RMRK Artist Spotlight #13: Ahmedov and His Kusama Skulls

On this episode of RAS, we caught up with Ahmedov, the creator of Kusama Skulls, a collection of 31 skulls grouped into 3 rarity levels--Bronze, Silver, and Gold. The collection sold out and some pieces are now being relisted, with the highest listing price at 10 KSM (~$3,000 as of this writing.)

We are particularly impressed with Ahmedov's work because of his style diversity. A trip through his Instagram page brims with visual variety,spanning multiple visual dimensions. It's always nice to meet an artist that's capable of more than one kind of style.

We spoke about his journey into NFTs, his favorite project, where he finds inspiration, and more. Read the interview below.

Q: How did you start your art career?

Ahmedov

I began to draw as soon as I learned to hold a pencil in my hand (since childhood). After graduating from school, I decided that I needed to buy a tablet and plunged into the world of digital drawing. Drawing attracted me more than playing computer games or watching a movie. I spent all my pocket money on materials for creativity - then, I had no idea that drawing would be with me all my life!

Q: How did you get into NFTs?

Ahmedov

I learned about NFT more than a year ago, but for me it was all incomprehensible. I just watched from the sidelines. A week ago, my friend Vova (Thomas Jerrykson) literally forced me to publish my work on the site. I didn’t believe there would be sales, but the morning after publication I woke up rich (laughs).

Q: Tell us about your favorite project that you've worked on and why.

Ahmedov

All my projects are like children to me (choose a favorite, others will be offended). That said, my most interesting project is a voxel-based game. The client came to me with a guarantee and I began to study the tool for creating this project. I love to try something new for myself.

Q: NFTs have provided accessibility and exposure to various forms of digital creations. Do you have new artists that you follow and what do you find interesting about them?

Ahmedov

One of the first creators who started my acquaintance with the NFT world was brickspacer, a motion designer from Russia. I like that there is humor in his works, subtle attention to detail, appeal! Over time, I noticed how more and more artists I follow on Instagram exhibited their work. The list is too long to name all. Everyone has their own unique style, which I enjoy.

Q: What is your creative process like?

Ahmedov

Every day I replenish my visual base by browsing Behance, Pinterest, Instagram, and Twitter. I also love to watch movies. It charges me with some kind of emotion. While watching a movie, I take my drawing tools (pen and sheets or iPad) and just sketch faces, robots, skulls until I fill the entire page and put it in a drawer. Over time, a mountain of scribbled paper accumulates, which needs to be disassembled. I take pictures of the pieces I like and draw them digitally.

If we are talking about a commercial order, I first of all collect references, read articles, watch videos on the topic and draw right away in digital form (this is easier to edit - the paper does not have ctrl + z).

Q: What are your inspiration(s)?

Ahmedov

The world. It could be anything. A conversation with an interesting person, walks with friends, food, an interesting video. But most often these are films.

Q: What are your goals in the NFT space?

Ahmedov

Earn money for my apartment (just kidding).

To be honest, I don’t know. I just paint and am happy that it resonates with my followers and collectors!

Q: How do you see the NFT space shaping up?

Ahmedov

I think NFT will only grow! For me, this is a new round of art. We can say that this is a new Renaissance!

Q: What would you most like an NFT platform to have?

Ahmedov

More artists, more collectors!

Q: What exciting new stuff can we look forward to from you, and where can people find you?

Ahmedov

I am preparing several series of skulls. There will be a multiverse. In some series of works I will use animation and 3D. Follow my social media accounts to stay updated--Twitter, Instagram, and Singular.

It was a brief but illuminating chat with Ahmedov. He is the third artist we have interviewed who only got into NFTs because their close friends forced them. We are grateful to Thomas for bringing Ahmedov to Singular because we are excited to see what he puts out in the coming years.

If you have a friend who's a talented artist, we would like you to know that it is unfair to not have told them about NFTs or Singular. Come on, you can do better. We even make it easy for you by offering your talented friend a sponsored trial of Singular worth 500 FREE MINTS!