Behind the Art: Blocky Robots
Brian and Jeff showcase how their world-first NFT-creating robotic arm generates its art!
APRIL 20, 2022. BEHIND THE ART. WRITTEN BY THE BLOCKY ROBOTS TEAM, FOREWORD & EDITING BY JOHN NICHOLS.
The WAX blockchain has become a haven for artists, indie developers, collectibles fans and so much more. It takes a lot to stand out in this crowded market – but Blocky Robots does just that and then some.
Combining digital art with modern robotics, founders Brian and Jeff are creating artworks that are truly unique in the NFT space – and they’re more than happy to share their process.
Brian and Jeff, the floor is yours!
Beep boop. Hello! Brian and Jeff from Blocky Robots here, the team behind the world’s first NFT-creating robotic arm (who loves to dance)! Our goal is to help boost and continue to foster a strong community presence for artists on the WAX blockchain, and to help bridge the gap between the NFTs you see on screen and the real world in which they are created, viewed and appreciated.
We’re excited to show you how much work, time, and precision goes in to producing just one piece of art created by Blocky. A lot of what we do can’t be appreciated by just looking at the NFT art itself, so we’re here to showcase how much depth Blocky has an artist!
1) Define the Data
First, we need to tell Blocky what palettes, colours, brushes, and movement coordinates to perform. This is where the overall creative direction of the piece is decided, and requires us to programme Blocky with pixel-precise commands that will co-ordinate with the real-world drawing surface used.
2) Map the Physical Canvas
Now, the moves we’ve programmed into Blocky need to be calibrated in the real world, using the pen it holds and the tablet it draws on. This is where the creative vision for the piece is proofed, and can involve mapping over 700 individual moves for just one piece.
If there’s one tiny mis-step in this manual process at this stage, the entire piece becomes void.
3) Test Runs
After carefully mapping the data to the physical hardware, Blocky undertakes a few test runs to ensure that the piece can be completed from start-to-finish with zero flaws.
With each test run, we implement a series of adjustments on the fly to create the final vision we’re looking for, until we’re happy with the final run.
4) Finalize, Save, Export and Dance!
Once the final run has been successfully completed, Blocky will save and export its creation, will mint the NFT on its own, and will celebrate with a dance!
There we have it! Thank you for taking the time to learn about our project – now it’s time to get busy on the blockchain!
Thank you to Brian and Jeff – and of course Blocky – for showing us the fascinating process behind their robotic digital NFTs!
Check out the Blocky Robots collection here, and follow the team on Twitter or join their Discord to learn more about the project – and the perks that owners of their NFTs receive!
