BYOPills, Polychrome Music, The Mona Lana and more
Traversing the world of non-fungible substances is a daunting task. With so many new NFT projects, artists and large collections popping up weekly, it has become almost impossible to keep up with each successive development.
In the past, a simple review of OpenSea was enough to find the latest NFT craze. But things have changed drastically since the NFT boom of 2021. Now, NFT enthusiasts have to be very careful about what and where they collect.
To help uncover awe-inspiring NFT work both new and old, nft now presents Undervalued: a weekly column highlighting innovative projects, collections and artists pushing the NFT space forward.
BYOPills, launched on 16 July 2021, is a psychedelic-themed PFP-style project created by a fictional character called Borris the Cook. Although this pill-inspired project started with a simple collection of animated 3D collectibles, it has since opened the gates for the expansion of a metaverse project called BYOverse.
BYOPills is unique not only because it presented an innovative spin on the idea of generative avatars, but because its creators took a single niche idea and turned it into a comprehensive metaverse game. In the beginning, each BYOPill NFT simply gave collectors access to an exclusive Discord server and a Trip Replicator app. But as the project has grown and evolved, BYOLand, characters, vehicles and more are available as part of the BYOverse.
Polychrome Music, launched on 24 August 2022, is one of the latest projects from the highly regarded Art Blocks Curated platform. Created as a collaboration between New York-based visual artist Raphael Rozendaal and Dutch electronic musician Lego worldthe collection consists of 400 NFTs that combine generative art and generative music.
With Polychrome Music, Rozendaal and Legowelt made a unique entry into the ever-growing generative/interactive NFT sector. Each piece in the collection has a generative music system that plays an infinite composition, influencing the visual outcome.
Mona Lana, launched 3 November 2021is a collection of generative portraits created by visual artists Lana Denina. Consisting of 500 unique NFTs, each token in the Mona Lana collection was randomly generated using 112 different properties.
Before philanthropy became its own sector of the NFT space, Denina and other small artists had already embarked on campaigns to help fund non-profits by selling their collections. As such an endeavour, proceeds from Mona Lana’s primary sales went to fund a DAO created by artists of African descent, and also benefited women’s shelters across Canada.
Corruption(s*), launched it 13 November 2021is a large-scale project in continuous development from Dom Hofmann, co-founder of Vine and innovative NFT projects such as Loot and Blitmap. The Corruption(e*) collection – consisting of 4,196 NFTs – was originally shrouded in mystery, launched with the intention that it would be deciphered by those who collected parts from it.
With the caveat “EXPERIMENTAL ART. NO ROADMAP, NO UTILITY, AND ABSOLUTEly NO MISSIONS” as the collection description, Corruption(s*) was a stealth launch, discovered by a handful of NFT enthusiasts who had kept a close eye on Hofmann’s wallet after the launch of Loot .The project is a testament to starting a community seemingly out of thin air, stimulating NFT enthusiasts to do their own chain research and learn about how the blockchain works.
Forgotten Runes Wizards Cult, launched 30 June 2021, is considered by many to be one of the most well-crafted and run PFP projects in the NFT ecosystem. Featuring a collection of 10,000 pixel-art wizard NFTs complete with rich lore and an expansive universe, Forgotten Runes has stood the test of time and retained its relevance even after a full year of ups and downs.
Original, Forgotten Runes became known via its innovative RPG-inspired concept and unique, animated embossing process. As the collection has evolved, the project’s team has put forth initiatives such as a conceptual realm (a metaverse), textbook, burn mechanism, and more, all culminating in Forgotten Runes taking on the legacy entertainment industry with a decentralized approach to IP rights and world-building.
