Meet the artist Tonya Snow-Cook AKA Zanygumballs

So I seen this artist on Telegram and thought I would hit them up for an interview and they happily answered and I want to help the community to meet new artist so lets learn all about them

How you today ?

I’m good. How are you?

I am good so did you anything exciting today

I’m actually at work. lol

(Few hours later )

How was work ?

Long, but productive . Was your day productive?

Yea working this morning chatted to cat fresh earlier trying to finish an article and chatting to you so busy person lol

So can I ask what you work as ?

Yes, I’m a professional technical writer. Been doing this for 21+ years.

Oh wow who you do that for now feel like I am under pressure😅😅😅😅

No, don't feel that way at all. It's what I do, not you! lol

This a hobby for me a way for me to relax by asking artist lots of questions !!!

Yes, a nice little creative outlet for you. That's what creating NFTs is more me. I get it.

So what your artist name ?

Zanygumballs

So what attracted you to NFT's ?

Well, first I got into the cryptocurrency space back in 2017. I'd been tracking various cryptos and naturally started learning about the various block chains. I didn't learn about WAX blockchain until I learned of the Topps release of GPK Series 1 NFTs. After that, I sort of fell into it. I'd always been creative. I have YouTube videos of speed paintings created with MS Paint. LOL

Oh cool so your a YouTube star as well so you have crypto coins as well so your an all rounder so what coins you holding at the moment ?

I've got a little bit of a lot of stuff: Bitcoin, Litecoin, Bitcoin Cash, Doge, ETH, Chainlink, Maker, Steller, BAT, Compound, WAX, EOS, Zcash, The Graph, and the list goes on.

Oh wow so bit of everything .

Yeap, little of everything, not to mention the social tokens and game tokens and other tokens I've discovered while on the WAX blockchain. It's been fascinating.

Yea its hard to avoid other coins once you go down the rabbit hole of crypto

It really is. Have you dabbled in the coins?

Oh of course I even got a nice payout for having Ampl coin this week from the governance coin forth 🤑🤑🤑

Nice. It's always good when there's a payout for taking chances.

Can I ask is that your car in the profile pic ?

Yes, that's a 1976 Mustang II Hatchback. My dad had a red one similar to that one when I was growing up. I had to track one down for myself!

Oh wow that class

It's definitely a classic.

Totally agree

So where you based ?

I am Living in Texas

Where you raised there ?

No, I was born and raised in Louisiana. I moved to Texas about 15/16 years ago. My husband was born and raised in Texas...Dallas.

Oh cool and is he into crypto as well

Not yet, he's been talking about getting into it, though. Lately, he's been asking me about it. He wants to invest a little money in it, see where it goes.

How does he feel about you creating NFT's ?

He's completely supportive of my creative outlets. I'm a self-published author as well and he supported that. He supports my artistry and creativity.

So where did you come up with your designs ?

Sometimes I think they come to me in dreams. No, seriously, sometimes creative stuff just pops into my head. It did with Zany Gumballs. I wanted to create something that was fun and colorful and the idea of the gumballs game to mind because they come in lots of colors.

Giving them personalities made them fun and multi-dimensional.

Of course so how many sets or collections have you dropped so far ?

Zany Gumballs is my NFT collection and actually, May 1 will be the first official drop for the Zany Gumballs sticker packs. I'd only dropped promos and bonus content up till this point.

And I've found a way to tie my collection into other NFT projects.

Really do tell ?

Well, I also follow The https://theuplift.world//Minecraft project and own some rail and land plots in the Uplift metaverse. I've used one of my rail plots to showcase the Zany Gumballs and Eke, one of the central characters of the Gumballs.

Awh so is this series leading to a big story or some sort of game ?

I'm hoping either that or some sort of merchandising. Don't know. I'm just letting things play out.

So how many characters are in your collections ?

Well, originally, the collection started out with 24 characters that I debuted in a promo card. A little while ago I got a brainstorm to include some of the other characters that I wasn't going to introduce at all. With the sticker pack, I decided why not have two factions of gumballs: the Original 24 and The Rejects (8). So, there are 32 gumballs to date. That's not including a few others that I've still not introduced.

Oh wow and how will they drop all 32 in one go or different times ?

No, all in one go. The sticker pack will feature the Original 24 as common stickers and the 8 Rejects will be Legendary stickers that you try to chase down. All packs will have 3 stickers, guaranteed 2 commons and 6.25% chance at one of the Legendary for the third.

And when is this series dropping ?

May 1 at 11am central/standard: https://wax.atomichub.io/drops/25800

So that is 5pm gmt for people in Europe

They look really cute

Thanks! Folks can also follow my telegram group to get updates and surprises and things. Just yesterday, I gave out couple of free stickers.

Dnt worry IL be linking telegram and twitter in do you a website ?

No, I have a personal website, but for the purpose of the collection, I use telegram and twitter, for now.

So here is her Twitter ?

https://twitter.com/zanygumballs?s=09

Here is her Telegram channel

https://t.me/zanygumballs

Is that the best place to keep up to date with you !!!

Yes it is

So you an artist and collector ?

Yes, I am. I love to create, but I also love to collect. I've been a physical baseball card collector since the late 80s and kind of got the collecting bug then. I enjoy being both!

I was happy I was able to snag some packs of the Topps MLB NFT cards.

Really nice I wouldn't be a big MLB more of a soccer fan lol

So whats the biggest collection you have?

Of NFT's?

Yea

If we are talking NFTs, then it's Topps GPK, but I also own other big projects like Blockchain Heroes, Streetfighter, MLB Topps, Upland Cards, Kogs, R-Planet, Bitverse, Cryptomonkeys, Bitcoin Elite, Uplift World, Mutants.r2, and several up-and-coming projects like Cryptopuppie, Hallowcards, Skullhead, Goodnewscoin, etc. Really way too many to count. I'm trying to get my hands on more Cryptomoonies and Writer. Maybe one day.

So is there any Collab's in your set ?

No, afraid not...at least not yet.

Are open to Collab ?

I think if the right one comes along, sure.

In fact, I may be trying to do something, but right now, it's all preliminary.

Ah who would be your dream Collab ?

Dream Collab? Let's see, maybe doing something officially with the Uplift.world, Funko, or Blockchain Heroes.

So are you happy with Funko pop coming to wax ?

I am. Could open doors for other lesser known projects to do Collab's.

I think it will bring new fans !!!!

And that, yes.

So how long you been working on your NFT's ?

I think since maybe the beginning of the year. It hasn't been very long. I'm pretty new in the space.

So how long those it take from thought to creation of a NFT ?

If I'm feeling inspired, not very long. Maybe a few days. I came up with Gumballs over the course of a day and started creating right away. The trick is how long it takes to come up with a good idea or a creative idea. That may take a while if you are not feeling your muse. LOL

And what programs you using to create them ?

I use Adobe Photoshop.

What advice do you have for people trying to get into NFT ?

Well, it’s pretty easy to get into the space, at least on WAX. So, my advice would be for you to start creating, create something that resonates with others, especially if you want to grow a base of collectors and/or secondary market value. There are newcomers in the space everyday and a lot of stuff out there. Try to separate yourself from others so that your creations stand out. They can be used to drive community or deliver a product or entertain. No limit to the uses for NFTs. And just have fun in the space!

Can you see yourself going into other markets with your NFT's ?

Like ETH? Raribles?

Like hive binance or even juungle on bch?

Oh, okay, I’m definitely not opposed to it. My focus for the moment is to develop on WAX/AtomicHub and grow my collector base there. I’ll look into branching out down the road. Now, if an opportunity presents itself sooner, then I’m likely to jump at it.

What the favorite NFT you have designed can we a pic of it ?

My favorite is Eke, I’d have to say. I actually have two versions of Eke. The first has a normal color variation. The version of Eke that I’ve debuted for this collection is one that came about much like a science experiment. It was an experiment in Photoshop gone right. lol Hang on for the pics.

See how much more fun he is in Experiment mode?

Yea the colours make him stand out so much more

Well, the second photo is the version in the collection.

Oh wow

And he’s a hit!

So where can we find your NFT's for sale?

The sticker pack sale will be here on May 1: https://wax.atomichub.io/drops/25800

And my promos and bonus cards are available on secondary market here: https://wax.atomichub.io/market?collection_name=zanygumballs&order=desc&sort=created&symbol=WAX

Would you like to be listed on token headz ?

That’s one of the items on my list of Goals.

Tell us sometime random about yourself?

Random...mmm. I have a Master’s degree in English. I’m the oldest of five siblings. I have a small collection of PVC figures, scratch-and-sniff stickers, physical GPK sticker sets, other physical collectibles, and a ton of baseball cards.

Also, I’m a recent partner with the Goodnewscoin C.A.I.T. initiative that was set up to help, support, and empower NFT artists like myself. Learn more about it here: https://t.me/CAIT_wax

Oh wow that is random 😱😱😱😱

lol, yeap, all over the place!

What you like to do for fun when your not designing NFT's ?

Spend time with the family. Go to the park, ride around the city. Have movie nights. Just regular stuff. I also dabble in hobby photography.

So this articles are shared on read.cash have you ever heard of it ?

Heard of what? read.cash?

Yea have you ever heard of read.cash

No, not until I met you.

Any chance of a small airdrop for the readers ?

I might be able to make that happen. ;)

Is there anything you want to add IL happy put it in

Just that I appreciate the opportunity to chat with you! It’s been a real pleasure.

Right guys please say thank you to Tonya as she is providing us a special NFT for the article so please check out her Twitter page and Telegram and 1st May 5pm gmt the collection starts . Till next time .................

Don't forget to drop your wax wallets below