After reading Neal Stephenson's 'Cryptonomicon' as a teenager back in 2012, nix.eth became a crypto hobbyist captivated by Bitcoin. In 2021 the former tech founder and software engineer fully pivoted into web3.

His latest drop, ‘Hexag⬡n’, is an alternative to character-based PFPs. Hexag⬡ns are identified by their unique name instead of a numeric ID. These names make wonderful PFP companions.

When describing the artwork, nix.eth states, "Each Hexagon's Key is pulled from the quantum realm by the minter. Nobody can predict the outputs because they don't exist until observed. This is achieved through live data provided by ANU's Quantum Optics Group from measuring quantum vacuum fluctuations”. 

Check out his drop with OpenSea here. 

‍OpenSea: Could you introduce us to your art style and the main themes you explore in your artwork?

nix.eth: My primary style is probably best defined as vector-based geometry. I enjoy using geometry to tease the brain into recognizing stored patterns of beauty. I prefer working with vectors because I find satisfaction in how they work in code and feel detached from the pixels or dots that we consume as digital art.

My work is primarily exploring the blockchain as a holistic medium for connectedness. We are increasingly becoming a digital society and I don’t believe we can predict what that means for our relationships with each other and our physical world. My first career began as a technology entrepreneur focused on social applications, and my art today is an attempt to communicate the concepts I had developed.

OpenSea: Can you walk us through your creative process when developing an NFT collection or piece?

‍nix.eth: I play a lot and don’t set out with a specific goal in mind. My creative process starts with code and meditating on concepts like randomness. I just get vague ideas and try them, as they evolve new ideas come up so I try those. When I feel that flow slack off, I stick it all away in a folder to revisit later. Most of the time that is as far as it goes. Occasionally I revisit and become obsessed.

OpenSea: Can you discuss any unique challenges or opportunities you encounter when creating art, specifically for the digital realm of NFTs?

nix.eth: My personal challenge is imposter syndrome. I didn’t set out in life to become an artist and spent more than two decades as a tech product entrepreneur and am a little timid about participating with those who did. So, the technical side of crypto art is extremely easy for me, the sharing side is harder. I have noticed I cope with this by tending to fall back into the safety of the technical execution at the cost of treating my art as a product and I am still finding ways to balance that.

OpenSea: What motivated you to create on Base? How do you think Base's features will benefit your artistic expression?

nix.eth: Choosing a chain for my upcoming project, Hexag⬡ns, was a several months journey. Crypto artists have a lot of options now. I think it’s more accurate to say my collection chose Base. The soul of Hexag⬡ns was demanding capability and inclusivity. It wants to be a large affordable collection. This aligns well with me because I am more excited about the power of NFTs in the hands of billions. Base is perfect for this; the community and team are pushing forward accessibility, the low gas-fees allow me to place everything on-chain, and I trust them to help steer Ethereum in a positive direction.

OpenSea: How has blockchain technology influenced or changed the way you approach art creation?

nix.eth: The blockchain changed the way I view coordination and the potential future of humanity. NFTs changed the way I think about art. I come from a cohort of web2 builders, and it wasn’t often the word art was applied to anything we did.

Now in NFTs, especially generative art, that has shifted. I always thought I was a bit strange for thinking code can be beautiful, but in NFTs I found others who think the same.

OpenSea: How do you plan to engage with your audience through your NFTs on OpenSea? Are there any interactive elements or community-driven aspects to your work?

nix.eth: OpenSea has great support for interactive NFTs, and this is something I am taking full advantage of. With Hexag⬡ns, every NFT has multiple background colors and comes with a set of assets like X banners and Zoom backgrounds. Holders will be able to access all of these right from the NFT without leaving OpenSea.

Another great thing about OpenSea is the flexible drop process. I am able to build my own smart contracts to power my unique work, and by simply implementing the SeaDrop contract I don’t have to spend time developing drop pages or mint logic.

Safety is a big deal in web3, and the safety of my collectors is a primary concern. OpenSea is one of the safest and most trusted places to connect your wallet and interact.

OpenSea: What future developments in the NFT space excite you the most, and how do you plan to incorporate these into your future projects?

nix.eth: In generative art I am the most excited to see collaborative standards emerge. One of my favorite things to do is take apart and tweak other artists' algorithms. Treeangles, my genesis collection, is 100% on-chain and I was pleasantly surprised when other artists took the data and created other interpretations. I think we have a lot of room to explore this as a group, especially when you include the collectors in the iterations.

OpenSea: What advice would you give to artists who are new to the NFT space and are considering launching their first digital collection?

‍nix.eth: Don’t rush it. Spend your time learning and participating in groups, collectives, even X spaces. Create and share significantly more than you mint. Quality over quantity. Integrity over speed. 

OpenSea: Where do you see the future of digital art and NFTs heading in the next five years? How do you hope to contribute to this future?

nix.eth: The next five years is about NFTs moving into the mainstream, and not just for art. It will begin to take shape as one of the pillars of the emerging digital society. My hope is that we can show how it can be used to create something great. That is what I am here for.