RMRK Artist Spotlight #22: The KusamaDragons

On this episode of RAS, we spoke to the co-founder of KusamaDragons, a collection of 110 handdrawn dragons on Singular with a current floor price of 13 KSM. In a space where most collections are created solely by artists, it was nice to gain the perspective of an NFT creator who is not an artist.

We had a really insightful chat with KusamaDragons, learning about his fascinating creative process--the epiphany and the deep obsession--, his NFT goals, his favorite NFT artist, and more.

RMRK: How did you start your art career?

KusamaDragons

I consider myself an atypical member of the Dotsama creator community. Unlike many here, I don't consider myself an artist. I'm creative and I manage the creative aspects of the project. The artistic side of KusamaDragons is entrusted to two talented artists: Alì and Alessandra. I'm more concerned with shaping KusamaDragons' concepts and long-term vision. But KusamaDragons is much more than a single individual.

How did you get into NFTs?

I entered the NFT world directly from Substrate. I bought my first Substrapunk in early September, got to know the RMRK world shortly after, and never looked back.

What is your favorite project that you’ve worked on?

Although it is now a cliche, hands down ApesAndArt. Especially for the meaning that this collection has assumed in the NFT Dotsama culture: Moon Bearer has made everyone understand that ideas, commitment, and determination count more than the resources with which you start!

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?

Kusama Acid. I follow him because he's fucking good and talented. He is a successful music producer, musician, and absurd 3d artist. All in one.

What is your creative process like?

The epiphany followed by the deep obsession. The spark is often exogenous. It can be a documentary (my last and still undisclosed epiphany), a joke from a friend, or a dream! My mind is always looking for associations, it is usually a matter of time before I find the right idea.

When the idea has arrived, the "reality check" phase begins. I'm talking about understanding what is feasible and what is not. Everything for me is based on the dialogue with Steff (co-founder of KusamaDragons) and our artists.

Where do you get inspiration from?

Hard question. We’re inspired by different people based on where we are in our life, who we are with, and what we find ourselves doing.

Making a speech relevant to my role and my responsibilities in the NFT world, I can say that I am inspired by anyone who manages an unusual, original and pioneering personal life project. Who in adversity or uncertainty has been able to work head down with a clear goal in mind.

What are your goals in the NFT space?

Bringing people together.

Go beyond jpeg. Embrace utilities. Make Kusama Dragons a phenomenon in the DotSama community.

How do you think the NFT space should shape up?

I went from an NFT skeptic (not knowing RMRK) to an active contributor (after knowing RMRK).

I deduce that the common thread of my NFT bullishness derives mainly from the infinite possibilities that Bruno Skvorc and his team are opening up to all of us: creators and communities.
Things are looking good here on Dotsama since the sharing of creative models, usefulness, and community involvement that go beyond simple speculation are values that can be widely found in the Dotsama world. This is anything but taken for granted; indeed, I think it's something special.

What would you most like an NFT platform to have?

I believe that royalties for artists are essential to allow a space where the little artist has many more tools to finance the growth of a project (and its operational machine) over the long term.

It will be interesting to watch the royalty revolution with RMRK 2.0. I hope that creators and communities are united in supporting this choice: mechanisms of economic incentives for holders and additional funding will only increase the (already very high) average quality present on Singular.

Imagine a use case for RMRK 2.0 powered NFTs

v2 NFTS are already a priority for Kusama Dragons. Our 3D Dragon Egg Collection we launched on February 26 will soon migrate to Singular V2 and the dragons that hatch will fully embrace RMRK 2.0 standards.

Talking about future implementation: well… imagine items whose possession unlocks a basket of real-world experiences to choose from. KusamaDragons is already working on the Dragon Experience.

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

As mentioned, these are busy days in the Dragon Citadel.

Kusama Dragon eggs were released just a week ago and we received an astonishing amount of support from our still small but vibrant community.

At the same time, the original collection of the 110 Dragons of Kusama continues with its ascent to the Olympus of Singular!

In the last month, many new people have joined our community! We are approaching 500 users on Discord, numbers unthinkable even just 2 months ago!

People are starting to understand what it means to be a Dragon Master. If any of your readers would like to do some Dragon research, I highly recommend joining our Discord channel and checking out our Linktree, where you will be able to access every available resource.

KusamaDragons is not the only DotSama NFT enthusiast that has been converted into a contributor thanks to the infinite possibilites laid out by RMRK 2.0. We are curious to see where things go when a lot more creators are playing in our infinite possibilities sandbox.

With RMRK 2.0 now on Singular, we are excited that future responses to "what would you most like an NFT platform to have?" will no longer be dominated by "royalties." If you are an artist with a RMRK 1.0 collection, by migrating your collection to RMRK 2.0 (Singular 2.0), you can set the royalties for your collection.

Read other episodes of Artist Spotlight

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