Meet the artist behind Ilovecryptos
I keep meeting more and more Italian artists and this is no difference his creation are all very different but its some of his space NFTs I have to say I really like so I had to speak to him about his project .
Hey
Hey crackers how you ?
Not much you ?
Same not much I am hopping to get the website done next week and maybe start some game streams like the ones at the inn .
Oh nice so what brought you into crypto?
Nice question, the idea of mining BTC always tickled me but unfortunately I never started before last year. Then my brother in the last bull run was so excited about BTC and crypto and was talking about it non stop so I decided to delve more into it, I started mining a little on niceash and after that I made a Binance account and I was immediately lost in the rabbit hole.
And when did you get involved in NFTs ?
Almost one year ago .
What made you interested in NFTs ?
I was very skeptical at first about NFTs but now I realize it's a great way for independent artists to get involved and monetize their works - plus a lot more potential uses like gaming . I tried Opensea but after finding wax and discovering the community and all the ecosystem I must say I feel much better here
When did you start creating ?
My first collection on wax is almost one year old. Might make a birthday NFT soon .
Tell us about your project ?
Well I am mainly a photo editor so I tend to start from images from a lot of different sources and disrupt/transform them into something new. Most times I get inspired and experiment to see where it goes with Waxitalia I am trying to build a community around creators and collectors, I took some inspiration from the Online Inn, I love what they're doing there and want to create something similar, but in a more intimate/small space let's say
When did you release your first NFT ?
I was trying to find the exact day but I am not finding it I did a couple things on Opensea but then moved to wax, so I think my first mint on wax is around April/ May 2021 took a little time to learn everything about wax and starting to interact with the community, so I started "getting serious" let's say around November 2021.
Can you remember what was the first NFT you launched on wax ?
He he this is where it all began .
https://wax.atomichub.io/explorer/asset/1099533769664
Nothing exceptional, I know just me experimenting its just a glitch from my pc. But I guess it's unique!
Did you sell many ?
Lol not of this first one overall I can't complain on my sales, the community has been super kind and supportive, and I think someone managed to gain something on the secondary market too so I'm very happy, I wouldn't expect anyone to care much about my stuff, the only fact that someone saw anything in my creations really fills my hearth with pride!
How many NFTs have you dropped since?
A ton! I've been grinding on the project night & day and publishing almost on daily base. Maybe even too much, and I will try to reduce my output in favor of a more Quality vs Quantity approach.
What has been your favorite one to create ?
Can I choose a top 3? let me show you my favorites .
Of course .
Hard to pick but this is probably my top 3, there are also many others that I like a lot, and to be honest also some that I don't really love. I hardly have a plan when I start, I like to follow the flow and see where the image takes me..
But I think this is my favorite
https://wax.atomichub.io/explorer/template/ilovecryptos/429657
https://wax.atomichub.io/explorer/template/ilovecryptos/415629
https://wax.atomichub.io/explorer/template/ilovecryptos/348890
Can I ask why these three ?
It's the ones I like the most, I'd say it's the ones that came out better according to my taste, the color choices/mood represents the chromatic vibes I usually aim for
How do you create your NFTs ?
I've tried many different approaches. My main tool is Photoshop but I use all Adobe suite. Most times I collect or generate photos/artworks and blend 2 or more of them. Then I go crazy with editing until the result is something completely different. I have timidly incorporated my own photography's and drawing as well.
How long does each NFT take to create ?
Depends, most times not too much, I can make 2 or 3 a day. I try to deliver one every day but that might change in the future. I like making new stuff every day but I'll probably want to move to more elaborate stuff as I get better and put out less but better stuff. If something takes a lot more than I expected, I usually save it for later, maybe I try to work on that again when I improve my skills with the software, as I am still in the learning process of making digital art. My idea is that my collectors get to experiment my growth and skill improving process together with me .
Have you done any collabs ?
Yes, I have done collabs with two artists, a friend that is not on wax and Stoned Shawty. Love that dude and his works! I've got a few more collabs with artists on and off Wax under the works. I'm very open to collabs overall so if anyone wants to have their works remixed just hit me up!
https://wax.atomichub.io/explorer/template/ilovecryptos/366622
https://wax.atomichub.io/explorer/template/ilovecryptos/405459
Hmmm let's see. It's hard to discern between the wax artists I like and those that would suit an Ilovecrypto remix.. there are a lot of collections on Wax that I love.. I could throw a few names but I'd probably forget/skip the ones I really liked the most because they're too many! Basically I'd like to collab with those that have those dreamy/trippy/abstract/sci-fi/space vibes that I like the most. But I could easily try to adapt .
What has been the best part of doing your project ?
I'd say the warm welcome from the wax community and creating one myself; learning the awesome technology that is NFT - allowing artists to earn from their work immediately and directly, and innovating the art market; the great feeling of someone liking my works enough to be willing to part from their Wax to own them; and also the gains are sweet, I won't lie . Sometimes they can go against the desire to be driven by pure artistry but in my case I realized that can be a good motivation as I tend to be a very lazy person!
What has been the hardest part ?
Probably learning to cope with the irreversibility on the blockchain and minting mistakes...a friend told me that I should try using the testnet for that so I will try I'd also say trying to overcome my perfectionism in favor of constantly putting out stuff, and trying to learn how the NFT Market works - on the latter, I gave up; I'll just keep getting better and putting stuff out!
Do you collect NFTs ?
Yes I do buy a few and sometimes try to redistribute around a little of what I earn, I like to collect those that I like when they're in the cheap range mainly (anything with low price, I'll buy :P) I love collecting and hodling them, but as "ilovecryptos" but I don't like trading or gains-chasing, I hardly see them as investment (this is very subjective). I know that some people make a lot of money from that but I'm not really into that. So it's just collect what I like and support the community for me, but I'm not the most avid collector. I do own 820 Wax NFTs though .
Do you have a favorite artist ?
Lilcreation, Foodmonsters, Byron, Humbleartist, StonedShawty, Chair, Virtual Dream, BunnyOnWorld, Romanpunks, Nippyz, Shnazzy are those that I like the most that come into my mind right now, in no particular order..but I surely am missing a few that I love, no doubt on that. And of course my creator friends from Waxitalia. .
What does your family think of your project ?
My son is my biggest supporter, he's super interested in NFTs as a lot of boys his age do! He helped me in some creations as well. There are a lot of artists in my family and some have also contributed some base artworks for Ilovecryptos.
That's brilliant . Have you brought anyone into the wax world ?
Oh yes, quite a few people and I'd love to bring more (a few new faces will be coming soon - always got something on my hands behind the scenes hehe!). That's my favorite thing to do. I always try to bring new artists to the community from the non-crypto world, I got to say that unfortunately is not as easy as it sounds as I am noticing that a lot of non-crypto people tend to not understand the technology and they're pretty much afraid of it.
What you like to do to unwind ?
Not really much of a social animal anymore.. so I’d say a little gaming, or videos/movies/documentary.. not too proud to admit that I have been hooked on twitch streams lately
Tell us something random about you ?
Visual arts are not my field (probably it shows hehe), I'm more of an improvisator. just like money/finance is something that doesn't interest me at all. I was born a musician, so it's pretty random that I am doing this, but as everything came pretty natural and I'm loving it I'd say that the crypto art field was a great discovery!
Where can we keep up with your project?
https://linktr.ee/Cryptoguru is a great way to start and I am working on a website (it's online but it sucks right now)
WAXITALIA Discord https://discord.gg/HxZ9D2EnCF is the best to stay updated on my project, and also my tab at the Online Inn (shoutout I love the inn and all the people there) or if you're not a discord person
https://twitter.com/ilovecryptoswax
Where can we buy your NFTs ?
https://neftyblocks.com/c/ilovecryptos
Or the secondary market on Atomichub
https://wax.atomichub.io/market?collection_name=ilovecryptos&order=desc&sort=created&symbol=WAX
Any chance of a competition for the readers ?
No way, I'm not giving anything to your readers, I need Wax! Lol just joking of course let's give away something!! I should we create something just for the meet the artist or would you like something already available or why not both sent you a copy of "the contrarian" for your readers .
We have a few free NFTs on the link below .
Of course . So we have finally reached the last question before we finish is there anything you would like to say or add ?
Sure, I want to say a huge thank you to your readers if they made it so far in the interview, I really appreciate it!! Keep supporting the creators, start creating and be engaged in the community, only buy what you like and try not to go too crazy Also big thank you to you Crackers, to the Online Inn, everyone who bought or won an IlovecryptoNFT (those who I know and those I don't), anyone that's been nice in the wax community - you're awesome!
It been a pleasure thank you for your time and I look forward to what you bring next.
Thank you Crackers, lets keep in touch and thanks for what you do for the wax community and creators!!
So guys please show this guy some support buy joining his Discord or following on Twitter and maybe buy some of his NFTs plus please check out are competition on Twitter
https://twitter.com/Crackers832/status/1496508827428134917?s=20&t=nrzcW1JSCZuXzTKgIT790A
Great interview, thanks to you both.