NorCal and Shill
A podcast where NFT artists tell stories, hosted by NorCal Guy. https://twitter.com/GuyNorcal
https://twitter.com/norcalandshill
NorCal and Shill
Kristian Levin aka NoCreative - Artist
Ever been curious about the worlds of 3D artistry and NFTs? Well, you're in for a treat as we sit down with acclaimed artist Christian Levin, who brings a wealth of experience from his 15-year long career in retouching, photography and 3D art. From humble beginnings as an electrician and receptionist, Christian's fascinating journey into the realm of art is a testament to passionate exploration and a thirst for knowledge. His insights into the art industry and how it influenced his decision to delve into the NFT space promise to leave you inspired and informed.
Join us on an odyssey through the dynamic crypto art space, where Christian shares his wisdom on the importance of hard work, community dialogue, and personal branding. Delight in the discussion of his inspirations from art movements, architectural styles, and iconic photographers, that fuelled his artistic prowess. Beyond that, his vision of preserving art on the blockchain is a thought-provoking perspective on the intersection of art and technology. If you're just starting in the NFT world or simply enjoy an engaging talk on the captivating world of art, this episode is for you. Christian's candid sharing of his journey, coupled with his insights into the crypto art space, make for an intriguing listen you wouldn't want to miss!
https://twitter.com/NoCreative_eth
Who is this? Who is this guy? Who is this guy? Who is this guy? Who is this guy? Who is this guy? Nork Al möj. Nork Fau pod committees. Nork Al casual. Nork Austria superplans. Nork 수가leri perks. Jregayq tal supporter. Nork Al()hips wเด dungeon. So it's chill time. Nork Al® School session of a йoshAw. Leave the Mystery. Omg. Hey, everyone. Welcome to this next episode of Noor, Cal and Shale. Today's guest is Christian Levin.
Speaker 1:Christian is a seasoned artist based in Copenhagen, Denmark, boasting over 15 years of experience in retouching, photography and, later, 3D artistry. Driving into 3D opened up a world where his previous skills fluently integrated, allowing for limitless creative possibilities. Before fully embracing art, Christian tried his hand at various jobs, from electrician to street salesman, and even pursued Japanese studies, only to discover his real passion and lay with tools like Photoshop. Levin's 3D art focuses on architecture, art history and dynamic motion of fabrics in zero gravity, often drawing inspiration from renowned photographers like Mario Testino, art movements like Dadaism and architectural styles like Brutalism. Having entered the crypto space in 2016, he envisioned the idea of preserving photography and art on the blockchain, and this led him to the NFT world in 2020. His creative process is intricate, utilizing tools such as Cinema 4D, Houdini, Octane Render and Photoshop To those starting in the NFT domain. He emphasizes the significance of community dialogue, hard work and embracing oneself as a brand.
Speaker 1:Everybody, Please welcome. Christian, aka no Creative, hey, Chris, hey, Welcome to the podcast, Thank you. Thank you for having me. How are you doing today?
Speaker 2:I'm doing good. It's a bit late here. Oh, it's not late, it's nine o'clock. I'm good yeah.
Speaker 1:Night's just getting started. It's Thursday night, friday is fast approaching, coming up. Yeah, nice, got any weekend plans?
Speaker 2:Well work NFT's, because it's a lot, all right All right, got a lot of things planned at the moment, so yeah, I'm already behind. Awesome, it's just the Web 3 life.
Speaker 1:Right, all right, always, always in the world the wide Web 3. So do you have and use a hardware wallet?
Speaker 2:I actually have to.
Speaker 1:So yeah, nice, Nice.
Speaker 2:And it's something I've been yelling a lot about on Twitter, everybody getting into this, so I've been here for some time to get one, because it's just cute grub-shy, isn't it.
Speaker 1:Oh, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2:Yeah, guess, that's why you're asking right, because you would have told me all of this.
Speaker 1:I didn't want to be here, maybe, or I would have just said nice job, good try, but we need to try harder.
Speaker 2:Yeah, very responsible. So everyone should get a hardware wallet because it's a public service and it's an ultimate right now.
Speaker 1:If you haven't got one Right.
Speaker 2:Get one.
Speaker 1:So what were your first thoughts when you heard about NFTs?
Speaker 2:So this is actually a quite interesting question because I've come across this question in another form a lot of times. How did you get into NFTs? When did you start with NFTs? My initial thoughts about NFTs started in 2017, where I got into crypto in 2016. About my first ETH there had heard about Bitcoin way before, but it didn't really interest me. I didn't understand the purpose. But when I started reading about ETH, I kind of got it, because ETH has utility except for well, I wish I had thought of it, but ETH had the utility outside of just storing value. So I got into it. I started living with the link NEO and some other coins and reading about it and I was like if you could store like data on the blockchain regarding pictures because I was working with photography back then and I knew like a lot of photographers had problems with copyright issues and copyright claims and so on so if you could just store the data there, you had to prove. So I guess I kind of came up with the concept of NFTs by myself at some point in 2017. And then we had the whole crash and I kind of lived away for some time Just felt what about coins I had?
Speaker 2:And then, summer of 2020, I came across a YouTube video by a guy I can't remember who was talking about NFTs. I was like holy shit, this is the thing. And I had some insights, from photography to 3D art. Well, 3d Was doing art from my Instagram. I was like I should try this and that, making an account on super ram and there was the video and I was like, oh, I can't be bothered that I don't have time for this, like I don't want to show my face, like I'm not sure my face right now, yeah, and and I put it aside, but then, like Late or some start start Christmas, I Kind of started applying again to all the platforms and got in Started suffering, so so that's my issue.
Speaker 1:Thanks, that's awesome. It's awesome that you were in like kind of before, yeah, and Understand why you left.
Speaker 2:Just like yeah, it's still interesting. I kept reading about like what it's a we almost doing Some of the colors that didn't like rock back in the ICO craze.
Speaker 1:Right. So why did you choose Like photography and how did you get into that transition of 3d?
Speaker 2:So that's, that's a long story but like it's a very long story, gun cut it very short. But like, okay, that's every artist says I was always creative and like I did all the ways I was always interested me, like I'm a farm farm boy, I'm a farm kid, I was raised on a farm, my dad was a farmer, like my mom took care of kids and stuff, so they weren't really into fine culture of my aunt. But here in Copenhagen, well, I live now and I will go and visit her and she would crack me around to all the museums and like, tell me about the artists and educate me in that way. So so like that has always been like a call of my interests because of her. But um, here's the long story.
Speaker 2:I moved to Copenhagen and started studying the Japanese on Incomane business school, which make no sense. I figured that that would be fun. Turns out it was fun at all. Yeah, it's freaking, japanese is a hard language and it's harder to learn. Got three alphabets and it was was just pain. So I dropped that and I chance got like a Side gig as a retoucher. Oh, okay, a very pro firm that made like some magazines and stuff. Yeah, and then I kind of like work there for a bit I was like I better get an education, something that actually makes sense to me. So I combined for talk like commercial photography with graphic design and that became a photographer and a graphic designer all at once, and I worked as a photographer for two years and then transition again fully to retouching.
Speaker 2:I worked as a retoucher for 13 years but kind of kind of felt like I was. I Was stagnated and there. So I started dabbling in 3d. What are my friends told me about these new renders? You know it's one cold boxing. And I got into that and started, started doing that. And then the competing company actually contacted me and asked if I wanted to Start a 3d department at dares and I finally said yes. And here we are.
Speaker 1:I love it. That's awesome yeah.
Speaker 2:And obviously like to get better at 3d. Like, I started an Instagram Account called no creative a boat, because I saw I had no creative or creative creative. I didn't know what I wanted to do with 3d and, like that Instagram account, I just knew I didn't want to do retouching full-time anymore. I want to. I wanted to become the photographer, but not as a photographer, if that makes sense. Yeah, like, I still take pictures. I just built the full environments first and do it Instead of going out there and having all the built stuff laid out on the plane. Yeah, so, but anyways, I Started the Instagram account and that's how, like, no creative came about.
Speaker 1:I like it, thank you. So yeah, what jobs have you done? A long way, I know you said, we touch her, but mm-hmm, anything.
Speaker 2:Well, I've done a lot of stuff. I've been like, but working at a department store, like a grocery store, with the problem, oh, and I was an electrician for a bit, oh yeah, I and I worked as like Will you call those guys like a receptionist, but not really a receptionist. Like I answered the phone and people would be like I want to cancel my subscription and I'll be like, okay, we can do that, and then I canceled the subscription.
Speaker 1:Oh, yeah, like our customer support.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, some, something like that. That was actually at the magazine place when I then, became a princess. Some rep for all. Like graphic design Okay so how about anything? Oh, thanks so.
Speaker 1:All right, I mean, it's just good to hear here what do you have done along the way.
Speaker 2:Yeah, obviously I prefer to read such a graphic designer, for sure.
Speaker 1:If you were an animal, what would you be and why?
Speaker 2:Is this like if I was an animal, like the animal that suits me best or the animal I would like to be, or combine my Would you go with both?
Speaker 1:Would you both go with both, like what would suit you best, or would you like to be?
Speaker 2:I think like a shallot would suit me, like a slinky kitty, which suit me very well because, like they kind of lazy, they're very silly, they can be extremely active at the same time, like it just feels like a spirit animal. So, yeah, yeah, the way they work, a lot of fun and they're Like also, they like just cuddling up somewhere and being alone. So, as a lot of artists, I'm also most of the time an introvert, but I can't be very outgoing and very energetic. But most of the time, like I would like to be, and this was actually something that was in my Twitter profile for Maybe the first year of me Using Twitter, because, like when I got into NFTs, I had 24 followers on Twitter and Then know know what to do it over there. But and I just said something out and I talked out that I was like eight or nine percent octopus, okay, cuz, cuz. Like I feel as a 3d generalist and the the way the artist market on Twitter works is that you have to do everything. I mean you need to do me, you need to talk to everyone, you need to build community, you need to promote yourself, you need to create the art as a 3d artist, you need to.
Speaker 2:I use like nine programs on a daily basis. Right and like. I try, I'm trying to become good as Houdini. I'm using Octane renderer, I'm using similar, I'm using Photoshop, I'm using the whole Substance designer pack. I'm using, like video editing things, software and you have to manage Excel sheets, google Docs and this course. And I I just got a new app. I don't even know what it's called, what's this one called, and it anyways, I think like it would. It would be really nice to have eight arms with their own consciousness and that's a central nervous system that just works on itself.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah yeah, no, that's awesome. I mean, that's my go to animals. Well, it's octopus, just Okay, they can. You know they're like friendly. Of outgoing ish. But then they could just like hide, blend in and be like no, I'm good, no one's seeing me right now.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it might be the favorite of the same.
Speaker 1:Ah, it might be. It might be, that's, it's perfect Bit more slimy. Right, right, do you have a favorite food?
Speaker 2:That's your, okay, oh, the past. Yeah, that's delicious. I love, I love making it, I love eating it. It's easy, simple, it's just so good.
Speaker 1:What's the best piece of advice you have been given?
Speaker 2:Do what works. Until it doesn't work anymore, let's figure out what works. It's solid, plus, just like things change and it is like this it was actually something that was told when I had my first child and, and like people will tell you a lot of stuff about how it is when you become a Lot of it will not apply. But the best piece of advice was that do what works and so it doesn't work anymore than figure out what works. And I feel like it's the same three in many ways and the same that the office. Things just change like we've. We've just been through a very turbulent time and in like the history of the world and Human consciousness, like it's like everything changed, yeah, and during Corona, and we had to adapt.
Speaker 2:Yes so that is probably the best piece of advice no solid you know cuz it's like if it ain't broke, don't fix it.
Speaker 1:Also, when it does break, you know that's what you gotta do you gotta fix it.
Speaker 2:Be be prepared to Do that, but if it's working like Sure, explore new opportunities and like be ready to to change, but like if it's not broken and don't think it's so much great.
Speaker 1:Do you have advice for artists joining the crypto art space?
Speaker 2:If you're not a part of the space, if you don't know too much about blockchain, the technology you promote yourself, and all that like do your research.
Speaker 2:Don't rush it like never. Fomo is probably the best. Don't like it's not, it's not going the gold. Rush yourself, you, you don't. You don't answer Russian. Just say good, easy, and look at the space, go to something like vertical crypto. So what is it like? The learning platform, and maybe Ask around like you could ask me. I'll be happy to answer questions if you like. My DMs are open all around and there's plenty of discourse where you can ask questions to like be sure To know what you're doing before you start doing anything, because I've seen a lot of people getting scammed. I've seen a lot of people making it's okay to make mistakes. I'd like making mistakes that have been avoided. If you just have like right right on, beat up like how this right, know that like, and then then please do experiment. But also just talk to people and ask black guys what do you do? Do some stuff that you can't Educating before?
Speaker 1:yes, do anything. Yeah, I mean, there's a lot of ass with ass with multiple things in life. Yeah, there's a lot of resources out there and in. You know, fellow artists in particular are very helpful. Um, but yeah, if you can just search out a little bit, there's definitely the, the help is there. Yeah if you could live or move anywhere, where would you live and why?
Speaker 2:I would love to go to the states, I would love to live in the New York or, oh yeah, I feel like as a digital artist, there's a lot of there's a lot of opportunity there, and Also as a commercial like 3d artists, there's a lot of opportunity there too. Um, being being European is not too bad, but I really love, love to experience living in the states now, and I've been to the states. Four times.
Speaker 2:And three of them being like with it the last year. That's the whole NFT, um, but I just feel like these, these, the three last times, are in there, like the amount of opportunities and the connections you make, like everything is just, it's just easier for digital art in the states compared to like we have a lot of opportunities here. Let's, let's say everything is bigger over there, ah.
Speaker 1:That's true. There's a lot of yeah, I mean, we could see a For sure.
Speaker 2:Well, if I could live more than one place, I would love that too.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:But but do I? Yeah, I would. I would really love to try. Like Probably not in New York, it's so High up all the time, what's going on constantly I gotta say like LA is probably more, but it seems a bit more chill. But that might just be a Europeans along Understanding of how everything works right.
Speaker 1:Maybe, maybe San Diego, so then you're not too far from LA, but it's more relaxed.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that's Like too, almost San Francisco. I've been there and it feels very European. Uh, just on the extent, okay, okay, yeah.
Speaker 1:Do you have any questions for me?
Speaker 2:not really. I think I have more appraisal. I don't know what I would want. Questions, maybe something about the beef between you and Jacob and the biscuits? It seems to be some tensions around those biscuits.
Speaker 1:The biscuits, what do you mean? Because people think they're scones and I'm like, well, you're wrong and that's just the final answer.
Speaker 2:I don't know. I've just seen Jacob Aayla's brother coming in and out about the biscuits he's just jealous.
Speaker 1:He's just jealous. He's never had them. I think Aayla's had them twice. Now she's in Miami and in New York. It's sibling, yeah, it's a sibling rivalry yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2:Well, that's the question. The rest is just appraisal. Thank you for doing the things you're doing. It's amazing. I mean most Austin bring a smile to my face when I've gone to training and seen more of the news. But there's a lot of times but like that's the one you posted today about doing something on my channel when in fact you're doing podcast oh, right, right, right for sure, that's just good stuff.
Speaker 1:I love to make people laugh and I enjoy laughing a lot myself and I love, like making my kids laugh and my wife, and so you know, I think more people need to laugh, or more often you need to laugh, and you know if I can do that good well, that feeling is unusual.
Speaker 2:I love cracking jokes and being a troll on Twitter yeah, I love it back when me and Ikky used to do a lot of spaces on Twitter. We had a lot of fun there. I, austin, became like the guy just yelling me an appropriate silly stuff. That dynamic I see. So serious, so pretty, and it just helped throwing a stick into the wheels, sometimes getting a laugh.
Speaker 1:I get what you're saying do you have any shout outs or do you have any upcoming projects you'd like to talk about?
Speaker 2:well, I do. Indeed, lisbon is coming up and the bloom collective, which I'm a part of, have been giving some pretty cool opportunities. Nothing is set on stone yet, so this is very alpha and some of it might not come to fruition. But we're probably doing a curation, like a competition curation with makers plans, nice that will be showcased at the main event. I can do something in something called the artist biller, which will also be a curation, where we will showcase artists there and have like blue breakfast, this house, yeah, and doing something with Chicago and circle of friends and yeah there might be some other things there oh yeah
Speaker 2:and I got admitted to the cancer with trove jones and the magnification it's not called cancer, but I can't remember. For the castle party, we're doing a fundraiser for something called maggies, which is, yeah, it's a foundation, people who research like the cure for cancer, and they got hospices and stuff too. So as a person in this world, I obviously know people who has had cancer or closed. So, yeah, it's something that really matters to me, that I'm proud to be part of that project. I think that's that's about it. There's a lot of stuff going on in the background with the blue. There's a lot of collaborations coming up and there's a lot of collaborations coming up. One might involve some cubes to early profit, yeah. So yeah, I got some table on my plate.
Speaker 1:I'm just a bit surprised. Nice well, I like it. I look forward to seeing all of it come to fruition.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I hope it will. I'm not going to die from stress. Will you be in Lisbon?
Speaker 1:Have.
Speaker 2:I been.
Speaker 1:No, I will not be there. No, I will not be there.
Speaker 2:It's a long way from Lisbon.
Speaker 1:It's a long way, you know, and I don't know, I just don't. I got little kids and I just don't want to leave them for that long Because I mean, you know, going a few days is fine, but like I feel like if you cross the ocean it's got to be, you know, at least 10 days, and that's a long time. So I don't think I can.
Speaker 2:No, I get it Cool.
Speaker 1:Just one, two, just one. That's fair, that's fair, Awesome. Well, chris, thank you so much. Yes, okay, and for coming on.
Speaker 2:Thank you for having me. Yeah, it was awesome. And.
Speaker 1:I really appreciate it.
Speaker 2:I appreciate you having me. Well, I kind of forced you when we met, and you all Anyway.
Speaker 1:Podcast when it was down the happen. You know it was just the extra nudge that was needed, okay.
Speaker 2:Yeah, well, well, thank you for having me, thank you for doing this. Like. It's always a pleasure listening to people Because, like, doing these deep dives into the artists are very valuable. I missed the last one, but you're doing it with collectors too.
Speaker 1:Yes, yeah. So I've only released two so far with collectors myself and Clutch, but yeah, there's more lined up. Shikai is probably next week's and yeah, we got more coming. We'll be sure to tune in Perfect. Okay, man, I hope you have a good evening and we'll talk soon. Take care.
Speaker 2:Thank you.
Speaker 1:Thanks you too, bye, bye, more Calisthenia. What the shi-, what the shi-?