Earlier this month, Async was fortunate enough to be featured as part of NFCastle’s premiere gala event in partnership with Meural. The curators there honed in on our iconic collaboration pieces: "First Supper," "TXU.TOTEM," "LayerBreaker," and of course our latest crowd favorite: "Year of the 0x."
“Year of the 0x,” a 38-Layered collaborative NFT project now on Async, was minted with love and care by The Guild, a “decentralized arts organization built on the blockchain with aims of being inclusive, dynamic, and interdisciplinary. Founded during the COVID-19 pandemic with a key focus on cultivating creative collaboration, promoting cross cultural synergy, positivity, equality and artistic sustainability”.
It’s a tribute to the Lunar Ox Year that coincides with the Ethereum bull run and astronomical explosion of NFTs.
It’s a work “of struggle, of celebration, of premonition and of jubilation,” the artists describe. “An initial composition of color was created by Shinji Akhirah which helped to inform the delegation of sections via a randomizer. Each artist was randomly assigned an area on the canvas to complete their part. This collaboration captures original artwork by 38 different artists — infusing each part of the piece with their own unique style to complete the 12 different animals and setting with the central focus being placed on the Ox ("0x" or "ZeroX" as he's occasionally referred to).”
To celebrate the release of this global collaboration, we invited each artist to our AMA Discord discussion on September 14. Enjoy the recap of this event, or check it out right in Discord, here.
“It’s been approximately one year since The Guild was formed,” says artist Shinji Akhirah. “From creating some of the earliest (and record-breaking) 1/1 multi-artist collabs to breaking new ground in the blockchain ecosystem with Pandora's Box and Charged Particles, it's been an incredible and humbling experience thus far...Being a self-funded and independent decentralized art collective, this is never an easy feat in a centralized setting, let alone a decentralized one. We don't have million dollar budgets or financial backers. Instead, we have chosen to invest things that we currently have in abundance — our time, energy, and love — as our capital. We are firm believers in meritocracy as we constantly aim to deliver positive growth into a space that unfortunately still faces a lot of negative perception…“Year of the 0x” is a great example of this and is one of the first projects to use Async Art's new collaborative function — a game-changer for creative artistic production on the blockchain.”
Now, get to know each Layer of this Async piece, in the words of each artist themselves.
Plus, check out the first Async Art piece by the guild, “Cyber Watch,” minted in February. View it here.
"When I [saw] how massive this collaboration is, I felt really happy and honored to have a space to contribute with my art, and totally love the fact to have the number 7 assigned.
“When I started to work on my Layers, I decided to find out what ideas are associated with the ox symbolism; I found that some of the main ideas associated with this symbol are honesty, hard work, strength and determination. On this occasion I decided to give greater emphasis to the abstract, working to capture through abstraction the energy that each of these characteristics represents to me...not all the elements are abstract in my Layers, I decided to include the word 'ox,' both in common alphabet and in Chinese ideogram...The way I worked them was first to paint each of the Layers with Autodesk Sketchbook, then I worked them with Glitchlab, Mirrorlab and Gimp.”
Water, Earth & Fire: Greek Freak
“I really enjoyed being part of The Guild’s ‘The Year of the 0x.’ I love all of the different styles that came together in this artist collaboration to really bring the piece to life. I did 3 Layers with the following themes: fire, water and earth. All 3 themes are important in Chinese astrology, philosophy and culture. I hope others enjoy the vast depth of collective creative energy that went into this masterpiece.”
“Being randomly assigned a background slice, I spent time considering how best to build a contextual environment that would contribute to the overall impact of the artwork. I work with digital media, but my inspiration is usually found in the natural beauty of the offline world. Given the theme of the piece, I sought to create layer states that infused the character of Chinese nature into a very technological project, in a way which would convey symbolic concepts of optimism and strength. Much of my work is abstract but I wanted a measure of textural realism that would serve as a portal into a mental space wherein the sensory memories of physical experience could still be perceived.
My work was done in Blender and Photoshop. Generative patterning techniques were used to build the water lily blooms and bamboo shoots. Volumetric effects helped create the proper atmospheric feel of the rocky heights. Renders were color graded and tweaked manually to achieve the final art layers. I enjoyed the opportunity to continue exploring ways to interweave 3D and 2D techniques and further develop skill in bringing a painterly feel to digital effects.
As blooms floating serenely, water lilies are aptly considered optimistic symbols of delight and happiness. Bamboo shoots grow with impressive speed into towering stalks with astonishing resilience and internal strength. Pillars of stone rise majestically to great heights, withstanding the assault of blustery winds and affording rare views from the top. Together, the 3 layer states tend to reflect the nature of "0x" and levels of prosperity within the new crypto economy. Whether one is floating peacefully at low levels, gradually progressing upwards as they build their portfolio, or standing as giants among the heights of decentralized finance, bag hodlers of all levels can participate and be rewarded in this exciting new era.”
“The Goddess Ala who is the goddess of fertility, creativity and the deity of earth. She offers power over the planet. I have been interested in learning about Deities, particularly female, and how they connect with nature. Inspired by nature and giving back to the earth a visual story shown in each layer state of natural elements nurtured and cared for.
Fertility
This layer represents the life which the Goddess gives and nurtures. The Sun also gives life and warmth to all living things.
Creativity
The Goddess brings about life that grows from the earth; she is present in all of nature's things.
The Deity of Earth
Depicting the leaves at night without the Goddess in this layer represents the life that continues to grow at night.”
Bird’s Eye View: Ytje Veenstra
“Birds have a unique way of observing the world. Imagine being up in the air at great heights constantly, having the sky as a roof. It surely makes you look at the world in a whole different way. We’ll never quite experience the world like our feathered friends do. We try our best with a variety of ways, like flying planes, parasailing and -gliding, putting on a wingsuit, but it’s not the same. It’s as close as we can come to being like a bird.
Seeing the world like birds do makes me think of how astronauts view Earth when they’re on the moon. Status, material wealth and ego seem insignificant when looking at the world from above. That’s a bird’s eye view I would like everybody to experience.
I went with the diagonal shape of the part I was assigned. I wanted to do something with a landscape, but I tried to look at it another way, from an angle. That's when I thought about birds.”
“Being part of a collaboration that has the united intention to make a great work of art can go two ways: either you adopt each other's style and create something with one focus — movies are made like that — or you celebrate the differences between individual members to achieve something unexpected. It is plain to see what we’ve been doing. Because we could add multiple layers to the work, I wanted to try out even more styles, but I did feel responsible for the end result of all layers combined, so I kept an eye on the masterplan while creating.
Blue Layer
To fill up/decorate a shape comes naturally to me, I do it all the time. In this layer I used elements of a physical painting and used it as Chinese filigrees. Then I started to paint digitally, changed colors, took pieces out, pasted some parts back, messed up some pixels: it was rock ’n roll.
Orange Layer
In the orange Layer, I jumped from Photoshop to Illustrator and back. I created a pattern out of huge digital stained glass windows (over 3 meters high), cropping them into minuscule fragments and changing their vanishing point, so that this layer will affect the overall image of the combined work. And of course I could not resist distorting some elements in here as well.
Yellow Layer
The last Layer has a background of paper fiber. I took it out of a high res photo from a “Spades Drawing” (also minted as an NFT). I wanted this layer to be soft and less chaotic. I used a lot of painter brushes in Photoshop to correct what I had previously painted. Now that all 3 layers are finished, the owner really has something to choose from. I think that is really cool!”
Landscapes of the Other World: Danil Pan
“My portion was the part of the background right behind the 0x’s hindlegs — 09. I was excited to contribute to such an ambitious and symbolic collaborative project once again alongside the other Guild members. For my part of the collaboration, I wanted to focus on the beauty and power of the elements; my layers are aptly named “Landscapes of the Other World,” and feature the states of Air, Earth, and Fire.
I conceptualized the powerful 0x summoning natural and supernatural phenomena effortlessly, its very presence enriching the earth with bountiful grass, igniting ferocious wildfires, or conjuring the tranquil clouds of another realm — whichever elements may be triggered, ultimately are a testament to the 0x’s prowess.
Hopefully you all enjoy my addition to this insane collab! Thanks so much for listening. I’d like to thank The Guild for the opportunity, Async for being incredible hosts and an amazing platform, and Ej’s draft secretary for also writing my speech.”
Triad of Light: Julia K. Ponsford
“The inspiration for these Layers is the psychological concept of "the light triad" (opposite to the dark triad) which consists of 3 positive personality traits: Kantianism, humanism, and a faith in humanity. I did my university degree in psychology and often pull various psychological ideas and concepts into my artwork.
Kantianism is when we treat people as means to themselves, as opposed to a means to an end. Basically, we're not out to use them. It's pretty much the opposite of Machiavellianism, and is based on the philosophy of Immanuel Kant.
Humanism is valuing the dignity and worth of each individual person.
Faith in humanity is when we believe that people are fundamentally good. One who perfectly embodies these traits could be considered a Saint and creates harmony and an overall positive impact on society. Layer titles from left to right: Interconnected, Golden Love, Submerged Meaning.
As a side note, I only learned there was a light triad recently; in psychology the tendency is to focus on the problems/abnormal and destructive behaviours and not those who are living their best lives and helping people so I found it very interesting and inspiring!”
“It was pretty subdued in the back and I saw a lot of the other pieces so pretty and complicated. I chose to keep it a bit more subtle in a way but still use the circles to accent the sort of sharp space I had.”
“I had the halo, and decided to fully commit to the gold elements. I also decided to keep the states varied but subtle and still organic so that the calligraphy stays solid.
With clear intentions, the calligraphy reads clockwise, and is meant to be repeated as a mediation to manifest good energy: Year of the 0x — Bull Run
The desire came from creating something out of nothing. So I wanted to find a way to reimagine a futuristic language, something alternative from the existing Latin script. That was the basis.
Thank you to The Guild, The Core and all the participating artists. You guys are the Best. And thank you Lisa, shout out Async!”
I was assigned the number 22 — the Monkey zodiac layer — and it features 3 states incorporating time and depicting various evolutionary moments across mythology, pop culture and a cyber-aware future.
The first state — Return of The King (Past) — features a depiction of Sun Wu Kong (The Monkey King) atop a cloud with clear focus on his goals in the distance. To face the Sun is to embrace the future while leaving the trails of the shadow behind you, never fully disassociating but not being held back by it either. It is the warrior spirit, unchained and aware of the battle ahead. It was created completely digitally using Photoshop pixel tools.
The second state — VIIIDLIX or 8559 (Present) — is a derivative artwork based on one of the Bored Apes that I acquired at mint earlier this year. It was digitally created in Photoshop. The story surrounding how I managed to get the apes in time is quite remarkable — but I'll leave that for another occasion...let's just refer to that one as 'Spirit Signals.’ The moment I saw that he had a halo, I knew that he wasn't just meant for me...his calling was much greater than just my own profit.
The statement 'sometimes you just gotta ape in' is very much in line with how I've readjusted what work means to me in this life. I pivoted from client work methods into investing into myself at the beginning of the pandemic as I could anticipate that things were going to change drastically in budgets, work as we know it and general life. I aped into my art — something that I've done since I was 6 years old, but somehow had lost the child in me in favour of what society saw to be 'stability'...9-5, sell your time with someone else determining your future and your ceiling or as the image shows...where you head meets the clouds.
The binary code beneath unscrambled to the following...the prime owner of the Master Layer will receive Bored Ape #8559. This is nested inside the 1/1 Golden 0x NFT on Charged Particles as one of the bonuses!”
Circadian Space Fields: GiselXFlorez
Magic Internet Money #111: Colborn
From Rutger van der Tas: “I came across Colborn's Magic Internet Money and just had to ask him to participate in this piece. It felt so logical, but I didn't know he would say 'yes.’”
On behalf of The Guild and Async, it was an honor to have a well-known collector participate in this piece.
Present, Past and Future: Moxarra
“I focused on our recent past (2020) that was really hard for everybody, and now we are rebuilding everything — that's why the "present" Layer is like fire and lava coming out of the ground, as we are starting a new world, and heading up to an unknown future, that can be somehow weird for the stuff we do now in our new normality.”
“When I first saw my tile, #13, I felt it was like a bending road that divides something.
When I first heard the topic, I immediately thought: Oh cool we're celebrating ETH. For not a second did I think of the Chinese Year of the Ox. This may be because I don't have much of a connection to traditional religions...I believe in the four elements and the overarching 5 forces that connect and control everything and I believe in code. (That's why I have written the Layer description in HEX so my layers come from a technical view of the subject 0x.)
There is fiat and there is crypto, and I believe that 2021 is and will be one of the most important years in crypto. The events in El Salvador, the renewed bull market, now with more institutional investors and the hype around NFTs seem to prove me right. The battle of crypto versus fiat is in full swing and Ethereum has a decisive part in it.
My 3 Layers contain the 3 core elements of this view: the choice between fiat or crypto (or both?); the symbolism of the fiat and ETH layer should be obvious.
The Choose Layer contains NEO from Matrix offering the Blue and Red Pill, an eye and a C64... From my point of view the C64 was the starting point of all those technical developments that arrived in Metaversen. It was the first time computers were used as a mass product and laid the foundation.
I know this is only a brief outline but I don't like to talk about my works and explain to people what they see or what I think they should see. The most important thing in my opinion is what the recipient sees, feels or what the work triggers in them...if this is something other than my interpretation or intention then that is fine and my work is done.”
CthulhuCorp 2034- Foreshadowing: Kerb
“So when I saw the piece I was allotted — it looked like it could have been part of a floor but also maybe a crack in the picture through which people could gaze into an alternate Year of the Ox. I was still living in China when I did this and so obviously the year of the Ox is a big deal — but you are very aware that these animals come around every 12 years. And so as my pieces this year have been dystopian pieces set in 2030, I thought I'd make my piece a vision of 2034.
I've been messing with this 3D rendered Comic book Frank Millar/stencil style this year. Each of these is actually modeled in 3D and rendered. They are different locations that exist in a city ruled over by corporations. The Olympics were on at the time so I made an Olympic village set in a crowded Favela.”
“My layer is of Dog, it was randomly assigned and [not gonna lie] I loved what I received. Though it is a small area, my art has always given most importance to the little details. They always come with a pleasure of discovery. It's my habit to create using stories and have certain symbolism in whatever I make, so I approached creating it by what a dog represents — frankness, love and loyalty plus also what this whole collaboration is about — friends across the globe. And hence I asked my friends from The Guild core team about their favourite breed of dogs, and painted them: Australian Shepherd, Chihuahua, Miniature Schnauzer.”
“It was a great coincidence because I have this thing with pink. The pig is a symbol of good luck and happiness. Pigs love to socialize, are loyal, intuitive, optimistic, and have a good sense of humor. Pigs have an enormous appetite for all the pleasures of life. And yes, pink is their favorite color. I love the pig (and not for dinner.)”
“I have been attributed a one off part of the jigsaw/. As it was one overlapping the rest, so I worked on a light and airy theme.
And I wanted to bring some peace in the chaos and agitation — same I did when all was going crazy on the NFT market. I wanted to bring some comfort to the Ox. Something welcoming where he knows he can come back and have a rest, a little like being at home.
This is all the soothness of a warm breezy summer afternoon in the excitement. I worked on this layer first with ink and paper (black and white).
Then I applied the watercolour (origin) to create softness. And then I created a neon version (neon) to bring some lights. Thank you all so much. I loved working on that collab! I loved the energy here, and all layers together.”
“Most of my work involves concepts of beauty and corruption. So I used watercolor brushes in Procreate to first create pretty layers. Then I used corruption tools to give each section a theme.
So the first one is Earth, which is squared and segmented into sections with corruption tools. Kinda the theme of centralization, separation, brokenness
The second layer is more of an explosive theme, breaking apart, opening, launching. And the third is rounded, interconnected, spherical forms (moon). The idea of moving from separated, centralized entities to an interconnected whole. Which I think it's what blockchain is all about
So it's the obvious ETH to the moon theme mixed with ideals that blockchain and NFT technology enables. A progression...opportunities we all can partake in because of the technology that can unite us in a way that wasn't previously possible, which I've experienced for myself over the last couple years.
So I'm super grateful to The Guild for offering this opportunity for me to participate in this global collaboration that isn't possible otherwise.”
“My layers on ZeroX were the tails. Fellow core Rutger van der Tas had the head and I had the tail. So I had this idea sparked right away. I based off my work with a Chinese saying, 从头到尾 that translates as “from start to finish,” or “from the beginning to the end,” while it reads literally as “from head to tail.”
We wanted to have a strong start for this project and an amazing finish. With that in mind, I’ve focused the tail to complete the 0x. Rutger’s design for the head inspired my design for the tail, to bring the ox together from head to tail.
With strictly 3 colours allowed for the 0x itself (red, golden and green jade), I used a combination of acrylic painting, and digitally combined all the pieces to design the tail(s). Both the Ethereum symbol and the gold coins were hand painted with acrylic gold on paper.
These coins were used as assets within the tail symbolizing wealth. The Chinese believe in numbers and symbols. The leaves and flowers symbolize growth. There’s a total of 8 gold coins in the red tail. And number 8 is highly regarded in Chinese culture: 八 （ba) or number 8 rhymes with the word 发 (fa) for (发财) which means ‘strike rich.’
Additionally I added the Chinese characters fortune, prosperity and longevity; my personal wish for all 38 artists and Layers’ owners would be for them to be blessed with all 3 for the remainder of the ‘Year of the 0x’ and beyond.”
I’ve got the head of ZeroX. For my design I’ve used several images from the Bull of Wall Street. I’ve played with different layers on top of each other like I usually do. For two layers that are variations of each other, I’ve spray painted over them and given spots and shapes that are familiar to a ‘portrait.’
For the 'Burn' state, I used human figures from an illustration about the Golden Calf. In the drawing I have put these humans in flames. I called my Layers:
1: Burn
2: All
3: Fiat
As a reference to the crypto space and the origin of Bitcoin. The sick monetary system we are in, and how we, as people without direct power, are given back the power to be able to change it. At least, I hope we can…
The same thing goes for NFTs and the old system where art is positioned in. NFTs, and the platforms around it, are giving back the power to artists. That NFTs will become mainstream one day, and will deploy different functions in our daily lives is inevitable.
Blockchain and the things we are building upon the different chains are changing the ‘Old World’ forever. And although we might be looked at as if we are crazy, we dare to take these risks to build new things, discover new opportunities, and find ways to work with each other in ways that were not possible on this scale before blockchain. We truly create value on the internet. We are a global community. We moon after moon. We shape our future. Together.”
Fear, Knowledge and Bravery: MrMonk
“My layer is the 31 on the map, the rear left leg, limited by the shape and those 3 colors before mentioned. I wanted to portray the 3 states, these 3 things that we got to learn to manage in this crypto world. Those things were Fear, Bravery and Knowledge, or wisdom. A monster, an elephant, and some blood.
FOMO, WAGMI, HODL and so on are part of our journey. Terms we had to need to learn to apply or to avoid to survive in this new world.
This Ox celebration with its Bull Run match is something that all the artists involved in the project have been able to live with joy. In one way or another I am sure that our lives have changed thanks to the work we have been doing around this artistic revolution.”
Journey to the Center: Gert-Jan Akerboom
“For my Layer of ‘Year of the Ox’ (Journey to the Center), I tried to figure out what could be hidden beyond the surface of the Mythical Ox. The individual Layers reveal secrets in the form of spatial volumes that exist on the two-dimensional plane.
I imagined that traveling through the different Layers would add a sense of the Zodiac’s ‘conceptual volume’ as well, in order to fully prepare for the ‘journey to the Center.’”
“As an artist, I have always wanted my artworks to instill in the mind of its observer the consciousness of growth and progress because my overall artistic journey is deeply rooted in the principles of learning and becoming. Which for sure can be related to the diligence, hard work and reward attributes of the 0x sign according to the Chinese zodiac.
This perception of mine has resulted in me creating every piece of art using a slightly modified style different from what used in previous works and with good intentions; “Steps to Glory” is one of such pieces created on a progressive sequence (The Rebirth).
My layer is #38 on the blueprint, and looking at state 1 (Chaotic) I used what I call Morden symbolism to depict a mental picture of crypto, good health, finance literacy, and the need to follow trends. But the fact remains that we must learn and practice stuff to acquire all this, which makes the mind curious. Moving down to state 2 (Curiosity) I explored a temporary realm of "not knowing.”
The curious man is activated here, and if he must reap the reward of the Year of the 0X, it must then learn and also become what he has learnt. Which takes us to my favourite state 3 titled “Learning.”
I love all the glitter, particles, and contrast that I was able to add to it using Corel Painter which was everything I wish I could do when I created state 2. Hence I was learning and becoming while creating my own “Year of the 0x” piece. And I am proud of what I have become as a result.”
The Bulls Eyes Golden Tear: Okin
“For my ‘Year of the Ox’ contribution, I was tasked with the The Eyes, Nose and Ears Layer.
These elements cover a small part of the overall image, but they play an important part. So I spent a lot of time pixel painting, ensuring we could have that visual connection to the viewer that the eyes and often face demands.
As a portrait artist this is something that I pay a lot of attention to. I also felt that the 3 states had to play on the theme of the 0x. Specifically crypto.
For state 1, 'The Treasure,' we dive into the perceived value of crypto and its relationship to physical assets. That idea of digital gold vs. precious metals, but not forgetting these virtual investments can have thorns in the real world.
'The Liquid' is my state 2 and it refers to liquidity in crypto; if it doesn't flow in your direction tears may be shed.
The final state, 'The Bullseye,' looks at the psychological aspect of trading, how we aim for that bullseye when buying or selling those prized assets!”
Muscles of the Ox: Becca Kennedy
“My layer is called “Muscles of the Ox.” I was given section #33, the Ox’s shoulder area.
It’s a digital painting of the Ox’s muscles in the location that I was given. Each Layer state is a different color — red, yellow and blue. I created the muscles using Procreate and by looking at some reference material depicting the Ox anatomy.
I’ve always enjoyed learning about anatomy and including it in my artwork, so I thought it’d be really interesting to include in this artwork. I took a couple anatomy drawing classes during college, and that’s where I gained an interest in drawing anatomy. I feel so lucky and honored to be part of such an amazing and unique collaboration with other incredibly talented artists!”
The Left Leg: Pule the with_DR
“Interesting that I got the left leg as it coincides with me being left handed. Within this piece a lot was being developed as a signature digital art style.
I decided to work a lot more with patterns with this one because of how I related to the calendar, The Guild community collaborating, and the coincidental pun of the ‘Ox’ in Ethereum. This created an interest to communicate my Layers as patterns. The stages of my Layers relate with the movement of a foot, but in metaphor, the development of an art community, transformation and a need for new patterns or solutions.”
Ruby: The red horn represents nobility, purity, and passion.
Jade: The green horn represents serenity and purity, of wisdom gathered in tranquility.
Citrine: The yellow horn represents happiness and success, healthy body, mind and spirit — of happiness and warmth.
Happy Digital Kaleidoscope: Tom Abbink
“Hi, my name is Tom Abbink (1980). I'm an illustrator/graphic designer/artist from Haarlem, Holland. I'm married to the love of my life and a dad. He's 17 months, so life is on the fast lane for me.
I've always drawn, always. I used to draw on paper with pencils. Nowadays I prefer my touchscreen and graphic pen though. I make abstract collages from paper and magazines. These shapes make their appearance in my digital illustrations and projects. My work is bright, colorful and has its roots in art, European comics and animation. For our ‘Year of the 0x’ project I was assigned the front leg and a color scheme of 3 colors. I loved the 3 colors: red, yellow and green.
You can't go wrong with those! I would have loved to do something more figurative but the leg suited me fine. I could do something abstract with it. After a bicycle accident in 2012, which resulted in a minor brain haemorrhage, I started looking for a new and sustainable way of working. The "old way" I was taught as a student at the royal academy of arts in The Hague and in the time afterwards as a visual artist in my studio didn't work any more. I just couldn’t do it. My brain wouldn't let me. Slowly I developed a visual language that is made up of repeating shapes, colors and materials. This way I could focus on the process. Finding the balance between your mind and your intuition is exciting. My instinct tells me to use a certain color or material, while my mind is constantly analyzing that choice (which can make you doubt your choice). I am learning to trust that first impression more and more.
The elements have become more and more abstract and the meaning is something that the viewer can interpret for himself. This allowed me to overcome the ‘artist block’ I had developed after my accident. This new abstract way of working gave me a way of working on good, bad (when I have headaches), and uninspired days! After some time, it gave me back my most valuable procession: my inspiration. It gave me a love for color and my joy of creating just for the sake of it. I'm back baby!”
“My Layer was the Rooster, #21 on the map. Which was a bit of serendipity (something that has happened a lot across all of the individual artworks that make up this Master), like I said earlier, as the Rooster is my Chinese zodiac sign.
After getting assigned this Layer, I was talking about the collab early on with a group of friends and one of them, Isa Kost, keeps chickens and sent me photos of her rooster. These photos then became my source material for my layers. So, really, this is a collab within the collab!
The photos were used to produce various GAN generated images with different models from basic style transfer to BigGAN and also a model I trained using RunwayML.
According to legends, roosters are able to protect against evil spirits. They are said to represent fidelity and punctuality. Roosters are generally deep thinkers and it is rare that something gets by them. Though abundantly practical, roosters are also big dreamers. This Layer asks everyone to dream big and create the future we want to see. It is ours to build, together.”
“‘Tigress’ was an opportunity to experiment. Inside the shell of the Tiger lives a Tigress, a woman I drew inspired by the spirit and the symbolism of a tiger. The image of the Tigress was then placed through multiple video processes: 1 process for Tigress_Daiichi-Keitai (“First Form”), 2 processes for Tigress_Daini-Keitai (“Second Form”), and 3 processes for Tigress_Daisan-Keitai (“Third Form”).
The Tigress progressively morphs into patterns due to multiple levels of technical errors, resulting in mesmerizing patterns. I imagine creativity and imagination in today’s digital art space, in the form of this “algorithmic liquid,” oozing out of objects we find inspirational.”
“I would like to begin with gratitude for the opportunity to contribute my passions toward a greater whole. I always enjoy the challenges of the collabs that inspire me to blend with diversity in many other dimensions... and also grateful to be learning more about the programmable tech on Async...I have been fascinated with the capabilities of this platform since day one!
Here's the video to see the full vision of my creation. It's a bonus for my Layer with unlockable content that also includes the original VR files.
In the Chinese zodiac, I discovered that Horse (section #17) represents energies of freedom, play, happiness, and following your passion...my imagination went directly to "following dreams into the sunset" and I brainstormed to create one entire virtual reality world to include all 3 states.
Each image is a virtual 'photograph' that was captured while floating around in the world. This piece encompasses an overall feeling of flow...with the movement of the river and the interaction we have with life. When you zoom out, you see a bigger picture of the Horse Symbol, and we are reminded of our connection to mythological and spiritual powers beyond the physical world...and the face is how we see and navigate all the worlds.
“The rat is a very despised animal, but it is a very intelligent creature, small and almost indestructible until you see it. The rat is an efficient little survival machine, that's why I represented it as a little robot willing to navigate all kinds of terrain and adventure in order to get what it wants.”
“Talos here, very happy to be part of this ama and to see you all here! I mostly create floral and gan art. I try not to just let slap dash GAN be my outcome when I choose to do it. These snakes were half of what I have been doing with the space flower series and half GAN with my own custom filters. Huge shout out to Shinji, the core crew, guildies, and of course the Async crew for all the work they do with The Guild.”
“I'm quick to rest and slow to be quick
but quick I will be if I must in a tick.
A trick batch of digits on top for a hitch,
Your binary wishes have granted a glitch
The only wish now: to proceed unimpaired;
dared to be damned and damned if I'm dared.
A hare one might say, though a little mislabeled.
Queue up track 2 if you want me disabled.
Alas I must run, hide and seek from down under.
Where thunder can't find me I sometimes seek cover.
Search far and wide but don't wake me from slumber,
I'll go incognito, your mind can't help but wonder.
Each stanza represents one of the 3 states: If you look closely, you'll understand the deeper meaning in the writing.
In state 1, our rabbit finds themself trying desperately to express their love for that which they are passionate about, only to be censored by love itself.
In state 2, a frightening turn of events finds our dear rabbit void of life and color; shut down until someone of great power brings them back to life.
And finally, in state 3: " 1NC0GN1T0,” our rabbit has bounded off to a new location, peering from behind the safety of their newfound hiding spot.”
“My layers consist of three different interpretations of the east (Chinese) dragon. I Just had fun drawing them in different styles in order to play with the rest of the composition. I have always liked dragons, who doesn't?”
The Goat
Everyone decides for themselves what the Zodiac means to them, so I wanted to make my contribution as accessible as possible. I decided that I would love for the collector of the Goat Layer to relate to it and really claim it for themselves. So when I created the 3 Layer states, I focused on 3 of the Goat's traits.
Perseverance — Blue
The colour is bold, and a cold tone. This Goat is strong and steady. Its spiraling horns represent a difficult road, one that has not been straightforward, and requires tenacity to travel.
Kindness — Orange
A warm and bright colour. This Goat is welcoming. The long, straight horns signify openness and honesty.
Creativity — Pink
A brave, warm and bold colour. This Goat is flamboyant. The curly horns represent experimentation, inventiveness and diversion from the mundane.
View a video version of the artist’s statement here.
Bonuses
The Guild has included several Mega Bonuses that will go to the collector of the Master, plus a bonus that goes to every collector of an individual Layer!
The first of those bonuses is the Golden 0x.
From Shinji Ahkirah: “This is a gift from me to The Guild and ultimately the Master collector. This means that the value of the work upon sale gets distributed equally among the artists involved as I seek no additional return from the gesture. It is done in the true sense of what I believe crypto and the community can do for the world...by using the sum of our efforts to greatly impact and change the lives of others around us, re-igniting and re-stimulating growth in the real world where it is needed especially after the destructive wake that COVID has left.
I lost my grandmother to COVID during the creation of this piece — she was a woman with an enormous heart and love for others and nature. It is in her spirit that I have chosen to release #8559.” Discover more here.
Discover MEGA Bonus #3 here via Twitter: The ‘Golden 0x-Ape Coin.” According to Ahkirah: “We minted all the bios of the artists as separate NFTs on Charged Particles and nested them inside the coin.”
View MEGA Bonus #4, a 1/1 marquee-animated NFT of all 38 artists, here via Twitter.
View MEGA Bonus #5, which the artists revealed in a “Zerox AMA” close to launch, right here via Twitter.
And, don’t miss the next one! If you’re not in our Discord community already, join us here to stay up to date with all things Async.
