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        <title>Highlight</title>
        <link>https://paragraph.com/@highlight</link>
        <description>Onchain creativity, unchained. 

Highlight is a place to collect and create digital art &amp; culture. 

⎄

highlight.xyz
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            <title><![CDATA[Highlight: The Marketplace For Believers]]></title>
            <link>https://paragraph.com/@highlight/highlight-the-marketplace-for-believers</link>
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            <pubDate>Thu, 27 Mar 2025 17:53:29 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Welcome to Highlight—your NFT marketplace, reimagined. We&apos;ve evolved to become the platform built for believers: those who see NFTs as not just digital ticker symbols but as vibrant expressions of human culture, creativity, and community. Here&apos;s what makes the new Highlight unique:Full indexing: Comprehensive indexing of all NFT projects across Ethereum, Base, and 10+ supported Layer-2 networks. This includes aggregated listings and offers from other marketplaces, ensuring the best ...]]></description>
            <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Welcome to <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow ugc" class="dont-break-out" href="https://highlight.xyz">Highlight</a>—your NFT marketplace, reimagined.</p><p>We&apos;ve evolved to become the platform built for believers: those who see NFTs as not just digital ticker symbols but as vibrant expressions of human culture, creativity, and community.</p><p>Here&apos;s what makes the new Highlight unique:</p><ul><li><p><strong>Full indexing:</strong> Comprehensive indexing of all NFT projects across Ethereum, Base, and 10+ supported Layer-2 networks. This includes aggregated listings and offers from other marketplaces, ensuring the best prices and complete visibility—all in one place.</p></li><li><p><strong>Social + watchlist feed:</strong> Stay connected with <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow ugc" class="dont-break-out" href="https://highlight.xyz/live">real-time activity</a> from your network and watchlist. Witness the NFT space evolve moment-to-moment, always informed, always ready.</p></li><li><p><strong>Exhibitions:</strong> Dive deeper into the ecosystem surrounding the top creators. Explore curated exhibitions highlighting the collections prized by leading collectors, DAOs, and influential funds.</p></li><li><p><strong>Batch listings &amp; sales:</strong> Manage your entire collection in seconds, not hours. Efficiency is key—Highlight 2.0 streamlines your entire collecting experience.</p></li><li><p><strong>Rich editorial:</strong> Immerse yourself in expertly crafted content covering 1,000+ collections and carefully researched biographies of hundreds of pioneering digital artists. Discover the stories behind the art.</p></li><li><p><strong>Zero fees:</strong> To celebrate our launch, select communities will enjoy zero marketplace fees for the foreseeable future.</p></li><li><p><strong>Zero fee relistings:</strong> Seamlessly transfer listings from other marketplaces to Highlight without fees. If it sells on Highlight, you save. Simple.</p></li><li><p><strong>Best-in-class creator tooling:</strong> Everything we built in Highlight v1 was to bring creativity onchain. With this release, we&apos;ve given our full toolsuite, the most extensive set of NFT creation tools in existence, a glow up — clearer creation flows, better documentation, and easier project management.</p></li><li><p><strong>Multi-chain support:</strong> Highlight supports Ethereum, Base, and 10+ leading Layer-2 solutions. We’re seeing creativity across the L2 landscape and are thrilled to support EVM’s evolution.</p></li><li><p><strong>Clean design:</strong> Explore without the headache. Finding projects you love should feel intuitive, clear, and engaging.</p></li></ul><p>Highlight isn&apos;t just another marketplace—it&apos;s the place where our shared vision for collecting digital culture comes to life.</p><p>Welcome to a better option. Welcome to Highlight.</p>]]></content:encoded>
            <author>highlight@newsletter.paragraph.com (Highlight)</author>
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            <title><![CDATA[Wagami: Gameboy Secrets]]></title>
            <link>https://paragraph.com/@highlight/wagami-gameboy-secrets</link>
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            <pubDate>Tue, 15 Oct 2024 18:44:36 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[We met with the WAGAMI Labs team, creators of Shinsei Galverse, to discuss their upcoming interactive art series, Gameboy Secrets 「シークレット」, launching exclusively on Highlight. Gameboy Secrets 「シークレット」 is a mini collection of 32 unique interactive, game-like narrative artworks. Minting begins October 15th at 3:00 PM PST for 0.02 ETH. Explore the Gameboy Secrets 「シークレット」 collection here. During our conversation, the team shared their inspiration behind this new project.Q: We’re talking to Devin...]]></description>
            <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>We met with the WAGAMI Labs team, creators of Shinsei Galverse, to discuss their upcoming interactive art series, <em>Gameboy Secrets 「シークレット」</em>, launching exclusively on Highlight.</p><p><em>Gameboy Secrets 「シークレット」</em> is a mini collection of 32 unique interactive, game-like narrative artworks. Minting begins October 15th at 3:00 PM PST for 0.02 ETH. Explore the <em>Gameboy Secrets 「シークレット」</em> collection <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow ugc" class="dont-break-out" href="https://highlight.xyz/mint/ethereum:0x33fB012FDd1a05860875b911bc817BBc0029D6a4">here</a>.</p><p>During our conversation, the team shared their inspiration behind this new project.</p><figure float="none" data-type="figure" class="img-center" style="max-width: null;"><img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/papyrus_images/3fbed0b57d24c53e3234e3cb1ae73cfa5f8d710b13ef74c0fa8dad597aff424e.gif" alt="" blurdataurl="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAP///wAAACwAAAAAAQABAAACAkQBADs=" nextheight="600" nextwidth="800" class="image-node embed"><figcaption HTMLAttributes="[object Object]" class="hide-figcaption"></figcaption></figure><p><strong>Q: We’re talking to Devin and Jack from WAGAMI Labs. Who are you and what do you do?</strong></p><p><strong>DEVIN:</strong> WAGAMI Labs is the team behind Shinsei Galverse, one of Japan’s most successful NFT projects that launched in 2022.</p><p>As a studio, we’re focused on pushing boundaries in creative tech, web3, and digital art —drawing on nostalgia for the 90s and exploring people’s relationships with the digital devices in their lives at that time.</p><p><strong>JACK:</strong> Our team, which consists of Galverse artist and director Ayaka Ohira, Devin, and me, operate a bit like an indie game studio. It’s a very flat, creative team, and we have a few trusted confidants like Benoit, who helped us with this collection as well.</p><p>As Devin said, we love to experiment with tech and web3, and <em>Secrets</em> came about almost like a GameJam. It’s fun to reset creatively on smaller, focused project like this.</p><p><strong>Q: Your work with Shinsei Galverse sounds fascinating. Can you tell us more about how that experience led to the creation of <em>Gameboy Secrets</em>, and what specifically inspired this new project?</strong></p><p><strong>DEVIN:</strong> We have been heads down in the studio on the production of the Galverse anime for almost 2 years now. I was getting itchy to explore a few new ideas, so this was a fun, artistic project for us to build together.</p><p>There’s been a surge of great digital art from artists this year exploring nostalgic retro gaming aesthetics. I’d often think: “I wonder if we could take this further and actually put real Gameboy game code directly into the NFT for people to play, essentially embedding an emulator.”</p><p>Don’t NFTs sometimes feel a bit like gameboy cartridges in a way? A small, square container with a whole world contained inside. There was something there to explore!</p><p>As we thought about early ‘90s internet culture and where it started to collide with gaming, we each had fond memories of looking up cheat codes and secrets on old PCs. That ‘search for secrets’ became a key theme we wanted to explore and ultimately became the kernel of this piece.</p><p><strong>JACK:</strong> Yeah, our generation came of age in the modern wave of gaming, and during that mainstream transition of offline life to online life.</p><p>I have just as many core memories from playing games with friends on the couch and online as I have from being outside exploring and interacting with people.</p><p>The idea of drawing on those memories was fun, but secrets are a little more interesting and indulgent than pure memories. Reading people’s submissions on the backend was fun, but once they were wrapped in the form of a game they became a lot more compelling.</p><p><strong>Q: It&apos;s interesting how you&apos;ve connected NFTs to Gameboy cartridges. Could you elaborate on how you&apos;ve turned each NFT into a playable game? What was the technical process like?</strong></p><p><strong>DEVIN:</strong> There are 32 artworks in this collection and each one is an embedded ROM featuring 1 secret for the owner to consume.</p><p>They’ll also be able to download a copy of their ROM so that they can enjoy it on their own Gameboy emulators if they like.</p><p>As part of the exploration phase, we actually flashed a few copies of the experience onto real gameboy cartridges and got it running on an original GameBoy DMG-01.</p><p><strong>Q: The idea of creating physical artifacts sounds exciting. Have you considered producing tangible items for holders in the future? What might those look like?</strong></p><p><strong>DEVIN:</strong> Well, maybe! I’d love to design a little Gameboy box and booklet to go along with a custom cartridge!</p><p><strong>Q: The curation of secrets seems like a delicate process. Could you walk us through how you approached this? Were there any unexpected challenges or surprises along the way?</strong></p><p><strong>JACK:</strong> We created a submission form that looked and felt like an 8-bit Gameboy game too.</p><p>It asked people to ‘let go of a secret’. We spent quite a lot of time thinking about exactly what we were asking people to do and what the tone of that page needed to be.</p><p>We knew we’d get responses because gaming seems to be a core part of crypto DNA. ETH was famously being inspired by Vitalik’s <em>World of Warcraft</em> items getting rugged. And every other degen seems to have got their start trading and PVPing in <em>Runescape Classic</em>.</p><p>They starting flowing in. Most of all the responses we got were relatable, some were funny. Some were quite sad.</p><p><strong>DEVIN</strong>: Some are true and we’re sure a lot are a little made up, but they mostly still rung true.</p><p><strong>JACK:</strong> Our ultimate criteria when we had to narrow it down was ‘does this make us feel something?’</p><p><strong>Q: This project seems to blend nostalgia, technology, and personal storytelling in such a unique way. As we wrap up, is there anything else you&apos;d like to share about Gameboy Secrets or your vision for future projects?</strong></p><p><strong>JACK:</strong> After the project wrapped up, Devin was sorting through some boxes of old gear at his parents’ house, things he hadn’t looked at for well over a decade.</p><p>He found his old Gameboys, and a Gameboy camera with the memory and old photos intact.</p><p>It seemed like some divine intervention from the gods of nostalgia and gaming.</p><p><strong>DEVIN:</strong> All of a sudden we had a great way to create imagery for launching this project.</p><p>A lot of the media we created to promote the collection was inspired by those photos I uncovered — grainy gradient photos of little snippets of family and friends from 20+ years ago.</p><figure float="none" data-type="figure" class="img-center" style="max-width: null;"><img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/papyrus_images/40e12ef5b50f6171c6b10187f89f6a8be022d792fc3bc5d673419824c3088fdc.jpg" alt="" blurdataurl="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAP///wAAACwAAAAAAQABAAACAkQBADs=" nextheight="600" nextwidth="800" class="image-node embed"><figcaption HTMLAttributes="[object Object]" class="hide-figcaption"></figcaption></figure><figure float="none" data-type="figure" class="img-center" style="max-width: null;"><img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/papyrus_images/1f4340c72b33f4fd0497b9b9e3affb7656278e7067b742ae84fa4f4350428d3e.jpg" alt="" blurdataurl="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAP///wAAACwAAAAAAQABAAACAkQBADs=" nextheight="600" nextwidth="800" class="image-node embed"><figcaption HTMLAttributes="[object Object]" class="hide-figcaption"></figcaption></figure><p><strong>JACK:</strong> We had a lot of ideas that we’d like to bring into a companion collection sometime, maybe a “Gameboy Secrets Advanced.” Stay tuned.</p><p><strong>DEVIN:</strong> We hope you all have fun with Gameboy Secrets 「シークレット」, thank you to everyone who supports us and collects this piece!</p>]]></content:encoded>
            <author>highlight@newsletter.paragraph.com (Highlight)</author>
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            <title><![CDATA[Art, Innovation, and Technology: Highlight Partners with the Finnish National Gallery for Combine24]]></title>
            <link>https://paragraph.com/@highlight/art-innovation-and-technology-highlight-partners-with-the-finnish-national-gallery-for-combine24</link>
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            <pubDate>Thu, 19 Sep 2024 17:29:51 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Highlight is excited to partner with the Finnish National Gallery for Combine24, a unique digital art competition that blends generative art with blockchain technology. Now nearing its final round of judging, the competition invited artists to create new digital works using a collection of over 25,000 public domain images from the gallery’s archives. Artists use these historic images as the foundation for generative art, applying algorithmic techniques to create something entirely new. Shortl...]]></description>
            <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Highlight is excited to partner with the Finnish National Gallery for Combine24, a unique digital art competition that blends generative art with blockchain technology. Now nearing its final round of judging, the competition invited artists to create new digital works using a collection of over 25,000 public domain images from the gallery’s archives.</p><p>Artists use these historic images as the foundation for generative art, applying algorithmic techniques to create something entirely new.</p><p>Shortlisted artists include:</p><ul><li><p><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow ugc" class="dont-break-out" href="https://highlight.xyz/mint/base:0x681181Da71E15bb24af8c7CBbCA814189e668106">re-frame</a> by Agoston Nagy</p></li><li><p><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow ugc" class="dont-break-out" href="https://highlight.xyz/mint/base:0x46CC26AEc9B8e92c603434c199A4616d90A2376f">Perseverance</a> by Blas.v</p></li><li><p><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow ugc" class="dont-break-out" href="https://highlight.xyz/mint/ethereum:0x93E606F7a7a888301DCE65c31f5062D4bb52f6EC">Inventory Numbers</a> by Andreas Rau</p></li><li><p><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow ugc" class="dont-break-out" href="https://highlight.xyz/mint/base:0x8718d8f356FCDcbe6BD359A157A63dB898dC3f53">Repetition and Noise</a> by Jeremy Schoenherr (Jeres)</p></li><li><p><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow ugc" class="dont-break-out" href="https://highlight.xyz/mint/base:0x9cc3168f4Eb7F70C75ec17D569CC784BFa27cDec">The Artist Code</a> by Arttu Koskela (Shaderism)</p></li><li><p><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow ugc" class="dont-break-out" href="https://highlight.xyz/mint/base:0x217B063b440b4cc14a0893247555a83973D8583b">Portrait Robot</a> by Roni Kaufman</p></li><li><p><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow ugc" class="dont-break-out" href="https://highlight.xyz/mint/base:0xEB4740647A4C493077E10ba32707056BB3a72007">A Dance with History</a> by Newyellow</p></li><li><p><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow ugc" class="dont-break-out" href="https://highlight.xyz/mint/ethereum:0x769Cb7c0799CE1bb536AfDE3b40aAA7Af834e0fb">BodyArtLab</a> by Nahuel Gerth</p></li><li><p><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow ugc" class="dont-break-out" href="https://highlight.xyz/mint/base:0x35009fa6340512fAe5702B5D9c89c1F45606e78B">Loom Of Reality</a> by Ilmo Kapanen &amp; Aarni Kapanen</p></li><li><p><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow ugc" class="dont-break-out" href="https://highlight.xyz/mint/base:0xb48eC9aCF98d7E36a8Fe966134A4DD7a736e9d4a">WUNDERBLOCK</a> by Tuomo Rainio</p></li></ul><p>Starting at 8am PT / 11am ET September 19, the minting for the shortlisted projects will go live, allowing collectors to own a piece of this digital art collection. Additionally, the physical exhibition of these works will open in Helsinki on September 20.</p><p>You can also cast your vote for the Audience Favorite starting on the<a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow ugc" class="dont-break-out" href="https://combine24.alusta.art/"> Combine24 website</a>. The public’s vote will decide which artist wins the prize, with the winner being announced in October. Voting ends on 1 October.</p><p>To explore the full Combine24 shortlisted collection, please <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow ugc" class="dont-break-out" href="https://highlight.xyz/curated/combine24">see here</a>.</p><figure float="none" data-type="figure" class="img-center" style="max-width: null;"><img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/papyrus_images/205f1124a68d478808cd6c0baba2c982e244de406aa4bdf02b551373973d3552.png" alt="re-frame by Agoston Nagy" blurdataurl="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAP///wAAACwAAAAAAQABAAACAkQBADs=" nextheight="600" nextwidth="800" class="image-node embed"><figcaption HTMLAttributes="[object Object]" class="">re-frame by Agoston Nagy</figcaption></figure><figure float="none" data-type="figure" class="img-center" style="max-width: null;"><img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/papyrus_images/3943cbf7ecf1a4464d06bfc943d98e91344d289e535c89efe4fe94aea770a6d7.jpg" alt="Perseverance by Blas.v" blurdataurl="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAP///wAAACwAAAAAAQABAAACAkQBADs=" nextheight="600" nextwidth="800" class="image-node embed"><figcaption HTMLAttributes="[object Object]" class="">Perseverance by Blas.v</figcaption></figure><figure float="none" data-type="figure" class="img-center" style="max-width: null;"><img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/papyrus_images/e6b112c3b6b710fe4e2a0cca77446fd158990ddb88e10dd39ce608ddeccab425.png" alt="Inventory Numbers by Andreas Rau" blurdataurl="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAP///wAAACwAAAAAAQABAAACAkQBADs=" nextheight="600" nextwidth="800" class="image-node embed"><figcaption HTMLAttributes="[object Object]" class="">Inventory Numbers by Andreas Rau</figcaption></figure><figure float="none" data-type="figure" class="img-center" style="max-width: null;"><img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/papyrus_images/664066d64138cd0f972f15977ef40ab66fc620bc333d4c25201f59d0fbe2344a.jpg" alt="Repetition and Noise by Jeremy Schoenherr (Jeres)" blurdataurl="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAP///wAAACwAAAAAAQABAAACAkQBADs=" nextheight="600" nextwidth="800" class="image-node embed"><figcaption HTMLAttributes="[object Object]" class="">Repetition and Noise by Jeremy Schoenherr (Jeres)</figcaption></figure><figure float="none" data-type="figure" class="img-center" style="max-width: null;"><img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/papyrus_images/ca617c6c99363cbaa2619b06281b6644d4b5b7870242232c67c8d29c9fa90364.png" alt="The Artist Code by Arttu Koskela (Shaderism)" blurdataurl="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAP///wAAACwAAAAAAQABAAACAkQBADs=" nextheight="600" nextwidth="800" class="image-node embed"><figcaption HTMLAttributes="[object Object]" class="">The Artist Code by Arttu Koskela (Shaderism)</figcaption></figure><figure float="none" data-type="figure" class="img-center" style="max-width: null;"><img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/papyrus_images/4c55a1beea6e04b2803d8e0470bdba9dceac907e3da4d351250271a1ea05c513.png" alt="Portrait Robot by Roni Kaufman" blurdataurl="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAP///wAAACwAAAAAAQABAAACAkQBADs=" nextheight="600" nextwidth="800" class="image-node embed"><figcaption HTMLAttributes="[object Object]" class="">Portrait Robot by Roni Kaufman</figcaption></figure><figure float="none" data-type="figure" class="img-center" style="max-width: null;"><img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/papyrus_images/3579af2325a82e123c367d2c93d0c6ffb1dd0af7b7bd26de7c834266b9c52db2.png" alt="A Dance with History by Newyellow" blurdataurl="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAP///wAAACwAAAAAAQABAAACAkQBADs=" nextheight="600" nextwidth="800" class="image-node embed"><figcaption HTMLAttributes="[object Object]" class="">A Dance with History by Newyellow</figcaption></figure><figure float="none" data-type="figure" class="img-center" style="max-width: null;"><img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/papyrus_images/73c0b47ca8d9a26eb4892df7a482e02a26aa4d7d668f91b6aa4fe9552a5a0916.png" alt="BodyArtLab by Nahuel Gerth" blurdataurl="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAP///wAAACwAAAAAAQABAAACAkQBADs=" nextheight="600" nextwidth="800" class="image-node embed"><figcaption HTMLAttributes="[object Object]" class="">BodyArtLab by Nahuel Gerth</figcaption></figure><figure float="none" data-type="figure" class="img-center" style="max-width: null;"><img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/papyrus_images/0b0c1cfc2aebf6111d0776c6eb5bda765cdffa82f48c87e87334f4b8c41f5119.png" alt="Loom Of Reality by Ilmo Kapanen &amp; Aarni Kapanen" blurdataurl="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAP///wAAACwAAAAAAQABAAACAkQBADs=" nextheight="600" nextwidth="800" class="image-node embed"><figcaption HTMLAttributes="[object Object]" class="">Loom Of Reality by Ilmo Kapanen &amp; Aarni Kapanen</figcaption></figure><figure float="none" data-type="figure" class="img-center" style="max-width: null;"><img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/papyrus_images/05c8be80f680138ccffd0457ecd4a3cb16bfc10741ff5707229db7720b81e932.jpg" alt="WUNDERBLOCK by Tuomo Rainio" blurdataurl="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAP///wAAACwAAAAAAQABAAACAkQBADs=" nextheight="600" nextwidth="800" class="image-node embed"><figcaption HTMLAttributes="[object Object]" class="">WUNDERBLOCK by Tuomo Rainio</figcaption></figure>]]></content:encoded>
            <author>highlight@newsletter.paragraph.com (Highlight)</author>
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            <title><![CDATA[Case Study: How Superchain Chiblings launched a fully custom website with Highlight x Base]]></title>
            <link>https://paragraph.com/@highlight/case-study-how-superchain-chiblings-launched-a-fully-custom-website-with-highlight-x-base</link>
            <guid>FpYLXRRgIOw6bwlUUTtw</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Aug 2024 17:10:12 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[The Highlight embed can be used to create virtually any kind of custom minting website on Base, allowing you to focus on building creative mint experiences for your collectors without getting bogged down with writing custom contracts and repetitive mint and wallet connect code. The Superchain Chiblings launch by artist Secret Pikachu was a brilliant example of this. The team used the Highlight embed to launch a 20,000 token collection on Base which quickly sold out, while delivering one of th...]]></description>
            <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>The Highlight embed can be used to create virtually any kind of custom minting website on <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow ugc" class="dont-break-out" href="https://www.base.org/">Base</a>, allowing you to focus on building creative mint experiences for your collectors without getting bogged down with writing custom contracts and repetitive mint and wallet connect code.</p><p>The <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow ugc" class="dont-break-out" href="https://highlight.xyz/mint/66a10e2da960c995e3019817">Superchain Chiblings</a> launch by artist <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow ugc" class="dont-break-out" href="https://x.com/ttyl5h">Secret Pikachu</a> was a brilliant example of this. The team used the Highlight embed to launch a 20,000 token collection on Base which quickly sold out, while delivering one of the most creative mint experiences in the space.</p><p>In the visuals below, note the Highlight embed, with custom fonts and colors, is embedded in the page, followed by a custom reveal experience that shows an animated fishing pole pulling a Chibling out of the icy water. All of this can be done with standard configurations—nothing special was enabled uniquely for this mint.</p><p>These embeds are incredibly powerful and can leverage the full range of Highlight’s tooling, including all sales mechanics—from ranked auctions to fixed price sales to credit card payments. Beyond PFPs, you can use them to create generative art, interactive games, photography exhibitions, commemorative open editions, and just about anything else you can imagine.</p><p>Learn how this works, and how you can build these kinds of experiences, by reading the detailed guide on <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow ugc" class="dont-break-out" href="https://github.com/highlightxyz/highlight-embed-showcase">Github</a>, written by Superchain Chibling&apos;s dev <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow ugc" class="dont-break-out" href="https://x.com/bartosjiri_">bartosjiri</a>. You can try the experience for yourself with <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow ugc" class="dont-break-out" href="https://embed.highlight.xyz/">the demo site</a>, which is a version of the original on Base Sepolia testnet. Also be sure to check out Superchain Chiblings on the Highlight marketplace <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow ugc" class="dont-break-out" href="https://highlight.xyz/mint/66a10e2da960c995e3019817">here</a>!</p><figure float="none" data-type="figure" class="img-center" style="max-width: null;"><img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/papyrus_images/e033dd01ac9c84619dec626deea926f045e01efd29ef5a939016070322f38691.png" alt="The mint button is styled to match the design and layout of the site" blurdataurl="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAP///wAAACwAAAAAAQABAAACAkQBADs=" nextheight="600" nextwidth="800" class="image-node embed"><figcaption HTMLAttributes="[object Object]" class="">The mint button is styled to match the design and layout of the site</figcaption></figure><figure float="none" data-type="figure" class="img-center" style="max-width: null;"><img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/papyrus_images/f873e408be37f26c76537c0e50083010a518d33b0b757abae0b32cf574a759a0.png" alt="The reveal experience was completely customized" blurdataurl="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAP///wAAACwAAAAAAQABAAACAkQBADs=" nextheight="600" nextwidth="800" class="image-node embed"><figcaption HTMLAttributes="[object Object]" class="">The reveal experience was completely customized</figcaption></figure><div data-type="embedly" src="https://github.com/highlightxyz/highlight-embed-showcase" data="{&quot;provider_url&quot;:&quot;https://github.com&quot;,&quot;description&quot;:&quot;A guide on how to build a fully customized minting experience with Highlight embed - GitHub - highlightxyz/highlight-embed-showcase: A guide on how to build a fully customized minting experience with Highlight embed&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;GitHub - highlightxyz/highlight-embed-showcase: A guide on how to build a fully customized minting experience with Highlight embed&quot;,&quot;author_name&quot;:&quot;highlightxyz&quot;,&quot;thumbnail_width&quot;:1200,&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://github.com/highlightxyz/highlight-embed-showcase&quot;,&quot;thumbnail_url&quot;:&quot;https://storage.googleapis.com/papyrus_images/d108294c82ae85e6a0656f32357fe80a78dd474d34223305f1ec796b57fce529.png&quot;,&quot;author_url&quot;:&quot;https://github.com/highlightxyz&quot;,&quot;version&quot;:&quot;1.0&quot;,&quot;provider_name&quot;:&quot;GitHub&quot;,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;link&quot;,&quot;thumbnail_height&quot;:600,&quot;image&quot;:{&quot;img&quot;:{&quot;width&quot;:1200,&quot;height&quot;:600,&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://storage.googleapis.com/papyrus_images/d108294c82ae85e6a0656f32357fe80a78dd474d34223305f1ec796b57fce529.png&quot;}}}" format="small"><link rel="preload" as="image" href="https://storage.googleapis.com/papyrus_images/d108294c82ae85e6a0656f32357fe80a78dd474d34223305f1ec796b57fce529.png"/><div class="react-component embed my-5" data-drag-handle="true" data-node-view-wrapper="" style="white-space:normal"><a class="link-embed-link" href="https://github.com/highlightxyz/highlight-embed-showcase" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer"><div class="link-embed"><div class="flex-1"><div><h2>GitHub - highlightxyz/highlight-embed-showcase: A guide on how to build a fully customized minting experience with Highlight embed</h2><p>A guide on how to build a fully customized minting experience with Highlight embed - GitHub - highlightxyz/highlight-embed-showcase: A guide on how to build a fully customized minting experience with Highlight embed</p></div><span><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="24" height="24" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-link h-3 w-3 my-auto inline mr-1"><path d="M10 13a5 5 0 0 0 7.54.54l3-3a5 5 0 0 0-7.07-7.07l-1.72 1.71"></path><path d="M14 11a5 5 0 0 0-7.54-.54l-3 3a5 5 0 0 0 7.07 7.07l1.71-1.71"></path></svg>https://github.com</span></div><img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/papyrus_images/d108294c82ae85e6a0656f32357fe80a78dd474d34223305f1ec796b57fce529.png"/></div></a></div></div>]]></content:encoded>
            <author>highlight@newsletter.paragraph.com (Highlight)</author>
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            <title><![CDATA[Introducing the Highlight Protocol]]></title>
            <link>https://paragraph.com/@highlight/introducing-the-highlight-protocol</link>
            <guid>7fTgytwzQ6kbsF3WePZF</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 04 Jun 2024 16:48:21 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[We’re happy to introduce the Highlight Protocol, an interoperable set of building blocks, capable of powering virtually any kind of NFT project, and fully owned by you, the creator. The Highlight platform enables creators to launch a wide range of highly customizable NFT projects, all using simple, point-and-click tools. But under the hood, Highlight deploys these projects as fully independent smart contracts, with a simple, modular architecture you can use to create truly bespoke projects. H...]]></description>
            <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><strong>We’re happy to introduce the Highlight Protocol, an interoperable set of building blocks, capable of powering virtually any kind of NFT project, and fully owned by you, the creator.</strong></p><p>The Highlight platform enables creators to launch a wide range of highly customizable NFT projects, all using simple, point-and-click tools. But under the hood, Highlight deploys these projects as fully independent smart contracts, with a simple, modular architecture you can use to create truly bespoke projects. Here’s how it works:</p><p>Start with one of several NFT contract types, depending on the project. From there, you can select (or design your own) sales strategy (aka “mint mechanic”). Plug these into your smart contract. Then customize even further—adjust token transfer behavior for unique collector dynamics, let owners vote to change metadata for certain IDs, switch to a fully inchain metadata renderer, or change royalty policies on specific token ranges. The sky’s the limit.</p><p>Highlight uses this architecture internally—to design our auction strategies, for example—and our partners have used it successfully to do things like integrate their own credit card payment providers or gasless signature-based minting. So you know that it’s battle tested and flexible enough to grow with you.</p><p>Wondering about your existing Highlight projects? This applies to them too. We’ve been using this same modular architecture all along, only now we’re sharing our docs and helping you take advantage of it.</p><p>Check out this video overview to learn more about the core pieces and how they all fit together, and check out the docs to dive in.</p><div data-type="youtube" videoId="WbXCQod_fIU">
      <div class="youtube-player" data-id="WbXCQod_fIU" style="background-image: url('https://i.ytimg.com/vi/WbXCQod_fIU/hqdefault.jpg'); background-size: cover; background-position: center">
        <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WbXCQod_fIU">
          <img src="{{DOMAIN}}/editor/youtube/play.png" class="play"/>
        </a>
      </div></div><div data-type="embedly" src="https://support.highlight.xyz/knowledge-base/highlight-protocol/introducing-the-highlight-protocol" data="{&quot;provider_url&quot;:&quot;https://support.highlight.xyz&quot;,&quot;description&quot;:&quot;Highlight provides simple, point-and-click creation of various kinds of NFT projects, with a multitude of different sale mechanics and minting features. Under the hood, each of these flows produces a modular, flexible set of smart contracts that are completely configurable, platform-independent, and entirely artist-owned.&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;Intro to the Highlight Protocol | Knowledge Base&quot;,&quot;mean_alpha&quot;:254.966666667,&quot;thumbnail_width&quot;:1200,&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://support.highlight.xyz/knowledge-base/for-developers/intro-to-the-highlight-protocol&quot;,&quot;thumbnail_url&quot;:&quot;https://storage.googleapis.com/papyrus_images/43911842b191530bc5b045902c5313cd64dcfe9bb15b5441f5bf1073a32a4221.png&quot;,&quot;version&quot;:&quot;1.0&quot;,&quot;provider_name&quot;:&quot;Highlight&quot;,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;link&quot;,&quot;thumbnail_height&quot;:630,&quot;image&quot;:{&quot;img&quot;:{&quot;width&quot;:1200,&quot;height&quot;:630,&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://storage.googleapis.com/papyrus_images/43911842b191530bc5b045902c5313cd64dcfe9bb15b5441f5bf1073a32a4221.png&quot;}}}" format="small"><link rel="preload" as="image" href="https://storage.googleapis.com/papyrus_images/43911842b191530bc5b045902c5313cd64dcfe9bb15b5441f5bf1073a32a4221.png"/><div class="react-component embed my-5" data-drag-handle="true" data-node-view-wrapper="" style="white-space:normal"><a class="link-embed-link" href="https://support.highlight.xyz/knowledge-base/highlight-protocol/introducing-the-highlight-protocol" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer"><div class="link-embed"><div class="flex-1"><div><h2>Intro to the Highlight Protocol | Knowledge Base</h2><p>Highlight provides simple, point-and-click creation of various kinds of NFT projects, with a multitude of different sale mechanics and minting features. Under the hood, each of these flows produces a modular, flexible set of smart contracts that are completely configurable, platform-independent, and entirely artist-owned.</p></div><span><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="24" height="24" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-link h-3 w-3 my-auto inline mr-1"><path d="M10 13a5 5 0 0 0 7.54.54l3-3a5 5 0 0 0-7.07-7.07l-1.72 1.71"></path><path d="M14 11a5 5 0 0 0-7.54-.54l-3 3a5 5 0 0 0 7.07 7.07l1.71-1.71"></path></svg>https://support.highlight.xyz</span></div><img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/papyrus_images/43911842b191530bc5b045902c5313cd64dcfe9bb15b5441f5bf1073a32a4221.png"/></div></a></div></div>]]></content:encoded>
            <author>highlight@newsletter.paragraph.com (Highlight)</author>
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            <title><![CDATA[Photographs to Pixels: Exploring “a Sunday in the Park” with Loackme]]></title>
            <link>https://paragraph.com/@highlight/photographs-to-pixels-exploring-a-sunday-in-the-park-with-loackme</link>
            <guid>QlMqq3JUysHBH6MKFy68</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 20 Mar 2024 21:15:37 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[This collection is a part of our Spring collections 2024. We had a chance to catch up with Loackme to learn more about his project, “a Sunday in the Park,” and the inspiration behind it. “a Sunday in the Park” is an ultra-curated edition of 20 unique artworks. Minting will be via Dutch auction with rebate, set to start 12pm ET / 5pm CET on Friday, March 22. The auction will begin at 0.5 ETH on Base and decrease every minute over the span of an hour until it reaches 0.05 ETH. Collection can be...]]></description>
            <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><em>This collection is a part of our Spring collections 2024. We had a chance to catch up with Loackme to learn more about his project, “a Sunday in the Park,” and the inspiration behind it.</em></p><p><em>“a Sunday in the Park” is an ultra-curated edition of 20 unique artworks. Minting will be via Dutch auction with rebate, set to start 12pm ET / 5pm CET on Friday, March 22. The auction will begin at 0.5 ETH on Base and decrease every minute over the span of an hour until it reaches 0.05 ETH.</em></p><p><em>Collection can be found </em><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow ugc" class="dont-break-out" href="https://highlight.xyz/sundayinthepark"><em>here</em></a><em>.</em></p><p><em>—</em></p><p><strong>Hi Loackme! Could you tell us a bit about your background and how your journey into generative art began?</strong></p><p>I studied mathematics at university. Later, I pursued a PhD in statistics, which I completed between 2013 and 2016. This academic journey marked my introduction to generative art. As a statistician, a significant aspect of my work involved representing data visually. Over time, I realized that the visualizations held intrinsic interest, prompting me to detach them from the raw data. I began generating data not for its inherent meaning but solely for visualization.</p><p>My initial foray into generative art occurred while working with a statistical software and programming language called R. Interestingly, I wasn’t yet familiar with the term “generative art.” It was only after I started sharing my experiments on Instagram that I discovered a community engaged in similar creative pursuits. They referred to it as “generative art.”</p><p>Another pivotal moment in my artistic journey occurred when I downloaded Processing in 2017. This powerful tool opened up a whole new world of possibilities, shaping the evolution of my creative endeavors ever since.</p><p><strong>Could you tell us a bit more about this project and what inspired it?</strong></p><p>This project began as a desire to incorporate a photographic element into my practice. In my youth, I dabbled in photography and really enjoyed it. Recently, I felt compelled to revisit this passion. During this period, I had been developing a custom dithering algorithm that allowed me to create animations using migrating pixels based on photographs. These pixels, in their dynamic movement, always struck me as remarkably alive. It made perfect sense to use this algorithm for a Spring-themed project.</p><figure float="none" data-type="figure" class="img-center" style="max-width: null;"><img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/papyrus_images/5080dad636c9fc9d8d13e83d2b03223d41c4eac536083de0681e648e01a994a0.gif" alt="" blurdataurl="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAP///wAAACwAAAAAAQABAAACAkQBADs=" nextheight="600" nextwidth="800" class="image-node embed"><figcaption HTMLAttributes="[object Object]" class="hide-figcaption"></figcaption></figure><p>“a Sunday in the Park” was a way to take my practice beyond the computer screen. All the pictures were taken during an actual walk through the park near my home on March 3rd. My intention was to capture that specific moment in time, encapsulating its essence. Additionally, this project provided me with a framework within which to channel my creative process. Once back home, armed with a series of pictures, I constrained myself to using only this base material. Creating such a framework is an integral part of my artistic process.</p><figure float="none" data-type="figure" class="img-center" style="max-width: null;"><img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/papyrus_images/dee5745754f8a95d14f0614cdf9cef6b9a63b67823f3398d02dd271e79d761c8.gif" alt="" blurdataurl="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAP///wAAACwAAAAAAQABAAACAkQBADs=" nextheight="600" nextwidth="800" class="image-node embed"><figcaption HTMLAttributes="[object Object]" class="hide-figcaption"></figcaption></figure><p>While I’ve previously experimented with incorporating pictures into my work, this is the first extensive collection where they play a central role. Unlike past practices, these images were not used retrospectively; they were captured with the project’s goal in mind. Consequently, this endeavor stands as one of my most figurative projects to date. And, of course, the colors of spring—beyond my usual black and white palette—give this collection a pretty unique spot in my work.</p><p><strong>This collection is pretty small. How did you decide on that and how did you decide on the curated pieces?</strong></p><p>The size of the collection stems directly from its foundation in photographs. Each piece necessitated touching up the base picture before delving into the generative aspect, making a large collection impractical.</p><figure float="none" data-type="figure" class="img-center" style="max-width: null;"><img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/papyrus_images/248a9d210c81310fdb0baa229de0beefd917a869674c0c267946dfeaf5b9999f.gif" alt="" blurdataurl="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAP///wAAACwAAAAAAQABAAACAkQBADs=" nextheight="600" nextwidth="800" class="image-node embed"><figcaption HTMLAttributes="[object Object]" class="hide-figcaption"></figcaption></figure><p>Curation primarily occurred during the photograph selection process, including decisions about which specific parts of an image to utilize. You could also argue that the colors were curated, as I sampled them from each base picture. I find the boundary between curation and creation somewhat blurred in this project, and that’s precisely what I appreciate.</p><p><strong>Where did the title come from?</strong></p><p>The title of this collection is highly descriptive, as all animations directly stem from and represent a Sunday stroll in the park. It made sense to acknowledge the ‘time capsule’ aspect of the project this way. Additionally, it aims to evoke the emotions associated with such walks. During my childhood, these Sunday walks held a special place as a family ritual, and the title was a nod to these memories.</p><p><strong>Anything else you’d like to add?</strong></p><p>Viewing perspective plays a critical role in this series, much like it does in most dithered or pixel art. When the pieces are viewed at full zoom, they take on an almost abstract quality. At this level, one primarily observes the pixels in motion. However, when you zoom out, the figurative and photographic aspects of each piece emerge, allowing you to discern the subject. I encourage viewers to experiment with these varying perspectives.</p>]]></content:encoded>
            <author>highlight@newsletter.paragraph.com (Highlight)</author>
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            <title><![CDATA[Highlight Studio]]></title>
            <link>https://paragraph.com/@highlight/highlight-studio</link>
            <guid>ffhJUW5hMDxEhOaZLi8T</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 14 Mar 2024 16:56:48 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Introducing… 🎉 HIGHLIGHT STUDIO 🎉 !!! Your companion app designed to help you iterate and test your generative artwork quickly and reliably! Have you ever thought to yourself: "Hmmm, I wish I could just quickly test thousands of different token IDs and hashes and see how my artwork really behaves"? Well you are in luck! Introducing the "Single artwork" tab in Highlight Studio. This tool allows for quick iteration through different parameters your artwork can receive, and is just a nice litt...]]></description>
            <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Introducing… 🎉 <strong>HIGHLIGHT STUDIO</strong> 🎉 !!!</p><p>Your companion app designed to help you iterate and test your generative artwork quickly and reliably!</p><p>Have you ever thought to yourself: &quot;Hmmm, I wish I could just quickly test <strong>thousands</strong> of different token IDs and hashes and see how my artwork really behaves&quot;? Well you are in luck!</p><p>Introducing the <strong>&quot;Single artwork&quot;</strong> tab in Highlight Studio. This tool allows for quick iteration through different parameters your artwork can receive, and is just a nice little tool in your toolbelt which alleviates the need to manually change the URL parameters to your artwork.</p><p>I know what you&apos;re thinking: &quot;Woah that&apos;s cool, but I want to see a bunch of artworks next to each other so I can see if anything is off&quot;. You&apos;re not going to believe this… we have the <strong>&quot;Multiple artwork preview&quot;</strong> tab, to do <strong>EXACTLY</strong> that! Put in how your parameters change from render to render, press generate and just sit back and enjoy.</p><p>&quot;That&apos;s so cool. The only thing missing is a way for me to see what traits get set across <strong>THOUSANDS</strong> of artworks, so I can be certain the probabilities are what they should be&quot;. <strong>IT IS NOT MISSING. WE HAVE IT.</strong> It&apos;s called… <strong>&quot;Trait harvester&quot;</strong> tab! It behaves like the <strong>&quot;Multiple artwork preview&quot;</strong> tab, except it skips the actual rendering, which allows it to &quot;harvest&quot; traits from <strong>THOUSANDS</strong> of artworks in seconds.</p><p>Check out Highlight Studio here: <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow ugc" class="dont-break-out" href="https://studio.highlight.xyz/">https://studio.highlight.xyz/</a> and read about it here: <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow ugc" class="dont-break-out" href="https://github.com/highlightxyz/generative-art">https://github.com/highlightxyz/generative-art</a></p><p>We’re excited for your feedback, bug reports, and ideas for improvement. Hit us up at <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow ugc" class="dont-break-out" href="https://mailto:gm@highlight.xyz">gm@highlight.xyz</a></p>]]></content:encoded>
            <author>highlight@newsletter.paragraph.com (Highlight)</author>
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            <title><![CDATA[Highlight Marketplace: Royalties Update]]></title>
            <link>https://paragraph.com/@highlight/highlight-marketplace-royalties-update</link>
            <guid>z065Mx8tTfj1Mt4hZSwq</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 01 Mar 2024 21:22:31 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[We’re 1 month into our marketplace launch and the publication of our royalty research report, and we’re excited to share some early updates on how royalties are looking on Highlight. We’ll focus on three higher volume projects in particular: Aux Arbres by Zancan, Outcasts, and BasePaint Masterpieces by TicklishArt. (Note that the absence of Blur in these numbers is due to the fact that these projects are on Base chain, which isn’t supported by Blur.)First up is Aux Arbres by Zancan, a free (w...]]></description>
            <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>We’re 1 month into our marketplace launch and the publication of our royalty research report, and we’re excited to share some early updates on how royalties are looking on Highlight. We’ll focus on three higher volume projects in particular: <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow ugc" class="dont-break-out" href="https://highlight.xyz/mint/65d4c33f139818e311c5011e">Aux Arbres</a> by <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow ugc" class="dont-break-out" href="https://twitter.com/zancan">Zancan</a>, <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow ugc" class="dont-break-out" href="https://highlight.xyz/mint/65c36ebc54235eefb1ccb906/marketplace">Outcasts</a>, and <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow ugc" class="dont-break-out" href="https://highlight.xyz/mint/65d914464943ff46dd8c5ec5/marketplace">BasePaint Masterpieces</a> by <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow ugc" class="dont-break-out" href="https://twitter.com/ticklishart">TicklishArt</a>.</p><p><em>(Note that the absence of Blur in these numbers is due to the fact that these projects are on Base chain, which isn’t supported by Blur.)</em></p><figure float="none" data-type="figure" class="img-center" style="max-width: null;"><img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/papyrus_images/1797365e25e310eca5dec25fd924764ed94f73feb2a24bf1be8465163003a2ee.png" alt="" blurdataurl="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAP///wAAACwAAAAAAQABAAACAkQBADs=" nextheight="600" nextwidth="800" class="image-node embed"><figcaption HTMLAttributes="[object Object]" class="hide-figcaption"></figcaption></figure><p>First up is <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow ugc" class="dont-break-out" href="https://highlight.xyz/mint/65d4c33f139818e311c5011e">Aux Arbres</a> by Zancan, a free (with fee) mint with a stated royalty of 10%. So far we’ve seen 45 transactions on Highlight for an average royalty of 7.61%. Compare this with OpenSea, where we’ve seen 1055 transactions with an average royalty of 2.29%.</p><p>Second is <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow ugc" class="dont-break-out" href="https://highlight.xyz/mint/65d914464943ff46dd8c5ec5/marketplace">BasePaint Masterpieces</a> by TicklishArt, with a stated royalty of 5%. So far we’ve seen 172 transactions on Highlight, with an average royalty of 3.83%. Compare this with OpenSea, where we’ve seen 162 transactions for an average royalty of 2.23%.</p><p>Last is <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow ugc" class="dont-break-out" href="https://highlight.xyz/mint/65c36ebc54235eefb1ccb906/marketplace">Outcasts</a>, with a stated royalty of 5%. So far we’ve seen 24 transactions on Highlight, with an average royalty of 4.81%. Compare this with OpenSea, where we’ve seen 196 transactions for an average royalty of 2.20%.</p><p>In summary, the Highlight marketplace is observing a strong willingness on the part of collectors to pay a full or partial royalty and fairly strong month-over-month growth in adoption with an average market share of 9.07% for the projects mentioned (with the important note that these projects were chosen specifically for their Highlight volume in order to have a richer set of data to draw from, so this average won’t hold across the entire market).</p><p>While these are promising signs of life, a primary goal of ours moving forward is to figure out how to incentivize and reward collectors for respecting royalties on Highlight, thereby increasing the overall royalty-paying market share. Stay tuned for updates on that in the coming weeks and months!</p>]]></content:encoded>
            <author>highlight@newsletter.paragraph.com (Highlight)</author>
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            <title><![CDATA[Exploring the Generative Artistry of Julien Gachadoat]]></title>
            <link>https://paragraph.com/@highlight/exploring-the-generative-artistry-of-julien-gachadoat</link>
            <guid>d9zvtNfzvgjKs1cNbIxZ</guid>
            <pubDate>Sat, 24 Feb 2024 16:20:10 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[This collection is a part of the Bright Moments Artist in Residence series for February 2024. More details can be found here. Julien Gachadoat’s latest generative artwork, Orbe, continues his artistic exploration of plotting and algorithmic subdivision. Drawing from his previous works, such as Mineral and Radiance, Orbe utilizes simple geometric shapes like rectangles and circles paired with a subdivision algorithm. “It’s a direct continuation of my work, which is mainly plot-based. I started...]]></description>
            <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><em>This collection is a part of the Bright Moments Artist in Residence series for February 2024. More details can be found </em><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow ugc" class="dont-break-out" href="https://www.brightmoments.io/paris"><em>here</em></a><em>.</em></p><p>Julien Gachadoat’s latest generative artwork, <em>Orbe</em>, continues his artistic exploration of plotting and algorithmic subdivision. Drawing from his previous works, such as <em>Mineral</em> and <em>Radiance</em>, <em>Orbe</em> utilizes simple geometric shapes like rectangles and circles paired with a subdivision algorithm.</p><p>“It’s a direct continuation of my work, which is mainly plot-based. I started experimenting daily with algorithms that produce line-based geometries back in 2017.”</p><figure float="none" data-type="figure" class="img-center" style="max-width: null;"><img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/papyrus_images/0bbe20b004c927f544f05d6efbbbbb1bf8064b77070573618a99b7cb083b7483.png" alt="" blurdataurl="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAP///wAAACwAAAAAAQABAAACAkQBADs=" nextheight="600" nextwidth="800" class="image-node embed"><figcaption HTMLAttributes="[object Object]" class="hide-figcaption"></figcaption></figure><p>Central to Gachadoat’s artistic philosophy is the principle of exploration and experimentation. Julien’s journey reflects a relentless pursuit of innovation from his early forays into creative coding as a teenager in the ’80s to his recent venture into blockchain-based art. His fascination with computer history and commitment to education underscore his deep-rooted belief in the democratization of art.</p><figure float="none" data-type="figure" class="img-center" style="max-width: null;"><img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/papyrus_images/4cf48b562dc9d356c452e4a53806c7046b4f91af60ec83da8ed86858457b10ca.gif" alt="" blurdataurl="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAP///wAAACwAAAAAAQABAAACAkQBADs=" nextheight="600" nextwidth="800" class="image-node embed"><figcaption HTMLAttributes="[object Object]" class="hide-figcaption"></figcaption></figure><p>Creating an open edition like <em>Orbe</em> posed a new creative challenge for Gachadoat. Initially hesitant about expanding the spectrum of possible outputs, he grappled with maintaining his signature curated aesthetic amidst greater diversity. Embracing the challenge with characteristic ingenuity, Gachadoat embarked on a journey of experimentation, implementing innovative animation strategies to ensure coherence across the series.</p><p>He focused on developing a coherent animated loop system based on token IDs, allowing collectors to own a unique slice of a larger looping artwork. <em>Orbe</em> is designed as a collaborative venture, where each set of 180 compositions contributes to a unified animated loop.</p><figure float="none" data-type="figure" class="img-center" style="max-width: null;"><img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/papyrus_images/51054e6a163f7f98a2b2f4d0c8aff0737e7ea0c9b2e040d5cff18ac8077cd2e5.gif" alt="" blurdataurl="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAP///wAAACwAAAAAAQABAAACAkQBADs=" nextheight="600" nextwidth="800" class="image-node embed"><figcaption HTMLAttributes="[object Object]" class="hide-figcaption"></figcaption></figure><p>As Gachadoat prepares to showcase his latest collection at Bright Moments Paris, the event marks the culmination of years of artistic exploration grounded in authenticity and creative integrity. From the meticulously hand-plotted designs of his earlier works to the mesmerizing animated loops of <em>Orbe</em>, Gachadoat continues to push the boundaries of what is possible with code, algorithms, and imagination.</p><p>____</p><p><em>Julien Gachadoat (aka v3ga) has been exploring generative drawing for many years. He grew up in the 90s amid the avant-garde demo scene, making visuals with code. Ever since, programming languages have been his creative tool.  Creating unique art with algorithms, he works with the emergence of abstract form. Combining monochrome, geometric shapes, he plays with repetition, using random operations to generate an element of surprise. Julien Gachadoat uses the computer — &quot;this unique performer&quot; (Vera Molnar) — to develop his own creative tools based on simple graphic rules, and then to explore the formal possibilities that ensue. By printing these unique pieces with a plotter, he creates a link between text and code, between computer and pencil, and between the rigor of code and the poetry of art. “To leave a unique mark, aesthetically palpable, that is not in defiance, but rather in aid of the digital”: this is his philosophy.</em></p><p>*Orbe is open for minting from February 8 to February 29. The collection can be found <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow ugc" class="dont-break-out" href="https://highlight.xyz/orbe">here</a>. *</p>]]></content:encoded>
            <author>highlight@newsletter.paragraph.com (Highlight)</author>
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            <title><![CDATA[Exploring Stress Through Art: A Journey with William Watkins]]></title>
            <link>https://paragraph.com/@highlight/exploring-stress-through-art-a-journey-with-william-watkins</link>
            <guid>VyOnmZrm4lBX0QTYVsh6</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 23 Feb 2024 16:15:30 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[This collection is a part of the Bright Moments Artist in Residence series for February 2024. We had a chance to catch up with William Watkins to learn more about his project and the details behind it. More details about the event can be found here. Q: Can you give us an overview and inspiration behind your project? A: In its original form, the project took inspiration from a poster by Bráulio Amado made for a piano performance depicting very stylized hands stroking the keys of a piano. It’s ...]]></description>
            <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><em>This collection is a part of the Bright Moments Artist in Residence series for February 2024. We had a chance to catch up with William Watkins to learn more about his project and the details behind it. More details about the event can be found </em><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow ugc" class="dont-break-out" href="https://www.brightmoments.io/paris"><em>here</em></a><em>.</em></p><p><strong>Q: Can you give us an overview and inspiration behind your project?</strong></p><p>A: In its original form, the project took inspiration from a poster by Bráulio Amado made for a piano performance depicting very stylized hands stroking the keys of a piano. It’s grainy and has a lot of character. I wanted to capture this kind of intensity.</p><figure float="none" data-type="figure" class="img-center" style="max-width: null;"><img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/papyrus_images/86a6fd8e5d374417638de0117f4f63abc22893a319e841f5db5c40d16fec65b8.jpg" alt="" blurdataurl="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAP///wAAACwAAAAAAQABAAACAkQBADs=" nextheight="600" nextwidth="800" class="image-node embed"><figcaption HTMLAttributes="[object Object]" class="hide-figcaption"></figcaption></figure><p>Georgia O’Keeffe’s work has been in the back of my mind since I saw her collection at the MoMA last year; she also inspired this work.</p><p><strong>Q: What are some techniques used to create the project?</strong></p><p>A: It started as an experiment with a much more complex algorithm with lines constructed using differential line growth, traced as particles that sampled colors from shaders, computing fractal noise to produce a range of realistic brush, pen, or charcoal strokes.</p><figure float="none" data-type="figure" class="img-center" style="max-width: null;"><img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/papyrus_images/151af9837c07d6321d1cf5a85af21e38b82c6a40f7f0f75f11b60b63683ea8f8.png" alt="" blurdataurl="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAP///wAAACwAAAAAAQABAAACAkQBADs=" nextheight="600" nextwidth="800" class="image-node embed"><figcaption HTMLAttributes="[object Object]" class="hide-figcaption"></figcaption></figure><p>At one point, I decided to use fractal noise as a background element to direct the eye toward interest points on the canvas. I kept adding components to my system, including ovoid shapes that attracted or repelled lines, making them tie the elements together and introducing tension or airiness.</p><p>Some of those early tests were promising, but the composition was challenging to get right consistently, and the parameter space was too large.</p><p>I was working on another series at that time, and the deadline was approaching fast, so I put it aside for a while.</p><p>Returning to it with fresh eyes, I understood that everything had become too convoluted, and I needed to shave off a lot to make a more straightforward system. That’s also when the subject became apparent to me. I went through a lot of stress to complete the other series on time; returning to those experiments, I realized it represented stress well.</p><p>So, I worked towards using visual languages that made sense, having rocky textures to symbolize the very solid and compressed nature of the ball of stress and caustics to illustrate the feeling of being submerged when experiencing stress, sometimes overwhelmingly so.</p><p><strong>Q: Are there any Easter eggs in your work that you want to speak to?</strong></p><p>A: The animation of the piece is evolving “indefinitely,” except that’s not entirely true. The floating point numbers used to compute the fractal noise keep increasing as a function of time and eventually become too big and numerically unstable, so things start to break apart and yield funky visual glitches.</p><figure float="none" data-type="figure" class="img-center" style="max-width: null;"><img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/papyrus_images/3394b75d848c3bb2bff1c477b1c1cd7e8c28b4182b639fb0e5aefc067e8a3137.gif" alt="" blurdataurl="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAP///wAAACwAAAAAAQABAAACAkQBADs=" nextheight="600" nextwidth="800" class="image-node embed"><figcaption HTMLAttributes="[object Object]" class="hide-figcaption"></figcaption></figure><p>This happens at different rates depending on the traits and seed, but a conservative estimate is after around ten days of continuous running. I could’ve prevented it by using a triangle wave function to cap the time to make it go in reverse after a week — in the unlikely event that someone would leave it running for that long — but I think it is an interesting feature to keep as is.</p><p>Things deteriorate with time.</p><p><strong>Q: What is your story in digital art?</strong></p><p>A: I did my studies at a software programming school called 42 in Paris, where some of the projects were centered around computer graphics, such as creating a raytracing engine, a voxel engine, using shaders to create 3d fractals, and a bunch more.</p><p>That was the part I enjoyed the most during my time there, so I kept doing creative coding as a hobby for several years afterward alongside my day job.</p><p>I was jumping from machine learning to C++ software development and then to full-stack web development, searching for my place in programming without quite finding it.</p><p>Eventually, I heard about Fxhash from a post by Matt DesLauriers on Twitter in late 2021 and got hooked; I realized I wanted to make generative art my vocation.</p><p><strong>Q: Why are you excited for Bright Moments Paris?</strong></p><p>A: Generative art has been a lonely experience for me. I work behind my computer all day and rarely engage with the broader community. I’ve always been more of an observer than an active participant online.</p><p>Then, last year, I received an invitation to exhibit at the Proof of People event in New York. Meeting everyone in person humanized the experience, revealing the openness and warmth of everyone within this community.</p><p>I’m looking forward to reconnecting with everyone and engaging with collectors. I’ve missed the genuine human connections.</p><p>Additionally, Paris is a special place to me — it’s where I was born. Exhibiting there feels like a validation of my presence in this space. I’m thrilled to be able to share what I’ve been pursuing with my friends and family.</p><p><strong>Q: What is inspiring you right now as a generative artist?</strong></p><p>A: I come from a technical background, so generative art is exciting to me as a technical pursuit on top of the art form.</p><p>This intersection of the programming and art world has incredible potential for new ways to experience art and for new concepts to emerge.</p><p>This potential is what’s most inspiring to me right now — considering the relative immaturity of our space — I enjoy seeing currents gradually taking shape, emerging, and some expanding from the purely digital form. I feel like more experimentation should be incentivized. At this time, many artists are working series to series without getting their head above water to look around and see where they’re heading. That includes me, but I feel like I’m finally at a point where I can take the time to do just that.</p><p>There are innovators in this space, albeit too few of them. Still, looking at projects like Klangteppich by Andreas Rau, PAL by Iskra Velitchkova and Marcelo Soria-Rodriguez, all the creations by Luke Shannon, the work done on plotters by Marcel Schwittlick or Licia He, to name a few, are the most exciting to me.</p><p>—</p><p><em>Compression is open for minting from February 8 to February 29. Collection can be found </em><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow ugc" class="dont-break-out" href="https://highlight.xyz/compression"><em>here</em></a><em>.</em></p>]]></content:encoded>
            <author>highlight@newsletter.paragraph.com (Highlight)</author>
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            <title><![CDATA[From Plotters to Pixels: System 1 by Nicolas Daniel]]></title>
            <link>https://paragraph.com/@highlight/from-plotters-to-pixels-system-1-by-nicolas-daniel</link>
            <guid>uqgNaFHrmkomlzxFGJnd</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 22 Feb 2024 14:40:39 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[This collection is a part of the Bright Moments Artist in Residence series for February 2024. More details can be found here. System 1 began with Nicolas Daniel’s desire to explore plotter art within a generative algorithm. The project initially focused on creating simple line drawings but quickly evolved into something more complex with the introduction of a propagation algorithm. This algorithm led to unexpected outcomes resembling maps of natural and urban landscapes, influenced by cartogr...]]></description>
            <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><em>This collection is a part of the Bright Moments Artist in Residence series for February 2024. More details can be found </em><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow ugc" class="dont-break-out" href="https://www.brightmoments.io/paris"><em>here</em></a><em>.</em></p><p><em>System 1</em> began with Nicolas Daniel’s desire to explore plotter art within a generative algorithm. The project initially focused on creating simple line drawings but quickly evolved into something more complex with the introduction of a propagation algorithm. This algorithm led to unexpected outcomes resembling maps of natural and urban landscapes, influenced by cartography and biological perspectives.</p><p>“We discussed the project, and I expressed my desire to create something related to the plotter because I’ve had a project in mind for about a year or two.”</p><figure float="none" data-type="figure" class="img-center" style="max-width: null;"><img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/papyrus_images/72e9d8c13640b8ca5f3f8cb446cccd40951c43252559328045ee377a745b9857.png" alt="" blurdataurl="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAP///wAAACwAAAAAAQABAAACAkQBADs=" nextheight="600" nextwidth="800" class="image-node embed"><figcaption HTMLAttributes="[object Object]" class="hide-figcaption"></figcaption></figure><p>The beauty of Daniel’s project lies in its unpredictability. At its core, <em>System 1</em> utilizes a sophisticated propagation algorithm with elements of randomness and imperfection. Through this creative journey, <em>System 1</em> generates unexpected outcomes resembling maps depicting natural terrains and urban cityscapes. The collection produces compositions with diverse densities and forms, drawing inspiration from various sources, including cartography and biological phenomena such as leaf veins and cellular propagation.</p><figure float="none" data-type="figure" class="img-center" style="max-width: null;"><img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/papyrus_images/a6ece24e3df0f8b4ad575426a3bff1c31d17ce260d5be0df6fb287fbe2962007.gif" alt="" blurdataurl="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAP///wAAACwAAAAAAQABAAACAkQBADs=" nextheight="600" nextwidth="800" class="image-node embed"><figcaption HTMLAttributes="[object Object]" class="hide-figcaption"></figcaption></figure><p>The result is a mesmerizing series of line-based animations slowly revealing abstract landscapes and cellular structures. Daniel describes it as a fusion of cartography, nature, and urban views. By tweaking parameters like entropy, he can create highly geometric patterns reminiscent of city grids or swirling organic shapes that mimic frost, veins, or tree roots.</p><figure float="none" data-type="figure" class="img-center" style="max-width: null;"><img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/papyrus_images/660b4228f8e628801e76fdeecb929d4c5c8d686433d0bd69449631161dff1f03.gif" alt="" blurdataurl="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAP///wAAACwAAAAAAQABAAACAkQBADs=" nextheight="600" nextwidth="800" class="image-node embed"><figcaption HTMLAttributes="[object Object]" class="hide-figcaption"></figcaption></figure><p>For collectors who choose to batch mint 101 tokens, each token will include one of each color palette. The final token in the batch mint will feature a circular pattern, a discovery made by Daniel during the initial refinement of the algorithm. This unique circular version will only be available through batch minting and will not appear otherwise.</p><figure float="none" data-type="figure" class="img-center" style="max-width: null;"><img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/papyrus_images/88b3b3fbea7330ab385b4f71df647d7bb4e17697e72e89e0bf551b8ab2bcf0af.jpg" alt="" blurdataurl="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAP///wAAACwAAAAAAQABAAACAkQBADs=" nextheight="600" nextwidth="800" class="image-node embed"><figcaption HTMLAttributes="[object Object]" class="hide-figcaption"></figcaption></figure><p>Physical prints for <em>System 1</em> will be introduced for collectors later this year.</p><p>—</p><p><em>Nicolas Daniel is a French artist based in Nantes who expresses his creative vision through code. With a passion for digital artistry and a background in computer science, he explores the surprising possibilities of collaboration with machines. His work spans various mediums, including screens, prints, plotters, and projections.</em></p><p><em>System 1 is open for minting from February 8 to February 29. Collection can be found </em><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow ugc" class="dont-break-out" href="https://highlight.xyz/mint/65c4057a641b98f3dadd9a54"><em>here</em></a><em>.</em></p>]]></content:encoded>
            <author>highlight@newsletter.paragraph.com (Highlight)</author>
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            <title><![CDATA[Exploring Sonic Structures with Eliza Struthers-Jobin]]></title>
            <link>https://paragraph.com/@highlight/exploring-sonic-structures-with-eliza-struthers-jobin</link>
            <guid>9RODvaI3QDAcByFvuwCI</guid>
            <pubDate>Wed, 21 Feb 2024 15:46:38 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[This collection is a part of the Bright Moments Artist in Residence series for February 2024. More details can be found here. In Eliza Struthers-Jobin’s latest collection, Resonances, she explores the visual convergence of sound and sight. “I’ve often wanted to include sound in my generative projects, but issues arose with how sound can be presented — it can be tricky to showcase sound without it polluting the experience of other artworks, and not everyone enjoys the isolation of headphones.”...]]></description>
            <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><em>This collection is a part of the Bright Moments Artist in Residence series for February 2024. More details can be found </em><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow ugc" class="dont-break-out" href="https://www.brightmoments.io/paris"><em>here</em></a><em>.</em></p><p>In Eliza Struthers-Jobin’s latest collection, <em>Resonances</em>, she explores the visual convergence of sound and sight.</p><p>“I’ve often wanted to include sound in my generative projects, but issues arose with how sound can be presented — it can be tricky to showcase sound without it polluting the experience of other artworks, and not everyone enjoys the isolation of headphones.”</p><figure float="none" data-type="figure" class="img-center" style="max-width: null;"><img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/papyrus_images/78e1abeccf9e0327cddf9e66a631f8a3d05b81f8454e4b69c88a0fc25d53bb0b.gif" alt="" blurdataurl="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAP///wAAACwAAAAAAQABAAACAkQBADs=" nextheight="600" nextwidth="800" class="image-node embed"><figcaption HTMLAttributes="[object Object]" class="hide-figcaption"></figcaption></figure><p>Struthers-Jobin aimed to incorporate sound into her projects without requiring audio, envisioning a series that could exist independently with no audible component—only visible manifestations of sound.</p><p><em>Resonances</em> translates the ephemeral nature of sound into a tangible visual experience by utilizing cymatics, the study of sound and vibration patterns made visible. This artistic process is manifested through Chladni patterns, a method used to generate patterns on a plate, thereby unveiling the physical essence of sound. These intricate geometric shapes emerge from the nodes and antinodes of resonant vibrations across various frequencies.</p><figure float="none" data-type="figure" class="img-center" style="max-width: null;"><img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/papyrus_images/1e2cce1096ac9e049e30a11041d074d8d168f878707345925038ab33744ff0cf.png" alt="Chladni patterns" blurdataurl="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAP///wAAACwAAAAAAQABAAACAkQBADs=" nextheight="600" nextwidth="800" class="image-node embed"><figcaption HTMLAttributes="[object Object]" class="">Chladni patterns</figcaption></figure><p><em>Resonances</em> employs Inigo Quilez’s cosPalette function to create seven distinct color palettes. This deliberate choice stems from the function’s use of frequencies to calculate colors along a spectrum, complementing the project&apos;s thematic exploration of invisible waves. Over time, each palette subtly and almost imperceptibly evolves, resulting in smooth color transitions that contribute depth and nuance to the visual composition.</p><figure float="none" data-type="figure" class="img-center" style="max-width: null;"><img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/papyrus_images/7147e4f78b7cf7c9806032353071442398c3b600a63cda81b68bdf4e2cddd61d.gif" alt="" blurdataurl="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAP///wAAACwAAAAAAQABAAACAkQBADs=" nextheight="600" nextwidth="800" class="image-node embed"><figcaption HTMLAttributes="[object Object]" class="hide-figcaption"></figcaption></figure><p>This piece expands upon Struthers-Jobin&apos;s expertise in sound and generative art, which was deepened by her involvement in a collaborative live audiovisual performance featuring generative audio and live coding last year. Her exploration of generative practices continues to evolve, fueled by the ongoing inspiration derived from programming and algorithmic thinking.</p><figure float="none" data-type="figure" class="img-center" style="max-width: null;"><img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/papyrus_images/5a6884241050d2107bf04281014a1357c6a52b527780bddbbf1e8e35961a2243.png" alt="" blurdataurl="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAP///wAAACwAAAAAAQABAAACAkQBADs=" nextheight="600" nextwidth="800" class="image-node embed"><figcaption HTMLAttributes="[object Object]" class="hide-figcaption"></figcaption></figure><p>—</p><p><em>Eliza is an artist and programmer from Montreal, Canada, currently based between Paris and Barcelona. She has been creating artwork with code since 2015. Her work is experimental, mediative and rhythmic, motivated by a continuous cycle of exploration and unexpected discovery.</em></p><p><em>Resonances is open for minting from February 8 to February 29. Collection can be found </em><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow ugc" class="dont-break-out" href="https://highlight.xyz/mint/65c4923f01990c693ffbf181"><em>here</em></a><em>.</em></p>]]></content:encoded>
            <author>highlight@newsletter.paragraph.com (Highlight)</author>
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            <title><![CDATA[20 for ’24: Digital Art Trends That Will Shape This Year]]></title>
            <link>https://paragraph.com/@highlight/20-for-24-digital-art-trends-that-will-shape-this-year</link>
            <guid>S8c5kdZ7qLlMagZntVZ2</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Feb 2024 07:21:41 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[We’re already a month into 2024 and the digital art world is moving as fast as ever. In no particular order, here are the most relevant trends to watch shaping the space in 2024. What did I miss or get wrong? Send me a DM on Farcaster. 1. Expansion of “generative” to encompass much more. In 2024, “generative” is no longer constrained to “long-form” projects and is rightly being used to define other types of dynamic, digitally native code-based works. This includes any project that involves au...]]></description>
            <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>We’re already a month into 2024 and the digital art world is moving as fast as ever.</p><p>In no particular order, here are the most relevant trends to watch shaping the space in 2024.</p><p>What did I miss or get wrong? Send me a <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow ugc" class="dont-break-out" href="https://warpcast.com/emodi">DM on Farcaster</a>.</p><p><strong>1. Expansion of “generative” to encompass much more.</strong> <br>In 2024, “generative” is no longer constrained to “long-form” projects and is rightly being used to define other types of dynamic, digitally native code-based works. This includes any project that involves autonomous systems using code, data, network activity, onchain actions, or decentralized coordination. Where previously generative art was purely about exploring a visual design space, these projects use systems to ask more profound conceptual questions and allow viewers/holders themselves to participate in the work. For example, Kevin Esherick’s <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow ugc" class="dont-break-out" href="https://highlight.xyz/mint/65865c1866d1a3855c93276a"><em>Catalog</em></a> was 12 lines of code that randomly called pictures of consumer goods from Costco’s image servers in a way that was fully autonomous, entirely code-based, and more of a communal experience than most standard mints. Stevie P’s <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow ugc" class="dont-break-out" href="https://moneymakingopportunity.eth.limo/"><em>Money Making Opportunity</em></a> or SHL0MS’ recent <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow ugc" class="dont-break-out" href="https://highlight.xyz/mint/65bb2bc49d57ab8ce21bbcbb"><em>404</em></a> explored similar terrain. Beyond these internet gatherings are IRL experiences such as <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow ugc" class="dont-break-out" href="https://www.operator.la/human-unreadable"><em>Human Unreadable</em></a> by Operator, which fused choreography, blockchain, and generative art in an ongoing live performance across both the blockchain and exhibition spaces. And while <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow ugc" class="dont-break-out" href="https://twitter.com/mathcastles"><em>Terraforms</em></a> by Mathcastles is now more than two years old, the community around it (led by artist 113, among others) continues to guide a generation of digital artists.</p><figure float="none" data-type="figure" class="img-center" style="max-width: null;"><img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/papyrus_images/1a486d84b83ae4de4b0993d81e512cdcccd987da2811b52b982bd0f303cb74a0.avif" alt="Chronophotograph #145 by Deafbeef (2023)" blurdataurl="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAP///wAAACwAAAAAAQABAAACAkQBADs=" nextheight="600" nextwidth="800" class="image-node embed"><figcaption HTMLAttributes="[object Object]" class="">Chronophotograph #145 by Deafbeef (2023)</figcaption></figure><p><strong>2. More projects will be on-chain or in-chain.</strong> <br>This year, we’ll continue to see artists and collectors pushing for work with novel on-chain dynamics and fewer off-chain dependencies. This trend will be helped by lower gas costs on L2s (see #6 below), innovation happening at the technical level, and the mindset artists are bringing. Many artists view the blockchain as an exciting new medium that brings permanence, independence, dynamism, social coordination, and transparency to their work. Projects such as <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow ugc" class="dont-break-out" href="https://crashblossom.co/gold"><em>GOLD</em></a> by James Bloom, <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow ugc" class="dont-break-out" href="http://alternate.cx"><em>Alternate</em></a> by Kim Asendorf, <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow ugc" class="dont-break-out" href="https://www.deafbeef.com/chronophotograph/"><em>Chronophotograph</em></a> by DeafBeef, <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow ugc" class="dont-break-out" href="https://highlight.xyz/mint/653a85f642d668e323e2152a"><em>Bit Rot</em></a> by Nahiko, and <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow ugc" class="dont-break-out" href="https://youarehere.0xfff.love/"><em>You Are Here</em></a> by 0xfff are excellent recent examples of artists prioritizing on-chain or in-chain aspects of their work purely for creative exploration. And AI artists (see #X) continue to explore how their models or training data can exist on-chain.</p><figure float="none" data-type="figure" class="img-center" style="max-width: null;"><img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/papyrus_images/7bd84b185d3fbc0bb37528082d449f52bc3691d34317924860a3d9592ebadb43.png" alt="You Are Here #42161 by 0xfff" blurdataurl="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAP///wAAACwAAAAAAQABAAACAkQBADs=" nextheight="600" nextwidth="800" class="image-node embed"><figcaption HTMLAttributes="[object Object]" class="">You Are Here #42161 by 0xfff</figcaption></figure><p><strong>3. Games, interactivity, and decentralized coordination will continue to redefine digital art.</strong></p><p>Pushing ideas around interactivity, communal experience, and group coordination brings us to gaming. Some of the most exhilarating projects of 2023 were implicitly or explicitly games. <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow ugc" class="dont-break-out" href="https://wild.xyz/mitchell-f-chan/the-boys-of-summer/"><em>Boys of Summer</em></a> by Mitchell F. Chan, <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow ugc" class="dont-break-out" href="https://highlight.xyz/mint/658feed341fad46b6bc0de17"><em>Suika Stay Home</em></a> by Billy Rennekamp and Joon Yeon Park, <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow ugc" class="dont-break-out" href="https://highlight.xyz/mint/6582f3ebb44fa73d42b63880"><em>Bullet Heaven [YOKO]</em></a> by Sam Hains, and, of course, <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow ugc" class="dont-break-out" href="https://verse.works/exhibitions/quasi-dragon-studies"><em>Quasi Dragon Studies</em></a> by Harvey Rayner all were game experiences and artworks simultaneously. As digital culture rapidly shapes mainstream culture, 2024 could be when gaming decisively infiltrates art.</p><figure float="none" data-type="figure" class="img-center" style="max-width: null;"><img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/papyrus_images/084643a81babacf5f42872e42d44465fdcdb00b2c39c113528f2998474e2543c.png" alt="Bullet Heaven [YOKO] #101 by Sam Hains" blurdataurl="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAP///wAAACwAAAAAAQABAAACAkQBADs=" nextheight="600" nextwidth="800" class="image-node embed"><figcaption HTMLAttributes="[object Object]" class="">Bullet Heaven [YOKO] #101 by Sam Hains</figcaption></figure><p><strong>4. New collectors will be onboarded via increasingly smoother UXs.</strong> <br>For 2022 and 2023, the ecosystem’s growth was almost at a standstill as mainstream consumers remained cool on anything NFT-related, and crypto-native experiences remained a barrier. As 2024 kicks off, developer and user adoption is accelerating rapidly via embedded wallets, “gasless” minting, and other abstraction layers that translate into mainstream readiness. Within the Ethereum ecosystem, this is supported by the recent development of Layer 2 networks, including Base, Optimism, and Zora, that bring massive cost reductions and speed upgrades. With these improvements, it’s quickly becoming possible to collect and trade the highest-value digital artwork without spending days or weeks ramping up on the blockchain intricacies under the hood.</p><p><strong>5. Gallerization, curation, and signal-to-noise ratio.</strong> <br>This year, we’ll continue to see a move towards more gallerization, curation, and other signals that help collectors navigate the rapidly growing ecosystem. At the higher end of the market, artists will continue trending towards gallery representation. While curation has been pioneered by stalwarts such as <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow ugc" class="dont-break-out" href="https://feralfile.com/">Feral File</a> and <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow ugc" class="dont-break-out" href="http://artblocks.io">Art Blocks</a> for years, its importance is becoming more visible and vital as interest in digital art grows. Crucially, curators help determine how different works are received, shape the cultural significance of the artist, and ensure that suitable collectors are ready to mint come release day. Beyond that, curators can offer an honest, informed critique that can significantly help artists when they’re developing new work. In 2024, DAOs such as <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow ugc" class="dont-break-out" href="http://grailers.com">Grailers</a> and <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow ugc" class="dont-break-out" href="http://fingerprintsdao.xyz">Fingerprints</a>; tools such as <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow ugc" class="dont-break-out" href="https://foundation.app/trending/worlds">Foundation Worlds</a> and Verse’s <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow ugc" class="dont-break-out" href="https://verse.works/galleries">Galleries</a>; organizations such as <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow ugc" class="dont-break-out" href="http://tender.art">Tender</a> and <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow ugc" class="dont-break-out" href="http://lerandom.art">Le Random</a>; and gallerists such as <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow ugc" class="dont-break-out" href="https://www.katevassgalerie.com/">Kate Vass Galerie</a>, <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow ugc" class="dont-break-out" href="https://gazelliarthouse.com/">Gazelli Art House</a>, and <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow ugc" class="dont-break-out" href="https://www.expanded.art/">EXPANDED</a> continue to bring good curation to the forefront.</p><p><strong>6. The trend towards new (for art) chains.</strong> <br>We’re seeing massive interest in Solana and Bitcoin Ordinals for new artwork. Many of the works being released here are exceptional, and both artists and collectors are noticing. Meanwhile, L2s such as Base, Optimism, and Zora are attracting a rapidly growing number of artists seeking a low-cost alternative to other L1s. As artists migrate, many collectors — those who have made Ethereum digital art’s main stage until now — follow.</p><p><strong>7. Explorations beyond “long-form.”</strong> <br>It’s surreal to consider that long-form generative art was standardized by Art Blocks only in 2021 when Tyler Hobbs wrote his <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow ugc" class="dont-break-out" href="https://tylerxhobbs.com/essays/2021/the-rise-of-long-form-generative-art">famous essay</a> cementing it. “Long-form” refers to any release of 500-1,000 pieces, all minted randomly with seeds generated from the transaction hash, often using javascript libraries such as p5.js. This format was a milestone in the growth of the digital art sphere. It helped create a Schelling point for thousands of artists and hundreds of thousands of collectors that was fun, exciting, uniquely enabled by the blockchain, and quickly decipherable. However, entering 2024, we’re seeing enthusiasm for this format — from collectors and artists with established long-form collections — shifting to explore other release formats. For example, <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow ugc" class="dont-break-out" href="https://verse.works/series/sketchbook-a-by-william-mapan"><em>Sketchbook A</em></a> by William Mapan, while generating 1M+ preview outputs, was distilled down into a masterful set of 64 curated works. While Vera Molnár’s <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow ugc" class="dont-break-out" href="https://metaverse.sothebys.com/gen-art-vera-molnar"><em>Themes and Variations</em></a> was a 500-piece collection, each work was hand-picked in advance. As the ecosystem matures, some collectors are less interested in the inevitable long tail of long-form outputs and prefer consistent quality across a collection.</p><figure float="none" data-type="figure" class="img-center" style="max-width: null;"><img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/papyrus_images/769e703c693ea8a02f4c093525e9c55ad5755b12b0853a980a1b90ee874687ad.png" alt="Themes and Variations #346 by Vera Molnár with Martin Grasser (2023)" blurdataurl="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAP///wAAACwAAAAAAQABAAACAkQBADs=" nextheight="600" nextwidth="800" class="image-node embed"><figcaption HTMLAttributes="[object Object]" class="">Themes and Variations #346 by Vera Molnár with Martin Grasser (2023)</figcaption></figure><p><strong>8. Long-form will continue to shine.</strong> <br>Despite the evolution, stellar long-form generative work continues to captivate now more than ever. Recent standouts include the stunning <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow ugc" class="dont-break-out" href="https://www.fxhash.xyz/generative/slug/blokkendoos"><em>Blokkendoos</em></a> by Piter Pasma which bathed minimalist shapes in mesmerizing light “with 5954 characters of code, math, no libraries, just a browser.” <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow ugc" class="dont-break-out" href="https://www.artblocks.io/collections/curated/projects/0x99a9b7c1116f9ceeb1652de04d5969cce509b069/428"><em>Memories of Digital Data</em></a> by Kazuhiro Tanimoto evoked future nostalgia for the inevitable loss of digital artifacts, every serious artist and collector’s existential fear. And <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow ugc" class="dont-break-out" href="https://feralfile.com/exhibitions/n-12-2ts/series/text-me-when-you-get-home-bpd?viewMode=Grid"><em>Text Me When You Get Home</em></a> by Nicole Vella vividly used GLSL code and a single shader to impart a complex emotional exchange. Visually arresting, unique, and profound long-form works like these will continue to emerge this year.</p><p><strong>9. Experiments with size and price dynamics will continue.</strong> <br>From open editions at low price points to mint pass experiments and <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow ugc" class="dont-break-out" href="https://verse.works/series/heuristics-of-emotion-artist-curated-by-jeres">seed marketplaces</a>, we’ll continue to see fantastic art offered at various prices and through an evolving set of sales mechanisms. While this tendency towards experimentation isn’t new — some of the most iconic work on blockchains was given away or released in large quantities (looking at you, Punks) — the potential of L2s, the exploration of the internet medium, and increasing mainstream interest all point to exciting possibilities with digital art. Will 2024 be the year that more than a million people collect the first breakthrough art collection?</p><figure float="none" data-type="figure" class="img-center" style="max-width: null;"><img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/papyrus_images/5744a901555a825ad1bbcabd5a4cdab222671bff77c1b3b6a3a7cf02c94b4b55.png" alt="Text Me When You Get Home #73 by Nicole Vella (2023)" blurdataurl="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAP///wAAACwAAAAAAQABAAACAkQBADs=" nextheight="600" nextwidth="800" class="image-node embed"><figcaption HTMLAttributes="[object Object]" class="">Text Me When You Get Home #73 by Nicole Vella (2023)</figcaption></figure><p><strong>10. Business models will continue to evolve.</strong> <br>This year promises to be another interesting one for galleries, platforms, marketplaces, and artists seeking a steady, sustainable existence in digital art. Last year saw price increases for many platforms, marketplace fee wars between OpenSea and Blur, the continued <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow ugc" class="dont-break-out" href="https://highlight.mirror.xyz/cM11or7KF2O6GaVVFJ1JS3IZrwnTDGFfynGHye0hCEs">collapse of royalties</a>, and dozens of other business model experiments to find more solid footing in light of slower market activity. While 2024 looks brighter, we’ll see more of this evolution.</p><p><strong>11. Many more people will stop using the word “NFT.”</strong> <br>In 2023, the term NFT gradually became avoided in discussions and releases of digital artwork. This year, people will continue to talk about “onchain digital art” or simply “digital art.” Words like “tokens” or simply “artworks” will dominate. This will be a subtle but essential shift, as most participants in the ecosystem want to avoid the connotations of valueless scams and hype, and a tainted technical term doesn’t come close to honoring the medium. Instead, the on-chain (or onchain) frontier transcends anything technical and relates to the new artistic movement being built with blockchains under the hood. The shift away from the term also reflects a willingness to engage with and participate in digital art’s larger history and not pretend that it appeared out of nowhere with the NFT boom in 2021.</p><p><strong>12. Strong communities will continue to flourish.</strong> <br>This trend might seem obvious, but surveying the turbulence of the last few years shows that communities based on speculation have evaporated. At the same time, those built on more intrinsic motivation are getting stronger. Communities such as <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow ugc" class="dont-break-out" href="http://grailers.com">Grailers</a>, <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow ugc" class="dont-break-out" href="http://tender.art">Tender</a>, <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow ugc" class="dont-break-out" href="http://fxhash.xyz">fxHash</a>, <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow ugc" class="dont-break-out" href="https://www.fwb.help/">FWB</a>, and <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow ugc" class="dont-break-out" href="https://www.larvalabs.com/cryptopunks">CryptoPunks</a> continue to be among the most thoughtful and exciting corners of the internet. The crypto bear market left many communities deserted, but in digital art, there has never been a more active or vibrant time to be part of the scene. As the market recovers, these communities will be rewarded for their perseverance over the last few years.</p><p><strong>13. AI artists continue to astound while proving human creativity is the focal point.</strong> While some of the most sought-after digital art dates back to early GANs exploration, 2023 was a break-out year for AI art. Bright Moments added AI exhibitions to their tour program starting in <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow ugc" class="dont-break-out" href="https://www.brightmoments.io/tokyo">Tokyo</a>, with stand-out works from <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow ugc" class="dont-break-out" href="https://opensea.io/collection/paracosm-by-claire-silver">Claire Silver</a>, <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow ugc" class="dont-break-out" href="https://app.brightmoments.io/collections/cenotaphs">Ganbrood</a>, <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow ugc" class="dont-break-out" href="https://app.brightmoments.io/collections/aiimaginedfaces-on-chain-by-van-arman">Pindar Van Arman</a>, <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow ugc" class="dont-break-out" href="https://app.brightmoments.io/collections/time-after-vessels">Sofia Crespo</a>, and many others. <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow ugc" class="dont-break-out" href="http://braindrops.cloud">Brain Drops</a> released breathtaking work from <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow ugc" class="dont-break-out" href="https://braindrops.cloud/projects/15">Roope Rainisto</a>, <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow ugc" class="dont-break-out" href="https://braindrops.cloud/projects/26">ClownVamp</a>, <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow ugc" class="dont-break-out" href="https://braindrops.cloud/projects/28">DeltaSauce</a>, and more. Artists such as <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow ugc" class="dont-break-out" href="https://twitter.com/iragreenberg">Ira Greenberg</a>, <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow ugc" class="dont-break-out" href="https://entangledothers.studio/">Entangled Others</a>, <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow ugc" class="dont-break-out" href="https://www.huemin.art/">Huemin</a>, and <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow ugc" class="dont-break-out" href="https://twitter.com/RichardNadler1">Richard Nadler</a> pushed boundaries while reminding us that human creativity remains the vital spark. While our screens were awash with imagery from neural networks, these artists astounded as only great artists can. The coming year will bring us even more AI art that catches our attention because artists like these pair inimitable creativity with rapidly improving tools.</p><figure float="none" data-type="figure" class="img-center" style="max-width: null;"><img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/papyrus_images/a6f0da42cf08b6bd2b7a0ff7b8437168a79e16b28339163de4f908242ca6356d.webp" alt="“Quiet Ground,” Life in West America by Roope Rainisto (2023)" blurdataurl="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAP///wAAACwAAAAAAQABAAACAkQBADs=" nextheight="600" nextwidth="800" class="image-node embed"><figcaption HTMLAttributes="[object Object]" class="">“Quiet Ground,” Life in West America by Roope Rainisto (2023)</figcaption></figure><p><strong>14. We continue to honor pioneers of the medium.</strong> <br>2023 saw increased appreciation for digital art pioneers with new releases from <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow ugc" class="dont-break-out" href="https://metaverse.sothebys.com/gen-art-vera-molnar">Vera Molnar</a>, <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow ugc" class="dont-break-out" href="https://www.proof.xyz/exhibitions/zentrum">Herbert Franke</a>, and others who leveraged early computing technologies to create groundbreaking works decades ago. As the digital art world continues its momentum, we’ll see even more effort in 2024 to honor, spotlight, and support releases from many first-wave computer artists. Look for new retrospective projects and newly discovered or preserved vintage works to come to market from influential early practitioners. There is ample interest in learning and acquiring work from the pre-blockchain innovators who were among the first to examine art’s relationship with computers.</p><p><strong>15. IRL exhibitions will continue to get better.</strong> <br>Over the last few years, IRL exhibitions for digital art have left many artists and collectors feeling cold. Obvious exceptions here include Bright Moments, perhaps the premiere IRL exhibitor of digital work, gallerists such as <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow ugc" class="dont-break-out" href="http://katevassgalerie.com">Kate Vass</a>, the <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow ugc" class="dont-break-out" href="http://artblocks.io">Art Blocks</a> Marfa gallery, institutions such as <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow ugc" class="dont-break-out" href="https://www.lacma.org/lab/nfts-and-museum">LACMA</a>, organizations such as <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow ugc" class="dont-break-out" href="http://verse.works">Verse</a> and <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow ugc" class="dont-break-out" href="http://tender.art">Tender</a>, and artists themselves, as the recent, groundbreaking <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow ugc" class="dont-break-out" href="http://agh.run">AGH 1</a> exhibition in Berlin helped prove. But many others led to frustration around venue choice, exhibition standards, lack of context, and group shows that were thrown together without much thought. In 2024, both curators and artists will approach exhibitions with an increased focus on elevating the quality of the in-person experience.</p><figure float="none" data-type="figure" class="img-center" style="max-width: null;"><img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/papyrus_images/30e32b5fa620f448dd0451258680aa23498fd0ae19c8627bb089be0fbc449331.webp" alt="AGH1 was a single-day exhibition in Berlin featuring new releases from Kim Asendorf, Andreas Gysin, and Leander Herzog. Embracing the DIY and underground ethos, this artist-organized event aligned with the growing significance of independent collectives shaping the digital art landscape." blurdataurl="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAP///wAAACwAAAAAAQABAAACAkQBADs=" nextheight="600" nextwidth="800" class="image-node embed"><figcaption HTMLAttributes="[object Object]" class="">AGH1 was a single-day exhibition in Berlin featuring new releases from Kim Asendorf, Andreas Gysin, and Leander Herzog. Embracing the DIY and underground ethos, this artist-organized event aligned with the growing significance of independent collectives shaping the digital art landscape.</figcaption></figure><p><strong>16. Decentralized social networks like Farcaster and Zora change how work is released and collected.</strong> <br>The past couple of weeks have sparked strong interest in <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow ugc" class="dont-break-out" href="https://www.farcaster.xyz/">Farcaster</a>, <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow ugc" class="dont-break-out" href="https://www.lens.xyz/">Lens</a>, <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow ugc" class="dont-break-out" href="https://zora.co/">Zora</a>, and other decentralized social protocols. With Farcaster, the potential for artists to build a social graph of their collectors and engage them with interactive, mintable social posts points to a much more intriguing alternative over crypto Twitter or Discord, where much of the energy of the past few years has been based. Many collectors are following closely to see if security can be improved and the quality of their engagement can be rewarded relative to web2 social networks.</p><p><strong>17. Major countries and institutions continue to lean in.</strong> <br>Major countries and cultural institutions will continue acquiring digital art for their collections in 2024. The momentum we saw build in 2022-2023 with purchases from renowned museums such as MoMA, Le Centre Pompidou, LACMA, and others will carry through as these institutions seek to represent new technological mediums. This year, major signs of support have emerged, such as <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow ugc" class="dont-break-out" href="https://combine24.alusta.art/">Combine24</a> by the Finnish National Gallery and a <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow ugc" class="dont-break-out" href="https://app.news.ledger.com/e/es?s=1909208&amp;e=1116030&amp;elqTrackId=efd74c1a1b7a40299e524d6e5aa03bea&amp;elq=90a51de2edcb4caa8b88207756c61cf2&amp;elqaid=829&amp;elqat=1">blockchain art symposium</a> in the Palace of Westminster. More acquisitions are predicted as institutions aim to showcase relevant works and artists continue leveraging the blockchain to create provocative digital art.</p><p><strong>18. Market prices continue to be buoyed by the underlying crypto markets.</strong> <br>We’ve seen a significant correlation between trends in the cryptocurrency markets and the valuations of digital art pieces and collections. If broader speculation in cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum remains strong in 2024, there will likely be a lift in overall activity and prices in the digital art world. However, any significant corrections or crypto bear markets next year could depress prices for highly sought-after digital artworks. Ultimately, the emergent digital art market remains tied to the volatility and overarching trajectory of cryptocurrencies, which are still used in most marketplace transactions. Unless this changes, digital art buyer and investor sentiment will be buoyed or dampened alongside crypto market developments through next year.</p><p><strong>19. Cross-over between the traditional and digital art worlds will continue.</strong> <br>As successful traditional artists continue to awaken to the potential of digital art and successful digitally native artists become welcomed into traditional spheres, 2024 will continue to see pollination in both directions. The past two years saw high-profile traditional painters, sculptors, photographers, and digital artists such as Damien Hirst, Tom Sachs, Kevin Abosch, Philip Colbert, LoVid, and Simon Denny start tokenizing their works. As they and others explore the use of blockchain technology to push boundaries that are not possible with any traditional medium, more artists from traditional backgrounds will release work here over the next year.</p><p><strong>20. Apple’s Vision Pro release sets the stage for entirely new viewing experiences.</strong> The device’s advanced resolution and immersive capabilities could enable entirely new viewing and collecting experiences for digital art collectors and unlock additional value in owning it. Instead of viewing artwork on standard screens, collectors in 2024 can visit virtual galleries and interact with one-of-a-kind motion pieces, 3D sculptures, AI-generated landscapes, and other digitally native artwork. Better user experiences via embedded wallets and other infrastructure could accelerate this development.</p><p>⎄</p>]]></content:encoded>
            <author>highlight@newsletter.paragraph.com (Highlight)</author>
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            <title><![CDATA[Highlight Marketplace]]></title>
            <link>https://paragraph.com/@highlight/highlight-marketplace</link>
            <guid>6TmrKSO6FMkRjJozOYQc</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 25 Jan 2024 16:36:48 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Today, Highlight is launching a secondary marketplace for digital artworks created using our toolkit. Below is a detailed post explaining why and how we built it. Here’s a quick summary:Our marketplace offers artist- and collector-friendly features not found in any major marketplace. We have a lot more in store, but today’s launch includes:Rewards. To start, you’ll automatically be eligible for allow-list spots for curated primary drops by creating and/or buying Highlight-native listings.Conv...]]></description>
            <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Today, Highlight is launching a secondary marketplace for digital artworks created using our toolkit.</p><p>Below is a detailed post explaining why and how we built it.</p><p>Here’s a quick summary:</p><ul><li><p>Our marketplace offers artist- and collector-friendly features not found in any major marketplace. We have a lot more in store, but today’s launch includes:</p><ul><li><p><strong>Rewards.</strong> To start, you’ll automatically be eligible for allow-list spots for curated primary drops by creating and/or buying Highlight-native listings.</p></li><li><p><strong>Convenience.</strong> A single view of all listings, sent offers, and received offers across marketplaces — Highlight and elsewhere.</p></li><li><p><strong>Artist-first discovery.</strong> Because artists have a single profile on Highlight, we make it far more straightforward than other marketplaces to find related artwork in one place, regardless of the smart contract they used.</p></li><li><p><strong>Generative art native.</strong> Explore original algorithms and view minted artworks as intended by artists.</p></li><li><p><strong>Royalties.</strong> We toggle full royalties by default and maintain a 2% minimum for any listing created on Highlight, which we expect will drive &gt;2x more royalties than either OpenSea or Blur for most listings.</p></li><li><p><strong>Value.</strong> Our 1.5% marketplace fee is 40% lower than OpenSea.</p></li></ul></li><li><p>Aiming for transparency, today we’re also releasing <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow ugc" class="dont-break-out" href="https://highlight.mirror.xyz/cM11or7KF2O6GaVVFJ1JS3IZrwnTDGFfynGHye0hCEs">in-depth analysis</a> and <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow ugc" class="dont-break-out" href="https://dune.com/jakeallen/royalties-research">data dashboards</a> for the community on how far royalties have declined in the past 24 months:</p><ul><li><p>Effective royalty rates have slid from 5% to 0.8% today; in a few weeks, OpenSea will stop enforcing royalties entirely, lowering them to near Blur’s 0.5% minimum.</p></li><li><p>Once the killer app of blockchain art, perpetual royalties are on life support.</p></li></ul></li><li><p>Our goal for Highlight is to provide a competitive and enjoyable art collector experience and help artists earn materially more royalties by nudging rates up within a liquid, inclusive market.</p></li><li><p>To further support artists, we’ve also removed our primary mint fees for artists minting reserves.</p></li><li><p>We believe what’s best for artists also benefits collectors, and we can help grow trust in a positive-sum ecosystem versus promoting a race to the bottom.</p></li></ul><figure float="none" data-type="figure" class="img-center" style="max-width: null;"><img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/papyrus_images/4130df9d560b0f81d8caa92938630b9c5f8f1e91ea7916fc48f8b91579965e12.png" alt="Highlight Marketplace vs. OpenSea vs. Blur" blurdataurl="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAP///wAAACwAAAAAAQABAAACAkQBADs=" nextheight="600" nextwidth="800" class="image-node embed"><figcaption HTMLAttributes="[object Object]" class="">Highlight Marketplace vs. OpenSea vs. Blur</figcaption></figure><hr><p>Today, Highlight is launching a secondary marketplace for digital artworks created using our toolkit.</p><p>We built a marketplace because we’re passionate participants in a vibrant, global ecosystem of artists, collectors, curators, and enthusiasts. We feel the status quo needs to change when it comes to buying digital art on a secondary market.</p><p>We usually don’t court controversy, but for clarity, we’ll name the two behemoths in the room: OpenSea and Blur.</p><p>Both have abdicated responsibility for supporting creators on royalties, operated with constant spin and opaqueness and ignored the art community in designing their products.</p><p>We’re releasing <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow ugc" class="dont-break-out" href="https://highlight.mirror.xyz/cM11or7KF2O6GaVVFJ1JS3IZrwnTDGFfynGHye0hCEs">data analysis</a> and <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow ugc" class="dont-break-out" href="https://dune.com/jakeallen/royalties-research">dashboards</a> today to support this perspective, but more importantly, we’ll explain why Highlight’s marketplace better serves the needs of both digital artists and collectors.</p><h2 id="h-why-collectors-should-use-highlight" class="text-3xl font-header !mt-8 !mb-4 first:!mt-0 first:!mb-0"><strong><em>Why Collectors Should Use Highlight</em></strong></h2><p>We have much more in development over the coming months, but today’s launch brings features no leading marketplace supports.</p><p>Here’s why you should list or buy on Highlight’s marketplace relative to your other options:</p><ul><li><p><strong>Rewards. By creating and/or buying Highlight-native listings, you’ll automatically be eligible for allow-list spots for curated primary drops.</strong> We have significant releases planned this year and will have more to share soon.</p><ul><li><p>For reference, over the last few months, we’ve supported primary drops for Andreas Gysin, Kim Asendorf, Melissa Wiederrecht, Anna Carreras, Mark Webster, Nahiko, Nicole Vella, James Merrill, Brad Damico, Leander Herzog, Modnar Wolf, Kevin Esherick, among many other brilliant artists.</p></li></ul></li><li><p><strong>Convenience. An aggregated view of all listings, sent offers, and received offers across marketplaces — Highlight and elsewhere.</strong> Paired with email notifications, we think our marketplace can outperform the competition in making it easier to create sales.</p><ul><li><p>Selection and liquidity are the most important things for many secondary market participants. So we’ve also aggregated all listings, including from OpenSea and Blur. You’ll pay their fees on those listings. This is also a forcing function for us to make it more intelligent and enjoyable to buy and sell natively on Highlight.</p></li></ul></li><li><p><strong>Artist-first discovery.</strong> Because artists have a single profile on Highlight, we make it far more straightforward than other marketplaces to find related artwork in one place, regardless of the smart contract they used. This is limited to collections released on Highlight, but we’ll be expanding this soon.</p></li><li><p><strong>Generative art native.</strong> Explore original algorithms and view minted art works as intended by artists.</p></li><li><p><strong>Royalties.</strong> We toggle full royalties by default and maintain a 2% minimum for any listing created on Highlight, which we expect will drive &gt;2x more royalties than either OpenSea or Blur for most listings.</p><ul><li><p><strong>If you’re a collector who cares about supporting artists, we’re actively working to help them make more money through how we’re implementing royalties.</strong> After dozens of conversations with artists and collectors, we aim to deliver &gt;2x the effective royalty rates compared to our largest competitors.</p></li><li><p>Our dashboard <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow ugc" class="dont-break-out" href="https://dune.com/jakeallen/royalties-research">here</a> shows a cross-section of ten actively traded Highlight projects, all released after OpenSea stopped enforcing royalties, that collectively have an effective royalty rate of 0.892% with 200+ in ETH trading volume. That translates to &lt;2 ETH paid in royalties. If we can nudge this up to 2%, we’ll more than double what artists receive. With our lower marketplace fee and the rewards we’ll offer, Highlight should be the de facto marketplace for any earnest art collector and most casual art traders.</p></li></ul></li><li><p><strong>Value.</strong> Our 1.5% marketplace fee for native listings is 40% lower than OpenSea.</p><ul><li><p>If you’re happy to continue paying 40% more in fees to OpenSea, email us why at <code>forty-percent-more-fees@highlight.xyz</code>, and, at our discretion, we’ll send you $5 in USDC for a coffee.</p></li></ul></li></ul><h2 id="h-why-artists-should-encourage-collectors-to-use-highlight" class="text-3xl font-header !mt-8 !mb-4 first:!mt-0 first:!mb-0"><strong><em>Why Artists Should Encourage Collectors To Use Highlight</em></strong></h2><p>Artists who encourage their collectors to list or buy their work on Highlight’s secondary marketplace should also experience a range of benefits relative to the competition:</p><ul><li><p><strong>Collector loyalty.</strong> Artists now have an alternative secondary market to reward good behavior from loyal collectors, ensuring a healthy primary market for their work. By awarding the collectors who respect royalties with allow-list access to new releases on Highlight, artists can regain some control and create a positive-sum relationship with their collectors.</p></li><li><p><strong>Art in its intended form.</strong> Rather than optimizing for OpenSea collection pages or Blur thumbnails, artists can be confident their work on our secondary marketplace is displayed with the intended aspect ratios, formats, interactivity, dynamism, and real-time animation.</p></li><li><p><strong>Earnings.</strong> Artists should earn more in royalties from Highlight listings than anywhere else. As we advance, we’ll use the public dashboard published today to benchmark ourselves against other marketplaces on the effectiveness of our approach.</p><ul><li><p>We considered forcing full royalties, but we saw that what sounds like the obvious move in principle doesn’t help artists in practice. You can’t pay your rent with listings that don’t sell, and full royalty enforcement seems to stifle liquidity. As patrons of the arts, a one-size-fits-all approach that mandates 100% royalties loses any real shot of making progress for artists within today’s ecosystem.</p></li><li><p>The reality is that many collectors want the ability to resell art, and a liquid market requires all types of market actors — traders, flippers, art appreciators, and enthusiasts. Our marketplace is designed to accommodate everyone.</p></li><li><p>We’ve also removed our primary mint fee for artists wanting to mint their reserves. So, if you’re looking to hold some of your own art collection to benefit from its future value, you’ll only need to pay gas once to do so.</p></li></ul></li></ul><h2 id="h-surveying-the-landscape" class="text-3xl font-header !mt-8 !mb-4 first:!mt-0 first:!mb-0"><strong><em>Surveying the Landscape</em></strong></h2><p>With today’s launch, we also wanted to share some of the thinking that led us to conclude that we must build a marketplace.</p><p>In short, the lack of alternatives to OpenSea and Blur has left artists and collectors vastly underserved.</p><h3 id="h-returning-a-pulse-why-nft-royalties-are-on-life-support" class="text-2xl font-header !mt-6 !mb-4 first:!mt-0 first:!mb-0"><strong><em>Returning a Pulse: Why NFT Royalties Are on Life Support</em></strong></h3><p>Our <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow ugc" class="dont-break-out" href="https://highlight.mirror.xyz/cM11or7KF2O6GaVVFJ1JS3IZrwnTDGFfynGHye0hCEs">analysis</a> shows how far royalties have plummeted in the past two years. Today, the average rate is about 0.8%, down 84% from about 5% just two years ago.</p><p>When a boom in royalties drew tens of thousands of new creators to our space in 2021, they were the most-cited reason for onboarding. Perpetual royalties were the one feature — the killer app — of creating art and culture on the blockchain. It was a primary catalyst for the explosion of creativity we’ve seen since then. But this hook wasn’t enforced in code, as we all know. It was a norm and a respected social construct until trader-focused marketplaces started ignoring it.</p><p>Over the last two years, seismic changes around royalties swept under the rug in sudden policy reversals and self-serving spin from OpenSea and Blur. Though many artists and creators have found clever ways around this issue — like reserving a sizable initial supply of their art, which we support — we think more consideration should be paid to creators in how their interests and expectations are respected.</p><p>Transparency, intellectual honesty, and accountability need to be the baseline. Any functioning, sustainable market understands that looking after all participants is the only path to long-term stability and growth.</p><p>Additional arguments could be made for why paying royalties is in a collector’s interest. Principally, it incentivizes artists to take an ongoing and active role in promoting previous work and developing close relationships with their collectors. This <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow ugc" class="dont-break-out" href="https://x.com/harmvddorpel/status/1734509982240915700?s=20">tweet</a> is characteristic of the current attitude among many artists.</p><p>Encouragingly, in our research, we also discovered that effective royalty rates for art are significantly higher than for other types of projects, showing signs of a collector’s desire to build a positive-sum market norm.</p><p>We believe what’s best for artists also benefits collectors, and marketplaces like Highlight can help grow trust in the ecosystem versus promoting a race to the bottom.</p><h3 id="h-art-collectors-overlooked-and-underserved" class="text-2xl font-header !mt-6 !mb-4 first:!mt-0 first:!mb-0"><strong><em>Art Collectors: Overlooked and Underserved</em></strong></h3><p>Royalties are only the tip of the iceberg. Blur and OpenSea’s product designs show that traders are first-class citizens, and artists and art collectors are in the luggage compartment.</p><p>Finding, appreciating, and collecting great art on these marketplaces is still too complex and cumbersome. So, today’s launch is our starting point for providing a better UX for digital art collectors, similar to how we’ve approached our creator tooling.</p><p>Note that we greatly respect and value traders — they provide invaluable liquidity to markets. We have many friends who flip digital artwork for fun and profit, not to mention to build outstanding art collections. Our insight is that traders are the laser focus of OpenSea and Blur’s policies and product development efforts, and the digital art community’s needs are unserved.</p><p>As a final word, we’re a platform. If we do right by our customers, namely creators and collectors, we hope to create a sustainable business by providing value in exchange for a small fee, which covers the work we do to build Highlight. We aim to become a destination for digitally native collectors to create native listings and drive secondary art markets. We think we can achieve this in three simple ways:</p><ul><li><p><strong>Quality/Trust:</strong> Our product should work flawlessly and keep you safe, and you should trust that we’ll always be transparent, responsive, and honest in how we build our marketplace and creator tooling.</p></li><li><p><strong>Value:</strong> Using Highlight should be more affordable and provide more value than any other marketplace alternative.</p></li><li><p><strong>Selection:</strong> With our creator tooling, we’ll attract more of the most acclaimed artists to release collections on Highlight.</p></li></ul><p>We’re grateful for the community of artists and collectors that have trusted us thus far. We’re here to serve you and are fired up to work on this new chapter.</p><p>As always, if you have ideas that could improve the marketplace experience for digital artists and collectors, we’re listening.</p><p>⎄</p><hr><p><em>This blog post is intended for informational purposes only and is provided on an “as is” basis with no guarantees of completeness, accuracy, usefulness, or timeliness. Although we work hard to ensure all information is accurate and from reliable sources, we make certain assumptions and are not responsible for errors and omissions or any results obtained from using this information.</em></p>]]></content:encoded>
            <author>highlight@newsletter.paragraph.com (Highlight)</author>
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            <title><![CDATA[Blockchain Royalties: State of the Market]]></title>
            <link>https://paragraph.com/@highlight/blockchain-royalties-state-of-the-market</link>
            <guid>MrkGCjW8VVwbdduyi6st</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 25 Jan 2024 16:36:28 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[This post is a companion to our marketplace launch announcement. In building our marketplace, on behalf of the community we did a deep-dive on royalties to bring transparency to them and hold ourselves accountable. See our public Dune dashboards, on which this analysis is based, here. Quick summary:Effective royalty rates for Ethereum NFTs have taken a nosedive in the past two years. Today, the average rate is about 0.8%, down 84% from about 5% just two years ago.Artists and creators have mis...]]></description>
            <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><em>This post is a companion to our </em><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow ugc" class="dont-break-out" href="https://highlight.mirror.xyz/1BuWfv-Y7RCtdOSPgNlvbg5TdeVsaevRNG--1IYcLs0"><em>marketplace launch announcement</em></a><em>. In building our marketplace, on behalf of the community we did a deep-dive on royalties to bring transparency to them and hold ourselves accountable. </em><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow ugc" class="dont-break-out" href="https://dune.com/highlight_xyz/royalties-research"><em>See our public Dune dashboards, on which this analysis is based, here.</em></a></p><p>Quick summary:</p><ul><li><p>Effective royalty rates for Ethereum NFTs have taken a nosedive in the past two years. Today, the average rate is about 0.8%, down 84% from about 5% just two years ago.</p></li><li><p><strong>Artists and creators have missed out on roughly $37M in payouts in December of 2023 alone when benchmarking against 2021 effective rates.</strong></p></li><li><p>OpenSea is still enforcing royalties for a handful of projects, propping up the average rates, but that will end on Feb. 29. When it does, we believe this will send effective royalty rates down near Blur’s 0.5% minimum.</p></li><li><p>Effective royalty rates for art are significantly higher than other types of projects, showing signs of a collector desire to build a positive-sum ecosystem.</p></li></ul><hr><p>The promise of blockchain royalties, once a central pillar of the argument for blockchain art, has eroded substantially over the past two years. LooksRare launched in January of 2022, followed by X2Y2 and Sudoswap in March and April of that year—each of which either removed royalty enforcement, or removed royalties altogether. Blur launched its marketplace without royalties in October of 2022, and its token in February of 2023. OpenSea quickly followed suit by dropping royalty enforcement. Each of these produced significant and sustained drops in effective royalty rates. The decline is substantial and obvious in the data. Today it averages about 0.8%, down 84% from about 5% just a few years ago.</p><figure float="none" data-type="figure" class="img-center" style="max-width: null;"><img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/papyrus_images/ca79fa0a2176d30e01893ef281396b442da7a61864078601101da685da7bbc84.jpg" alt="" blurdataurl="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAP///wAAACwAAAAAAQABAAACAkQBADs=" nextheight="600" nextwidth="800" class="image-node embed"><figcaption HTMLAttributes="[object Object]" class="hide-figcaption"></figcaption></figure><p>Total royalty earnings are down tremendously relative to former market highs. In December of 2023, about 3,339 Ether were paid out to artists and creators ($8,315,512.38 at current USD rates). Compare this with the all-time high in January of 2022 of 91,982 Ether ($229,418,744.94 at current USD rates), about a 96% decrease and an absolute decrease of over $200,000,000.</p><p>These absolute figures are shocking, but of course speak to overall market trends—overall volume is down significantly—more than they do to royalty rate erosions specifically. But even correcting for current market conditions, if we assume a 5% royalty—approximately the 2021 standard—in present day market conditions, we can see that creators and artists missed out on roughly 15,100 Ether in payouts in December of 2023 alone. That’s a present day USD value of $37.6M.</p><figure float="none" data-type="figure" class="img-center" style="max-width: null;"><img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/papyrus_images/531970db22807bb490afe85744fdb936f22b4dcf589d0d01645c35b1c427e88d.jpg" alt="" blurdataurl="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAP///wAAACwAAAAAAQABAAACAkQBADs=" nextheight="600" nextwidth="800" class="image-node embed"><figcaption HTMLAttributes="[object Object]" class="hide-figcaption"></figcaption></figure><p>In February of this year, things will get even worse as OpenSea <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow ugc" class="dont-break-out" href="https://opensea.io/blog/articles/creator-fees-update">stops enforcing royalties on the select projects</a> that implemented their Blur-blocking mechanism, known as Operator Filter.</p><p>Despite the pronounced downward trend, the specifics do vary in interesting ways, mostly according to project type. We’ll take a dive into these differences, but before digging in let’s review the current context.</p><h3 id="h-royalties-today" class="text-2xl font-header !mt-6 !mb-4 first:!mt-0 first:!mb-0">Royalties Today</h3><p>While platforms like LooksRare, X2Y2, and Sudoswap played significant roles in the market shakeups that have resulted in severe losses in effective royalty rates, the vast majority of secondary volume today happens on OpenSea and Blur. OpenSea removed royalty enforcement in February of 2023, but then decided to add enforcement back for projects that either implemented the Operator Filter prior to August 31, 2023, or were created on non-Ethereum blockchains prior to that date. This means that today, a small set of projects have retained royalty enforcement on OpenSea. <strong>But OpenSea will stop enforcing royalties altogether on February 29, 2024 for all collections.</strong> Read the <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow ugc" class="dont-break-out" href="https://opensea.io/blog/articles/creator-fees-update">OpenSea blog post</a> for more information. In terms of UX, OpenSea defaults to setting the creator-specified royalty in the UI until the lister changes it.</p><p>Blur will enforce a minimum royalty of .5% for collections where a royalty is established on all marketplaces (PSA—if you don’t have royalties specified on all marketplaces, including Blur, LooksRare and x2y2, go set them to get that Blur minimum royalty enforcement). Otherwise, Blur also allows royalties to be set to 0%.</p><p>However, Blur will <em>also</em> respect full royalty enforcement in one specific case: ironically, for projects that tried to block them with the Operator Filter. Blur seems to have found a way around the Operator Filter, but it requires them to also enforce full royalties. These projects have a “permissioned” flag in the Blur interface.</p><h3 id="h-deep-dive-by-project-type" class="text-2xl font-header !mt-6 !mb-4 first:!mt-0 first:!mb-0">Deep Dive by Project Type</h3><p><strong>PFPs</strong></p><p>As mentioned, there is a downward trend in effective royalty rates overall, but this change is most pronounced for high-profile PFP projects like Azuki, Bored Ape Yacht Club, Cryptoadz, and Milady. While these projects once enjoyed royalties of 2.5%-5%, they now average less than even the Blur minimum of .5%. Some weeks Azuki is even in the .0x% range.</p><figure float="none" data-type="figure" class="img-center" style="max-width: null;"><img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/papyrus_images/0a7ef90041663e7ccc3546801aea61839ab55c32a14e7f0a409cf00cecfcefe4.jpg" alt="" blurdataurl="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAP///wAAACwAAAAAAQABAAACAkQBADs=" nextheight="600" nextwidth="800" class="image-node embed"><figcaption HTMLAttributes="[object Object]" class="hide-figcaption"></figcaption></figure><p><strong>Art</strong></p><p>Art, however, fares better than PFPs. This is likely due to some combination of shared communal norms and the desire on behalf of collectors to support individual artists. You can see that while the handful of key art projects sampled (including several Art Blocks projects) once enjoyed royalties even higher than PFPs, they now hover in the 1.5%-2.5% range, some weeks even higher.</p><figure float="none" data-type="figure" class="img-center" style="max-width: null;"><img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/papyrus_images/557869b79f5181362ec0941b1e5de6ab478d22aee98610fd47d389242b61080f.jpg" alt="" blurdataurl="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAP///wAAACwAAAAAAQABAAACAkQBADs=" nextheight="600" nextwidth="800" class="image-node embed"><figcaption HTMLAttributes="[object Object]" class="hide-figcaption"></figcaption></figure><h3 id="h-marketplace-comparisons" class="text-2xl font-header !mt-6 !mb-4 first:!mt-0 first:!mb-0">Marketplace Comparisons</h3><p>The OpenSea effective royalty rate across all projects still hovers around 2%. On Blur, it’s around .4%. However, given that in February of 2024 OpenSea will stop enforcing royalties on all projects (even the ones created on non-Ethereum blockchains or that implemented the Operator Filter prior to August 31st, 2023), we can expect this to change substantially.</p><figure float="none" data-type="figure" class="img-center" style="max-width: null;"><img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/papyrus_images/9df6c246e281028884867b05319b196695873772c80feb03d4ce5c39a1a1b2fc.jpg" alt="" blurdataurl="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAP///wAAACwAAAAAAQABAAACAkQBADs=" nextheight="600" nextwidth="800" class="image-node embed"><figcaption HTMLAttributes="[object Object]" class="hide-figcaption"></figcaption></figure><p>Below is a chart which shows effective royalty rates excluding projects earning more than 5% effective royalty rates. We weren’t able to reliably exclude royalty-enforced projects from our query, but I believe this is a good enough proxy given that according to the data 5% is likely too high to expect all participants to comply with out of good will. With this filter applied, average effective royalties on OpenSea drop by more than half, to .75%. This gives us a rough picture of where the royalties average on OpenSea will be once they drop all enforcement in February.</p><figure float="none" data-type="figure" class="img-center" style="max-width: null;"><img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/papyrus_images/a49e85a6671a7fb38d46de18b37e5f6d0c63fdd2a09cbcfa53cc33c945fc76da.jpg" alt="" blurdataurl="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAP///wAAACwAAAAAAQABAAACAkQBADs=" nextheight="600" nextwidth="800" class="image-node embed"><figcaption HTMLAttributes="[object Object]" class="hide-figcaption"></figcaption></figure><h3 id="h-conclusion" class="text-2xl font-header !mt-6 !mb-4 first:!mt-0 first:!mb-0">Conclusion</h3><p>We’re likely never going to put the genie back in the bottle, but there are strong signs that collectors, particularly art collectors, want to participate in a positive-sum ecosystem, and are willing to spend more than is absolutely required of them to support artists.</p><p>We believe that with some additional guardrails and nudges in place, we can reinforce some of these existing behaviors, despite the fact that we can’t truly enforce them. Based on our review of the data above, we believe it’s reasonable to aim to 2x-3x the effective royalty rate paid to our artists.</p><figure float="none" data-type="figure" class="img-center" style="max-width: null;"><img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/papyrus_images/45f8a80575a6d3e2ab6609a989b6f994d5adcebf656a775879e42080f56be845.jpg" alt="" blurdataurl="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAP///wAAACwAAAAAAQABAAACAkQBADs=" nextheight="600" nextwidth="800" class="image-node embed"><figcaption HTMLAttributes="[object Object]" class="hide-figcaption"></figcaption></figure><p>To bring this closer to home for us, we put together an index of 10 representative projects on Highlight and evaluated their average effective royalty rate. Today it sits at .8%. We’d like to move that number up above 2%, and we’re building our marketplace with this as a top priority.</p><hr><p>If you have questions or ideas about the data analysis above, please reach out to us. If you’re interested in learning more about the Highlight marketplace, <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow ugc" class="dont-break-out" href="https://highlight.mirror.xyz/1BuWfv-Y7RCtdOSPgNlvbg5TdeVsaevRNG--1IYcLs0">check out the blog post here</a>.</p><p><em>This analysis is intended to be used for informational purposes only and is provided on an “as is” basis with no guarantees of completeness, accuracy, usefulness or timeliness. Although we work hard to ensure all information is accurate and from reliable sources, we make certain assumptions, and we are not responsible for errors and omissions or any results obtained from the use of this information</em></p>]]></content:encoded>
            <author>highlight@newsletter.paragraph.com (Highlight)</author>
            <enclosure url="https://storage.googleapis.com/papyrus_images/c4012c23c3c3204be107e74561f13ad23417ed3f01989daf354a51243b3e3f3c.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
        </item>
        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Gen FAQ]]></title>
            <link>https://paragraph.com/@highlight/gen-faq</link>
            <guid>nz2PsrDpd5XyEEe3YRmL</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 11 Jan 2024 21:36:41 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Hey there! Today is the start of our effort to catalog and explain issues artists encounter during their creative journey while using Highlight. As such, please check out our new Github FAQ page, and play around with a brand new “advanced” p5.js example project featuring dice that have different rules when minting exactly 6 at once (how exciting!) The FAQ will be updated regularly when new questions surface, so when you encounter a problem, please check there first. Happy creative coding!]]></description>
            <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Hey there!</p><p>Today is the start of our effort to catalog and explain issues artists encounter during their creative journey while using Highlight.</p><p>As such, please check out our <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow ugc" class="dont-break-out" href="https://github.com/highlightxyz/generative-art/blob/main/FAQ.md">new Github FAQ page</a>, and play around with a brand new “advanced” p5.js example project featuring dice that have different rules when minting exactly 6 at once (how exciting!)</p><p>The FAQ will be updated regularly when new questions surface, so when you encounter a problem, please check there first.</p><p>Happy creative coding!</p>]]></content:encoded>
            <author>highlight@newsletter.paragraph.com (Highlight)</author>
            <enclosure url="https://storage.googleapis.com/papyrus_images/cd7b61395c94141f04f0c39260c0bfca897f2313f65af545b08f6fc1efdd04f4.png" length="0" type="image/png"/>
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        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Thoughts on Selling Generative Art]]></title>
            <link>https://paragraph.com/@highlight/thoughts-on-selling-generative-art</link>
            <guid>usXeCASWY5aIl9MHZcMY</guid>
            <pubDate>Sat, 06 Jan 2024 03:34:36 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[A version of this post originally appeared on my website at philmohun.com Through my work with Bright Moments, I’ve spoken with numerous artists about how to sell long-form generative art collections. I have now put this advice into an essay to share with a wider audience.SupplySupply is the number of onchain outputs produced by a specific algorithm. Before launching a collection, artists often enforce a supply number that caps a collection to a certain number of mints. Knowing this number he...]]></description>
            <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow ugc" class="dont-break-out" href="https://www.philmohun.com/thoughts-on-selling-generative-art/"><em>A version of this post originally appeared on my website at philmohun.com</em></a></p><p>Through my work with <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow ugc" class="dont-break-out" href="https://brightmoments.io">Bright Moments</a>, I’ve spoken with numerous artists about how to sell long-form generative art collections. I have now put this advice into an essay to share with a wider audience.</p><h2 id="h-supply" class="text-3xl font-header !mt-8 !mb-4 first:!mt-0 first:!mb-0">Supply</h2><p>Supply is the number of onchain outputs produced by a specific algorithm. Before launching a collection, artists often enforce a supply number that caps a collection to a certain number of mints. Knowing this number helps collectors decide whether or not to participate in the primary sale.</p><figure float="none" data-type="figure" class="img-center" style="max-width: null;"><img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/papyrus_images/9371815319ee1289d71c2fad96e527b12ea8c236a56a1c6c6c623d15837be99f.png" alt="There will only ever be 1000 &quot;A Bugged Forest&quot; mints from zancan. Since the collection has been minted to completion (&quot;minted out&quot;), the only way to get one is to purchase on secondary from an existing collector." blurdataurl="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAP///wAAACwAAAAAAQABAAACAkQBADs=" nextheight="600" nextwidth="800" class="image-node embed"><figcaption HTMLAttributes="[object Object]" class="">There will only ever be 1000 &quot;A Bugged Forest&quot; mints from zancan. Since the collection has been minted to completion (&quot;minted out&quot;), the only way to get one is to purchase on secondary from an existing collector.</figcaption></figure><p>There is no magic formula to determine supply; as the artist, you are most familiar with the diversity of the algorithm and best suited to determining the “right” collection size.</p><p>Many generative art collections have 100 - 1,000 outputs, but open editions can be larger. To a first approximation, your collection should be roughly equal to the number of outputs your algorithm can produce without repetition. Algorithms that have lots of visual diversity are well suited to larger collection sizes that explore the entire output space. Algorithms that operate within a tighter band may be better suited to smaller collections.</p><p>Getting a feel for the right collection size requires visual inspection of the outputs during testing. As a quick hack, create a folder with numbered images and look for when the outputs start to feel similar. Make a note of this number and generate different folders within that range (e.g. 0-999). If you can&apos;t consistently produce a diverse set of outputs, consider lowering the collection size. [1]</p><figure float="none" data-type="figure" class="img-center" style="max-width: null;"><img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/papyrus_images/68a4518a00c5eb0a769d272c4722be8f228d60e3cd985323f6308323bc2bc79a.png" alt="The Art Blocks page for Incomplete Control by Tyler Hobbs allows the viewer to see multiple outputs at a glance. This type of interface is very useful to get a birds eye view of a collection and easily compare different outputs before further inspection." blurdataurl="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAP///wAAACwAAAAAAQABAAACAkQBADs=" nextheight="600" nextwidth="800" class="image-node embed"><figcaption HTMLAttributes="[object Object]" class="">The Art Blocks page for Incomplete Control by Tyler Hobbs allows the viewer to see multiple outputs at a glance. This type of interface is very useful to get a birds eye view of a collection and easily compare different outputs before further inspection.</figcaption></figure><p>Once you’ve deployed an algorithm onchain, the marginal cost of producing additional mints is very low. Because of this, it can be beneficial for new artists to skew towards larger collection sizes which help drive awareness through collector driven marketing and a more active secondary market. Generative art sales are an iterated game, so gaining a large audience can set you up for success later, even if the earlier collections are less commercially successful.</p><p>However, there is such a thing as going “too big”. Releasing a collection that doesn’t mint out can be detrimental for artists and limit their ability to sell future work. While there are many reasons why a collection might not mint out, the most common are a combination of price and collection size. Releasing smaller collections at a price point that has a high probability of minting out can help drive interest for future sales. [2]</p><p>You can also back into supply based on your financial goal for the sale. For example, if you want to raise 10 ETH and plan to sell each piece for 0.1 ETH, the supply should be at least 100. However, keep in mind that larger collection sizes may have a lower average cost per piece.</p><p>In short, deciding the supply for a collection is both an art and a science. Your financial goals, the demand from collectors, and the capabilities of the algorithm all factor into the final collection size. When in doubt, choose numbers that increase your chances of minting out at a price point that is fair for collectors and will allow you to continue practicing your craft.</p><h2 id="h-price" class="text-3xl font-header !mt-8 !mb-4 first:!mt-0 first:!mb-0">Price</h2><p>A successful sale should mint out the collection to a diverse group of collectors at a market clearing price.</p><p>Here are some things you want to avoid:</p><ul><li><p>Underpricing the sale, such that it sells out in seconds or creates a race to press the mint button</p></li><li><p>Overpricing the sale, such that it remains unminted, requiring a reduction in the stated supply</p></li><li><p>Reducing the mint price later on if the collection is unminted</p></li><li><p>Creating a sales dynamic where a large percentage of mints go to a small number of actors that have a focus on &quot;flipping&quot;</p></li></ul><p>There are two basic sales mechanics that generative artists often use:</p><h3 id="h-fixed-price" class="text-2xl font-header !mt-6 !mb-4 first:!mt-0 first:!mb-0">Fixed Price</h3><p>A fixed price sale is when every token in a collection is sold for a specific price that does not change during the sale. Usually this price is announced prior to the start of the sale. Mints happen on a first-come-first-serve basis until the collection is minted out.</p><p>Fixed price sales can be combined with &quot;presales&quot; that allow the artist to restrict minting to a specific group of wallets. Presales should be structured as a series of concentric circles, where access starts among a small group of buyers and gradually increases until there are more potential buyers than available supply. Try to keep presale windows simple, with 2-3 maximum (e.g. friends and family -&gt; prior collectors -&gt; public).</p><figure float="none" data-type="figure" class="img-center" style="max-width: null;"><img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/papyrus_images/83ce2f30317906d39a0ee89e6979b3d0a613640c39dd88dec07987bae785e420.png" alt="This interface shows a fixed price sale with three phases: Full Set, CryptoCitizen, and Public. The sale sold out before making it to the Public phase of the sale, to the benefit of those able to purchase in earlier phases." blurdataurl="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAP///wAAACwAAAAAAQABAAACAkQBADs=" nextheight="600" nextwidth="800" class="image-node embed"><figcaption HTMLAttributes="[object Object]" class="">This interface shows a fixed price sale with three phases: Full Set, CryptoCitizen, and Public. The sale sold out before making it to the Public phase of the sale, to the benefit of those able to purchase in earlier phases.</figcaption></figure><p>In most cases, fixed price sales should be set slightly below the market clearing price, since there isn&apos;t an effective mechanism to lower the price later on.</p><h3 id="h-auctions" class="text-2xl font-header !mt-6 !mb-4 first:!mt-0 first:!mb-0">Auctions</h3><p>Auctions help encourage price discovery. There are <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow ugc" class="dont-break-out" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Types_of_auction">many ways to run an auction</a>, but I&apos;ll briefly outline two common formats: dutch and english auctions.</p><p><strong>Dutch Auctions</strong></p><p>A dutch auction is when the price to mint decreases incrementally over a fixed period of time (e.g. 1 ETH -&gt; 0.1 ETH over 1 hour). Collectors can purchase when the price reaches a level they are comfortable with, assuming the collection has not sold out. The price continues to lower until a &quot;resting price&quot; is met, and the auction usually continues until the collection is sold out. While not perfect, the dutch auction model is used widely throughout the generative art space. It prevents many collectors rushing to buy all at the same time, and generally creates better price discovery for the artist as the market is ultimately deciding the sales price.</p><figure float="none" data-type="figure" class="img-center" style="max-width: null;"><img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/papyrus_images/952817fae0465b1e24a30d1b49ec9c20694ef57a2b51ef003f2bc17a69f0313d.png" alt="This Art Blocks interface gives collectors important information about an upcoming dutch auction for The Field by Beervangeer." blurdataurl="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAP///wAAACwAAAAAAQABAAACAkQBADs=" nextheight="600" nextwidth="800" class="image-node embed"><figcaption HTMLAttributes="[object Object]" class="">This Art Blocks interface gives collectors important information about an upcoming dutch auction for The Field by Beervangeer.</figcaption></figure><p>Dutch auctions can also include a &quot;rebate&quot;, which means that all collectors pay the same clearing price at the end of the sale. This helps ensure fairness among collectors since everyone pays the same price for the mints.</p><p>Artists who are using a dutch auction should consider holding back a certain number of mints in reserve, since collectors who are not available during the minting window may lose the opportunity to collect in the primary sale. It&apos;s not uncommon to hold back ~5-10% of the collection for the artist to offer to collectors at the sellout price after the auction has concluded.</p><p><strong>English Auctions</strong></p><p>English auctions have a predetermined reserve price and a fixed bidding window. While the auction is live, bidders can submit a public bid. At the end of the bidding window, the top <em>n</em> bidders receive an output or the right to mint from the algorithm. English auctions are typically used for 1/1 pieces, but can be adapted for larger collections too.</p><p>English auctions work well when bidders are spread across multiple time zones, or when there is little or no existing price discovery for the work. Just like dutch auctions, english auctions can be combined with discounts and rebates to incentivize bidders and repeat collectors.</p><p>Platforms that use english auctions can also experiment with time extensions and minimum price increases to further improve price discovery, although introducing these variables can introduce complexity that may be unfamiliar to less experienced bidders.</p><figure float="none" data-type="figure" class="img-center" style="max-width: null;"><img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/papyrus_images/d5feb5ff911b526e70428a097a3c9b665ba781efd2624caac502147d3c1aea8c.png" alt="An english auction interface we designed for our project with 0xDEAFBEEF" blurdataurl="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAP///wAAACwAAAAAAQABAAACAkQBADs=" nextheight="600" nextwidth="800" class="image-node embed"><figcaption HTMLAttributes="[object Object]" class="">An english auction interface we designed for our project with 0xDEAFBEEF</figcaption></figure><p>In summary, determining the right sale type is a function of market demand, supply, and collector demographics.</p><figure float="none" data-type="figure" class="img-center" style="max-width: null;"><img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/papyrus_images/a1be75208830383f5054889cab7f95bb941045c1918f653a1ebf22280db0a695.png" alt="Rules-of-thumb when considering which sale type to use for a collection." blurdataurl="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAP///wAAACwAAAAAAQABAAACAkQBADs=" nextheight="600" nextwidth="800" class="image-node embed"><figcaption HTMLAttributes="[object Object]" class="">Rules-of-thumb when considering which sale type to use for a collection.</figcaption></figure><h2 id="h-collectors" class="text-3xl font-header !mt-8 !mb-4 first:!mt-0 first:!mb-0">Collectors</h2><p>Collectors who are considering participating in a primary sale will often ask for the following information:</p><ul><li><p>Collection size</p></li><li><p>Price</p></li><li><p>Sale eligibility requirements</p></li><li><p>Sale time</p></li><li><p>Sample outputs</p></li></ul><p>As the artist, it&apos;s up to you how much of this you choose to share. In general, it&apos;s better to err on the side of transparency, although there can be reasons to omit certain information (e.g. if you aren&apos;t comfortable sharing outputs before the sale, or if you&apos;re still getting feedback on price and want to maintain optionality).</p><p>If you are requiring that collectors hold certain tokens to participate in a sale, it&apos;s best to share this information clearly and publicly to avoid a situation where some people are acting on privileged information.</p><p>Collectors value consistency, fairness, and clear communication. Avoid doing surprise mints which can be mistaken for scams and try to give people a reasonable heads up if they need to be at their computers at a certain time.</p><h2 id="h-royalties" class="text-3xl font-header !mt-8 !mb-4 first:!mt-0 first:!mb-0">Royalties</h2><p>Royalties are dependent on the marketplace, but can provide a meaningful source of revenue for artists. In some cases, revenue from royalties can exceed that from the primary sale, so the decision to exclude them should not be taken lightly.</p><p>If you do choose to avoid enforcing royalties, you may want to consider withholding a larger percentage of the supply to align your incentives with collectors and provide you the opportunity to sell more work from the collection later on if there is price appreciation on the secondary market.</p><h2 id="h-marketing" class="text-3xl font-header !mt-8 !mb-4 first:!mt-0 first:!mb-0">Marketing</h2><p>Due to the pseudonymous nature of wallets, it&apos;s often hard to know exactly who your collectors are. This is especially difficult for new artists who haven&apos;t yet had the opportunity to develop personal connections with their holders.</p><p>To encourage visibility, consider posting about your project through social media or a personal website. Many generative artists write essays about the inspiration and methods behind the project, which can help educate collectors and drive interest in the collection.</p><p>Some examples include Tyler Hobbs’ <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow ugc" class="dont-break-out" href="https://tylerxhobbs.com/fidenza">Fidenza</a>, Thomas Lin Pedersen’s <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow ugc" class="dont-break-out" href="https://www.data-imaginist.com/screens">Screens</a>, Matt DesLaurier’s <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow ugc" class="dont-break-out" href="https://mattdesl.substack.com/p/subscapes-part-1-preface">Subscapes</a>, Proportio’s <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow ugc" class="dont-break-out" href="http://eternalharmony.art/about.html">Eternal Harmony</a>, Harvey Rayner’s <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow ugc" class="dont-break-out" href="https://pattern.co/nft/fontana/">Fontana</a>, mpkoz’s <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow ugc" class="dont-break-out" href="https://www.tectonics.app/about">Tectonics</a>, Ben Kovach’s <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow ugc" class="dont-break-out" href="https://bendotk.com/writing/edifice">Edifice</a>, Kjetil Gold’s <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow ugc" class="dont-break-out" href="https://kjetil-golid.medium.com/archetype-101-2f17633dcc86">Archetype</a>, and Maya Mann’s <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow ugc" class="dont-break-out" href="https://fakeittillyoumakeit.lol/">Fake It Till You Make It.</a></p><p>Sharing work in progress is especially helpful as a way to drum up interest for a collection. Creating a website which displays outputs from the algorithm and allows people to explore variations can also increase engagement.</p><figure float="none" data-type="figure" class="img-center" style="max-width: null;"><img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/papyrus_images/c9fc4ec47db922f5134fe88f9807921fcbeaa76444797dab7f766d6dbfa0bea5.png" alt="Thomas Lin Pedersen&apos;s Screens Surfing website allows collectors to browse the output space of the algorithm." blurdataurl="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAP///wAAACwAAAAAAQABAAACAkQBADs=" nextheight="600" nextwidth="800" class="image-node embed"><figcaption HTMLAttributes="[object Object]" class="">Thomas Lin Pedersen&apos;s Screens Surfing website allows collectors to browse the output space of the algorithm.</figcaption></figure><p>When you&apos;re ready to announce your sale, choose a specific date and time and communicate it at least a week in advance (7 days is usually the sweet spot). If you have collectors who are not Very Online, consider sending them a personal note via email or text. Provide the link ahead of time from your official accounts (e.g. a pinned tweet) to discourage scammers from taking advantage of your audience.</p><h2 id="h-in-summary" class="text-3xl font-header !mt-8 !mb-4 first:!mt-0 first:!mb-0">In Summary</h2><p>Sales can feel scary. As an artist, your speciality is creating the work. Selling it often requires a different skillset, one that feels uncomfortably like self-promotion and marketing.</p><p>Don&apos;t be afraid to ask for help from other artists who have done it before. Previous collectors are also good sounding boards and can provide feedback on price and collection size.</p><p>If you&apos;re considering your own generative art drop and have questions about structuring a successful sale, please don&apos;t hesitate to reach out at phil (at) brightmoments (dot) io</p><hr><p><em>Thanks to Ben Kovach, Todd Goldberg, Adam, mpkoz, and Seth Goldstein for reading drafts of this essay.</em></p><h2 id="h-footnotes" class="text-3xl font-header !mt-8 !mb-4 first:!mt-0 first:!mb-0">Footnotes</h2><p>[1] Credit for this tip goes to Ben Kovach.</p><p>[2] Special thanks to mpkoz, who pointed out the benefits of small collections in an earlier draft.</p>]]></content:encoded>
            <author>highlight@newsletter.paragraph.com (Highlight)</author>
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            <title><![CDATA[Announcing Gengine™]]></title>
            <link>https://paragraph.com/@highlight/announcing-gengine</link>
            <guid>GvDkZZU7oLD9FOGy8yeA</guid>
            <pubDate>Fri, 05 Jan 2024 16:43:18 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[We’re announcing a new generative developer platform today called Gengine™ and opening up private beta to interested artists and developers. If you’re interested in using Gengine, send us an email with details on your project to gm@highlight.xyz. The engineering team at Highlight has been hard at work on a brand new offering, aimed at artists, developers and platforms. We’re calling it Gengine (as in generative engine). It takes the fundamental components of Highlight’s generative art workflo...]]></description>
            <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><em>We’re announcing a new generative developer platform today called Gengine™ and opening up private beta to interested artists and developers. If you’re interested in using Gengine, send us an email with details on your project to </em><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow ugc" class="dont-break-out" href="mailto:gm@highlight.xyz"><em>gm@highlight.xyz</em></a><em>.</em></p><p>The engineering team at Highlight has been hard at work on a brand new offering, aimed at artists, developers and platforms. We’re calling it Gengine (as in generative engine). It takes the fundamental components of Highlight’s generative art workflows and deploy pipeline and offers discrete access to the relevant components in the form of a set of APIs.</p><p>This enables artists and developers to pick and choose specific elements to use (rolling the rest on their own) or even enable platforms to create their own white-labeled creative tools and workflows.</p><p>There are 5 core components to Gengine. We’ll introduce each of them, the possibilities they unlock, and how they all work together to simplify the development process for generative NFTs.</p><h3 id="h-storage-engine" class="text-2xl font-header !mt-6 !mb-4 first:!mt-0 first:!mb-0">Storage engine</h3><p>There are a variety of ways that artists and developers want to save code and image assets. Gengine exposes a single API endpoint that lets you select from Amazon S3, Arweave, IPFS, and on-chain storage solutions—or a combination of any of them, all in one upload.</p><p>Storing your assets through Gengine not only simplifies the upload process and helps you introduce some redundancy but also enables you to run various functions on that code that simplify the rest of the development process—sort of like Amazon Cloud Functions. We’ll specify those below.</p><h3 id="h-data-engine" class="text-2xl font-header !mt-6 !mb-4 first:!mt-0 first:!mb-0">Data engine</h3><p>Generative art is dynamic and often requires real-time or post hoc data from the blockchain to render. Fetching blockchain transaction data—things like transaction hashes, block timestamps, owner addresses, etc.—for use in your generative projects can be repetitive and requires some potentially tricky calls to the blockchain.</p><p>While we already offer a script called hl-gen.js that abstracts much of this away, artists and developers often want unique blockchain data—things like determining how many of a specific collection a user owns, how much Ether is in their wallet, or when they first collected an artist’s work.</p><p>Gengine exposes a developer dashboard that lets you select from and customize a broader set of data sources for use in your generative projects, enabling novel kinds of experiences for collectors.</p><h3 id="h-preview-engine" class="text-2xl font-header !mt-6 !mb-4 first:!mt-0 first:!mb-0">Preview engine</h3><p>Similarly to the real-time <em>traits</em> generation of generative art, preview images and thumbnails are only renderable after a token is minted. This again requires post hoc processing which renders the artwork, captures an image of it, uploads that to storage, and saves it as part of the metadata for that token. This aspect of generative art production is highly tedious and repetitive.</p><p>Gengine allows you to tap into this preview pipeline with a simple set of APIs without needing to use any other aspects of the Highlight platform. This tooling allows you to specify which part of the artwork to capture, what resolution it should be captured in, and what output format, among other options.</p><h3 id="h-traits-engine" class="text-2xl font-header !mt-6 !mb-4 first:!mt-0 first:!mb-0">Traits engine</h3><p>Because generative art is created dynamically, at the moment of minting, it’s impossible to know in advance which tokens will have which traits. This requires real-time or post hoc processing which evaluates the resulting tokens, collects their individual traits, and saves them as JSON as the metadata for the tokens in that collection.</p><p>Again, hl-gen.js covers the basics here, but Gengine lets you tailor the trait capturing process to your project. For example, let’s say you’re using WebGL and you want to wait a few seconds before capturing traits. Gengine enables tailoring that time delay to your desired settings.</p><h3 id="h-creation-engine" class="text-2xl font-header !mt-6 !mb-4 first:!mt-0 first:!mb-0">Creation engine</h3><p>When one or more of the above options are set, developers can select the appropriate Highlight contracts to use (generative series, open editions, etc.), or bring their own custom contracts, and deploy their code. Once the various engines have been configured, Gengine watches the blockchain for new mints on the appropriate contracts, and updates the collection as new mints come in—storing the appropriate metadata, calling necessary data inputs, setting the appropriate traits, and processing image assets in real-time.</p><p>–</p><p><em>If you’re interested in using Gengine™, or wondering whether it might be useful for a specific use case you have in mind, send us an email with details on your project to </em><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow ugc" class="dont-break-out" href="mailto:gm@highlight.xyz"><em>gm@highlight.xyz</em></a><em>.</em></p>]]></content:encoded>
            <author>highlight@newsletter.paragraph.com (Highlight)</author>
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            <title><![CDATA[The On-Chain Spectrum: Highlight’s Maximally Flexible Approach
]]></title>
            <link>https://paragraph.com/@highlight/the-on-chain-spectrum-highlight-s-maximally-flexible-approach</link>
            <guid>Jf51nTDbzmoCUIxjSrW3</guid>
            <pubDate>Thu, 14 Dec 2023 08:32:04 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[Artists and collectors often ask us: “Are artworks created using your tools stored on-chain?” We answer this with an enthusiastic “It depends!” This is because we pride ourselves on providing options to artists instead of dictating a specific approach, including how they choose to bring their works on-chain. In this post and subsequent updates, we share the longer answer. It’s Not a Binary Question Many people consider “on-chain” as binary—an artwork is either on-chain or off-chain. But, as a...]]></description>
            <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Artists and collectors often ask us: “Are artworks created using your tools stored on-chain?”</p><p>We answer this with an enthusiastic “It depends!” This is because we pride ourselves on providing <em>options</em> to artists instead of dictating a specific approach, including how they choose to bring their works on-chain.</p><p>In this post and subsequent updates, we share the longer answer.</p><p><strong>It’s Not a Binary Question</strong></p><p>Many people consider “on-chain” as binary—an artwork is either on-chain or off-chain. But, as alluded to above, there is an entire spectrum regarding on-chain art. So, it is usually better to ask, “How on-chain is it?” rather than “Is it on-chain?”</p><p>The degrees of “on-chainness” depend on how much of the artwork’s essential information and assets exist and rely on the blockchain.</p><p>While we’ve seen dozens of specific configurations, there are a few broad categories of on-chainness that can be helpful to artists and collectors for thinking about how on-chain their artwork should be.</p><p><strong>The Core Goal is Digital Preservation</strong></p><p>Being on-chain is not the ultimate goal in and of itself. The fundamental objective is to achieve permanence and longevity for digital artworks, and — for code-based artwork — on-chain storage is one of the best methods.</p><p>Storing an artwork’s code on-chain in an immutable way provides assurance that the artwork can exist as long as the blockchain does.</p><p>While being on-chain does not inherently guarantee permanence because blockchains can and do fail or become obsolete, it establishes the conceptual groundwork to enable the preservation of digital art.</p><p>Beyond this, reducing the reliance on other external dependencies can also be a goal. Sometimes called “in-chain,” artwork that is stored, assembled, and rendered purely from the blockchain itself has the fewest possible dependencies. By contrast, projects that can only be <em>recreated</em> through on-chain data but use off-chain file storage to display the art for speed, cost, or performance reasons are considered somewhat less on-chain.</p><p>At this point, you might wonder—why do people care? Are we splitting hairs, and is this just a form of <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow ugc" class="dont-break-out" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Code_golf">code golf</a>? While perspectives differ, there are very valid reasons why projects that are more on-chain or even in-chain are essential:</p><ul><li><p>First, collecting art is often viewed as an investment. Good investments, especially long-term ones, have little risk of disappearing or becoming irretrievable. At the same time, digital data tends to erode or get lost over time. Platforms, databases, technical standards, and the hardware we use to run all of it becomes obsolete. A widely decentralized blockchain such as Ethereum, which has a lot of value, is likely a better place for permanently storing digital assets. And an asset that depends on more systems to exist is riskier relative to one with fewer dependencies.</p></li><li><p>Second, the blockchain is an exciting new medium for creating art. Artists have gravitated to the blockchain for at least a decade because of its unique properties. Creating art is self-expression, and a medium with the potential to make digital work with very long-term permanence, not to mention its independence, dynamism, and openness, is fascinating to artists. These properties lead many artists to explore how self-contained their work can be as pure expressions of the digital medium.</p></li></ul><p><strong>Levels of On-Chain Art</strong></p><p>With this context in mind, let’s explore the levels of on-chain code-based art:</p><ol><li><p><strong>Fully Off-Chain:</strong> The artwork assets and metadata live in centralized storage like AWS or Google Cloud. The NFT merely consists of pointer links to this off-chain data. This approach can be better for performance, e.g., displaying your artwork simultaneously to millions of viewers over the internet.</p></li><li><p><strong>Decentralized File Storage:</strong> Networks like IPFS and Arweave provide decentralized storage, but the code to produce the artwork remains off-chain. This is an improvement over centralized services, but critical assets are not stored on the blockchain itself.</p></li><li><p><strong>On-Chain Data, Off-Chain Dependencies:</strong> Critical artwork data and assets are stored directly on-chain, but required libraries and metadata often remain off-chain, especially for performance reasons. Shout out to Art Blocks for pioneering this model for generative collections.</p></li><li><p><strong>Fully On-Chain:</strong> All artwork data, metadata, dependencies, and anything else required to recreate the work is stored wholly on-chain. This provides full assurance of availability as long as the underlying blockchain exists.</p></li><li><p><strong>In-Chain Generative Art:</strong> The art is not just stored on the blockchain. It IS the blockchain. Projects like <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow ugc" class="dont-break-out" href="https://www.larvalabs.com/autoglyphs">Autoglyphs</a> and <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow ugc" class="dont-break-out" href="https://twitter.com/mathcastles?lang=en">Math Castles</a> store, generate and render art natively in transactions on-chain. The blockchain is the entire creative medium.</p><ol><li><p>Highlight smart contracts fully support in-chain generative art. Creators can either swap in a custom in-chain renderer they’ve built (for example, see <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow ugc" class="dont-break-out" href="https://highlight.xyz/bitrot">Bit Rot</a>) or use our global in-chain renderer, which is coming very soon.</p></li></ol></li></ol><p>As a final note, the data that seeds outputs in a code-based generative collection also has a spectrum of on-chainness. For example, Highlight enables creators to use all sorts of transaction data as inputs, such as the minting address, token ID, gas price, and more. The EVM uses three data structures to store critical data: the state trie (contract storage), the transactions trie, and the transaction receipts trie. Data stored in any of these tries can be considered equivalently “on-chain.” For example, the minting wallet address is stored in the transactions trie, while the tokenID is stored in the state trie.</p><p><strong>How On-Chain is Highlight?</strong></p><p>With the above in mind, creators using Highlight can make collections at any point on the spectrum above, except option 1. Choosing where your project should exist on this spectrum depends on your goals, values, and budget for your project. In short, we provide the flexibility to target the appropriate level of on-chainness for each collection, depending on the artist.</p><p>Highlight’s also unique because you can graduate levels based on what we’ve built.</p><p>For example, you release a project using level 2 above, which deploys your generative script and other assets to Arweave for decentralized file storage. This reduces upfront costs since you won’t add your script or any other dependencies on-chain.</p><p>Because your work is a brilliant project that collectors adore, it sells out quickly, and a brisk secondary market starts around it. Several collectors say that while they love the project, they are concerned about its long-term preservation and prefer to see the script and other dependencies brought on-chain.</p><p>Thankfully, you’ve used Highlight, so your contract has a <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow ugc" class="dont-break-out" href="https://github.com/highlightxyz/generative-onchain-tools/tree/main?tab=readme-ov-file#generative-series-file-system">built-in file system</a> that will let you, as the contract creator and owner, put your project onchain. Even though the project has already been deployed, you can add your script later, moving your project from level 2 to level 3.</p><p>Fast-forward another few months, and your project is now an iconic example of contemporary generative art. You want to ensure it’s fully preserved on-chain to the best of your ability. You take the version of p5.js that you used and deploy it on-chain while updating your script to reference the on-chain version recursively. Doing so moves your project from level 3 to 4.</p><p>Finally, you can entirely swap in either our in-chain renderer or a custom in-chain renderer of your choice, which will do the work of our engine but “in-chain,” seeding your collection outputs with transaction data, as usual.</p><p>In sum, we meet creators where they are regarding on-chain preferences while providing complete control over data-storage options. We believe that the journey to fully on-chain art is both a spectrum and a <em>progression</em>, not a binary or immutable choice, and we’re here to help artists however they decide.</p><p>By deploying a collection on Highlight, you can focus on making art with the confidence that under the hood, you maintain optionality with a very flexible and upgradable on-chain architecture that can support more on-chain artwork as your creative practice, community, and career evolve.</p><p>Let us know if you have any other technical questions by reaching us at <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow ugc" class="dont-break-out" href="mailto:gm@highlight.xyz">gm@highlight.xyz</a>. We’re always happy to dive deeper into how Highlight empowers onchain creativity.</p>]]></content:encoded>
            <author>highlight@newsletter.paragraph.com (Highlight)</author>
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            <title><![CDATA[Living Blossoms Through Code: Adam Genlight’s “Sometimes I Sing Back”]]></title>
            <link>https://paragraph.com/@highlight/living-blossoms-through-code-adam-genlight-s-sometimes-i-sing-back</link>
            <guid>MQG7FoUWFew5akDgQaPw</guid>
            <pubDate>Tue, 12 Dec 2023 22:44:12 GMT</pubDate>
            <description><![CDATA[“Sometimes I Sing Back“ begins minting on December 13th at 9am PT / 11am CT / 12pm ET / 5pm CET on Highlight. Adam Genlight translates code into inventive, interactive artwork focused on fostering wonder. Now, after almost a year of pruning, refining, and gardening, he’s set to release an expansive new generative series titled Sometimes I Sing Back. An open edition of responsive, generative, infinitely composable flowers that respond to user inputs, he sees the work as his own creative manife...]]></description>
            <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><em>“Sometimes I Sing Back“ begins minting on December 13th at 9am PT / 11am CT / 12pm ET / 5pm CET on </em><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow ugc" class="dont-break-out" href="https://highlight.xyz/mint/65735f1918af4582b3ba9324"><em>Highlight</em></a><em>.</em><br><br>Adam Genlight translates code into inventive, interactive artwork focused on fostering wonder.</p><p>Now, after almost a year of pruning, refining, and gardening, he’s set to release an expansive new generative series titled <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow ugc" class="dont-break-out" href="https://highlight.xyz/mint/65735f1918af4582b3ba9324"><em>Sometimes I Sing Back</em></a>.</p><p>An open edition of responsive, generative, infinitely composable flowers that respond to user inputs, he sees the work as his own creative manifestation that “sings back” graphically based on the container (or window) it’s in, and the pixels fed into it.</p><p>Launching December 13, each artwork features a central flower with endless possible petal and color configurations. Fully responsive across devices, the flowers bloom anew based on screen dimensions while users directly embellish pieces by toggling shading or scatter brushes.</p><figure float="none" data-type="figure" class="img-center" style="max-width: null;"><img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/papyrus_images/3d35b889302b7699402ad1a1a7e71bc5946678753beb58ca87592f14e5e6c354.png" alt="Sample outputs from Sometimes I Sing Back" blurdataurl="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAP///wAAACwAAAAAAQABAAACAkQBADs=" nextheight="600" nextwidth="800" class="image-node embed"><figcaption HTMLAttributes="[object Object]" class="">Sample outputs from Sometimes I Sing Back</figcaption></figure><p>Some outputs contain rare traits like watercolor stylings, pollen, or spiderwebs for collectors to discover. And every output incorporates signature elements derived from token ID and mint iteration data, documenting provenance.</p><p>In preparing the work, Genlight leaned into tight creative constraints—generating intricate complexity from straightforward generative rules. Inspired by Albrecht Dürer’s woodcuts, art and thinking from Mathcastles’ creator <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow ugc" class="dont-break-out" href="https://twitter.com/0x113d">113</a>, and teachings from data visualization pioneer Edward Tufte, the algorithmic petals emerge from two connected Bézier curves filled with controlled randomness.</p><p>The work is the result of a year-long meditation to find his creative spark, after “becoming unhappy with nearly everything I made. Eventually I stepped away from abstract art and spent a week making digital flowers.”</p><p>Through this meditative period, Genlight reflected on art’s essential ability to ground us in greater realities and our place within natural systems. As both an artist and innovator seeding new visual spaces, his responsive flowers slowly evolved to become an extension of his prior work.</p><p>“In previous collections, I explored oral storytelling, one of humanity’s oldest artforms. The beauty of it is that every telling is a slightly different variation on the one before, but always maintaining the same underlying structure. It reminded me of generative systems in code. With <em>Sometimes I Sing Back</em>, the same might be said of each flower. Nature reminds us of both the uniqueness of each creation and the infinite possibility of its underlying system. But nature is alive, and responsive. Although nature is often out of our control, our joy is in how we observe and interact with it.”</p><p>More specifically, <em>Sometimes I Sing Back</em> includes controls for the viewer to engage with. Click the canvas and press &apos;a&apos; to download an image; &apos;b&apos; to add your own shading via mouse drag; &apos;c&apos; to add seeds via mouse drag. Feed it pixels and watch your flower change and “sing” back to you.</p><p>Speaking of interactivity, Genlight explains how this theme emerges across his practice:</p><p>“In some ways, my work has followed an ever increasing spectrum of aliveness. <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow ugc" class="dont-break-out" href="https://substack.com/redirect/000f402f-a002-4d4c-bcc5-fc0cae868498?j=eyJ1Ijoic3duMXIifQ.T-w9t7iKQxYYTSLiQ1iUmA1muARX8uiH1IkP5IhDRtg"><em>Folded Faces</em></a> had a tiny heartbeat through <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow ugc" class="dont-break-out" href="https://substack.com/redirect/5e354b30-eecf-4e3f-b184-05320d016a54?j=eyJ1Ijoic3duMXIifQ.T-w9t7iKQxYYTSLiQ1iUmA1muARX8uiH1IkP5IhDRtg">pareidolia</a>. <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow ugc" class="dont-break-out" href="https://substack.com/redirect/2398fe34-6566-4368-9ac7-a03f5e0a017c?j=eyJ1Ijoic3duMXIifQ.T-w9t7iKQxYYTSLiQ1iUmA1muARX8uiH1IkP5IhDRtg"><em>A Fundamental Dispute’s</em></a> collective reroll mechanism—to this day—breathes change into the collection. And <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow ugc" class="dont-break-out" href="https://www.gmstudio.art/collections/a-daydream-for-libby"><em>A Daydream for Libby</em></a> had a warp <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow ugc" class="dont-break-out" href="https://substack.com/redirect/b889658e-88f6-43b3-9919-dc5a591568bb?j=eyJ1Ijoic3duMXIifQ.T-w9t7iKQxYYTSLiQ1iUmA1muARX8uiH1IkP5IhDRtg">functionality</a> that enabled the creation of infinite stories.”</p><p>“With this next release I wanted to push further into aliveness. With complete and always-on responsiveness and blockchain data. Your flower grows and changes with every pixel you feed it,” he continues.</p><p>Tend to <em>Sometimes I Sing Back</em> starting December 13th at 9am PT / 11am CT / 12pm ET / 5pm CET on <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow ugc" class="dont-break-out" href="https://highlight.xyz/mint/65735f1918af4582b3ba9324">Highlight</a>.</p><p>“Flowers are for everyone,” says Adam, and so the mint is priced  at 0.004 Eth (~$8) with payment via ETH on Base or credit card.</p><p>The mint will be open for 7 days.</p>]]></content:encoded>
            <author>highlight@newsletter.paragraph.com (Highlight)</author>
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