Thread by @acav

We get lots of questions on Twitter & in the @meta_angels Discord about how 10K PFP projects actually get made

So I'm going to demystify it here:
1) How it works
2) Examples of how many layers combine into 1 image
3) Resources if you are an artist or project starting out

👇🧵

@meta_angels Why am I sharing this? I’m a serial entrepreneur who recently got into the #NFT space, and 30 days ago I had no idea how to create PFPs. I’m now creating hundreds of gorgeous images a day as we test out traits for an upcoming 10k PFP drop. If I can figure this out, so can you.

@meta_angels First off, how does generating art for a PFP project work? You design an image in layers (a very familiar experience for anyone who uses Photoshop/similar programs) with multiple options for each layer. Instead of manually combining them, you use code to create a single image

@meta_angels Everyone knows I love a good analogy. It’s just like those paper doll toys from when we were kids, where you pick a base and add on different layers that make them unique.

@meta_angels Each layer type is an attribute (like background, hair, clothing, accessories), with transparency so they can be put on top of each other. Projects can have as many or as few as they want. @BoredApeYC has only 7 and @crypto_coven has 22+. There is no magic number here.

@meta_angels @BoredApeYC @crypto_coven Each attribute has as many or as few variations as the artist and team choose. You might have 8 eye variations and 47 clothing variations. The sum total of that is the number of traits associated with the project.

@meta_angels @BoredApeYC @crypto_coven By my count (adding up properties on @opensea), there’s a lot of variation between projects, like:
-@WomenriseNFT: 518
-@crypto_coven: 506
-@FlowerGirlsNFT : 485
-@curiousAddys: 315
-@WomenandWeapons: 220
-@BossBeautiesNFT: 212
-@worldofwomennft: 189
-@DeadfellazNFT: 135

@meta_angels @BoredApeYC @crypto_coven @opensea @WomenriseNFT @FlowerGirlsNFT @CuriousAddys @WomenandWeapons @BossBeautiesNFT @worldofwomennft @DeadfellazNFT You can add logic into your code to make certain traits more or less rare, or to not allow certain combinations. For example, there may be a hat that doesn’t work with earphones. Or patterns that don’t work together #clashing

@meta_angels @BoredApeYC @crypto_coven @opensea @WomenriseNFT @FlowerGirlsNFT @CuriousAddys @WomenandWeapons @BossBeautiesNFT @worldofwomennft @DeadfellazNFT This is often figured out through test runs and QA, though some projects do more of that than others; some do it once at the end–we do ours daily as new traits are designed.

@meta_angels @BoredApeYC @crypto_coven @opensea @WomenriseNFT @FlowerGirlsNFT @CuriousAddys @WomenandWeapons @BossBeautiesNFT @worldofwomennft @DeadfellazNFT When a project mints, you set a target number, and when you run the program, it spits out that many unique PFP NFTs. If something doesn’t look right, too bad… it’s done. The collection is forever etched on the blockchain.

@meta_angels @BoredApeYC @crypto_coven @opensea @WomenriseNFT @FlowerGirlsNFT @CuriousAddys @WomenandWeapons @BossBeautiesNFT @worldofwomennft @DeadfellazNFT (For a refresher on #NFTs, cryptocurrency and blockchain, check out this thread 👇)

https://twitter.com/acav/status/1475575193477255180

@meta_angels @BoredApeYC @crypto_coven @opensea @WomenriseNFT @FlowerGirlsNFT @CuriousAddys @WomenandWeapons @BossBeautiesNFT @worldofwomennft @DeadfellazNFT So the 411 on how PFPs are generated is:

1) Artist(s) designs many variation of traits
2) Code written to combine it
3) Final collection of unique NFTs created during mint

@meta_angels @BoredApeYC @crypto_coven @opensea @WomenriseNFT @FlowerGirlsNFT @CuriousAddys @WomenandWeapons @BossBeautiesNFT @worldofwomennft @DeadfellazNFT (For more on PFP projects and how they fit into the space, check out this thread 👇)

https://twitter.com/acav/status/1478014083190378502

@meta_angels @BoredApeYC @crypto_coven @opensea @WomenriseNFT @FlowerGirlsNFT @CuriousAddys @WomenandWeapons @BossBeautiesNFT @worldofwomennft @DeadfellazNFT So let’s walk through an example, shall we?

@meta_angels @BoredApeYC @crypto_coven @opensea @WomenriseNFT @FlowerGirlsNFT @CuriousAddys @WomenandWeapons @BossBeautiesNFT @worldofwomennft @DeadfellazNFT For @meta_angels, we are creating a 10K collection* of angel #NFTs designed by the immensely talented @aslanruby

(*A 10K collection means there will be 10,000 unique NFTs.)

https://twitter.com/meta_angels/status/1478912628714004481

@meta_angels @BoredApeYC @crypto_coven @opensea @WomenriseNFT @FlowerGirlsNFT @CuriousAddys @WomenandWeapons @BossBeautiesNFT @worldofwomennft @DeadfellazNFT @aslanruby We are still in the middle of the design process, and did our reveal intentionally to allow our community members to be part of the angels’ creation.

@meta_angels @BoredApeYC @crypto_coven @opensea @WomenriseNFT @FlowerGirlsNFT @CuriousAddys @WomenandWeapons @BossBeautiesNFT @worldofwomennft @DeadfellazNFT @aslanruby As of right now, we’re expecting to have ~13 attributes, and well over 300 different traits. @aslanruby is still adding a few more wings, for example, but as of today we had 54 wing variations

@meta_angels @BoredApeYC @crypto_coven @opensea @WomenriseNFT @FlowerGirlsNFT @CuriousAddys @WomenandWeapons @BossBeautiesNFT @worldofwomennft @DeadfellazNFT @aslanruby In our @Discord community, we have an angel ideas channel that has already brought member ideas to life, like these incredible dragonfly wings

If you want to see more sneak peeks, or add ideas to the mix, come join our Discord! —> discord.gg/AZQBbs8y4j (my other recent favorite was balloon wings!)

But let's break it down further!

This angel was generated randomly from our code (more on how to do that later in the last section), selecting from hundreds of options:

This is how that breaks down, layer by layer:

Out of the same batch of angels generated, we also got these combinations:

And two more, each with a totally different style:

As you can see, there is consistency in the placement of the key elements, but room to play around with traits to add whimsy, color and special elements to the art

For @aslanruby and all of us on the @meta_angels team, it was important that we showcase the full spectrum of humanity, both in terms of race and gender.

@aslanruby @meta_angels So let’s dive into the final section: where to start. If you are an artist or project thinking about doing something like this, it’s not nearly as hard to get started as it may seem

@aslanruby @meta_angels There is no better starting point than @hashlipsnft’s open source art generator
github.com/HashLips/hashl…

I have to shout out @de_botha for creating such an easy to use tools for art generation (and more!) and a supportive Discord community to go to with questions

@aslanruby @meta_angels @Hashlipsnft @de_botha If you’re not technical and you’re thinking you can’t use an open source tool like Hashlips, don’t short change yourself! @169pixel has a great video showing how quickly you can get set up:

@aslanruby @meta_angels @Hashlipsnft @de_botha @169pixel I know it seems daunting but don’t be afraid to try, and to reach out to communities like the @Hashlipsnft Discord for support

@aslanruby @meta_angels @Hashlipsnft @de_botha @169pixel If you later decide to do something more custom, you can recruit an engineer to your project or work with folks like @nik_ska at Moshpit who worked with @FlowerGirlsNFT

At @meta_angels, we’ve built our own custom generator off of Hashlip’s code (technical prowess by @gabceb)

@aslanruby @meta_angels @Hashlipsnft @de_botha @169pixel @nik_ska @FlowerGirlsNFT @gabceb Before I close out, here is some other good reading on PFP art generation:

@aslanruby @meta_angels @Hashlipsnft @de_botha @169pixel @nik_ska @FlowerGirlsNFT @gabceb How big should your PFPs be?
By Jim Dee (worth a follow on Medium!)

medium.com/web-design-web…

@aslanruby @meta_angels @Hashlipsnft @de_botha @169pixel @nik_ska @FlowerGirlsNFT @gabceb How are rarity scores calculated?
Via @raritytools
raritytools.medium.com/ranking-rarity…

@aslanruby @meta_angels @Hashlipsnft @de_botha @169pixel @nik_ska @FlowerGirlsNFT @gabceb @raritytools How do you track layers and prepare a rarity table?
By Jim Dee

medium.com/web-design-web…

@aslanruby @meta_angels @Hashlipsnft @de_botha @169pixel @nik_ska @FlowerGirlsNFT @gabceb @raritytools If you found this helpful, likes & RTs are much appreciated to help reach more artists and projects who might find this helpful too. And if you enjoyed it, follow me for more breaking down the jargon and going behind the scenes on launching an #NFT project.

@aslanruby @meta_angels @Hashlipsnft @de_botha @169pixel @nik_ska @FlowerGirlsNFT @gabceb @raritytools And if you loved @aslanruby’s art, or want to learn more about the generosity-fueled membership community we’re building, follow us over at @meta_angels for updates on our upcoming mint. END 🧵

@aslanruby @meta_angels @Hashlipsnft @de_botha @169pixel @nik_ska @FlowerGirlsNFT @gabceb @raritytools Back to the top of the thread! 📌

https://twitter.com/acav/status/1480749447353147392