Trapped Nouns on OpenSea
Hello folks. This is Elated Pixel and I'm here with Automagic, creator of the wildly creative and fun Nouns derivative project, Trapped Nouns. Rather than be redundant in asking him to define a Trapped Noun for readers, I will quote his own introduction to the project as it appears on OpenSea:
~ It’s the year 2021. A group of curious Rinkeby Nouns, attracted by the possibility of a better life, stole an experimental ultrasound wrapping machine and tried to cross to the Ethereum main net, without fully understanding the technology behind it. The attempt was a complete failure. The result is registered in the blockchain for everyone to see: most of the Nouns could not handle the ultrasound wrapping experience and remain trapped in ghost form, in loop of misery and despair between two networks. It is said that the trapped nouns can work as a portal to new worlds and can communicate with each other. Many owners acquire them to get access to the exclusive guild of the trapped Nouns. It's just a secret guild of people from multiple subDAO that are part of a bigger DAO. No big deal. ~
Very creative introduction to my favorite Nouns derivative project, alongside Vox Nouns. https://opensea.io/collection/voxelnouns
And now for the interview!
Welcome, Automagic. So tell me about The Trapped Nouns.
The Trapped Nouns is my first NFT project and I did not know much about the NFT market at the time. Everything is chaotic and inconsistent about them, and they were all priced at different levels. Some have custom 8-bit music, some have sound effects, some have poetry in the description, some have very complicated rules to generate additional mints, some are GIFs, and some are videos.
Wow. So that helps to explain how interesting they are.
I am really fond of their chaotic nature, and of the story of The Trapped Nouns!
Speaking of the story of The Trapped Nouns [reprinted in italics just above this interview], is the thing about the 'secret guild' true? Call me gullible, but I got my TTN #5 wanting in on that...
My intention was to create some kind of secret society of people across different Nouns subDAO. It was a period where we thought there would be multiple subDAOs immediately after the launch of the first Noun, but for the first months SharkDAO was the only sub-dao for some time.
Cool. I would have gotten my Trapped Noun anyway. They are the perfect Nouns 2.0 IMO: you can best appreciate them if you are already familiar with Nouns. You don't have to be, but I think they are more enjoyable that way.
I have SOo many favs in The Trapped Nouns collection, but for time's sake let's talk about #5, 7, and 47; I'd like to hear more about those. I have number 5. I love the part where it looks like it's having an 'episode', due to its lamentable circumstances lol.
Yes, #5 took ages to be released as it comes with an 8-bit music loop I had commissioned specifically for the piece. It was released when the hype for *Nouns derivatives [projects based on Nouns, which that project welcomes] went down a little. I like #5 because of its colors, and as you say, he is definitely having a seizure!
[Note: not being sure, I found out that my TN is a jellyfish by going to the Nouns Explorer, where anyone can identify any Noun or derivative pretty easily by category and a little time scrolling]
[*Scroll down to Projects and Art on this page to see awesome current Nouns derivative ideas in action! OK back to the Interview...]
Specifically, #5 and number 7 are made of several individual glitchy effects and then merged together. I have exported more than 50 [effects] for each kind, then cherry-picked the ones that worked best together. number 47 has only a single 'liquified' effect applied to it...they were all made to create a sense of chaos and inconsistency which is the signature style of The Trapped Nouns.
I see.
So I did The Trapped Nouns in batches, starting from #98 on down, so #1 - 5 were the last ones made. #1 is the only one that includes a real photo (a fox).
In terms of workflow, for every single Rinkeby [testnet. See below for more after reading this, if you want. Sorry for this interruption. No, really I am] Noun, I have created many different ideas for glitches and distortions. At the beginning I was picking the best one in the bunch, towards the end I thought it would be a good idea to merge some of the different ideas together, to make the collection less monotonous and the piece more 'chaotic' even against the Trapped Nouns standard.
[Rinkeby is an Ethereum test network that allows for blockchain development testing before deployment on Mainnet]
You've mentioned chaos a few times. So it's fair to say chaos is a major, unifying theme of the project.
Yes. I wanted to communicate the idea of pure chaos and show that something went horribly wrong with the Nouns during the transfer to mainnet. The length of the animation is also dependent on what effects I have added to the Nouns, rather than a deliberate decision. I also played with the length of the music and effects and made sure that not one Noun has the same effects as the other.
So you didn't just come up with a cool looking derivative project - which would have been fine. No, you came up with this awesome, dramatic, totally relevant backstory that makes total sense once a Trapped Noun is seen. The story makes them better in a way, and they make the story better, if you get what I mean. So many projects have ho-hum backstories AND uninspiring art. You hit the ball out of the park with both. No flattery here - I just love the project.
Thank you very much! It was work but I enjoyed making The Trapped Nouns.
And I can't help but see tons of applications for them. They can be used to help teach kids coding and computer art. They're fun yet advanced. They are a great combination of so many things. I literally see these as a very cool cartoon (either for kids OR Adult Swim style, or BOTH - possibly ground-breaking?). And obviously they'd make over-the-top street wear. Like anyone can get a retro Pac Man or Atari shirt, cool. But I'd have to stop someone wearing a TN shirt and ask them about it.
Do you have any favorite Trapped Nouns?
My favourite trapped noun is probably number 69, and I own it.
You mentioned music. Trapped Nouns are like Almond Mounds [OG candy bar]: some have it - music in this case, not nuts - and some don't. How did you decide which ones got it?
In terms of music, when I launched Trapped Nouns in August I did not even know NFT could have music LOL. I found out later during the creation of the series and started adding it to some of the pieces. The person who created the music is a friend of a friend [AFOAF] and not really in the ecosystem - we worked together for a bit and his [task] was to create 8-bit, [completely chaotic] music based on my animations. I have also done some of the music myself with some rudimental tools, but I am not particularly proud of that. If nothing else The Trapped Nouns project taught me that I need a pro musician's help, which is exactly what I have done for my other series: The Ones Who Returned and Sweet Dreams.
Do you have any plans for TTN merch?
No concrete plan at the moment, but I have years of experience in fashion / appeal. [INCOMING ALPHA] If any holder would like a piece of apparel with his or her Trapped Noun on it, I can make the design for free and allow you to print it at production cost.
Free. Wow! Right here on Elated Pixelations. Doesn't get much better than that, folks. So go on over to The Trapped Nouns on OpenSea, pick one for yourself and have a 1/1 Trapped Nouns shirt made for you for the cost of making the shirt!
Thanks for diving into the world of the Trapped Nouns with me, both Automagic, and readers! Automagic, I wish you the best with your newer projects (linked above). Readers, as usual, I never close an episode without showing art. This time I have a surprise, however: this episode's art is hanging in my gallery (in-progress) in Cryptovoxels, the Diamond Gallery, a part of Voxeliving Showroom. More on that / those soon. Enjoy the art and the gallery sneak-peek!
https://twitter.com/graphicshot_art
Elated Pixel