The next artist in our quick Q&A posts is Azbeen.
We chatted to Azbeen to find out more about the artwork and why, after launching on Ethereum, they are now selling NFTs on Cardano.
If you’d like to see more posts from this series you can find them here.
Why don’t you introduce yourself?
Hey I’m Azbeen (real name Aris). I’m an artist/illustrator/animator based in Greece.
What is your art background? What got you started?
Like most creative people, I was drawing from an early age. Later in life I had the opportunity to study Ceramics and sculpture, but my love of computers and technology is what defined my current path.
I devoted myself to learning how to create art digitally. It started with vector art back in 2007 and continued with learning some programming skills and working as a web designer, only to jump into digital painting with photoshop and currently working with 3D and animation.
I’ve tried various forms of making art over the years, both professionally and as a personal art practice. But it is an inexplicable hunger to express myself visually that makes me keep on going.
What attracted you to blockchain and NFTs?
It caught my attention in 2017 when a few social media sites based on the blockchain popped up.
I found it ground breaking to be able to earn crypto from the posts you made. A year later I discovered NFTs and my mind was blown..
I could finally sell limited editions of my art.. just like fine artists.. and I didn’t need to give up working digitally.
Of course at that time I didn’t realize there was a whole community behind this, so most of my works went unsold until 2020.
Tell us about your project/artwork.
My work in recent years has been focused on landscapes and characters.
Through the intersection of these two subjects, I explore our relationships to the land and raise questions about our position in the universe. All this is done in a whimsical and cute style, whether it’s with 2D painting or 3D art.
Recently I started the “little places” project to embody this philosophy and it consists of 2 different series of works “little places” a series of premium works and “smoll places” which are more affordable collectable pieces. They all have landscapes and characters in common but “smoll places” is based they idea of zen gardens.
I’m also currently preparing work for another “secret” project which is based around 2D painted whimsical characters.
There are still a lot of artists that are hesitant to get involved with NFTs. There is a lot of fud around, calling NFTs scams etc. What would you say to an artist who was perhaps on the fence about getting involved with NFTs?
It’s a shame that there is so much fud around NFTs right now. I personally have encountered a few people that are not willing to join in on the fun. But for those who are on the fence I would say. Just jump in, there is nothing to lose. In fact there are some great communities that you can get involved in, especially on Cardano.
You have also minted NFTs on Ethereum previously, what prompted you to try Cardano?
I started with Ethereum a while back and had a great time. But I never managed to find a good community with which I could connect, it just felt like disconnected people shilling their works with no real discussion going on. I also got very tired of the gas fees and the environmental issues of that particular block chain. I also tried Tezos but it seemed very hard to make any sales there.
How have you found Cardano?
I started minting on Cardano in 2022 and so far it’s been great. The community has been very welcoming and I’ve already made some good friends. Cardano is still in it’s infancy though (regarding NFTs) and we need more awareness of what’s going on, more collectors and definitely more artists to join us.
If you could work on a collaboration with any other NFT artist, who would it be?
Well.. I have already worked on a collab with one of my faves on Cardano, Plasto (@plastomotion).
I created 2 “smoll places” with his Bobbaland (@bobbalandNFT) characters and I can definitely say that I’ll be doing more collabs soon.
Do you collect NFTs too? If so, what is your favourite?
I’ve only collected a few NFTs. I mostly spend my free time making new work so I find it hard to keep up with what’s going on.
I’m usually late getting to a piece that I like and someone else gets it. I’m also very fussy with choosing pieces, so I find it distressing with so little time.
But I can say right now, my favorite piece is “The Dam After Dark: Renaissance Rave” by @TheNeverEngine.