Meet the Artists Who Turned the Gotham FC Soccer Stars Into NFT Heroes
Ever wonder what Algorand founder Silvio Micali would look like as a master martial arts trainer? Or what the Gotham FC soccer stars would look like as comic book heroes? You don’t need to imagine, thanks to Andrew Galazka and the team at Algo House.
The three artists, according to their Twitter page, are “dedicated to illustrating, and bringing to life, the TRUE heroes of the Algorand blockchain realm.” Not only have their illustrations caught on with the Algorand community, but also with many of Algorand’s leaders — Silvio’s Twitter profile picture is the aforementioned Algo House’s NFT illustration of him!
We spoke with Galazka to find out more about Algo House.
Q: Tell us about your background and your career.
Andrew: I had drawing lessons as a young child to deal with some issues, so using art to clear my mind became a comfort. I grew up gaming, watching anime, and staying up on the latest tech (I have a development background), so the cross between the three is a dream. We work as a team of three artists; the other two are professional artists for large companies. Each of us has a passion for Algorand, and we each bring a special element that allows us to deliver a range of different art. We specialize in concepts, anime style art, 3D art, and graphic design.
Q: When did you first learn about NFTs? What was the process for creating your first NFT?
Andrew: I was drawn to NFTs in 2017. At that time, I bought crypto, but only saw CryptoKitties and some Pokemon-like projects. Honestly, I did not understand the hype at all. Now I know that’s because I wasn’t understanding the community or utility aspects.
The process for creating my first NFT was really simple. I had been involved in the Algorand community for quite some time, living and breathing all the news and helping out with a few projects. One day, I found myself rewatching the OG Dragon Ball series for the 100th time, and had a realization: I wanted the same thing from [Algorand founder] Silvio Micali that Goku wanted from Master Roshi! Expert training and a method to expand my horizons and become a hero myself.
It clicked and I got to work transforming Goku’s teacher into Master Silvio. The art is meant to be a parody of heroes saying, “These are the real heroes who can solve the world’s problems today!” After the initial Algorand heroes, we focused on our own story about the apes, heroes, villains, mechs, and gods of the blockchain realm. People loved the art. I believe they shared our view of the Algorand ecosystem.
Q: What makes NFTs special/unique/different for artists?
Andrew: NFT creation seems to be a microcosm of artistic periods and trends all smashed together in hyperspeed. Art used to develop slowly due to a limited number of key geniuses that make breakthroughs over time. In the past, artists may have just stayed in their lane and not explored other mediums due to a lack of encouragement to try new things. Now, trends are driving artists to create pixel art, mutant variants, 3D characters, etc. — to try to break out of their own original styles and flex dynamic abilities. Exploration is how you grow, and I feel like NFTs are like the beanstalk from Jack in the Beanstalk — endless growth!
NFTs have allowed independent artists all over the world to take their skills and passions and combine them to create something novel, while at the same time being involved in new cutting edge technology. It gives the ability to create communities, organize like-minded people, connect with fans, create games and new experiences, and give to causes that align with your community. For example, we have an Algo Saiyan Team on Kiva with the mission of lending to underbanked entrepreneurs in the third world, so they can become the heroes of their families and communities. We have lent $1,750 with no interest to provide capital to businesses in need. Check out our team here: https://www.kiva.org/team/algohouse/impact
Q: How were you able to market your work?
Andrew: As my interest in Algorand grew, I started trying to get involved in projects. I made friends in the Opulous and Yieldly Telegrams, and eventually was brought onto the community team at Opulous due to some epic memes I made for a competition. From there, I gained a ton of friends in the space who were like-minded. When we shared our first piece, a lot of friends bought in, showed it off to their friends, and we grew through organic word of mouth.
Q: What do you find interesting about Algorand?
Andrew: Honestly, everything. I was blown away by the tech. I am an obsessive person, so I started learning everything I could. Algorand literally had everything and yet seemed relatively undiscovered! An awesome leader who has been a long time innovator in cryptography; superior tech; a team that is personable, professional, and experienced; and a team of advisors and experts who weren’t short on Ivy League school names. They had both the “who you know” and “what you know.” The combination of these made me feel like Algorand would have the ability to move forward in the face of any challenges.
Q: How did Algo House approach the Algorand Gotham FC Player NFTs? Was it different from your other work?
Andrew: Working with the Algorand Gotham FC Players was an awesome opportunity! We are so happy Algorand is getting involved in supporting top sports institutions and players. Meeting Margaret “Midge” Purce allowed us to draw inspiration from her attitude and personality to create a unique hero NFT. It was definitely different from our other NFTs, as we usually draw from ecosystem builder inspiration, but this is a new type of hero who will carry Algorand forward in a different way!
Q: What are you looking forward to in the future the most when it comes to NFTs?
Andrew: I want to see an Algorand Metaverse and NFTs that act as characters, settings, and components, as well as NFTs that fit into regular games creating fun player economies. We have created mini-metaverse games for our own project and others and had fun scavenger hunt drops in these rooms.
Any NFT staking (locking up an asset to earn rewards) and utilization (uses outside of art) gets me excited. The possibilities are endless, and when there is real utilization, the masses will move in and accept NFTs as more than just a tulip mania craze.
Q: What’s next for Algo House?
Andrew: Algo House is launching a new website where our art, charitable initiatives, collections, accolades, and 3D game will be more accessible to members of the Algorand community. This will be in lead up to our second generation NFT series, which has been in progress for quite some time. We are planning to engage with the community differently with these NFTs, allowing upgrades and various other ways to make the experience more interactive and personalized.
You can check out Algo House’s recent work over at Rand Gallery and Ab2gallery — and don’t forget to try their mini-metaverse game.
