 4,000+ songs so I always have those if I’m ever needing a boost of inspiration.
Movies are still a huge part of my enthusiasm for editing. I also have a goal to watch at least 10 new movies a month. Both my parents raised me to love movies and that passion has never left my life. Again, I love when things look/feel/sound beautiful, interesting, and kind of weird, and if I have something I can create to contribute to that group, then I’m going to brainstorm and find a way to bring that idea to life in my own way. I also follow and am friends with a lot of very cool and very talented people that I admire. I just love this community so much, it literally helped save my life and I can’t imagine where I would be without it.
PETTY: After ten years of editing, what is something that has stayed consistent in your art throughout the years?
HAYLEY: These answers will probably appeal most to other editors - s_filmdamage, s_scanlines, s_halftone, s_blurmocurves, and Magic Bullet Looks. I’ll explain a little. I LOVE texture in edits, if you know my style then that’s not groundbreaking news at all. Those plugins I stated first are ones I’ve used consistently for close to 8 years now. Magic Bullet Looks is what I use to color all of my edits. The program has stayed consistent, but the colorings I use have evolved like crazy. I was all about purple in 2018, my entire page was just full of purple and pretty much nothing else. I also loved the Saber plugin around that time as well, I would put a lightsaber looking border around my edits and that I’d say that was the defining element of my style then. 2019-2020 was when I transitioned to warmer colors, mainly reds and oranges. That fit the media I was editing more, think Kill Bill, Breaking Bad, The Walking Dead, Twin Peaks… My colorings now are vibrant and make already existing colors pop more. Red is still a big element in my colorings, I feel like that’s not going to change. Same with texture. If I have an opportunity to use texture, I WILL take it.
PETTY: When you look back to when you had just started, how does it feel to see how much you’ve grown as an artist and how much your following has grown in the process?
HAYLEY: I’m gonna sound kind of cornball again, but sometimes it makes me want to cry. Remember, I started editing at the lowest point in my life and was feeling so many intense, negative emotions all the time. Sometimes I’ll scroll back to the very beginning of my Instagram page and I can feel the sadness radiating off of an edit. I think putting emotions of any kind into art is important and often therapeutic and essential, and some of the things I was making back then really convey how dark and sad I was feeling all the time. I’ve also learned and taught myself so much, that’s another thing that’s crazy to look back on.
I’m so glad I endured the annoyance of being a beginner because that led to now, where editing feels like second nature. I’m at a point in my life now where I love who I am and I don’t experience any of the feelings I used to feel constantly, which is a huge miracle after dealing with that negativity and self hate for so long. I think (and hope) people can tell from the things I’m sharing online that I’m in a really good place now and feeling very secure in my own creativity and identity. I know I’m not the only one who has had this sort of experience, and I want to tell as many people as I can that life can absolutely get better and you can create a beautiful life for yourself.
PETTY: Regarding the future, what are your goals for editing? Who do you dream to work with one day?
HAYLEY: I’m gonna keep sharing my passion projects as long as I have the time. I really think this is gonna be a part of me for the rest of my life. I remember turning 20 and I was kind of thinking “Is it embarrassing for me to still be editing?” and “Should I stop and grow up?” which just isn’t the right way to look at a hobby or passion. Social Media is in a really weird state right now but I’m glad there are people sharing their creative passions online for whatever reason. I love sharing my projects because it’s like my own little digital diary and I really want to inspire people wherever I can. Creating is so exciting and makes us feel alive and connected, and if that means potentially still sharing fun editing projects we make online when we’re all old, then that’s honestly really exciting and awesome.
Professionally, I’d love to get more connected with people in the music, film, fashion, and photography industries. These are things I’ve adored since I was a kid, emphasis on music and fashion. Fashion has been one of my strongest interests since I was little. I loved (and still love) heels, wigs, makeup, and clothes that make a statement. I don’t know exactly where I would fit in, but I have a whole bunch of skills that I feel like could potentially be put to use in that arena. I stated it before, but I’d love to work with Pinkpantheress. I think my style could really compliment things she’s putting out creatively and also I just think she’s so cool and chic. Same with Billie Eilish, I really vibe with her and love how she conveys emotion through music.
PETTY: In a world where AI and human-made art are in a constant battle for importance, how do you make sure your art is maintaining its humanity?
HAYLEY: Art would not exist without humans. It’s really upsetting to know that AI is being used in so many awful ways that are not only damaging to the brain, but to our planet. I really think it’s offensive when people make and justify AI “art”. It’s just lazy, cheap, soulless, and there’s really no fulfillment to be taken from it. Remember earlier when I talked about my process and stated that even though some of the first steps were really annoying and exhausting to deal with? Those projects that have started out really difficult and time consuming have resulted in the projects that I’ve been most proud of. Take my birthday edit from this year, April 9, 2026, with the song “Doing the Unstuck” by The Cure. That edit actually took me over a month and a half from start to finish. There were times that I had to just close After Effects and take a break for a few days, which I almost never do with a project. Once I finished, I watched the final and couldn’t recall a time where I felt more proud of an edit. That time that I took really meant something, and I did all of that with the skills I’d learned and taught myself. I made another fun little edit this March with a sentiment I’ve been seeing a lot online lately: “Just start! You don’t need permission! The time will pass anyway.”
That fulfillment is something that truly cannot be experienced if you’re just typing a prompt. Yes, it takes time to learn something new and you’re probably not going to be good right away, that’s completely normal and there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that. AI might save you time, but it’ll cost in other ways that some people are either unaware of or straight up ignoring, which is miserable. It’s amazing to look at something that someone created and have emotion, authenticity, and devotion radiating off of it. It’s really admirable and beautiful and I really think that’s something that the best and most successful artists strive for, and it’s essential to me to create with those things in mind as well.