Our last and most memorable piece in the Async Collabs for Kitty Bungalow has to be “Forgotten Cats of Fallen Leaves Forest”. The team lead for this piece is the wonderful Matt Kane and features Kitties drawn by a star-studded cast: Hackatao, Trippyogi, Serstes, Ilan Katin, Rutger van der Tas, Moxarra, Julia K Ponsford, Max Osiris, Reviiser, Daveed, Pr1mal Cypher, Fabin Rasheed, Reinhard Schmid, & Ruben Alexander.

The Fallen Leaves Forest is a very special autonomous piece. This is a place of reflection for the fur babies we all once owned and the ones we never got to show love to. The cats have designated nooks and branches they can move to and each time they move or change state, it holds a meaningful impact with the entire artwork.

Once a day, the autonomous script will run to see who has moved/changed their Kitty Layer in the last 24 hours. If the Kitty was untouched, then the cat’s opacity is lowered by 5%. With each successive day that the Kitty Layer was not changed in any way, it fades another 5% until it reaches the minimum of 25%. If the Kitty Layer was changed in the last 24 hours, the autonomous script automatically adjusts the cat’s opacity to full 100%.

We illustrate this feature with Daveed’s “Chameleon Kitty”, as we allow it to fade from full 100% opacity to 75%, and then to 25%.

The act of updating your Kitty Layer is a nod to the idea of “keeping your loved ones alive in your memory”. Actively moving or playing with your Kitty means they become more alive and vibrant in your thoughts. Letting a Kitty fade away, even though they won’t completely go away, represents the act of forgetting or letting go.

It takes approximately 14 days for a Kitty to fade from full to lowest opacity. Quite fitting considering an average human forgets 75% of what they remember in just 6 days.

In fact, at least two of our cats in this piece are based off of IRL cats the artists have once owned. Rutger’s “Billy in the Sky” is based off his own cat, who sadly passed away a year ago due to FIP (Feline Infectious Peritonitis). “A Cat Named Chibs” is based off of a great cat owned by Reviiser.

There are also transcendent, out-of-this-world cats passing through this forest. Trippyogi’s “Cosmic Kitties” contains 5 unique kitten companions: Green Gazer, Pink Ponderer, Blue Beyond, Lavender Lotus, and Orange Orion are all ready to join you in your cosmic explorations.

MaxOsiris’ “FR[Ai]NK{'n'Kitteh}” was able to pass through the singularity wormhole while staying (relatively) intact and is also known galactically for its future-forward haircut. Julia Ponsford’s “Battle Kitties” are from outer space and ready to protect anyone well into the afterlife. “Cybercat” by Pr1mal Cypher is also from the metaverse, ready to hunt prey and indulge in Earth’s playthings.

Then there are the Kitties who seem like a complete work of fiction, existing in an artists’ fantastical imagination. Hackatao’s “Rez.Cats” each hold an uplifting message as they move to and fro. Reinhard’s “Swirl” was inspired by Bastet, the Egyptian cat goddess of home and hearth. “Catsquerade” by Fabin Rasheed has gone through the different phases of realization through its nine lives, and have detached from the illusory world. It lived a life of anonymity and has returned to spread his philosophy.

Ilan Katin’s “Evil Kitteh Clan” is composed of five misbehaving Kitties, all waiting for a loving home to accept them as who they are.

“Johnny” by Moxarra has harlequin-themed coloring, and seeks to comfort anyone who is feeling a bit under the weather. Serste’s colorful "Fauves Coloré"lounges and plays around the forest floor as well as within its branches. Ruben’s “Purrdock” seems to be on the run from his previous owner, on a mission to “hissassinate” his nemesis Meowgyver.

Read more about our other two Async Collabs for “Big Trouble in Mao Mao City” and “Pixel Story”.

Due to the extreme amount of Layers in all the Kitty collaborations, we’re encouraging artists to auction off their Kitty during the entire week instead of the event weekend. Once their minimum reserve is met, they will start a manual 24 hr countdown to accept the highest bid. If a new higher bid comes in on the piece, the 24 hr countdown is reset, until the highest bid wins. (This is called the “Coldie” method and is widely used within the Cryptoart community).

For the 3 Masters, there is a hidden reserve price. Once met, we will accept the highest bid without a countdown or a grace period. If the hidden reserve price is not met, we will accept the highest bid on Sunday July 12th. All Master proceeds will be donated to Kitty Bungalow charity event. Learn more about the event here.

#BuyArtSaveKittens

-Async Team

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