Explore NFT World with its Citizens: Interview with Yurii Yeltsov & Ceren Burcu Turkan

Interview with Yurii Yeltsov

Yurii Yeltsov is a happy dad, Muaythai amateur, 3D generalist, and NFT artist, living in Ukraine. Graduated from the Kharkiv Academy of Design and Arts with a degree in graphic design and from the British School of Design with a degree in mobile design.

He worked in web and mobile design for a decade and a year ago, he discovered the wonderful world of digital art, and he became
insanely fascinated by modern technologies of character development and design, hyperrealism, futurism, particles, fur and clothing creation, and generative art.

Follow him on Dribble and Twitter.

How did you get introduced to the world of NFTs?

I have been designing for a long time, mainly web and mobile design. One client asked me to draw a character for his collection. He wanted a 3D character and I’ve been wanting to work with 3D models for a long time. I tried it and I liked it!

What software do you use to create them?

I work in Cinema 4D, Zbrush, and Marvelous Designer.

Tell us about the experience of being the artist behind the Hypebears collection.

The entire collection was drawn by me, and it took me several months. It was my first NFT project of this level, as the collection has more than 100 unique features.

When designing a collection, the artist must set limits for him or herself. For example, a single size, a certain position of features, etc. It’s like setting yourself a challenge: I will draw this illustration only in purple colors, or no more than 1000 by 1000 pixels.

Some of the Hypebears Yurii designed for this amazing collection

What does the cost of mint depend on?

The cost of mint depends very much on the advertising company and influencers who are involved in promoting the collection.

How do you promote your NFTs, beyond the platform where they are sold?

I use mainly Twitter and Discord. Also Instagram.

Tell us about your NFT Waves project. Where did the idea come from? Are there already other artists working on this collection?

Waves is a project that we are doing together with other wonderful artists. It is connected with music. The condition was to come up with a character who was pleasant but daring, like most popular DJs. I think we got it!

Samurai DJ Dog, part of Waves project

What blockchain and NFT platform do you use and why?

I use Opensea. It is the most famous, although conservative. In my opinion, it has its flaws.

One of the most outstanding criticisms of this blockchain-based system is its environmental impact. What do you think about that?

I believe that if humanity had not damaged the environment, it would have remained in the Stone Age. At least, this is what has happened so far, but I am glad to see that steps are being taken in the opposite direction. I hope this issue will be resolved as soon as possible.

Note from the author: Blockchains that use Proof-of-Work consensus cause high amounts of greenhouse gas emissions. Proof-of-Stake consensus uses drastically less energy. Ethereum, the most used blockchain in NFTs right now, is preparing its Ethereum 2.0 upgrade which will finally transition the blockchain from PoW to PoS consensus.

What advice would you give to artists who are just starting out on this path of minting NFTs?

I will give one piece of advice – create! May your hand be strong in the work you have begun!

Every time I see the cool work of digital artists, I feel white envy, an incredible surge of energy and itching in my hands to create something better. And I believe my best work has not yet been created.

Do you think animations add value to the NFT?

Of course, it increases the value. We are by nature not inert, movement is life.

Be happy with Hypebears by Yurii, for the Hypebears Collection

What recommendations would you give to someone who is not an artist, but wants to start collecting NFTs?

Here one must not be afraid to take risks. You need a warm heart and a cold head, this is not for everyone! It is important to be watchful: there are many promising collections that are worth paying attention to. Especially those who are supported by something, like gold or music producers.

What are, in your opinion, some of the trends in NFT art for 2022?

Animation, hyperrealism, particle visualization, bionics, space.

Interview with Ceren Burcu Turkan

Ceren Burcu Turkan is a full-time Creative Director & Graphic Designer from Istanbul, Turkey. She creates custom illustrations in logos and packaging designs to make them unique and memorable. She was granted a World Brand Design Award in 2021.

She is also an NFT artist, developing a collection of 100 Unique & Crafted Ethereum-based NFTs called Creemo’s.

Follow her on Behance and check out her NFT project on Rarible.

How did you get introduced to the world of NFTs?

I think I was first introduced to NFTs when I saw Beeple’s 69million sale of his work at Christie’s. My friend MozaNft made it easier for me to enter the space. I was very judgemental at first, the concept was interesting but it made sense slowly. If you have a buyer who values your art, you can sell your work and it is written on blockchain to protect the artist and the buyer. We are so used to digital goods being stolen that it takes time to wrap our heads around ownership of NFTs.

Tell us about your Creemo project.

Creemo was inspired by an illustration I created for an ice cream company logo project back in 2018. The client didn’t want to use it because they thought that the illustration was too spooky and might scare kids. I absolutely loved it so I’ve worked on it more to create different designs with it. After hearing about NFTs I wanted to create a 3d character inspired by this illustration and I was really excited about giving life to it. After getting clients’ blessings about using a similar concept, I’ve created Creemo. Now I am working on a collection of Creemo’s. All of them are handmade and have unique names. I am super proud of the collection so far. It helps me to push my creativity further each day and I absolutely enjoy the process a lot.

Rainbow Creemo, part of Series 1: Genesis, which consists of the first 10 designs of the Creemo Collection.

What blockchain and NFT platform do you use?

I am using the Ethereum blockchain to buy and sell NFTs mainly because of a bigger audience. It is fast, and easy to use but gas fees can be a bit too high from time to time.

How do you promote your NFTs, beyond the platform where they are sold?

I have been sharing my art and designs on Instagram for years and got 10k+ followers, but sadly Instagram is not really the right platform to promote NFTs. Most people are super judgemental and don’t understand the concept yet. So I set up a Twitter account just for NFT and I got connected with great artists and bought a small collection to support some of the projects. I am planning to buy 1/1 art piece in the near future.

Bubblegum Creemo, part of Series 1: Genesis, consists of the first 10 designs of the Creemo Collection.

One of the most outstanding criticisms of this blockchain-based system is its environmental impact. What do you think about that?

I think most people are way too judgemental about this topic, I even saw people saying NFTs are killing baby pandas. Rather than telling my opinions, which I’ve gathered from my research, I just like to share with you this article on Earth.org about this topic.

Do you invest in NFTs yourself?

I do! My first NFT was a DeadFellaz that I bought in August and I got another one after I learn about the creators and spend time in their Discord. Some of my other favorites are Alien Frens, Jadu, and WonderPals. Hoping to buy a boi from Lirona, gnss art by mgxs, and some 1 to 1 art from Railaite Rob, Sami Rain Gold and Crea St.

Logo design and branding for Orangerie No:8, by Ceren B. Turkan. She was granted a WBDS Awards 2021 for this work.

What advice would you give to artists who are just starting out on this path of minting NFTs?

I think deciding your audience to determine which platform to use is important. I personally chose Rarible to mint my NFTs since I am planning Creemo to be a small collection. If I was more into single art pieces I would use SuperRare and if I had a larger collection I would use OpenSea.

What recommendations would you give to someone who wants to start collecting NFTs?

Always do your own research, I wouldn’t buy or sell anything just because an influencer bought or promote a piece. Buy what you like and remember to take profits. I am saying that but I am bad at taking profits myself 🙂