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NFT LA/NYC Giveaways
New Year new products here’s a look into some recent physical products I’ve made. I decided to participate in both NFT LA and NFT NYC this year to meet some other builders and artists since I skipped them both events last year. A few of the products below are created as exclusive giveaways for people I meet at these events.
NFT LA
IRL LA poster and sticker giveaways.
NFT NYC
Catching up with ALL OF US Radio / March 30th. A few topics we will be covering here.
IRL NYC giveaways.
100% of sales go to support @AllOfUsRadio.
Product Highlights
…Product URL now discontinued.
h4x0r Artwork
6 Editions (April)
Foundation Drop (May)
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More love, more wins, and more fun for all in 2023.
Value Layers
Value Layers is a low quantity high reward h4x0r themed edition drop from artist 1980k. Humans define value differently this collection will launch with 5 pieces of artwork and 2 opportunities to win a product. How do you define value?
The goal is twofold (1) explore how humans define value and (2) create a gamified experience that enabled me to explore different artistic outputs such as pixel art, 3d art, glitch art, and physical products. There is no need to BURN if you love the art, but will quantity, style, or product what will influence your decision?
Art Burn to Mint
This exploration into art, defined by quantity, style, or product, was enlightening. Open editions have been popular recently in the art community, but it wasn't until Checks by Jack Butcher that I decided to gamify the experience.
Humans define value differently. These editions explored just that... I learned about the styles that got the most engagement. I learned about the styles of art that have the most substantial followers. I learned about the NFT space and if they care about physical products. All of these learnings help inspire the next steps in my creative journey.
Art Product Claim
Claim 1: h4x0r T-Shirt
Claim 2: 16x16 LED display
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h4x0r
H4x0r is a fun collection I’ve created and published exclusively on Foundation. The collection continues the Scanning 1337 aesthetics seen in my previous post. h4x0r, an elite hacker, is imagined as a skeleton wearing a virtual headset and visualized through 3D and glitch artwork.
The Story
h4x0r (aka Hacker) is a character born on-chain extending from cc0 universes.
h4x0r was born when the CR0x9759 contract was deployed and minted onto the Ethereum blockchain. h4x0r lived and explored the depths of this contract confined by the rules of the mint.
One year later, while scanning systems, a daily on-chain routine, h4x0r discovered a gateway. A new world made up of forty-five cc0 projects provided a direct connection from the 13370x9251 contract. A data glitch extracted h4x0r into the visual representation now living on Foundation.
Will you play a role in h4x0r’s story, n00b?
Thankful to cc0 and, more specifically, the Chain Runners and 1337 Skulls, the story of h4x0r begins...Make sure to sign up for my newsletter below, follow me on Twitter, or message me for collaborations. More love, more wins, and more fun for all in 2023.
Scanning
This is a fun post sharing some visuals I created for the 1337 Skulls project, additionally adding some thoughts on why I labeled the style and this post, Scanning 1337. If you haven’t already, check out the 1337 Manifesto, an overview of what the project represents.
Like any artist, I started with many styles, having fun and exploring what 1337 meant. As the visuals progressed, so did my focus on a more consistent output, which I labeled Scanning 1337, representing a consideration of the principles highlighted below.
Here’s a sandbox of visuals highlighting some of my favorite results. All are cc0, so feel free to use them as you see fit.
The story of 1337 is a historic declaration for the power of cc0 and community. The entire project was community-driven, ideated, designed, and coded by a group of individuals working asynchronously under the leet manifesto, comprised of writers, designers, developers, traders, academics, and social and commercial strategists. The world of 1337 is yours; what will you create with it? All visual, sound, strategy, and community content is free to use via cc0.
What is 1337 Skulls?
What is the 1337 Manifesto?
Make sure to sign up for my newsletter below, follow me on Twitter, or message me for collaborations. The next blog post will be highlighting my new 1/1 NFTs and new physical products. More love, more wins, and more fun for all in 2023.
Digital Identity
Over the past year, while contributing to the Web3 space, it's led me to have a few thoughts about our digital identities, their value, and what becomes your personal brand.
In 2017 while working for a digital agency, I was placed on a project utilizing a new technology called the Blockchain. I had no idea what the “Blockchain” was nor did I realize the significant real-world use cases it solved. While researching, the apparent use cases emerged around money, cryptocurrency, and smart contracts. But digital identity stood out as the holy grail that tied universes together. Enter CryptoKitties and my realization of what could become turned into when it would become…
Identity as a trait, not a project
If you’ve followed me, you might have recognized a specific trait I have adopted as a piece of my identity.
This VR headset-looking trait is called the Chain Space Deck Elite II. It was a trait I discovered in the Chain Runners in early 2021 when they minted their genesis collection. As soon as I saw the trait it resonated with me, which I can get into in a different post.
I love and support all artists and projects as a believer and investor. I believe that if you follow someone, you support them, no matter the project. For this reason, I have specifically tied myself to a trait that can be changed, like a chameleon across any project spreading the love and true Web3 ethos.
Interoperabile Identity
We are beginning to see the first examples of on-chain interoperable avatars emerge that tie together our digital universe. Projects such as Hologram, CloneX, Chain Runners, Deadfellas, and the latest Meta Avatars all provide previews of what's to come. Imagine a world where your identity allows you to select the character, shoes, shirt, and environment all via NFTs you have minted…
Example RTFKT Cryptokicks and NFT
Interoperability mimics how we operate in the real world enabled by these areas
IDENTITY for connecting individuals to assets and rights
3D RENDERINGS for displaying the world
BEHAVIORS for characterizing objects
DATA SHARING for sharing ownership and permissions
Consumers will be able to bring their wallets and smart objects into these virtual worlds, just as they bring their credit cards and backpacks across stores today. Knav from the Chain Runners has a great quote here…
“With a digital identity, you can become who you want to be, which may or may not reflect who you are in real life. We wanted an individual to be able to find a Runner they identified with and become that Runner.”
The Identity Ecosystem
The blockchain identity ecosystem expands far past NFTs into exciting concepts such as ENS, SIWE, PoH, POAPs, and SBTs which Vitalik the creator of Ethereum recently wrote about here…
"Identity" is a complicated concept that can mean many things. Some examples include:
Basic authentication: simply proving that action A (eg. sending a transaction or logging into a website) was authorized by some agent that has some identifier, such as an ETH address or a public key, without attempting to say anything else about who or what the agent is.
Attestations: proving claims about an agent made by other agents ("Bob attests that he knows Alice", "the government of Canada attests that Charlie is a citizen")
Names: establishing consensus that a particular human-readable name can be used to refer to a particular agent.
Proof of personhood: proving that an agent is human, and guaranteeing that each human can only obtain one identity through the proof of personhood system (this is often done with attestations, so it's not an entirely separate category, but it's a hugely important special case)
Thinking about this on-chain is one thing but bringing it to the masses is a task that requires thoughtful integrations into our devices. Apple has previewed digital driver's licenses and digital vehicle keys already. Maybe the possibility of the Wallet integration is sooner than we think.
Everything on planet earth ties back to our identity as the central hub that the world interacts. It is the single response location for our Profile, Passport, Bank, Drivers license, Access, Friends portal, Coupons, Events attended poaps, Rewards across games.
I look forward to a future without passwords, physical wallets, and keys and welcome imaginative possibilities enabled by the blockchain.
Follow me on Twitter. I will post a follow-up with a few 1/1 custom clothing designs and a limited edition 1/1 mint in the coming week, as mentioned in my previous 1337 Skull post.
1337
What an exciting few weeks it’s been working on the 1337 Skulls project. An art project built by community members who are deeply immersed in the cc0 and on-chain Web3 culture. Skulls for the communities 💀💀💀
Before I dive in, I wanted to thank Flashrekt for inviting me to be 532 in 1337. It’s been an absolute honor to work with this team made up of 51991eth, Skominers, 0xDith, Maniinng, kamtang, Cham_boss, epikur, quantized, WrongNebula, monno. The conversations in our 532 channel are inspiring and innovative. None of this would be possible without creative cc0 projects, especially ones like Blitmap and the Chain Runners where we all met.
What is 1337?
1337 Skulls is a collection of 7,331 pixel art skulls, deployed fully on-chain with a public domain license. 600+ traits created from new, original art and referencing 30+ existing cc0 NFT projects. Free mint. 0% royalties. No roadmap. Just 1337. The origin story of 1337 can be seen here.
This is more than a collection of 7,331-pixel art images. This group of passionate creatives pushes art and innovation forward through cc0 and on-chain endeavors. I’ve seen every team member in other discord servers, sharing galleries, and enthusiastic about these beliefs. Quantized summarized it best here…
“1337 Skulls is the first project to elegantly integrate a whole culture of CC0 art into a single package... made by people who are deeply immersed and enmeshed in that culture”
What does 1337 mean?
Leet (or "1337"), also known as leet or leetspeak, is a system of modified spellings used primarily on the Internet.
A derivative of the 80's software piracy scene. Originally "elite" was used to show status on a BBS. Commonly the people who cracked the software, or had sysop access on a board would be referred to as Elite. Later it became common to just use "leet." With the internet explosion, it was later used to describe hackers as well as crackers. Due to it being great to be known as leet, newbies started adopting the term and using it to describe themselves, often with numerical variations.
More sound bites are open-sourced on our website.
What makes 1337 special?
Art, Technology, Culture. No more, no less. If you're a collector of art, technology, and innovative experiences then 1337 is for you. 0xDith summarized it best here…
Love pixel art & on-chain art
Know what cc0 is & believe in it
Love internet subculture and obscure memes
Don't care about price go up or down
Without getting too technical, the below image visualizes what makes this NFT so unique. Without pointing to the prominent such as Cryptopunks, Nouns, and Chain Runners as all innovative on-chain projects.
1337 is a centralization of history into a single project delivering visuals as on-chain code to the Ethereum blockchain, not simply jpgs living on a server.
1337 culture and open source
Everything we do is public domain and open-sourced to enable and inspire Web3. 1337 is a movement driven by a community passionate about cc0, on-chain, and subculture. We open-sourced everything from our visuals and sounds to the mint strategy, free for all. We hope to inspire the 1337 meme and content culture by providing these assets.
Future 1337
Our mission continues as a group of artists, strategists, and Web3 enthusiasts. 1337 will continue to communicate, contribute, and inspire the broader Web3 ecosystem into the future. This project has helped place a spotlight on the ongoing cc0 conversation. Articles, threads, and discussions about cc0 are being had, leading to new beginnings and inevitable innovations. Do we design systems for cc0, education playbooks for brands, and all ideas are 1337.
Important Links
Read more about cc0 here: https://a16zcrypto.com/cc0-nft-creative-commons-zero-license-rights/
Checkout our open-sourced content here.
Join the 1337 community Discord and follow me on Twitter, I will post a follow-up with a few 1/1 custom clothing designs in the coming week.