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Generative art -- a sub-species of crypto art / NFTs -- is super fun. Instead of an artist creating a 1/1 artwork, in this case, the artist creates an algorithm which will be used to produced a limited edition series of artworks.
Each work is "minted" by the purchaser -- pay your money, and the system calls a random number to insert into the algorithm which produces your work. The art is the algorithm. They can be fun because artists may throw in some elements (colors, attributes) that are more rare.
@artblocks_io by @ArtOnBlockchain is the place to check out. There is a cool project by @jeffgdavis that is open right now called Color Study. You can mint one. Sadly, with very high gas prices right now, best to wait until gas prices are a bit lower. Some examples here.
These are "NFTs" - that means each is unique, and recorded on the ethereum blockchain so you provably own it. What's special about artblocks is the whole piece is recorded on chain. (many NFT artworks just record a unique has that can be a proof of ownership, but not the art).
There's a new drop coming Friday 9am PST called 27-bit digital. It's a series of 1024 at very reasonable .064 ETH mint price, though gas will probably suck. If recent drops are a guide, it will sell out in ~10 minutes. You have to view these large size to appreciate IMO.
These look pretty wild on my 27" iMac -- the colors wig my eyes out like the "blue dress" images -- but weirdly on my 13" MacBook air they just look unremarkable.
Ringers by @dmitricherniak was a massively successful recent drop. It sold out in a few minutes and has developed a super loyal following in just two weeks. Mint price including gas was a couple hundred bucks, now the cheapest on secondary is 2 ETH ($3,800)
More rare and desirable works have sold from $10K-$15K, and the most rare (4 ringers out of 1,000 had the color green) have not traded but would easily sell for $20,000+.
Not only does the artist earn the returns to the mint run -- a run of 1,000 at .1 ETH = $180K -- but a cool element in NFTs is they earn a percentage of all the aftermarket sales, too. They get a participation in the appreciation.
Check it out on http://artblocks.io or you can see secondary sales on @opensea (the eBay of NFTs) -- here: https://opensea.io/assets/art-blocks?search[sortAscending]=false&search[sortBy]=VIEWER_COUNT
And if you like it, come 9am on Friday and mint one. You'll need to have a metamask wallet set up (browser extension) and have some ethereum in it. You might pay up for the "fast gas" setting to make sure you make it through the queue.
(9am PST)
