Meet the artist behind PixelGibs

I have chatted to this artist for a while and he is not long in the game but has his own little project going but the cool thing is that it is about his dog and I keep saying it I have a love for pixel art on WAX so it was a must to chat to him .

Hey man

Hello hello!!!

How are you?

I'm doing good! Just got home from running some errands. itching to work on stuff as always hahaha. How about yourself?

I am in work for the night. How did you start in crypto?

I actually got started last year late August using my 2070 super GPU to mine ETH. I tried out a handful of pools and before the years end made roughly $265 USD in 3 months. From there I tried the whole "HODL" thing, but inevitably became bored and started looking at things to do with all the "wizard money" I had procured.

Ah how did you discover NFTs?

I discovered NFTs when I wanted to give all 70ish of my coworkers a crypto gift that wouldn't overly confuse people for the 2021 Holiday! After some time, I decided I needed something tangible but more exciting than a QR code containing a wallet seed and some instructions. Then I found out about the vIRL NFT thing and figured that could be a way to sneakily stoke people's interest in crypto and provide one hell of a holiday gift!

Why did you choose WAX for your project?

I hate to say it, but pretty much every reason in the book hahaha! From the affordability for both creators and collectors, to the powerful tools constantly being developed, to the eco-friendly nature of it's blockchain. But the real number one reason is the culture and community I found. I haven't found this kind of love and support being shoveled in waves between artists anywhere in my life before, online or not. I felt immediately at home.

So tell us about your project?

PixelGibs are collectible NFTs based around a pixelated papillon named Gib! He is inspired by my real papillon Gizmo. The first releases are collectible cards with various single accessory Gibs that collectors blend together to create different outfits! Included in the packs people open are Gizmotos! Gizmotos are coin NFTs that will be usable within the PixelGib sphere to get extra goodies, exclusive drops, and so on. Currently they can be used for extra cards, a VIG Pass, and a new PFP Builder Pack to turn your favorite Gibs into profile pic styled NFTs! There is also some discord integration! Beyond automated roles and private areas for NFT owners, collectors can unlock links to bonus freebies for blending certain secret PixelGibs! PixelGibs wont always be cards or blended outfits either, as I have an ever growing list of ideas involving the Gib! They will however always involve pixel art of Gib in some way.

Can we have a pic gizmo?

https://www.instagram.com/gizmo.the.beanhead

Awh .

When did you launch the project?

PixelGibs launched officially on WAX and NeftyBlocks on April 22nd!

What was the first drop?

The first drop is the NeftyBlocks Launch set, which is various sized packs containing several of 20 different cards. There is also a separate free drop for a NeftyBlocks Collar, fully usable with the cards from the packs. 7 hats, 7 glasses, and 7 chest cards in total. Collectors can blend any 2 or 3 cards (as long as the slots do not conflict) together to pick and choose what they want their PixelGib to look like! So 490 different blends for people to make!

Oh wow that is some amount how did the packs do?

There were packs of 2, 5, and 10 cards. All 50 - 10 card packs sold out in the first couple minutes! Then all 100 - 5 card packs sold in the following 6 or 7 hours. The 2 card packs have yet to sell out, but as of right now 191 of 250 have been sold! I am still honestly a bit in shock how fast it all happened!

So you have a lil community growing already?

Yup! It's a small handful of people, but I care about them alot already and make sure to support anything they do as much, if not more, than they have supported me They really made my dreams happen that night and have gotten me hooked to NFTs and going crazy with ideas.

What is the process of making your NFTs?

First I make the art for the cards in photoshop. The Gibs themselves are made on a 100x100 pixel canvas, which is upsized 1000% for the final card art. After I create and export all card images (which is a drain when you have 500 to do manually), I then apply them to the current animation template I have created for this set in Blender. Then it's another round of one by one exchanging the textures on the card model and letting my GPU render the animation. The current animations take about 2 minutes per for a 3 second mp4. I had to create a multipage Excel sheet just to keep track of my progress across the weeks hahaha!

Do you use many programs?

I only use Photoshop and Blender currently.

How long does each NFT take to create?

Hard to exactly say hahaha. Once the accessories are made, it only takes a handful of seconds to export each image from photoshop. How long it takes to actually make the accessories is hard to say as I have only done a few! Once in Blender, it takes approx 2 minutes for each card animation to render. The setup took months of learning and building, but now that it is done I can make an entire new card in minutes plus however long I take to make the design on the card itself.

Are you happy with your process now do?

Yes and no. Although I am thrilled I can focus on the art itself for a while, and have more time to be involved in the community rather than doing digital manual labor, I am not one to sit still. I already am coming up with a headache inducing amount of ideas to improve and expand not only my creation process but functionality of the NFTs I make across platforms like Discord and NeftyBlocks. I do not mind taking the time to do things slowly and manually, but it is stressful even if the reward is great.

That's a good thing do what has been your favorite NFT?

Hard to say, but of the initial 511 cards, I'd have to choose PixelGib #112! This one always gave me "The Tiniest Wizard" vibes and I haven't stopped thinking about it since

Is there room for collabs in your project?

Absolutely! I've actually already talked to a few people about it and hopefully I'll get to announce something soon!

Can you drop any names?

The only person I think I can say 100% is my new friend sshhooee1111! Love their acrylic work and very excited to see where ourt collab goes.

Who would be your dream collab?

Honestly, a serious collab with NeftyBlocks themselves. It would have to be something much more than just incorporating a logo or making it onto NeftyQuest, but I would absolutely strike that iron if it were ever to be hot. And that's so far ahead in my Artist/NFT career anyway hahaha. Its a nice dream though

Who is your favorite NFT artist?

Ugh the dreaded favorite question hahaha! One of my favorites would be mikeeMyk behind RedPanda Adventures. Every time I see one of their creations I cant help but smile and feel a kind of joy similar to when the real Gizmo does something unbearably cute.

Love Mikee . What has been your favorite part of doing your project?

All the learning I not only wanted but had to do! I learned a bit of basic web development and SQL, stopped getting dizzy when opening Blender, discovered personal tricks of pixel art through practice, and even started dipping my toe into writing smart contracts myself! As for PixelGibs itself, I'd only say my favorite part is the designing of the cards because how lost I get in making them! Today I am currently at hour 6 working on a special occasion PixelGib soon releasing.

What has been the hardest part?

Not getting ahead of myself. I had a fortune cookie paper I got at the start of making PixelGibs on WAX that said "He who chases two rabbits, catches none" and I think that actually helped myself stay focused at times.

I can understand that. What your family think of your project?

My mother thinks its neat but doesn't really understand it hahaha! My fiancé's family is indifferent. I'm sure most people have the same experience.

What you like to do to unwind?

I'd like to say video games, but these days I just spend all my free time either working on the project or learning something related. So I guess watching YouTube tutorials.

Tell us something random about you?

I have a deep love for mycology! I used to dream of being the first to successfully mass cultivate white truffles.

Where the best place to keep up with the project?

100% on Discord http://discord.gg/C8ZPe5TPaU

Twitter http://twitter.com/pixelgibs

Where can we buy your NFTs?

On NeftyBlocks! https://neftyblocks.com/c/thepixelgibs Though, PixelGibs is whitelisted on AtomicHub as well, I would prefer if all sales possible be kept on NB. Much love to Juan and everyone else that makes NeftyBlocks tick

When the next drop?

Depends if I manage to get anything done for either the 4th or Cinco de Mayo! If I miss those then hopefully something else that's in the works will be ready end of next week.

Is there any thing else you would like to say or add?

Nothing else other than shout out to the entire wax community! Y'all have not only shown me hard work, love, and dedication pays off, but inspire me to return to making art like nothing nor no one ever has before.

https://neftyblocks.com/c/thepixelgibs/drops/115116

This is one of his new drops the is only priced at 0.50 WAX or 1.02 Nefty . And if you fancy winning 1 of his NFTs I have two to giveaway so check out the link below.

https://twitter.com/Crackers832/status/1525969539032305665?s=20&t=4OJoeqrvGG3cA-qzVzsETA