The digital artist known as Alpha Centauri Kid or “a.c.k.” has been minting NFTs since March 2021. You’ll find everything from glitch art to skulls to pianos throughout most of his digital works. To some, the pieces may feel disparate when viewed together, but as the artist explains in interviews, they are all deeply connected by his source of inspiration, the Muse.

For a.c.k., the “Muse” is his creative intuition, which serves as the beginning of every piece, no matter how different each final product may look. He has even created a physical representation of the “Muse,” which he added to some of his works like his 2021 NFT “She Doesn’t NEED You,” where a tall, beautiful woman stands in her living room overlooking the iconic Eiffel Tower. 

Since 2021, Alpha Centauri Kid’s “Muse” has carried him through kickstarting a career as a digital artist, leaving behind a government job, and collaborating with some of his NFT heroes, like XCOPY.

Here are five things to know about Alpha Centauri Kid.

He was born in Texas and began painting early

Alpha Centauri Kid’s artistic roots trace back to his birthplace, San Antonio, Texas, where he arrived on the scene in 1986. Art grabbed hold of him early, and he dove headfirst into exploring various mediums, starting with oil painting on canvas in middle school. Those traditional techniques became the backbone of his creative expression and set the stage for every idea that followed.

When Alpha Centauri Kid started creating digital art, relying on tools like Photoshop and Cinema for 3D and 4D modeling, he didn’t think it would become a full-time job or allow him to collaborate with some of his most significant sources of inspiration — but it did both.

His collaboration with XCOPY propelled him from fan to peer  

In March 2021, a.c.k. discovered NFTs and observed how the technology was redefining how artists connect with their audience and tell stories. The NFT space lit a fire under him, pushing him to create art that speaks to collectors and invites them into something more profound.

The first artwork was his July 2021 limited edition collaboration with fellow digital artist XCOPY. The 1-of-1 collection, “Last Orders!,” features both artists’ preference for glitch art.

Next, a.c.k. dropped his genesis piece, “ctrl + alt + generate,” in Oct. 2021 and immediately made waves. The collector known as Punk 6529 bought the piece for 165 ETH. After fourteen years in a government day job, a.c.k. could finally leave and commit to his art full-time. By the end of 2021, a.c.k. was a full-time artist.

In an interview with the independent art newsletter Monty Report, a.c.k. said: 

“It was such a brilliant, fortunate experience for me. It was amazing learning from him that early on in my career. I learned so much that has really helped me long-term … One thing that really helped me on my journey was being daring enough to continue the story that XCOPY and I told as a collab. I thought there was more to the story, and so I took a risk and I furthered that story and that theme with another piece.” 

His love of pianos and broken keys predates his digital artwork

In an interview, Alpha Centauri Kid explains that even while at the Department of Homeland Security, he has always been a creative at heart. As a child, he started playing the piano and fell in love with the instrument and how it connected him to his creativity. 

As an adult, the digital artist worked the instrument into many pieces. In 2022, he designed an entire NFT collection, “Broken Keys,” centered around the ivory and ebony. The 48-item NFT collection is all 1-of-1 digital art pieces built on Cinema 4D, a.c.k.’s preferred 3D-modeling software. In the collection’s project description, a.c.k. shared that he started the collection in 2021, and it took him about two years to pull all 48 pieces together. 

In “Vogue,” one of the pieces in the collection, you can see how a.c.k. was not afraid to push himself creatively. Unlike the other pieces in the collection where the piano is easy to spot and often center stage in the piece, in “Vogue,” the piano is an easter egg for the onlooker to find. Like the childhood puzzle game, “Where’s Waldo?”  the piano is hidden until you look down and to the right and spot it on the woman’s big toe. 

He brings 'The Muse' to life in his scenes—though he thinks of her as 'artistic energy'

a.c.k. discusses his relationship to inspiration as though she is a muse who he conceptualizes as “just the artistic energy floating around the universe” with whom people can communicate.

"I think if you're willing to let in the whispers, then you're opening yourself up to opportunities that could be great for you as an artist," he told The Monty Report.

In 2022, he created a physical depiction of this muse: a four-panel silkscreen that was auctioned at Christie’s for $107,100. Each panel, titled “Berry,” “French Rose,” “Royal,” and “Magenta," reflects the artist’s concept of creative intuition and inspiration.

He is committed to challenging himself to create never-before-seen art 

Now that he’s a full-time creative, Alpha Centauri Kid is taking the time to continue to push boundaries, call in new ideas, and hone his relationship to the muse even more.

On his social media platforms, you'll find constant updates of a life-size skull that a.c.k. is building. Out of context, the skull looks like an interesting art piece or side hobby, but it’s actually a life-size, physical replica of the piano in his piece, “The Mad Pianist.”

a.c.k. is building the piano with his father-in-law, who he describes as a “master woodworker.” Later, the piano and an accompanying NFT are expected to be auctioned by art house Christie’s. 

The piano’s accompanying NFT utility will allow a.c.k. to control what music it plays and when, something he is looking forward to since, as he joked in an interview: “It'll play Mozart at 4:00 AM if that's what I want it to do. If I have to be up working on art, then they have to be up listening to what I'm listening to [laughs].”