From 'Zero Experience' to World-Renowned Crypto Artist
In the short time since we spoke with him at GameDay, Beeple has continued to make front page news. Just this week you may have seen a compilation of his work become the first purely digital art (or “Crypto Art”) offered by a major auction house! We couldn’t be happier for him and what his achievements have meant for the digital art community. If you’re unfamiliar with his story, let us introduce you.
As you’ll discover, Beeple joined the #Everydays movement, a challenge for artists to keep creating and practicing. Thirteen years later, his sketches have evolved into 3D renders and paved the way for collaborations with Justin Bieber, Apple, Louis Vuitton, and many more.
What does NFT mean?
In light of Christie’s auction, Beeple has largely become the face of “crypto art,” which is digital art whose ownership is proven through the use of Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) and blockchains. If that sounds like gibberish to you, don’t worry, you’re not alone.
Basically, cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin use mathematical algorithms and proofs to ensure their digital tokens can’t be copied (if everyone could just print out a US Dollar, they’d be a lot less valuable). In the case of NFTs, the digital token isn’t like money, it’s a proof of ownership – like a deed to a house. That’s why they’re called “non-fungible.” A dollar is “fungible” because it can be swapped for another dollar, but house deeds can vary in value.
How valuable can ownership of a digital artwork really be? We’ll leave that up to the future to decide, but here’s Beeple discussing what crypto technology could mean for artists.
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About Beeple
Beeple is Mike Winkelmann, one of the originators of the current "everyday" movement in 3D graphics. He has been creating a picture everyday from start to finish and posting it online for over 13 years without missing a single day. This practice has led him to working with brands like Nike, Samsung, and SpaceX and collaborating with artists like Justin Bieber, Ariana Grande, and Eminem. You can find out more at his website and follow him on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.
About GameDay
GameDay is a video series from KitBash3D featuring world-building demos and interviews with artists from projects like THE LAST OF US PART II, HALO, STAR WARS, AVATAR and many more. GameDay is hosted by KitBash3D founders Maxx & Banks and originally aired live in partnership with LightBox Expo.
