Happy Little Pixels (Blog): #1 Has Web3 Delegitimized The Art Within It?
A little salty and a little discouraged, but also hopeful of what art and artists can do for communities of ALL kinds...including web3.
You may know that lately Iโve been obsessed with not only sharing the art and UGCs Iโve created, but also teaching others how to make them. Recently, I reached out to a pixelโart program for sponsorship of an event during Pixelsโ first UGC Fair.
Their response:
โSorry, we're not fans of crypto, NFTs, or Web3 stuff.โ
I expected a typical marketing โnoโโtoo few followers, too niche an audience, etc.โbut not a โnoโ because of the tech space itโs affiliated with. โWeb3 stuffโ?? โNoโ to pixel-art indie games just because they are built on a blockchain? At first I felt a bit insulted.
However, a decade ago, I mightโve said the same thing as them.
Iโm far from an expert on anythingโespecially pixel art. In fact, I resisted digital art for a long time. With an artistic father and a childhood immersed in art, I loved nearly every mediumโฆexcept digital. I tried dance, theater, various musical instruments, and photography, but what stuck was visual art: good olโ pencil and paper. I thought I had a knack for it, and many people encouraged me to chase it. So, I took the leap into formal art education.
The 1st MAJOR thing I learned: You donโt need to go to school to be a good artist. You need passion, creativity, and practice.
Other lessons Iโve learned since then:
Good art doesnโt have to be hyperโrealistic.
Formal training doesnโt guarantee mastery. It instead often highlights how many people are better than you.
Beautiful art moves peopleโand when you add function, it can change lives.
Growing up, I thought I was incredibly talented at 2D physical artโpencil, paint, watercolor, ink, you name it. (Now, I know Iโm just decent at best. ๐คฃ) But from that perception of talent, I became a bit of a snob.
I refused to study graphic design because I thought it was inferiorโthat it took less skill. I claimed I didnโt want to design for businesses trying to sell something. In reality, I felt lost in those programs. Opening Adobe and not knowing how to draw a simple shape made me feel inferior. I was scared of it, so I rejected it.
Fast forward to today and I obviously feel very differently about digital art. Adobe still gives me anxiety, but I now have an appreciation and respect for it that I regrettably lacked for years. I dabbled in graphic design after leaving school (painting doesnโt pay my bills), but I didnโt find a true personal interest until I learned about NFTs in 2021. I was late to the party, but they showed me a side of the virtual art world Iโd been missing and could really get behind: true ownership of a digital asset.
Now itโs not that I think non-NFT digital art isnโt โownedโ, because it is. (Remember my article on IP?) But it felt to easy to replicate and steal to me, even though someone could just as easily steal a photograph of a painting and claim it as theirs. There is just something fascinating about a smart contract, and it was the flashy thing I needed to fully step into a world of digital work!
Creating basic NFTs never took off for me, but they brought a fun lightness I hadnโt seen before. Now that Iโve seen NFTs evolveโand become integrated and functional in web3โI canโt unsee it.
Which brings me back to that sponsorship rejection. My initial surprise turned into sadness and frustration. It reminded me of my old mindset, but the more I thought about it, the more I understood - I canโt be mad at someone for fearing the space, but I am frustrated the space blockades support for artists in their element.
Crypto has changed a lot since Bitcoinโs debutโsome for better, some for worse. Itโs riddled with scams, theft, greed, and overall bad vibes. People have lost or stolen huge sums, projects have been rugged, and supporters have been dumped on. No wonder many cringe at the mention of it. Yet, despite all that, Iโve seen a lot of good too.
While some have lost money, others have made lifeโchanging amounts. Some have built incredible ecosystems, projects, and currencies. Someโlike meโhave just found a cozy place to make and share their art.
Itโs been almost a year since I submitted my first UGC, and Iโve enjoyed making art in the past year more than I have since college. Thereโs nothing like being part of a community that interacts with and gets excited about your workโitโs, hands down, the most compelling thing in Pixels.
In school, I heard something Iโve never forgotten: truly creative artists go before impact. Before communities. Before development. Before change. They show up in the cheap, gritty places no one else wants to go and turn them into places everyone wants to be. Look at beautiful games like Pixels and Moonfrostโthey couldโve gone web2 (and maybe even had more success), but they chose the gritty, unpredictable place with potential, and the space if fortunate to have them in it.
Some people will still turn up their noses at crypto and web3 for a long time to come. I havenโt made money in it, but others have been hurt far worse, and I donโt blame anyone for being scared or even hating it. Everyone has their reasons - Iโm not going to knock someone who doesnโt want to be part of it. Honestly, I donโt know if web3 will last, but if it does, itโll be because of passionate, resilient developers and artists continuing to create meaningful things when the hype is absent.
I could sit here offended that someone refused partnering with me because Iโm in this โdegenerateโ space. Or I could enjoy my time here, for what it is, because I simply get satisfaction from making pixel art and sharing it with people who feel the same. A lot of bad apples have made web3 look rotten, but maybe there are still people who want to make it something else. Organizations like Moku HQ also give me hope for web3!
Whatever kind of art you make, and wherever you make itโkeep going, even if itโs just for you! The one thing I believed about art ten years ago that I still believe today is that no matter your skill level or medium, thereโs something everyone can enjoy and find meaning in creating. I hope you move forward and feel encouraged to do so!
About the Author:
Silverwing is an artist and budding web3 cozy gamer, having spent many hours growing up on Pokemon, Sims, Harvest Moon, Final Fantasy and more. While still somewhat new to crypto and the content creation side of gaming, she enjoys creating content to help educate, entertain, and โmake cozyโ her friends and followers in this vast online space. When she is not playing online, you can find her making pixel art UGCs, painting, sewing, or digging around in her real life garden. ๐ฑ
Silverโs Pixels Creator Code: SILVERWING
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