ÂPEX ~ is a generative landscape art project responding to the conditions of the Anthropocene, where the lines between what is possible and what is only imagined are constantly shifting. APEX will go live on Apr 15, 2022, on Art Blocks
If you follow the NFT world closely, there is a high chance you have heard about 8bidou over the past weeks. The site offers a new way to interact with pixel art, the same kind of art used in old school video games or the CryptoPunks. So how does it work?
In general lines, it is straightforward, although the user interface is still a work in progress. I suggest you use https://8x8.teztok.com/, a third-party webpage made to interact with the 8bidou smart contract but has a much better user flow and advanced stats. At the moment, there are two kinds of NFTs you can mint. 8x8 pixels and 24x24 monochrome (only grayscale pixels). The team is working to bring 24x24 color live.
So why did the site grow so fast? I think it is easy to create an 8x8 pixel NFT; therefore, artists are minting a lot, and there are many options. Also, the prices are not too high (most works cost less than ten Tezos), and it is common to see multi editions, making it even more accessible.
The site is very new, but it didn’t stop it from reaching the same amount of users as FxHash (the generative art platform on Tezos) in a few weeks. Unfortunately, and probably as a result of the rapid growth, scammers have exploited their 8bidou contract to copy mint NFTs and steal the primary sales and royalties from some artists (like myself 😢). The pixels show up as if minted by a different creator than the actual minter.
BEWARE I was alerted of a copymint on @8bidou IT USES MY WALLET address as the creator. DON'T BUY 8bidou.com/listing/?id=15… I HAVEN'T MINTED ANYTHING ON 8BIDOU
The good news is that the team is working on a fix, and 8bidou should be live in around 2 to 3 weeks. In the meantime, you can’t mint, but you can still buy on the secondary market. For example, you can still collect on the secondary market my impossible sneakers series.
Impossible Sneakers series on 8x8
To close this introduction, here is a recommendation if you want to give 8x8 or 24x24 pixels a shot. I’ve been using the browser-based site https://www.pixilart.com/ successfully. You need to set up the screen to be 8x8 pixels or 24x24 and once you finish your drawing, download it as a png. You can then upload the file to the 8bidou minter.
Until next time,
- Kaloh
PD: Remember minting on the site is not possible, but you can collect. Give it two or three weeks to make sure the contract is secure to mint.
Kaloh’s Newsletter is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.
