Digital Ducks, NFT Art, and Future Games: Interview with Joinity

An Interview with joinity, Creator of the Digital Ducks

We chat to this talented illustrator to discuss how these cute-but-cutthroat friends came about, his approach to collecting, and the first rule of the Digital Duck club…

Today, the WAX blockchain is filled to the rafters with animal-based collections. Digital Ducks was one of the very first, and continue to be one of the very best, reigning supreme amongst crypto creatures – or reigning over the pond at least!

The combination of an intimidating look and an adorable nature, masterminded by their creator, joinity, has won these Quacks a legion of fans over the past few months – and no, Stabby Quack didn’t force me to say that!

These were the first project I actively collected – waiting with bated breath as that timer hit zero week after week – so it was an absolute joy to speak to the man behind it all!

Read on to the end of the interview for our joinity Interview Card and a special Quack sticker, dropping tomorrow at 22 and 22:30 UTC!

Hydro: Hey! Could you tell me a bit about yourself, your background and how you got into NFTs?

joinity: Sure! I?m in my late 20s, and I studied computer science with an emphasis on game development and design. I got into NFTs as a collector when Banano made their first NFT trading cards – the CryptomonKeys. That introduced me to WAX NFTs – I really liked the concept, and went off exploring the space out of curiosity.

Once I understood how to create a collection, how to mint and the whole creation side of NFTs, they dropped out of my head for a while – but came back when I met Twerky Club. I taught him how to release his collection on the WAX blockchain, which led to me getting hooked on NFTs again and inventing the Digital Ducks theme.

What is the idea behind Digital Ducks? Is there a story behind these furry friends?

Shhh! The first rule of the Digital Duck club is to never talk about the Digital Duck club!?

No but seriously, I love the ‘duck with knife’ meme, and ducks in general! I wish I could get myself a duck? maybe one day!

I loved the idea of creating a brandable character, the? let?s say “cute-but-also-blankly-staring-into-a-void” type of character. Quack is the perfect balance of cute but also kind of intruding when you look at him long enough!

It does get unnerving if you stare into his eyes! Out of all the platforms/currencies, why did you choose AtomicHub/WAX for your Quacks?

I really love the fair and nearly feeless distribution that can be used by everyone, not just those that have the extra money to spend on gas fees. WAX seems like the best place for a wider approach of collectible cards, rather than pure “art” driven pieces.

I don’t want to waste my money on trading fees when exchanging, selling or buying NFTs and I don?t want my fans to do that either.

You?ve already collaborated with Alpaca Worlds (amongst others) – are there any other artists you would like to collaborate with?

Yeah totally! Collaborations are super fun and engaging – I did one with Cryptopuppyz too! There’s one coming up soon with with Tales of the Crypto, and I would love to collaborate with the Cyberpuppies…

Who are your favourite NFT artists at the moment? Are there any collections that you like in particular?

Whew, it’s hard for me to say right now. I feel that there’s a disturbance in the NFT art space – there are a lot of collections that pressure their fans into buying because of FOMO mechanics, or because of stakeability, rather than on the merit of the art itself.

I’ve been super busy, and I know I’m missing loads of good art on WAX. My simple answer right now is “no”, but I am on the search!

Where would you like your Quacks to be 12 months from now?

Hopefully in a real game, I’d love to make that happen! I introduced Stabby Run (a limited-time browser game) several weeks ago – maybe later this year I’ll add a skin feature, so you can play with your favourite Quack!

Additionally, I’m hoping to reach out to even more enthusiastic fans that can help shape the brand together with me!

Who or what inspires you and your art?

Day-to-day stuff that fascinates me is my biggest source of inspiration. If I make Quacks that I can relate to, I’ll love them even more and will want to buy them for myself – which I do!

Since starting the collection, every Quack in my personal wallet has been bought; I’ve never minted one for myself. Taking part in the drops is a big deal for me!

What about WAX? Where do you think WAX will be a year from now?

Hard one! It’s just a fork from EOS at the end of the day, but I think it has the potential to become a top 100 crypto. That’s all I’m daring to predict!

What is your aim in life? How would you like to be remembered?

Ooof… that’s deep! I hope that people will look back one day and remember me as crazy and enthusiastic af! For the Digital Ducks collectors, I hope they’ll remember all the awesome events we hosted and are hosting every other week or so and say that they enjoyed them!

Quick-fire time!

What fuels you? Tea, coffee, or something else?

Dirty pond water for sure!

Summer or winter? Why?

Summer.

Long-term; crypto or fiat?

Crypto-fied fiat!

One unusual fact about you?

I have another Discord community, unrelated to the crypto space, with over 1,000 members!

You can invite three people, dead or alive, to dinner. Who do you choose?

Mac Miller, Grogu (aka Baby Yoda) and Plato.

How can we follow you and your work?

All information will pop up on our Discord first, and you can also keep in-the-loop via our Twitter. The website is always kept up-to-date too, with a gallery of all of our Quacks!

Whether you’ve fallen for them or fearful of them, there’s no question that joinity has crafted a fantastic collection here, and we’re always super-excited to see what the next Quack will be!

Of course, we have two NFTs available to mark the interview – our joinity Interview Card, and a very special Quack sticker…

The Prince of the Pond
Collection: nftinsiderio
Max mint: 250 (1 auction, 200 public, 20 for promo holders, 30 for OG Backers)
Drop price: 25 WAX
Dropping 19/06 22:00 UTC (public), 22:05 UTC (OG), 22:10 UTC (promo)

Drop link: Check our Twitter or Discord!

50% of the proceeds will be donated to joinity to help fund his art!