Who are you?

I guess I’m still in the process of finding the answer 🙂

Let’s just say I’m from Italy and have always been attracted to visual communication, which is actually my day job.

When did you start making art?

I wouldn’t call it Art, but since I was a child, I have always had pencils, paper, scissors and glue in my hands, trying to express myself. I wanted to become a comic designer, but when I got my first computer (a ZX Spectrum) I literally fell in love with pixels. Years later I started experimenting with 3D, winning a competition with a short animation. That event changed my life, and I started working as a digital designer while studying environmental science, another passion of mine.

When did you start making generative art?

In November ’21, but for my job I have been using Flash with a similar approach for many years. I think I’m somewhere between a designer and a developer and that tool was perfect for me.

How did you hear about FxHash?

“There’s definitely something I’m missing; how can people buy jpgs?”. That’s what I thought when I came across the NFT space during some research on traditional art markets for a client of mine. I absolutely wanted to know more and shortly I found Art Blocks and FxHash that blew me away!

What originally spawned the idea for your Genesis work “Cuts”?

At the end of 2021, a couple of very different events created a void in a space that I took for granted. I was working on my very first generative project with a different concept but suddenly I stopped and changed everything. Before I even knew it, I was giving a visual representation of what was happening. The concept of Cuts basically emerged by the need to make sense of that empty space.

Color choice and shading are two key aspects to the beauty of “Cuts”. What was the process like developing these?

Almost every palette in Cuts is inspired by something that has before/after states, according to the project’s concept. It was a really fun part because I love researching and putting hidden meanings into a piece, even if collectors will never know. Shading came in a second phase. Initially Cuts had flat colors but at some point, I wanted to give more depth and asked for advice on Discord. It was great to interact with other artists and it helped me a lot leading me to experiment more with shaders.

So far “Cuts” is your only FxHash mint. What do you have in store next?

Probably I am the slowest NFT artist ever 🙂 The interest on Cuts was totally unexpected and I didn’t have specific plans. I definitely want to reduce my day job (I’m a freelance) and focus more on my generative and digital art. This is a slow process that I can only partially control, but I have some ideas that have been waiting for too long! I do a lot of sketches and try to experiment with various techniques while learning new stuff, but what I like most is to put a piece of myself in a project. This is emotionally intense for me though, so it can’t happen very often.

You also have a couple of objkt collections. Care to highlight any?

Both “Gleams” and “Primænts” emerged from some experiments (there is so much to learn!) and I decided to create the collections when the outputs gave me some vibes. Every time I mint a piece I am terrified and I immediately think of everything that can go wrong, so, even if I liked the pieces, I was really surprised by the positive response of collectors.

“vertiCuts” is a spin-off collection based on Cuts. It will expand from time to time, and I will add some custom pieces created as a gift for top collectors and supporters. I’m really late on this, but hopefully it should start soon 🙂

What is the difference between a good and great piece of generative art?

Not easy to answer. There are some technical aspects that could make that difference but focusing on the feelings, I know that I am faced with a great generative art when it tells me a story and it makes me think that there is more than the visual itself, something invisible that connects with me. Also variations are important, and they should surprise me by making me want to see more.

Why do you make generative art?

If you can decode natural phenomena with math, with coding you can even represent ideas and concepts that do not exist. I’m fascinated by the process of setting some rules (and breaking them!) and seeing possible outcomes that I didn’t even have in mind.

I also love the bond created by generative art with the minter, which is essentially part of the creation process.

Where do you see generative art headed?

I think generative art will attract more and more collectors and artists in the coming years. Technically I guess it will evolve embracing the capabilities of the blockchains in a more meaningful way and AI, music and interactivity will likely play a bigger role. But I’m sure we’ll all be surprised to see what happens next.

Anyone you want to shoutout?

Everyone who interacted with me by collecting, supporting, giving me feedbacks or just saying hello. The healthy community is the best part of this space! And of course, the FxHash team for creating such an amazing and creative environment. And my brother who had to collect Cuts from secondary 🙂

Anything else?

Art will save us. Whatever Art means. Seriously, I believe that if we could all express our feelings through the artistic medium that most resonates with us, many discomforts, misunderstandings and conflicts would be overcome.

That’s all, thank you so much for this interview!

Note for collectors:

All collectors of this article will receive an original artwork "Before The Cuts" by Todemashi. This piece as described by Todemashi is "an iteration of the project I was working on before Cuts." Additionally, one collector chosen at random will receive a 1/1 vertiCuts minted in the official vertiCuts collection.