Sam Spratt’s curiosity has led to his creativity since his first day at Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD). He credits SCAD with helping him build a creative momentum that has never let up.

In an Interview with DJBOOTH, Spratt said: 

“I found an odd sense of accomplishment getting grades for drawings of vases and faces versus math or whatever… I kinda dove in on that, became a little obsessed with it, and pretty much from the moment I started art school to the end, I was drawing or painting morning to night every single day.” 

While Spratt’s work is more digital-based now, he told SCAD’s student paper that he still keeps paint and paintbrushes in his studio to remind him of where he started and how far he’s come since. Now, the New York-based digital artist is the creative mind behind one of NFT’s most popular characters, Luci, and the world he inhabits.

Here are four things to know about Spratt’s creative success.

He made a name for himself over a decade before dropping his first NFT collection

Spratt graduated from SCAD in 2010 with a bachelor's degree in Fine Arts. Two years after graduation, he was working with clients like Warner Brothers and the American Association of Cancer Research.

You can spot his signature style, painting-like digital illustrations, on album covers like Childish Gambino’s 2012 mixtape, Royalty, or Logic’s Bobby Tarantino, and easily connect the artistic dots to his renderings of Luci, the star of Spratt’s Skulls of Luci NFT collection. 

More than a character, Luci is a whole world 

Spratt’s first NFT collection was released in October 2021 and built upon the artistic style he’d developed earlier in his career. Each painting-like digital art piece was paired with a psalm. The collection brought life to Luci, a character who is reborn and developing in a post-historic, imagined world. The collection generated sales of close to $1 million and was the first release in a multi-volume collection. Each new release creates a different part of Luci’s existence. 

Christie’s is a part of Luci’s story

After the success of Spratt’s initial release of 6 paintings, Christie’s helped shepherd Luci’s 7th painting into the world. Titled “Wormfood,” the work shows Luci sprawled across a dead tree with the abyss behind, and as the accompanying hymn implies, Luci is pondering life’s existence.

When describing the Luci project as a whole, Spratt explained in an interview: 

“Luci is more than just a product of my personal experiences. It’s a refracted self-portrait. The emotions I express, and the paintings I create, aren’t solely autobiographical; they’re about the shared experiences many have overlooked.”

Luci’s world continues to unfold

In 2023, Spratt introduced his Luci character into a larger, more collaborative art piece, The Monument Game. Throughout August 2023, those interested in being a part of the Luci world had the chance to purchase a “Player” ticket that would allow them to add an “observation” atop the painting. The artwork was created through the sale of these 256 Player tickets that allowed holders to compete for three Skulls of Luci. Holders co-created stories within The Monument Game artwork over four days. 

Each observation was a couple of sentences or verses sharing the ticket holder’s perspective on the world, similar to Spratt’s hymns accompanying each painting. Once added and the ticket window expired, each ticket was converted into an NFT. Additionally, three contributors with the best or most interesting observations were invited to burn their ticket NFT for their own Skull of Luci NFT. The sale of the Player NFTs began on Nifty Gateway on August 21st and ended on August 24th sold out in seconds. 

In Spratt’s own words, “This game rewards curiosity and creative thinking, asking people to create the final varnish to a digital painting. A coat of chaotic and unpredictable communal resin made from an offering of people's thoughts: a little piece of themselves, bonding all collectors to their edition, all editions to the 1/1, with the Skulls forming the energy circuit between them.”  

As the Luci world continues to grow, so does Spratt’s impact on the NFT art world and its impact on how he chooses to push the boundaries of his art. It’s anyone’s guess where either lore will take us this year.