I tired reaching out to this artist a while back when I seen his work but he didnt see my message I hit him up again and this time we planned something so this is what he had to say
Howdy! It’s me Offroad
Hey man
Are you still up? Are you busy?
Here bud
Hi how are you?
Good just had a power nap lol you ?
I just had some coffee and I’m getting ready to work in my computer before the sun heats up my shed .
Oh is the shed where the magic happens?
Yeah I moved my computer out here recently cause it’s a small house. I’m married with 3 kids living here (2 kids are adults now) . I’m in Berkeley California. I forget, where are you?
So its your home from ? I have 2 kids to lol and I am in Dublin Ireland .
I remember now. Ireland. Maybe we already covered this too but are your kids very young still?
Yeap lol . So is the shed kitted out ?
Hehehe. it’s nice to get out of there and come in here to work. Peaceful. It looks just like a wooden tool shed. But my gear is in here. The only problem is lately we get a warm spell around this time of year and it gets hot in here. I worry about overheating my computer. But it’s ok cause I’ve been doing a lot of drawing lately. I can do that in the heat
Awh what you call warm ?
True, not really that hot but too much for my computer. I have a heat sensor software, it shut my computer down yesterday because of the temp It’s very moderate here. Not too hot, not too cold. I think the bay acts as a heat sink
Ah nice of any chance you a pic of the setup in the shed as your the first NFT artist to say you work in one ?
Hahahaha that’s a fun idea. I have a video of me unfolding some paper to show the process. I’ve been meaning to NFT that. I could see the shed as an NFT also.
That would be cool . Can I ask what brought you into the NFT world ?
I have a friend that is into cryptocurrency and about a year ago he told me about NFTs. My only crypto experience before that I had bought some doge coin
I started with Ethereum NFTs but the gas fees were killing me. Anything at all costs gas. I can’t even change my price or cancel a sale without paying fees. So I found out about Wax which has much less fees. I can afford to experiment and learn.
How long have you been into crypto and NFTs? How’s you get into it?
Oh me I got involved in 2019 and NFTs very early this my mate got me setup with a few NFTs on wax and I haven't looked back ?
Do you make NFTs?
Nope can barely draw a straight line lol .
You write. Do you write stories? Maybe collaborate with a visual artist.
No I try get the how why when what about NFT artist ?
Interview style. I get it.
And I really want to start doing video interviews soon . How come you started to make NFTs ?
I’ve been making art forever so when I found out about a new way to sell art I was interested. I have done a lot of chalk drawings. I used to do them out on the sidewalk, put out a hat and some people would tip the hat. I’d get a lot of complements, everyone taking photos, but not enough tips to make it worth it. I would spend 6-10 hours on these drawings.
Put it on paper and sell it’ they would say. It’s hard to sell a chalk/pastel drawing on paper. You can’t really spray it with fixative. You have to frame it behind glass which is expensive. So an NFT of a chalk drawing. That’s a way to sell the chalk drawings.
Of course so this is a full time for you ?
So I have an NFT collection of chalk drawings/oil paintings and I have a second NFT collection of experimental art. The experimental art I call Folded Paper. I fold paper with stencils and things inside. Then I carefully pour color into the folds. When I unfold it there is a design . I have a day job but I spend a lot of time on art
Ah so you have two different collections? Which one do you prefer to work on ?
I enjoy both. They are both very different. Drawing is exact, takes focus, but the results are clear. The experimental art takes new ideas, it’s not as directly controllable. And the results are non representational so it’s less clear.
My computer has overheated and shut down (temp monitor shut it down to protect it). I have a couple pieces that I’m excited to do in the computer. I’m working on a piece to celebrate 5k followers on Twitter when/if that happens I want to be ready. At least I saved it before it shut down .
Wow at least everything was saved .I get what you mean they are two different types but both give you pleasure I understand the the experimental art must be more difficult have you unfolded one and said no ?
I saved it before rendering. I guess the rendering was too much for the heat. Some of the experimental pieces do not work out. I’ll do them in batches of 2- 10 pieces at a time and I like some pieces better than others. The experimental art is actually very easy. It takes prep work. Finding interesting shaped, flat things to work as stencils. Could be plants, gears from a watch, anything. Then it takes time to fold it in a way that will utilize the stencil and the symmetry of the fold. After they’re folded, adding the color doesn’t take very long. Opening and rinsing them off is always fun. It’s like opening little birthday gifts. I’m always surprised.
Love it .
Thanks . I making the 5k a little bigger and centering it better.
How often do you do your experimental art ?
I’ve been drawing I lot lately so I haven’t done a batch of folded paper in a few weeks. I’ll do another batch soon because I have some new applications for folded paper. Some new NFT ideas for it. Hmmm looking at the 5k video I might change up the pattern a little also There’s a lot of refinement. I have some people that I try to get feedback from before I release something. Feedback is so important (to me) in art.
Here’s a drawing I’m gonna work on
Love that pic how long you working on that . So you wont release that till your total happy how many edits would you normal do? Is your chalk drawing pencil drawing first ? Who you go for feedback?
Sometimes I’m lucky and I nail it in one shot. Other times I struggle. Each design can be like a puzzle to find a solution that works. Not to mention it’s all opinion and subjective.
The chalk drawing are just chalk/pastel. I usually get some reference material to look at and I dive right in. Chalk is very forgiving. In a sense, it never dries so I can always blend/adjust.
That drawing started as a different head. I took a photo/NFT , then changed it a little for a new photo/NFT. This head is about 17 evolutions from the first head. I’ve been releasing 1 head a day until there’s 100 Waxheads (that’s what I call them.
My best go-to for feedback is my partner in the Folded Paper collection-Ryan Medeiros. He designed the elegant frames and animation in Folded Paper. He is also a pro designer and art teacher for years. He’s the one who said to center the 5K and make it a little bigger. He has a great eye for detail. A real pro.
You should check out Ryan Medeiros’ Instagram. He’s got some great work. https://www.instagram.com/elrygar/
Oh so some of your work is done as a team ?
Yes the Folded Paper collection is me an Medeiros. I do a lot of the day to day stuff but he’s invaluable for the style he established and his expertise
Of course how many NFTs have you created ?
I’m not sure. Right now Folded Paper has 18 designs in 4 rarities (that’s something like 60 different NFTs). Atomichub says there are 3,442 NFTs from that collection out in the world! Offroadpaint (the collection of chalk drawing/oil paintings) says it has 54 templates.
Oh wow how often do you drop a new NFT ?
The Waxheads have a new head every day.
Folded paper has 4 more designs planned to finish this edition. Also, every week I create a limited edition for folded paper that I give to Membership Card Holders (members get at least 1 free NFT a week). Then I do a small drop of those limited editions for sale.
I’m also planning a free NFT for people that have a Folded Copper NFT (part of Folded Paper collection).
Oh wow so your very interactive with the community . What has been your favorite?
Yes I try to make it worth your while. My favorite NFT? I really like how this Folded Cube came out
https://wax.atomichub.io/explorer/asset/1099548960479
Oh that is cool how did you create that ?
Adobe After Effects has some limited 3d. You can create a flat surface and rotate it around. So I stuck 6 surfaces together in a cube. Pretty simple actually. They’re all 90 degrees rotated from each other. But I’ve tried it with a pyramid and things got complicated.
Here’s another I used after effects to create a round, flat surface. It paper thin though so to get some thickness to the coin I duplicated the paper thin surface about 80 times.
How long did it take to create ?
The cube was pretty quick once I figured out the technique. Now I can make another cube with a new design on it very quickly. Sometimes I’ll be doing a drawing in the real world and I’ll go to hit the “undo” button forgetting that I’m not on a computer. Hehe
One of my first NFTs. Oil painting. Still a fav of mine
Ha ha I know we take tech for granted lol love that . How you many collabs under your belt ?
I did a collaboration with cryptoswatch. Hmmm I can’t think of any others.
Who would be your dream collab ?
I’d love to do something with Blockchain Heroes. And I like Ken Bosak’s stuff. Both have been inspirational and are some pretty big names.
Of course who is your favorite artist on wax ?
There’s so many good ones. Kyle Loza has a tarot deck coming out I’m looking forward to. I like https://mobile.twitter.com/NFTAlleyCat and https://mobile.twitter.com/ArtistByron
Those 2 Twitter links are for Catarax and Byron the Artist.
I know both of them very well we chat all the time .
I like them both. Fun work. I’m gonna reach out to them for a collaboration some time
You should both are lovely guys .
Yes and I think our drawing styles could all work together somehow. I’ll come up with some idea before I approach them about it.
What's the biggest collection in your wallet ?
Blockchain Heroes but I’ve got them staked so they don’t show in my wallet.
Biggest in my wallet are the Gnome series. I do like those gnomes. I got a lot of them free when they were first starting. Now they have a game. I’ve been meaning to try it.
I chatted to the two nicks before gnome series took off great project with great owners I still haven't tried the game myself .
Good to hear. I’ve never talked with them but they seem nice.
They are .
I remember people were hassling them because they released new gnomes and it lowered the price. So people got angry that they were losing money, but the devs defended themselves saying they were trying to make a good game and needed enough gnomes. I thought they handled it really well.
Can't keep everyone happy !!!
Totally. I can’t imagine the responsibility.
What your family think of your project?
My family is supportive but I would probably make steadier money if I spent more time on my day job.
Tell us something random about yourself ?
For fun I like to make art or play music with a couple friends. We haven’t played music together since before the COVID. I play guitar, I like to just improvise and make it up as we play.
Where you like to keep the community updated ?
I have my Twitter
(https://mobile.twitter.com/iamoffroad ) where I talk about my NFTs and keep up with the community. Currently I am very close to 5 thousand followers. I have a free NFT drop that I will open when/if I get 5 thousand. I also occasionally have contests on my Twitter, where you can win a free NFT.
Can we have links to where we can buy your NFTs ?
Any Drop for Folded Paper NFTs will be found here https://neftyblocks.com/c/waxpaperfold
And any Waxheads or drawings/paintings can be found here https://neftyblocks.com/c/offroadpaint
Oh what advice do you have for new artists ?
Advice to new artists- keep working. Don’t give up. The best art is the art that actually gets created.
Any chance of a drop or competition for the readers ?
Actually I have a contest on my Twitter, retweet my pinned tweet for a chance to win a free NFT on Monday.
https://twitter.com/iamoffroad/status/1441975277505024002?s=09
Is there anything else you would like to add or say to the readers ?
Thanks again for the interview/chat. It was very fun. Like I said before, you ask the questions that I want to talk about. Let me know if I missed anything or if you need any other info.
A big thanks to this artist for bearing with me while we did this and folks to win a free NFT cheeck out his twitter post.
