Media - Digital Art Project NFT's

 This term I wanted to create a set of digital art images with the theme 'Return of the Dolls'.  The ultimate aim was to create an NFT for sale.  NFTs are; 'Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) are cryptographic assets on a blockchain with unique identification codes and metadata that distinguish them from each other. Unlike cryptocurrencies, they cannot be traded or exchanged at equivalency.' (Sharma, 2022)  Like many new digital inventions this can sound complicated but living in the real world it is important if I am to continue to make work to explore all options and keep up with the latest innovations.  

Image via OpenSea

This image 'Bored Ape' 'NFT [was sold]for $3,000 instead of $300,000 — all because of a misplaced decimal point. As first reported by CNET, the NFT’s owner Max (or maxnaut) listed the NFT for sale on Saturday. Max, who describes himself as a “solo-traveller, bored ape, marketing agency owner & NFT investor,” had meant to price the NFT at 75 ether (around $300,000) but accidentally typed 0.75 ether instead (roughly $3,000). Before they could correct the mistake, the NFT had been snapped up, apparently by a bot programmed to find and buy undervalued listings.' (Vincent, 2021)  This is interesting as it states the cryptocurrency used and how easy it is to get it wrong!  It is also interesting that the above image was worth $300,000.  The fact that bots are buying is also news to me so this certainly deserves more investigation as to actually HOW do I do this!  I know that I must sign up to an NFT site that sells art so that I can make my work into a digital asset.  Forbes states that; 'Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) seem to have exploded out of the ether this year. From art and music to tacos and toilet paper, these digital assets are selling like 17th-century exotic Dutch tulips—some for millions of dollars. But are NFTs worth the money—or the hype? Some experts say they’re a bubble poised to pop, like the dotcom craze or Beanie Babies. Others believe NFTs are here to stay, and that they will change investing forever.' (Conti, 2022)  So it looks like they may be here to stay, if not it is certainly worth trying whilst they are hot!  So I checked out some of the best NFT sites to buy and sell work. There are many articles that compare different NFT sites so, entering the minefield, here are a few that I will be investigating; Opensea, Opensea Solsea, Rarible, SuperRare and Foundation to start with.  I have added a couple of links in the bibliography about these sites. I will also need to investigate crypto currency and blockchain to ensure that I fully understand how this will work.

On this post, I will have a look at Rarible and see if I can set up an account.  So I go to Rarible and go to its 'How it works' page as can be seen here I have some reading to do before I get started!

I discover the first thing I need to do is create a wallet.  I did this through Metamask and saved my secret recovery phrase in multiple secure places as instructed as this is where the currency will live and only I can access using this phrase. To mint an NFT there is a fee depending on how this is done so this will be a consideration once I get started and try to mint my first asset.

I discovered this was a long process as I tried to set up my profile.  I did manage to do this and mint my first asset however I am still struggling to get this to display.  You can see my profile below.  I used Ethereum as this is the most used currency and seemed the best option.  It did take a few attempts to actually mint my assets and choose the right options.  

I think I have a lot more learning to do here, however, I am pleased I got this far!  Now the basics are set up I can work on, getting my profile and work up and noticed!

References

Conti, R., 2022. What Is An NFT? How Do NFTs Work?. [online] Forbes Advisor INDIA. Available at: https://www.forbes.com/advisor/in/investing/what-is-an-nft-how-do-nfts-work/ [Accessed 14 April 2022].

Sharma, R., 2022. Non-Fungible Token (NFT). [online] Investopedia. Available at: https://www.investopedia.com/non-fungible-tokens-nft-5115211 [Accessed 14 April 2022].

Vincent, J., 2021. $300,000 Bored Ape NFT sold for $3,000 because of misplaced decimal point. [online] The Verge. Available at: https://www.theverge.com/2021/12/13/22832146/bored-ape-nft-accidentally-sold-300000-fat-finger [Accessed 14 April 2022].

Bibliography

Patel, N., 2022. Opensea vs. Solsea vs. Rarible NFT Marketplace | NFTsea Vs. Opensea Minting. [online] 2022. Available at: https://makeanapplike.com/opensea-vs-solsea-vs-rarible-nft-marketplace/ [Accessed 14 April 2022].

Geyser, W., 2022. Top 15 Marketplaces for Creators to Sell Non-Fungible Tokens in 2022. [online] Influencer Marketing Hub. Available at: https://influencermarketinghub.com/nft-marketplaces/ [Accessed 14 April 2022].

Media: Photography Shoot - Mark II

 After completing a shoot during the session around the backstreets, I followed this after looking at the shots, with my own shoot.  I wanted to concentrate on the idea of home and so I photographed around my building and where I lived.  I have lived in this place since 2014 and in Leicester much longer.  My parents were both from Leicestershire, I have known these streets from a young age and have seen the changes.  I wanted this shoot to reflect that familiarity. I shot all of these in black and white as I felt that these were more successful in the first set and I have used some of the same techniques and worked on leading lines as I think during curation these could work well together. I took fewer shots as my camera actually died for unknown reasons on this shoot so I stopped when it stopped - the camera is in surgery I am hoping it is nothing fatal!

I was using my Olympus OM-D E10 Mark II for these shots at ISO 400, I started at F6.3

The shots I quite liked were these: 

'Home' ISO 400, 1/800, F6.3, FL34mm

'No Entry' ISO 400, 1/500, F6.3, FL14mm

I liked this shot as it matched my 'No Left Turn' shot from the previous outing.  

'Yep' ISO 400, F6.3, 1/1250, Exp-0.3, FL14mm

Yes, it's the classic shadow of the photographer shot - put it in as I liked the balance of the road and my building in the background. 

Media: Urban Landscape First Shoot

 The magic of photography continues.  Today we went out to The Curva and backstreets to take some shots.  The weather, in English style, was overcast and so the sky ranged from grey to white (not ideal), however, it did stay dry and I am hoping I got some good shots.  Started by setting my camera Olympus OM-D E-Mark10 II to ISO 400, F5.0, and just adjusted settings as I went.  Took some Black and white and some colour.  Here are the contacts from the day, took around 150 images.

So I will just look at a few of the images that I thought worked quite well from the shoot.  

ISO 400, F3.5, 1/250, FL 14mm

I picked this one as I walk by this every day to work and there is often evidence of the night before which may include foam, cans and general odd rubbish. I liked the door and the bin I felt this worked well as a shot.

 ISO 400, 1/50, F14 FL 14mm

This shot I enjoyed the turn left only - a sign that life is telling you, you can only go one way! Also this has a great leading line and so the eye is drawn up the street through the image.  

 ISO 400, 1/125, F5.6 FL 15mm

This is not in any way my best shot but I couldn't help but like it, I loved the two bins with the twining leaves above and I kind of liked it that in the background a man is standing at the window.  The balance of this image pleases me....

I will take further images that perhaps have more of a theme, or personal meaning and post these ready for the next session 

Media SMART Objective

 

SMART Objective for Media Project Sign Off 

I will be creating a Digital Art project which will consist of 4-6 final images that will use the concept of The Return of the Dolls following on from my former project of The Army of Dolls. I will use my own and stock images and create the digital art pieces in Photoshop.   will then upload them to an NFT site and create digital assets to sell online.  They will also be uploaded onto my website in a gallery by the deadline at the beginning of June.

Media: Piktochart Developing Ideas

 Finalised my idea for the Media project and I decided to go with the Digital Art project.  I have names this The Return of the Dolls as my concept will be a story that will follow on from The Army of Dolls

Please find my picktochart with more development and explanation here and the link:

IIM Book Cover Design: Initial Ideas & Practice

 This week we are being inspired by written work and so we are looking at book cover design so I need to consider books I might like to redesign.  I am tempted to C.S. Samson, here are some examples of his book covers 

C.S. Samson (2015) Dissolution

C.S. Samson (2008) Revelation

As you can see, these book covers work as a set however I think I could do something interesting with these titles so I am going to do a practice run in class.

I began by creating a canvas on photoshop, I did this by clicking on create new and then 'Print' in the top menu of the dialog box.  I then picked an A$ size from the templates and changed the resolution to 300 dpi for high quality in case I wanted to print.

I then opened by image in Photoshop which I found on Pexels which I thought would work quite well with the book title of 'Revelation'.  As this is a historical novel then I needed an image that was timeless and certainly did not look contemporary.  The image also had the dramatic air that reminded me of the novel itself. 

I then wanted to add the text so I spent some time choosing a suitable font so the typography, again reflected the novel itself.  I chose Euclid Fraktur for the title and authors name and the title was at  100pts & the author at 36 pts.  I lined this up to centre this as the image was central so this would balance well and be aesthetically pleasing. 

I then added a tagline to interest and excite readers and those that know the stories would want to buy this book in the series - I used 30pts Baskerville Old Face 

The final version I saved as a psd, in the cloud and on the desktop and also as a jpeg on the desktop to upload here.

As a practice this worked quite well and considering it was completed in a very short class this gives me an idea about other books or covers I could explore. 

IIM Art Inspired by Art Final Shot & Reflection

 Here is my final choice of shot for my recreation/reimagining

                  

For the final shot, I adjusted slightly on Photoshop by cropping so that the shot was closer to the original.  I also adjusted on curves brightening the image slightly as the original is slightly more exposed. 

I think as a recreation this was an interesting one as the girl in the original is young and has the look of innocence surrounded by the cream and white but also is in her own environment.  I also have used my own environment for the shot so this reflects very much of my own look in the shot.  I am not young and so don't have the naivety of the original but I think there is the same slight sadness to the look and softness to the image that makes it compelling. 

I also tried this in black and white just to see if this would change the feel of the image. I liked the black and white however I think the color shot works better with the light and the blond hair, purple duvet and sunlight on skin.