Interview with ICPrime8s- An Evolution of Style

We Interviewed ICPrime8s, and the team has a surprising amount of knowledge regarding primate evolution. 'ICPrime8s' is a collection of 5 separate releases of generative art. Each release takes the form of a different 'Prime8' and follows the evolution of 'Prime8s' in chronological order. Quit monkeying around and order yours quickly, before they sell out!

1. How would you describe your artistic style?

I would describe our art style as fun and simplistic yet elegant. We're massive fans of really technical digital art like you'd see in Poked Studio's bots or ICApes however we wanted to stay true to ourselves and create entertaining cartoon art.

2. What drew you to NFT creation rather than traditional canvas-based art?

We were drawn to NFTs and generative art as opposed to canvas-based art for a couple of reasons. The first was we fell in love with the NFT community and, more specifically, the Internet Computer NFT community. We've been huge fans of DFINITY and the Internet Computer for a long time, and as we watched the community's exponential growth, we wanted to be a part of that and thought we had something valuable to contribute at the same time. We're certainly not opposed to canvas-based art, but we believe NFTs and generative art is undoubtedly the future.

3. Are there any artists who have inspired you? What do you like about their work?

We don't have any artists who've inspired us that we could name drop off the top of our heads. I would say we are fans of all art in a way, whether it's a similar style to what we've created with Prime8s or different. We're inspired by all artists who put in the effort and copious amounts of time to create something unique.

4. What made you create NFTs?

We decided to create NFTs because we fell in love with the NFT community and the generative art process and intricacies. There are many amazing artists out there, and many people can draw or create various types of art, but we love how NFTs are more than just drawings and can tell stories or have so many different utilities or ways of being useful.

5. Can you tell us about your project?

Sure! Our project 'ICPrime8s' is a collection of 5 separate releases of generative art. Each release takes the form of a different 'Prime8' and follows the evolution of 'Prime8s' in chronological order. Our first release 'Prosimians' is based on the oldest known Prime8 family and resembles a lemur-like, tree-dwelling creature. Lemurs would be a good example and are considered direct descendants of Prosimians. Our 2nd release will be 'Monkeys,' followed by Gibbons, Gorillas, and ending with the current state of Prime8s: Homosapiens (which we should all be familiar with!).

6. How many NFTs will be minted? Can you talk us through the process of how you create the art?

A total of 10,500 ICprime8s will be minted. However, as we said, this 10,500 will be split into five separate releases, each based on a specific class of prime8.

Creating the art was arguably the best part of the project and was a profoundly creative process. Our main characters are depictions of Prime8s that have existed for thousands of years, so that part wasn't too hard. It mainly consisted of brainstorming, drawing, and creating traits that we thought the community would love and want to see on their Prime8s. From there, it was just the process of putting those traits and layers into our code to create the final product.

7. Will Your NFT be able to breed, stake, or ever be in a game?

We are heavily focused on our communities feedback and haven't made any decisions regarding future utility like breeding, staking, or gamification. We want to follow a structure where we pitch to our holders and let them vote on what they'd like to see from our project once all the releases are finished, so we know that the path the project is following is the one best received by the community.

8. What benefits do you think the Internet Computer has over other L1 blockchains when it comes to creating NFTs?

Bit of a loaded question, I think! I don't see any L1 blockchain that will compete with the Internet Computer soon—running at web speed, storing data directly and efficiently on-chain, scaling throughput just by increasing nodes, etc. The list goes on and on in terms of benefits of the Internet Computer that aren't seen in most other L1 chains. This is massive for so many reasons, just one of which being creating and hosting NFTs.

9. What other art have you seen that excites you in the Internet Computer NFT ecosystem?

To be clear, we're massive fans of the entire Internet Computer NFT ecosystem. As with any community, especially those just finding their footing, some art and projects are better than others. That's just the way the cookie crumbles. However, we believe nearly every NFT project in the Internet Computer ecosystem to date has merit and brings something to the table. For example, Poked Bots are some of the best NFT art we've seen, probably on any chain. Visions and ICmojis are leading the way in gamification; the list goes on and on.

10. What excites you most about your launch?

The thing we're most excited about is building our community and getting our NFTs in the hands of our supporters and those who've followed us since the beginning. We honestly couldn't care less about the money, which is why we've positioned ourselves as one of the cheapest Internet Computer NFT projects to mint at 0.1-0.3 ICP. For us, first and foremost, it's about creating and building an engaged community that loves our product and are excited to be Prime8s!

11. What advice would you give to anyone trying to enter into the world of NFTs?

Our advice is simple; go for it! This is our first foray into the NFT space, and we've never had more fun. We've made mistakes, pulled all-nighters, and hit numerous bumps in the road, but we wouldn't trade it for anything. Creating our vision and telling our story through ICPrime8s is an experience we'll never forget, and to anyone who has an idea or an inclination to do the same, we would be nothing but supportive.

12. Do you have further plans to work with ICP Squad in the future after this initial sale?

We have a long-term relationship with ICP Squad in place and are grateful to have their support and assistance with our future releases! Watch this space!

13. Can you envisage a future where the most valuable NFT space is on the Internet Computer?

Absolutely. I think that the 'future' is a very close reality. (Can you tell we bought the dip?!) between the soon-to-come integrations with major blockchains, bridges being built by some very talented developers in the Internet Computer space, the ability to efficiently and cost-effectively store NFTs on-chain, and the almost nonexistent 'gas' or transaction fees for NFTs on the Internet Computer, we believe the future you mention is inevitable and will lead to massive growth of NFTs on the Internet Computer, and enormous growth of the Internet Computer as a whole.

14. Why do you think NFTs have become so valuable in such a short space of time?

We would certainly agree that NFTs have become extremely valuable and have certainly blown up in the past year or so. However, not many are aware that NFTs, in a more primitive form, have been around for several years.

At a certain point, we think that a 'barrier' of sorts was broken down between the more technically inclined and the general community, and way more knowledge and understanding of NFTs, how they work, and how they can be utilized was readily available and easier to understand.

15. Tell us about your team?

Currently, our team is relatively small, and we will be looking to expand as the project progresses. We are originally from the States but relocated to Australia about six years ago.

First, my name is Hunter, and I guess I would be considered the 'Founder' of ICPrime8s. My professional background is in Finance and Marketing & Business Development; however, my passion lies in digital art and crypto. Since the beginning, I've followed crypto pretty much and fell in love with the Internet Computer not long after Genesis.

Also involved in the project is my brother, who has held a behind-the-scenes role since the introduction of the project due to his commitments at university. Still, he's played a crucial part in helping me get everything up and running. He's a technical wiz and a trusted advisor on all decisions made thus far for the project.

Though not necessarily a part of the team, I would love to give a special shout-out to Visions from Visions Graphics and ICmojis. One of the most helpful people in all the Internet Computer NFT community, without a doubt. He has been a significant help and a wealth of knowledge for us. I bug him constantly on Discord to get his opinion and input on our project's direction and assistance with our graphic design. We certainly would not be where we are today without his help and generosity.

16. What advantages do you believe you have over other competitors?

We don't necessarily believe in 'competitors.' We believe there is space for everyone in the Internet Computer ecosystem. Rather than compete with other projects, we would instead take the approach of collaborating with and supporting any project that wishes to do so. We all bring something unique to the table, and we all must work together and foster the growth of the entire space, especially as Internet Computer and NFTs on the Internet Computer grow and evolve.

17. Do you have partners? Tell us about them?

Our major partners include Entrepot & Visions from ICmojis.

We are partnering with or have plans to partner with pretty much every project on the Internet Computer, so keep your eyes peeled for upcoming announcements regarding collaborations!

18. Tell us about the challenges you face while building your project?

The most challenging thing for us so far has just been learning on the fly. This is our first foray into the NFT world, so we knew coming in that there would be things we didn't know or things we could've done better. We were lucky enough to have people on our side to consult with and give us advice and made sure to adopt an approach of listening and understanding our community. We're confident this approach will ensure that each release of ICPrime8s will be better than the last! Our community has provided us with outstanding feedback and ideas, and with that feedback, we can continuously adapt and improve.

19. What are your short and long-term achievements and targets?

This project isn't for us as the creators; it's for those who invest in our NFTs and believe in us as a project. Our short-term targets are essentially to build our community and listen to their thoughts and feedback. Short term, the only thing we're focused on is getting our NFTs into the hands of those who believe in us and making sure that everyone can afford to do so.

Our long-term targets are to use the feedback we received from the community to turn our project into a premier Internet Computer NFT project. We aren't charging an outrageous amount of money at mint, and we aren't taking massive profits from our releases. We're focusing on developing and building, and reinvesting into the project to create real value for holders in the form of a game.

20. Give us some details about your roadmap?

Below is our initial roadmap, covering from Dec 2021 to April 2022. This does not mean we don't have a plan for the future but aligns with our goals of community feedback. The initial roadmap outlines our plans for the immediate future and provides details until our final release. Future roadmaps will be voted on and decided by our community and those who hold ICPrime8 NFTs.

Phase 1: December 2021

Goals:

- Introduce ICPrime8s

- Build the Prime8 Community

- Collaborate with other projects on the Internet Computer

Deliverables:

- First Release: Prosimians (Mint #s 1-4000)

- Initial Website Release

Phase 2: January 2022

Goals:

- Continue to build Prime8 Community

- Receive feedback and ideas for the future direction of ICPrime8s