NFT Artist Roundup | Updates on Beeple, FEWOCiOUS, PAK & more

As the NFT scene continues to hype 10,000 piece profile picture projects, various digital artists are diligently creating and growing in the expanding NFT space. In this weekly recap, we'll break down some of the most notable NFT Artists and their upcoming works. Additionally,  we'll also highlight various creator news each week from the world of digital art and NFTs. 

NFT Artist Introduction

To start, we're featuring these five top selling digital artists that are transforming the crypto and NFT landscape, and in the following weeks, we'll introduce you to other artists who have benefited from this emerging technology.

Beeple

Mike Winkelmann, commonly known as Beeple, consistently ranks highest among top grossing NFT artists.

His "Everydays: The First 5000 Days" undeniably helped propel the NFT space forward after selling at Christie's Auction House for $69 Million dollars and attracting loads of mainstream media coverage. He created one piece a day, over the course of... you guessed it... 5,000 days.

His release marked the first time an auction house accepted crypto payment. "Everydays" helped usher in a new era for digital artists with total sales over $150 million and 1,351 individual pieces sold.

Beeple continues to post digital art daily, though his auctions have become less frequent. His last piece HUMANE ONE released back in November and there are no planned, upcoming auctions. That's not to say Beeple isn't still making waves in the space. Last week, his gallery, THE UNCERTAIN FUTURE opened to a warm reception in NYC and will run through Mar. 19.

FEWOCiOUS

FEWOCiOUS, Victor Langlois, is a 19 year old digital artist hailing from Las Vegas.

The young, rising star has taken the NFT scene by storm over the past year after pairing with Christie's auction house to release a series entitled “Hello, i'm Victor (FEWOCiOUS) and This Is My Life."

At the time of sale, 18-year old FEWOCiOUS's five lot collection crashed Christie's site as last minute bids flooded in. The five pieces depicted years 14-18 of Victor's life, recreating emotions and memories from those time periods.

FEWOCiOUS had one other piece put up for auction with Sotheby's house in October: "Nice to meet you, I'm Mr. MiSUNDERSTOOD." It sold for 654 ETH, $2.5 million, further solidifying Victor's impact in the scene. Although he hasn't officially announced anything for this year, he has been teasing FEWOWORLD and other projects. 

DrifterShoots

Drifter, also know as DrifterShoots or Isaac Wright, is a former paratrooper from the Army Special Forces battalion who transitioned to a career as a professional photographer and NFT creator.

Through his struggle with PTSD, he discovered urban climbing offered an escape and new perspective on life. While traveling the country and climbing, Drifter started taking stunning photographs from stadiums, bridges, skyscrapers, and anything else he could maneuver.

Joining a community of urban explorers, he shared the photos under an alias and attracted thousands of followers.  But his urban adventuring eventually lead to trespassing and burglary charges — for entering a building illegally to take photographs — and other felonies, equating to more than 25 years in prison.

During the last year his legend has grown and sales followed, with Drifter stating he has sold upwards of $6 million in NFTs this year.

After nearly 140 days behind bars, the Judge ruled to allow Wright to participate in an intervention program, giving him a clean criminal record.

Drifter's most recent piece "Whatever It Takes" apart of the "Where Did My Vans Go" collection was auctioned at Sotheby's last week. The piece went for 10x their estimated price, hitting over $200,000. Drifter shared his emotions tweeting "In less than one years time. From fighting for my life and work to selling a photo at Sotheby’s for over a quarter million dollars.  A picture is truly worth a thousand words🖤." 

DeeKay Motion

DeeKay Kwon, know as DeeKay Motion, has gained popularity throughout the NFT space via his "Let's Walk" collection and 1/1 pieces.

With a background in motion design and animation, DeeKay previously worked at Google before freelancing NFTs. His top selling piece "Destiny" was collected by Cozmo De Medici for 225 ETH ~$635,000. Deekay's animations work with colorful, clean motion to convey scenes or characters, and he prides himself on bringing joy through his bright and fun designs: "Making others happy through my goofy animation is my pure happiness."

His 1/1 art has grossed 640 ETH, and his LetsWalk collection traded upwards of 2,500 ETH.

In addition to teasing an upcoming 1/1 in collaboration with Pak, DeeKay also released Round 8 of his LetsWalk collection last weekend. Featuring characters from other NFT projects such as Invisible Friends, Dead Fellaz, and Doodles, each LetsWalk had 20 editions; half were available for ranked auction and half were allotted for Early Access. 

PAK

Pak, an anonymous digital artist, is possibly the highest grossing NFT artist of all time.

He's sold upwards of $300 million in digital art, and his recent MERGE sale broke $90 million in 48 hours. Pak has been active in the digital art world for almost two decades and has continued to remain completely anonymous.

With a unique color pallet and futuristic style, Pak's work has been recognized by traditional auction houses. He sold "The Switch" at Sotheby's for $1,444,444, roughly 537 ETH. His goal? To introduce the idea that NFTs are more than just digital art. 

Teased on Twitter, Pak's upcoming project "Metamorphosis" will be a collaboration of talented NFT artists solidified in the space. Gavin Shapiro, Deekay Motion, and FvckRender will be teaming up with Pak to help build out Chapter 2 of the "Ash" project. 

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