MakersPlace is the premier market for truly rare digital artworks — digital art where its authenticity and rarity is guaranteed by blockchain technology.
Welcome to the September 2020 edition of the MakersPlace Newsletter, where we feature the latest updates from the artists, collectors and the company. This month we’re excited to share updates on this month’s drops, featured artists and collectors, our newest feature rollouts, and our upcoming events.
$1M in Sales!
We’re excited to share that we’ve reached an exciting milestone at MakersPlace. This week we passed $1M in artwork sales and paying over $800K to artists globally! Our mission at MakersPlace is to create a vibrant future for digital creativity by empowering the world’s digital creators, and this milestone is an exciting indicator that we’re on the right track.
Most importantly, this would not have been possible without the hard work and support of our amazing community, for that we thank you all! We look forward to carrying on our mission and help push the rare digital art movement forward together.
Drops 🔥
Each week we feature original, never-before-seen artworks by popular digital artists on MakersPlace. These Drops serve as a great way for collectors to discover new artists each week, as well as an opportunity for artists to gain exposure across our community and, of course, sell their artworks.
Here are the notable drops from the past month:
Terminus Series by Pak
Terminus I was purchased by WhaleShark for 40 ETH (~$15,305)
Terminus II was purchased by etyoung for 27.5 ETH (~$10,535)
Terminus III was purchased by etyoung for 22 ETH (~$8,428)
Terminus IV was purchased by etyoung for 22 ETH (~$8,428)
Terminus V was purchased by etyoung for 27 ETH (~$10,331)
The Great Battle For Mankind by José Delbo
Purchased by WhaleShark for 27.5 ETH ($9,697)
A Call To Arms by José Delbo and Primal Cypher
19/20 editions were purchased for 0.75 ETH (~$260) each
The final edition was purchased by Martski for $3,850
CryptoKitty Harem by Katy Arrington
9/10 editions were purchased for 0.75 ETH (~$260) each
The final edition was purchased by Dustin D. Trammell for 3.333 ETH (~$1,167)
Artist Spotlight: Steven Baltay
Steven Baltay is an acclaimed 3D animator/motion artist based in Brooklyn, New York. He is well known for his 3D rendered loops which intentionally incite visceral reactions from viewers by playing on primal emotions like disgust and satisfaction.
The internet art world has fully embraced Baltay’s highly provocative, stimulating creations which is evident by @realimposter’s large instagram audience and features from notable art publishers like Hi Fructose Mag, All Magazine, and Esquire. Baltay has also created for big name brands like Adobe, Bershka, Converse, Facebook, Herno, Netflix, NFL, Ports 1961, and iconic musicians such as Beck and Tame Impala.
Self Care
Usually centered around fluid substances and interactions (think slime), Baltay’s recent release, Self Care, takes on a more industrial approach to initiate the same unsettling reaction. It was purchased by Mamentum for 3.33 ETH (~$1,198) and gained an impressive 40 million views on TikTok.
Collector Spotlight
This month we’d like to spotlight and officially welcome some of our newest and most active collectors:
- motoko, one of our newest collectors, motoko’s current collection is filled with vivid animations, bold colors and emotion evoking creations.
- xray, one of our newest collectors, xray’s current collection is filled with conceptual abstractions rich with colors and textures, and beautiful figurative portraits.
- moderats, whose current collection an accumulation of styles ranging from futuristic steam punk to contemporary abstractions and pop art.
- WhaleShark, whose current collection is filled with intricate illustrations, AI-generated masterpieces and dynamic 3D art.
- etyoung, whose current collection features highly coveted digital art classics ranging from minimalistic 3D works to whimsical, often crypto-centric, animations. etyoung has shared some words on his recent additions and perspective on rare digital art collecting.
Most recently, I’ve been collecting Pak, José Delbo, and Javier Arrés on MakersPlace. Pak is one of the world’s foremost digital artists. Pak’s work is not only aesthetically pleasing but also challenges you to reflect on its meaning. José is a classic. For all superhero lovers reminiscent of their youth, his work is a must own. José’s collaborative piece with Pr1mal Cypher really popped. Javier’s work has been a recent addition of mine. His detail is extraordinary, and I love the playfulness of his Visual Toys.
In general, I look for pieces that make me think or feel a certain way. It may be an artist’s use of color, shape, or movement that catches my eye. Sometimes I’ll wait for an artist to put out something different, something in contrast to what they’ve done in the past. Of course, artist credibility and how they’re perceived within the community is also important in terms of collectability.
I think digital art has a very bright future. Digital art ownership through NFTs is such an intuitive use case. It makes art accessible for both artists and collectors. Artists have an opportunity to make a profession out of their passion, and collectors have an opportunity to support and invest in their work, without traditional gatekeepers in between. It helps to build connection and community through art. What could be more beautiful than that? — etyoung
You can find all of our active collectors and their collections in our Activity Feed, which is updated weekly.
moderats, WhaleShark, etyoung, motoko, and xray
The collections of all of this month’s featured collectors are truly exceptional and unique. Each speaks to the individual collector’s style preferences and we highly recommend taking a look at each.
If you’re looking for inspiration from these collectors, here are some of the artists that they’ve recently been collecting from: Peter Gric, DinizBR ArtW, Andreas Lilja, mar e, YoogyArt, Richard Gillman, KrikCO, José Delbo, Brendan Dawes, CS Lim, mar e, Otha Davis III, Nicolas Castell, Javier Arrés, and Pak.
Featured Artists
The past month we welcomed and featured a number of amazing artists. We are happy to report that our feature program is helping our artists gain visibility from new fans and potential collectors. Below are the featured artists of the past month.
Wrong Bedroom (Twitter); Alessio De Vecchi (Twitter); Marterium (Twitter); Colour Collective Studios (Twitter); Beyond Bola (Twitter); Lawrence Lee Art (Twitter); Bit Jamin (Twitter) ; Nadiia Forkosh (Twitter) ; miki.advisuals (Twitter); Daïm(Twitter); Peter Gric (Twitter); Fabiano Speziari (Twitter); Nils Hansen ; PastelCrypto (Twitter); Nicolás Leas-Celyn (Twitter); Legendary (Twitter) ; Squashmouth aka Josh Ruiz (Twitter); Blair Shedd @ oneGemini Studios (Twitter); Isaria (Twitter); Reva (Twitter); Glitch Black (Twitter);
New Features
We are constantly trying to improve and make our site easier to use for both artists and collectors. This month, we are excited to unveil the launch of our Collaboration feature, as well as updates on solutions aimed at addressing gas.
Collaborations
We launched the beta of our collaboration feature a few months ago and after some great success with the tool we are excited to announce we will now be enabling it for all of our artists (some restriction may apply, please reach out to us with any questions). Below are some of the great collaborations that came to fruition during the trial period of this feature. We can’t wait to see what’s next!
Gas Solutions
Finding solutions to mediate gas fees remains a central priority for our team. In the upcoming weeks we hope to introduce deferred payment options, optimize and bundle smart contracts, and introduce “gas happy hours” (details below).
Upcoming Events
Somnium Space Auction
We’ve partnered with Somnium Space, an immersive virtual reality meta-verse, for an exclusive auction of works from selected artists. Submissions for the auction have been completed, and we look forward to announcing more details on the auction in the weeks to come. Keep an eye on Twitter and Discord to learn more.
Art Open Mic/Gas Happy Hours
This week we hosted our first ever Art Open Mic/Gas Happy Hour! It was a chance for the community to connect, share artwork/ideas and receive a 50% gas discount! Our first happy hour included some tunes from our very own MakersPlace DJ Jezz, followed by an artwork open mic where artists can share their latest works. This is a time for us to have some fun together as a community, talk art and save on gas!
These events will take place at different times and different dates to accommodate our global community, so keep an eye on our Discord announcements channel so you don’t miss out!
Roots Exhibition
We are excited to announce the launch of our latest exhibition, inspired by the theme of roots. We are asking artists to submit creations based on this broad theme to be showcased in a special exhibition. Based on the votes and feedback of the community, three artists will then be selected for their own special showcase. All details for this exhibition will be released on our Twitter and Discord.
Get in Touch
If you’re a digital creator, you can learn more about MakersPlace here.
Ready to start your rare digital art collection? Join here.
Follow us on Discord, Twitter, Medium, Instagram, Facebook and Pinterest.
