Original Author: Old Yuppie

This article comes from the WeChat public account:old yuppieOriginal Author: Old Yuppie

This article comes from the WeChat public account:"Art Blocks"old yuppie

", republished with authorization by Odaily."Erick Calderon was in the tile business until last year when he decided to focus on his passion for generative art. He created one of the most successful NFT platforms since the start of the NFT boom in early 2021. it's known". A transformation that may seem like a long way to outsiders is natural to Calderon. Over the years, he has balanced his interests in business, art, and coding."I always wanted to be an artist,"Calderon said,"But I've never been able to draw anything by hand."That's part of the reason Calderon -- an entrepreneur by nature -- got into the tile business. Engagement with design is fulfilling, but not enough. About a decade ago, with the encouragement of his wife, he began exploring his former passion, coding, something he'd done on and off since age seven."

I started programming visual outputs and found them quite pleasing,"Calderon said."I realized that I don't have to know how to use a brush to create something, at least I think is cool.

In exploring ways to make art with code, he was introduced to projection mapping, 3D printing, and finally generative art, where the code produces a unique image every time it is run. Calderon thinks he can

Do it once and get a million outputs", which is incredible. The generative artists he followed on Instagram became his heroes, but it was disheartening to see the work manifest as a single social media post. He wondered if there was a better way to make and sell generative art. He had to put aside these hobbies and worries for a while because he didn't have time to spare."In 2017, between running his business and caring for his young children, Calderon started lurking on Reddit, hoping to learn more about cryptocurrencies. What excites him even more is all the talk about NFTs, which he suspects could be a way to create value for generative art. Then one night, he stumbled across a Reddit thread where Larva Labs founders Matt Hall and John Watkinson were encouraging people to claim their new project, CryptoPunks."At the time, CryptoPunks were free. So Calderon claimed some with a $35 transaction fee. He thinks the zombie genre is particularly interesting."As a generative artist, I think CryptoPunks is an outstanding example of generative art,

Calderon said.". He never imagined that he had millions of dollars in assets."He said."But Calderon does feel that this is the beginning of history."

This is the first time I have a digital image,"He said."That feeling was revolutionary."Calderon continues to watch NFTs try to enter the mainstream market, and he believes that these projects are interesting, but do not really take advantage of the advantages of blockchain."

Calderon said."coin"Projects that can use blockchain, but are better off using traditional systems.

In 2018, Calderon started selling his CryptoPunks zombies for $200 each to pay developers to help him with the idea. He has a vision for an NFT minting platform for generative art. He called it Art Blocks. On Calderon’s platform, a generative artist can upload an algorithm and then sell unique iterations as NFTs. Buyers can go to the site, choose their preferred algorithm from a gallery of examples, and press"coin", without knowing what specific pieces they will get. When coins are minted, the blockchain will keep a record of the algorithm, and exactly how it worked, to create a one-of-a-kind piece. This represents an innovative way of creating provenance for generative artwork, while also documenting the specific artistic process of the code itself.

Because Art Blocks forces artists to accept every output of the algorithm as their signature work, the artist has to go back and tweak the algorithm until it's perfect. They can't just pick good outputs."He said:"Also, the number of iterations is capped - once the algorithm has run the specified number of times, it should not be used anymore."

Calderon couldn't be more proud of his idea. But it didn't work out the first time. The first prototypes were disappointing and the project bogged down. Then the pandemic hit and Calderon found himself with four extra hours a day that he hadn't had since his baby was born. He used this time to teach himself Javascript so he could build Art Blocks exactly as he envisioned them.

He said:

In any case, there's very little action in the world of tiles."After several Code Academy training sessions, the first version of Art Blocks launched. That was November 2020, before most people knew what an NFT was. Calderon hired consultants and developers to help him manage the influx of traffic to his new platform. By February 2021, Art Blocks had become a business; by April, Calderon had hired a full-time employee."

Then, August came. In that month alone, Art Blocks had sales of nearly $600 million (€184 million), across 51,000 transactions involving more than 12,000 buyers. On August 23, Art Blocks ushered in the peak sales day, with a transaction of 69 million US dollars. NFT traders drive all this traffic as they seek to flip creations."Internet entrepreneur and cryptocurrency guru Kevin Rose bought Tyler Hobb's Fidenza collection for $3,000 (1 Eth) in June, and by the end of August, he had sold it for $2.5 million. Calderon found that the market response was overwhelming. On the one hand, it's good business. Art Blocks gets 10% of the purchase price of each NFT sold on the platform and keeps a 2.5% commission on resale of each piece. Stunning success, on the other hand, while exciting, detracts from the quality of work on the site. Demand is high and people will buy anything. Calderon said:"I'm annoyed that some of the poor quality items are sold out.

Art Blocks has a hierarchical curatorial structure: there is a Curated category, which features special projects selected by Calderon's team. Artist Playground allows those selected to"Category Works post new non-curated projects. Then there's Factory, where anyone can upload creations."He said."The buying frenzy has made it nearly impossible for the average person to buy works on Art Blocks. Speculators, with the help of bots, quickly produced works that quickly became inaccessible. Calderon hopes Art Blocks will become an affordable source of generative art."

This is impossible today,

He said.

Despite the slump in trading, things are better for Art Blocks right now. Sales have stabilized; the community is strong and active; Calderon is in constant communication with participants on Discord and other social media. Calderon and his team are available at any time of the day to respond to Art Blocks fans and collectors, troubleshoot glitches, and discuss new projects and artists.

looking to the future

secondary title"looking to the future"text"Calderon is focused on building a sustainable business."