The next artist in our quick Q&A posts is Liam, AKA LJF90.
We chatted to Liam to find out more about his latest project, Abstractum.
If you’d like to see more posts from this series you can find them here.
Why don’t you introduce yourself?
Hi guys, I’m Liam aka LJF90 founder and lead artist behind Abstractum CNFT and other projects. I’m from Leeds, UK with a full time fiat job and a young family who keep me in check!
What is your art background? What got you started?
I’ve been drawing cartoon characters from a very young age and always like to experiment with new styles and mediums of work.
What attracted you to blockchain and NFTs?
I first started researching NFTs early in 2021 after I got into crypto. I know a lot of people initially struggle to get their head around NFTs but it just clicked with me and I got it straight away.
Once I discovered OpenSea a whole new world opened up full of exciting possibilities and I knew I had to start creating and sharing my art with people.
Tell us about your project/artwork.
Abstractum represents a departure from my previous character-based work. I would class it as an experimental abstract art project and I really believe we are doing something new.
We have created 2,222 original pieces which bridge the gap between real-life and digital art.
The project will be rolled out slowly without the need to generate hype. I would like to on-board collectors who really like what we are doing and are interested to see where we take things.
I can confirm that the next phase of the project as well as various utility aspects have already been planned. We have some tricks up our sleeve and I hope the community will enjoy them.
There will also be ongoing benefits for people who own NFTs from our ADApes collection.
Tell us about the generative art process behind Abstractum, how does it work?
Quite simply, each NFT consists of four or five layers of different painting techniques (splodge, splash, strokes etc.). Different materials are also represented (acrylic, watercolour etc.). These layers were assembled by our developer, Gabor, who has used some dev magic to change the orientation and colours of the work in order to achieve more variation within the final collection.
There are a small number of 1/1s (assembled manually by myself) and some colour changing animated pieces too. These attributes will be reflected in the rarity aspect of the metadata.
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?
Jump right in. Spend some time exploring collections on Cardano and Ethereum. Join some discord servers, get involved on Twitter.
This way you will see what NFT communities are all about and gain some inspiration concerning what kind of project you would like to deliver.
Most importantly, the NFT space has given artists a chance to share their talents with the world and earn a living from it.
The days of posting your work on Instagram and hoping for the best are long gone. Bring your A-game and you will be rewarded.
You have also minted NFTs on Ethereum, what prompted you to try Cardano?
Firstly, I’m not a maxi. I hold crypto and NFTs across a number of blockchains and I believe you should research the projects that appeal to you.
Cardano has always been my favourite crypto project and I think we can see pretty clearly now that is changing the game. In a few months it will be recognised as the world’s premium blockchain.
As a creator with a small collection and limited resources on Ethereum, not only was I drowned out by the hundreds of hype projects that started appearing last Summer, but gas fees made it unsustainable for me to offer my collectors utility in the form or airdrops or royalty sharing. Cardano solves this and the CNFT space is now my favourite place for digital art.
If you could work on a collaboration with any other NFT artist, who would it be?
Two answers – Ian Jones, who I am trying to persuade to work with me on Cardano and the one and only Gxng Yxng, creator of Ghxsts, one of the coolest artists in the world right now.
Do you collect NFTs too? If so, what is your favourite?
For sure, I’m a huge collector! My favourite projects on Cardano are Clay Nation, Ugly Bros, ADAdigies and ADApes (self-shill).
On Ethereum, I am a long-term holder of Omnimorphs, Tokyo Punks, Cryptomories and Sicko Universe.