Sailing the OpenSea: Star Sailor Siblings, Spottie WIFI & More
By Langston Thomas
Ahoy & GM weary traveler,
Traversing the vast expanse of the world's largest NFT marketplace has become a bit daunting, hasn't it?
Well fret not, I’ve been venturing far and wide with the simple goal of unearthing the most innovative and awe-inspiring NFT projects out there!
In this weekly column, I’ll share all sorts of discoveries with you - big, small, new and old. So all aboard the S.S. WAGMI to marvel at what I’ve found whilst Sailing the OpenSea…
Star Sailor Siblings
“Star Sailor Siblings” (SSS) is a new project launched at the beginning of August 2021. While most PFP projects use their public sale to bootstrap a community, the Siblings Discord was already a vibrant intersection of artists, collectors, investors and NFT enthusiasts - with regular visits from major players like Pak, FVCKRENDER, toomuchlag, XCOPY & more.
Depicting whimsical futuristic robots with varying traits, “SSS” is an avatar project built entirely within the Siblings community, with numerous members contributing to its art, music and trajectory. With a full week separating their mint date from the full avatar reveal, “SSS” seems to be a unique endeavor amongst the saturated PFP market.
“I'm Spottie”
Those active on NFT Twitter are likely to recognize Spottie WiFi, the first CryptoPunk rapper. Having gained a following with his no-holds-barred personality and crypto-referencing releases, the “I’m Spottie” collection acts as the release of his debut album.
The 8-track album features five originals, two remixes and a mashup, whose corresponding tokens are available in varying degrees of rarity. Collectors of the “I’m Soittie’s” 2000 NFT’s will also receive a limited edition vinyl pressing of the album sometime later in 2021.
Multiverse of gregs
Where would the NFT space be without some comedic relief here and there? The “Multiverse of gregs” is a truly high quality meme project with Photoshop work that is well done considering the context.
Created by crypto influencer greg16676935420 in conjunction with software engineer Matt Esparza, the project’s proceeds go directly to the St. Jude Research Hospital Charity Foundation! With 151 different variations of greg and over 100 ETH already traded, these are fun to look at regardless of your wallet size.
Formulae
Generative art has been around since the 1960’s, yet some of the medium's most complex and aesthetically pleasing pieces have arguably been created and minted as NFTs. Art Blocks has been a gold standard in the generative NFT art world for quite some time, and “Formulae” arrives as one of their latest endeavors.
Dropped as the TBOA (The Blocks Of Art) Club’s Event #4, “Formulae” offers pieces forged through generative pointillism - creating odd and abstract geometric shapes. Generative NFTs, especially curated ones, tend to fall in the higher price range - and this collection is no exception.
Audioglyphs
Not to be confused with Larva Labs’ Autoglyphs, Audioglyphs are randomly generated, infinitely playing audio NFTs that are created through the use of on-chain data from a project called Pixelglyphs. This puts Audioglyphs in the category of generative and audio NFTs, both of which are still relatively niche within the non-fungible community.
While the spiral visuals alone are worth marveling at, the project’s randomized combinations of sounds is one of its most interesting attributes. Synths, drums and even bass can be heard, creating a unique musical experience dependent on which Pixelglyph the mint number corresponds to.
CHOR
The collection “CHOR” is a collaboration between Vintage Music Label and Brazilian multidisciplinary artists CHOR. An experienced 3D, graffiti, and sculpture artist, CHOR had been struck with hard times during COVID, and this collection is aimed at assisting him with buying a new computer and helping him provide for his family.
“CHOR” showcases highly-polished pieces depicting eerie, monster-like creatures, odd sceneries, unusual events and more. Not many of these NFTs have sold and the floor is ripe for the picking!
CryptoCities
“CryptoCities” is a voxel NFT project that recreates miniature replicas of iconic cities from reality and fiction alike. Although they launched back in March, with only 72 out of the total 333 pieces already minted, they’ve been gaining some significant traction in the last few months.
This project combines the IRL hobby of miniature model making with incredibly detailed 3D sculpting to create landscapes unachievable outside of the imaginative world of digital art. The resulting NFTs are fantastical landscapes that have been flying off the (metaphorical) shelves.
Disclosure: The author contributed music to the Star Sailor Siblings project pro bono.
Photo Credit: Markos Mant