What is CyberSkull? Who is Duo?
Dear world,
My name is Duo, and while testing the ICDapps, I’d like to reiterate who I am, what Duo’s Art is, and what ICyberSkull is (ICS).
Before we get into the details, Please remember the release date.
June 3 Friday
7:00 pm. SGT/8:00 pm. JST/
11:00 am. UTC
Presale
Public Will start 2 hours later (10pm JST)
Price: WL: 3 WICP / Public sale: 5 WICP
All CCC NFTs use WICP; if you have ICP, you can easily swap within the CCC website.ICP=WICP
Brief description:
ICyberSkull (ICS) is a collection of 888 pieces of art created by Duo. ICS is not a project. Art is ICS.
Even though I am not an engineer or anything, I managed to create ICS individually. Because no generative tool or software was used, all pieces were created by hand. Each piece is one-of-a-kind and has no rarity. What I am most concerned with is enjoying art and spreading it throughout the world. Just as you would never ask an artist like Xcopy or Beeple about the utility of their creations because it’s art, ICS takes the same approach; it’s pure art.
I believe that the authenticity of the artist and Duo arts are far more worthy and beautiful than a simple utility or roadmap as we all know many NFT projects without fundamentals or authenticity nowadays can and do fail, but genuine artists will not and are here to stay. Creations will most likely become a store of value that increases in value over time, even after the artist’s death.
ICS is more than just pixel art; in the future, we will see many different types of ICS collections, such as 2D, 3D, AI, and so on. ICS will evolve in tandem with the IC community. Now, how about we talk about how ICS got started.
The origin of Duo art
In October 2016, I began creating a type of graphic art. During that time, influenced by my gaming hobby, I discovered a game community called GFX(Graphics), where people create icons, SNS designs/Artworks by combining logos and images.
For two weeks, I tried to create something using some unstable Apps that were most likely crashing.
To break free from constraints, I began using Photoshop on my PC. There was little information available at the time, even on YouTube or blogs. Essentially, I taught myself everything I could by trial and error and gradually improved my skills.
I’m still self-teaching myself and researching and learning new elements like 3D, AI, and pixels. These encounters have accelerated my exploration of various new technologies, ICDapps, and so on.
I created symbolic art using futuristic expressions, Japanese culture, subcultures such as Anime and Manga, Game, and logos, which I have consistently fallen in love with since I began Art/Graphics in 2016, and mixed in Skull and abstract expressions that seem to reflect my deep psychology, to symbols that show the same homo sapiens, race, religion, age, and gender. From there, works such as Cyber Skull, Future Abstract, AI-inspired, and Duo-Cells emerged.
The skull represents death and abstraction. Nothing is more diverse and varied than the skull. It is something that all humans share. In today’s society, the distance between life and death is growing. From the neighborhood to the hospital. And vanishing into the digital realm.
Memento mori
Encounter with NFT
Around the beginning of 2021, I discovered NFT. I first learned about NFT from people in the GFX community who were communicating with me about community/teams and activities in other countries. When I saw some of them doing NFT with SuperRare, I knew this was what I wanted to do and began a new challenge.
At the same time, the Foundation was preparing to launch its services, so I could begin doing NFT in February or March 2021.
Then I met Chignitta, a Japanese art community, and founded ArtGumi, an international art community, with Rinna @RinnaTheCat. Since then, my artistic activities have grown to include joint exhibitions, billboards in Shibuya, and more.
Various art activities allowed me to grow as a person. With the help of collectors and the community, each series of my works is doing very well, and I am now primarily working in the fields of Art and NFT production.
Encounter with ICP/Dfinity
Actually, I discovered ICP in the summer of 2021, this time through Fu-san @chubchubkun’s tweets and blogs, who had previously assisted me in learning about Ethereum in 2017. The more I learned about ICP, Dapps, ecosystems, communities, and so on, the more I became interested in the topics, and I began to consider publishing NFT on ICP. I saw this as a good opportunity and began preparing an NFT for ICP. I also wanted to launch a new version of the Foundation’s popular CyberSkull series on ICP. This was the beginning of ICS, ICyberSkull.
At first, I wanted to make it unique to ICP while also making it special to use the ICP theme. As a result, I began with the 1/1 Art first.
At that time, the majority of NFT on IC NFT Platforms were collections. However, Odacchi @lucied2007 informed me that CCC can make 1/1. The only requirement was that the work be handwritten. Of course, I tried it right away. I began building a prototype of ICyberSkull with 888 pieces to connect ICP, 8 years, BTC/ETH integration, and other ICP symbols with Duo’s art.
Since the 400x400 pixel limitation has primarily shaped the art concept that grows with the ICP community. As a result, my ICS began with a pixelated concept reminiscent of an old retro game, black and white for the Duo symbol, red for a deep favorite, and the four colors of the ICP logo. This ICP ecosystem, trying out Dapps, putting NFT on ICS, and participating in the community, I believe, is an artistic context in and of itself.
ICyberSkull
And finally I have started the ICyberSkull account. This account is Duo=ICS. it’s art and artists hub. Everyone is welcome to join us in our journey.
And it’s art without rarity, with a total of 888 each with its own characteristics.
And, to the greatest extent possible, I held various events where participants could receive Airdrops and Whitelists rather than just distributing them at Giveaways.
I issued a call for ideas in which participants could participate by sketching, texting, or otherwise. And for the second event, I put out a call for art for Sukaru, a cute character who flies around one part of ICS. Many different and unique text and art ideas have been gathered.
https://twitter.com/icyberskull/status/1515554881922387970?s=21&t=2nPJxKLHebDIlP9MYGKPdg
Other events I held included a project to give WL to the top 9 scorers in Motoko Runners and deciphering codes.
I tried to think of creative ways to thank those who participated while also having fun with the community.
Another exciting news is about the first 1/1 ICyberSkull prototype I created a few months ago at CCC, recently sold for 888 ICP. This got the community ecstatic. Therefore I’d like to thank Elie @Inuai_art for believing in the future of ICS once more.
Thank you for your support; Awareness is gradually spreading, and we are getting closer to the release date. One of the themes of ICS as an art form is to grow with the community, so I will continue to experiment with various interesting things.
Future prospect
I’m already thinking about the next ICP art, which will be fully on-chain art, including 2D and 3D in SVG or new formats.
And obviously ICS owners will be prioritized with a hand full of benefits on future art, and ICS will evolve with the community.
The first games and art developed by humans might have been done by hand. Then it was digital, 2D, 3D, and now AI is poised to become the industry’s mainstay. This is how evolution works. I am confident that Duo’s art will evolve alongside the IC community in unexpected ways.
As an artist, I am still in the midst of a long journey filled with many trials and tribulations. Whether or not this succeeds, I believe my experiences with Ethereum, Dfinity, and the NFT will lead to further evolution, new experiences, and growth as an artist. And I am delighted to be a part of this new innovation and history. I am excited and looking forward to what is to come, and I hope that you will experience something new and enjoyable through Duo’s art.
