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
Grant Yun - Artist - Throwback
Grant Yun, a digital artist with a story as captivating as his art, joins us to share his journey from photography-loving child to NFT innovator. Amidst the hustle of medical school, Grant's dedication to his craft is both a source of inspiration and education for aspiring artists. Listeners gain insights into how ADHD has not only posed challenges but also fueled his relentless work ethic and creative process. Discover how Grant strategically leverages platforms like SuperRare to showcase his art while reflecting on the significance of maintaining a consistent style in the ever-shifting NFT landscape.
Take a nostalgic trip with Grant as we chat about regional fast food favorites like Culver's and In-N-Out Burger. This episode offers a peek into Grant's personal aspirations, including his dream of returning to California's South Bay. With reflections on childhood memories and unique architectural influences, Grant shares how these elements shape both his art and lifestyle choices. We also explore the intersection of art and healthcare, revealing how Grant balances freelance artistry with the demands of medical school, while emphasizing the importance of internships and volunteer work.
Join us as we explore the vibrant connections formed through Tungsten DAO and the impact of social media in selling art. Grant opens up about the serendipitous community connections that have bolstered his career, while emphasizing the importance of self-awareness and style development for artists entering the NFT space. With a light-hearted dive into hardware wallets and the significance of diverse storage solutions, this episode is a rich blend of art, technology, and personal growth. Don't miss this opportunity for a deep dive into the world of digital art with Grant Yun, offering both inspiration and practical insights.
Grant Twitter
Who is this? Who is this guy? Who is this guy? Who is this? Who is this guy? Who is this guy? Who is this guy? Norcal guy. Norcal guy. Norcal guy. Norcal guy. Norcal guy. Norcal guy. Norcal guy. Norcal guy.
Speaker 1:Norcal and chill podcast. So it's chill time. Norcal and chill podcast. What the sh-? What the sh-? What the sh-? Norcal and Shill Podcast. So it's Shill time. Norcal and Shill Podcast. What the sh-, what the sh-. Welcome to another exciting episode of NorCal and Shill.
Speaker 1:Today, our host, norcal Guy, sits down with Grant Yoon, a talented digital artist from Milwaukee, wisconsin, originally hailing from San Jose, california.
Speaker 1:Together they delve into Grant's fascinating journey through the digital art and NFT space, influenced by his early love for photography and his family's artistic background. In this episode, grant shares his experiences with ADHD from childhood and how his mother's advice to work twice as hard shaped his relentless work ethic. He brings us into his steadfast approach to gaining exposure, recounting the countless emails and applications that open doors to platforms like SuperRare. Norcal Guy and Grant also discuss the importance of maintaining a consistent art style and how artists can navigate the rapidly evolving NFT landscape. The conversation is sprinkled with nostalgic anecdotes about regional fast food favorites like Culver's and In-N-Out Burger, reflecting on culinary delights from deep fried cheese curds to New Haven style pizza. Grant opens up about his experiences in medical school, freelancing challenges and his aspirations to return to the South Bay area of California. So tune in to hear more about Grant's insightful views on art, the digital world and a delicious dive into his favorite fast foods, all packed into an engaging episode of NorCal and Shill.
Speaker 2:Hey Grant, Welcome to the podcast. How are you doing today?
Speaker 3:I'm doing well. How are you?
Speaker 2:I'm doing good, doing good. It's warming up, know it's warming up, you know it's maybe mid-spring, I don't know. Was it April, april 7th? Today it's just nice weather out.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I mean, given by your handle, I would assume you're from NorCal right?
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, that's where. Well, that's where I'm based currently.
Speaker 3:yes, Okay, yeah, I mean in Wisconsin. It's like 30 degrees right now. Yeah, that's where. Well, that's where I'm based currently. Yes, okay, yeah, I mean in Wisconsin. It's like 30 degrees right now. So, oh shit.
Speaker 2:Oh man, that is yeah. Yeah, it's nice in spring weather over there.
Speaker 3:Yes, 30 and raining, so Dang Nice spring weather yeah.
Speaker 2:Oh man, so do you. Have a hardware wallet? Oh man, so do you have a hardware wallet?
Speaker 3:Do I have a hardware wallet? You know? What's funny is that I just got my third ledger and yesterday I got my block plates. Do you know what those are?
Speaker 2:Is that like the metal seed freight storage for fire?
Speaker 3:Yeah, and it's honestly, it was like the funnest thing, like setting it up, it was like amazing, yeah. So so, yeah, I do have a hardware wallet. I have a couple, but you know, I've been going mostly with Ledger. I don't even know how to pronounce the other one, trezor.
Speaker 2:Yeah, Trezor yeah.
Speaker 3:Trezor. Okay, yeah, I don't know. I was thinking about maybe get one of those, but I don't know. People always say like, go with ledger, so I don't know. Do you have any experience with the other one?
Speaker 2:Yeah, I mean I got both. I personally like the treasure better, just I like the user interface of it. I don't like with the ledger, if you have like too many coins you have to like delete a wallet, then add a wallet, you know to go through them Um, um where the treasure, you don't have to do that Um. But uh, I mean they both work fine. Um, just the treasure just like seem more intuitive and I like the touchscreen on it.
Speaker 3:Oh, there's a session. You know, what's funny is that I started with a ledger nano S, like the smallest, yeah, and I got my nano x and I was like I hate this thing, like I don't know what it is, but I really love, like I don't know, I just love the, uh, the small nano s and I like the buttons and I like, yeah, the user interface on that. For some reason, I know it's like basically all the same, but I don't know something about that.
Speaker 2:One hits, so I actually got another nano s instead of a nano x uh, yeah, you know, I don't know anyone who uses the bluetooth on that x oh yeah, I don't, I don't know, and I also heard the battery life on. That is horrendous so I never even right yeah, I don't know yeah. So, dude, why do you have like so many? You have like backups? Are they all like mirrored of each other?
Speaker 3:uh, you know, I just, I just don't want to have all my eth or all my bitcoin sitting in just like one wallet.
Speaker 3:Um, I don't know I just like I think it might be my ocd or something. There's like always something where I'm like I have to do things in twos, where it's like if I buy, like like, for example, if I buy a nice pair of sneakers I like, am very has, like, I would be thinking about it a lot to get a duplicate pair so that I can ruin. I can ruin one and then I'll just keep the other one Right.
Speaker 3:Right and so I mean, I just go in with that mentality too. So it's like I'll have a ledger and maybe I'll use that ledger for most of my like transactions and NFTs, but I'll have another one just in case. I don't really know why, but you know.
Speaker 2:No, no, it's fine. I mean, I definitely feel like you know you should have like a vault where you keep everything and then something to mint from.
Speaker 3:Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2:Yeah, for sure, what were?
Speaker 3:your first thoughts when you heard about NFTs? Yeah, so I heard about NFTs, I'm almost certain because of Beeple and I can't remember his name. On Twitter, he like makes some YouTube videos. Well, I think his name is like Maddie or something, but anyways, he was like talking about some random like land sales, like flipping land and stuff on YouTube one day. And then, of course, on Instagram, I saw Beeple like selling stuff on nifty and, um, I don't know, for some reason it just made sense to me. I didn't know like I was in crypto, like I knew about crypto and like I try to like put in whatever money I had into crypto. So like I knew like blockchain and like smart contracts and different you know protocols and layers. But you know, I was just like it just made sense because and and I kind of attribute it to maybe like I just understand, like most people who are like in their teens and 20s understand like what video game skins are, right yeah, yeah like and they're, they're essentially non-fungible.
Speaker 3:So, like I was like oh yeah, it's just like buying a digital asset. I never once questioned like why is this unique, or anything. I just assumed like, oh yeah, this is a digital asset you can buy and I don't know, for some reason it just clicked for me. So I never really had that epiphany of like oh, I see why it's not like, you can just screenshot it or right-click save it. Yeah, no, oh, I see why it's not like. You can just, you know, screenshot it or right click save it yeah, no, I mean makes sense.
Speaker 2:Um, I mean that's kind partly why I started getting into nfts. Um was also because I was like man, this younger generation that's, you know, they care about the skins, they care about the digital look, so yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 3:I mean, yeah, what are those? I don't play Fortnite but you know, like V-Bucks and stuff, it's like it's literally like crypto man, it's like you use these V-Bucks, you buy these skins. I mean, it's no different from, you know, buying a protocol and then using that to buy NFTs. It's just the same thing.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's very similar. I mean just this, I think doesn't the the company behind it own them, though technically?
Speaker 3:yeah, yeah, yeah, I just meant the concept, yeah, yeah okay, virtual got it yeah yeah so so what?
Speaker 2:so it's interesting because uh, let's switching topics what? What brought you to art? Because I know you're in, you're in med school and yeah, you're also an artist that's doing really well. What brought you to? I mean, I, I'm assuming you've done a little bit of art.
Speaker 3:Yeah. So I remember when I was like really young, um, maybe like four or five or six, I can't remember I was just using my family camera and I remember I told my dad when I grew up I wanted to be a photographer and he just told me like straight up like photographers don't make enough money, something else you want to do. But you know, I think somewhere between him, like disapproving of what I wanted to do, um, and like just like actually loving shooting photographs and stuff, um, made me really just want to be an artistic person.
Speaker 3:but on top of that, my mom has a master's in art and she taught art and sculpture and stuff and so did my aunt, and I grew up a lot with my aunt and my mom, so, um, it was just natural for me to like just draw and, you know, paint and stuff. I never actually took any art courses or lessons, but ever since I was just like ever since I can remember really, I've been drawing and I think, just like in elementary school and stuff, it was always like a point of pride for me to like, oh yeah, look what I drew, or something to my friends. And so I don't know, I just always had this motivation to continue drawing. It was mostly just pen and paper really. But then how I got into digital art is a little bit different. So in freshman year of college we had to do like some random assignment for anthropology and I had to like design some logo, and so that's kind of where I really started off, um, doing digital art, and that was like maybe seven years ago, seven, eight years ago.
Speaker 3:I can't remember at this point, yeah nice.
Speaker 2:Well, I mean, you've made a good transition into, to digital art. I mean, it's, I love it. I love it. Thanks, man, thanks. So what? What jobs have you done other? Well, I guess, other than being an artist and being a med student.
Speaker 3:You know that's. That's funny. Basically, if it's not related to those two, I've basically done no jobs. I mean because I mean I'm 26 now, so I'm pretty young, and I basically in college I didn't work very much besides like medically related, like jobs.
Speaker 3:You know, like yeah, yeah, Because, because in undergrad you know like right, um, because in undergrad you know like right, you have to spend all four years or and take a couple years off and you just have to spend those years just like volunteering and working as like a medical scribe. Uh, I'm like a nurse assistant medical assistant. So those are just the jobs that I've done and trained in um. So I've only done medically related occupations and I've done some freelance work.
Speaker 2:Oh, okay, nice.
Speaker 3:Yeah, Just as an artist, Because you know, when you work off, when you work as a digital artist, what you know, like before NFTs, it's just like I mean like it's really difficult to find work and it's maybe it's not difficult to find work, but it's difficult to get paid, um, what you deserve for the amount of work that you put in as a digital artist right and it's.
Speaker 3:It's pretty bad as like making salary at like, uh, doing concept art and stuff. But it's like even worse, doing freelance work really, and it's like sometimes, yeah, and then you have to like deal with clients and stuff and like you know, maybe someone will, someone will pay you, um, that's happened before um, someone's not happy with what you've done.
Speaker 3:you know, like there's just so much stuff that goes on with freelance work, and so I'd really like, really, um, admire anyone that does freelance work, whether that's like photography or even outside the realm of art, just any freelance related work where you have to be your own kind of like you know, where you have to be your biggest advocate. I really like admire people who do that, and so, yeah, that's basically the only work I've done. So just some freelance work and just some healthcare related jobs.
Speaker 2:Right, I mean it makes sense. I mean that's part of the goal.
Speaker 3:Yeah. Yeah, I mean, yeah, that's true, just a resume builder, right.
Speaker 2:Right, right, right, I know I know. And same with like we have at our office. We'll have, like you know, kids come through, even starting in high school, like hey, can we, we do that? We're like yeah yeah, yeah you can, you can volunteer or or you know the summer.
Speaker 3:We'll give you a summer job and we'll pay you yeah, yeah, um, if you don't mind me asking what, uh, what do you do at the studio, like, what is the studio for?
Speaker 2:oh, sorry, at um at the office, my wife's office oh, at your wife's office.
Speaker 3:I see, I see, okay, yeah, yeah, exactly exactly, that's exactly what it is. I mean it's just like free labor and they get a little.
Speaker 2:They get a little check on their resume and everyone's happy, right, right, well, and I know like um like with some of the, the dental assisting schools they like require like you to intern and do so many hours of like free work at in a dental office.
Speaker 3:So yeah, I mean that's that's. Yeah, that's exactly what it is. I mean, I think it was like just to even apply to medical school, it was like 40, or it was like at least like 50 hours of shadowing a doctor, and then it was like a couple hundred hours of volunteering and then like research, like it was a lot yeah, yeah so if you were an animal, what would you be, and why?
Speaker 3:so you know, I, I was looking at the, I was thinking about this question and and then I listened to like what other people I said about it and I was like you know, I bet, like, especially when this is like an icebreaker or something um.
Speaker 3:I feel, like a lot of people are like trying to think of some crazy thing, but like I would be a dachshund, like all right, the wiener dog yeah and the only reason is my girlfriend's family has a dachshund and her brother has a dachshund and she has a dachshund oh man yeah, and so it's just like a dachshund family. It's just a sausage party, right. And so I just I don't know. I wonder what they're thinking. They're always so tense and they're always so like. For such a small dog they have such a huge character and attitude. Yeah, I really wonder what's going through their minds.
Speaker 2:And I would want to know what it feels like to have the shortest legs and the longest body, and your ancestors went after badgers.
Speaker 3:Yeah, badgers. I've done my research on dachshunds. Um, I think the bigger ones went after badgers and then the smaller ones, which are the miniatures went after rabbits. Ah, okay, okay yeah, but I also want to know why dogs sleep so much. I mean, sometimes I think there's something wrong with our dogs because they're like sleeping like 20 hours a day. That's because that's what they do, right I guess.
Speaker 3:So they got you know reserve that energy for that, for chasing that rabbit yeah, I mean, I was just thinking, if they're supposed to be a predator, like how are you doing anything if you're just sleeping all day? But yeah, I guess they've become complacent as they're going to adopt it to a human can.
Speaker 2:Yeah, We've domesticated them even more. Yeah, yeah, for sure.
Speaker 3:So what's your favorite food? What's my favorite? Oh my God, this is going to sound like I'm 10 years old, but this is kind of just like a running joke between some of my close friends and my girlfriend, but my favorite food is goldfish.
Speaker 2:Oh, like the.
Speaker 3:Yeah, yeah, I know, like the pepperidge farms, goldfish, yeah, I put them in my daughter's lunch every day yeah, I snack on them in the afternoon they're so good.
Speaker 3:I, I like, I've every flavor, but for sure my favorite is just the original goldfish. Okay, like, I think, I don't know, I, I mean, as a medical student and a future doctor, I probably should have a better diet or health regimen, but man, I like, I am like king of, like junk food, right, and I, I think at the top of that would be goldfish, but you know, just, yeah, um, but like, in terms of cuisines, like I really like Japanese food. It's probably my favorite, um, and I don't know, I just like I give into my cravings a lot, so probably a lot of fast food is my favorite. I mean, sorry, not maybe fast food, but food that might not necessarily be good for you. Like pizza, I love pizza and oh, you know, it's funny. Actually, my favorite food, I haven't know, is New Haven style pizza from New Haven, connecticut, and I don't know if you know this, but it's actually considered the pizza capital of the world.
Speaker 2:I did not know that.
Speaker 3:They have a and they have a and their most famous place is called pepe's, which is just funny. It's called frank pepe's and it's like world, world renowned pizza and it's like a. It's actually a really unique style of pizza. It's a brick oven, it's a really thin brick oven pizza and I don't know. There's some like traveling.
Speaker 3:So I lived, lived in Connecticut for a year because my girlfriend goes to Yale, so I was like living out there, tried some pizza on the East Coast, and then, of course, living here in Wisconsin. I tried some pizza here and I'm telling you, the pizza here, besides Chicago, chicago deep dish is good, but like in Wisconsin, like the Wisconsin classic is like mac and cheese pizza and I don't know how I feel about it. I really don't know how I feel about it. I mean it's literally. It's literally like uh, velveta on top of a cheese pizza. Um, I, I don't know like california, like pretty good pizza, I guess. Like I feel like california, especially like if you live in the bay, or like in LA, like everyone's trying to go gourmet and stuff.
Speaker 3:So it's like yeah, but yeah, no, my favorite like whenever I'm visiting my girlfriend in New Haven, it's like pizza every day and it's like every place is like amazing. And yeah, I mean I would definitely try it out, like like, if you have it, because it's like a really unique style of pizza. It's like really crisp, it's really thin, okay, um, but I don't know, there's something about it yeah, and pepe's is the best place.
Speaker 2:Oh man, I love it. Um, oh, that's awesome. What's your favorite fast food joint?
Speaker 3:my favorite fast food joint. Oh, it's in, and I mean that's the question All right, yeah, and you know, like I'm like the biggest advocate for In-N-Out, Like I will, In-N-Out is like ride or die for me. Or I sorry, I'm ride or die.
Speaker 2:In-N-Out Right right.
Speaker 3:But you know I never push that on people that are not from California, because it's definitely a nostalgia thing, right?
Speaker 2:Okay.
Speaker 3:Well, for me it is I mean, growing up in the Bay like it's like you don't really go to any other fast food places besides In-N-Out because you know it's so cheap and the quality is the same every time. Every In-N-Out basically looks the same inside.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 3:It's like it's just like the staple. But you know, I think that's definitely a nostalgia playing on me and like, if people hate on it, um, who aren't from you know the west coast, like it doesn't really bother me. I think they have their own kind of like nostalgic places, like out here in um, out here in wisconsin it's called culvers oh yeah yeah, culvers. Culvers is pretty good. They have uh. I've never had um deep fried uh cheese curds before I came out to wisconsin and I really like those but nice yeah so probably probably in and out, and then probably mcdonald's.
Speaker 2:I love mcdonald's mcdonald's breakfast man oh yeah, true is, culver's is the one with uh uh fruit. Uh man, the ice cream, it's it, but it's not ice cream, it's the concrete mixer.
Speaker 3:Yeah, oh, but they got a concrete mixer right, but is uh shoot.
Speaker 2:It's that type of ice cream, um oh custard.
Speaker 3:There it is custard yeah, there it is wisconsin is like. Wisconsin is like all custard basically, which is really good. It's like well, I don't know, I can't tell the difference. Maybe I'm just not sophisticated enough. It just tastes like soft serve to me, to be honest with you uh well, I mean, it's pretty good.
Speaker 2:Custard ice cream, it's pretty pretty jam, it's good yeah, I love it hey, but it doesn't beat well.
Speaker 3:At least in my opinion, it doesn't be an in-and-out milkshake oh, those are pretty good too, though yeah yeah uh, so I'm curious what is the best piece of advice you have been given?
Speaker 3:um, yeah, so right now I'm going through like so as I'm learning more and more about like the human body right, and my girlfriend's doing a nurse practitioner's degree and she's almost done so she is almost certified and so, as we both are kind of navigating um health care, I think we've slowly come to understand that I probably most definitely have ADHD and I mean and you know like I could tell you the criteria and everything for it.
Speaker 3:But basically, you know, as a kid, like man, I was like the worst, you know, I had like the worst behavior. Um, I could never fall asleep, I was always running around and I would always go to the doctors because of my. It wasn't like behavioral issues, I wasn't like being mean or anything, I just like couldn't focus, I just couldn't sit down. I was always running around and so I always went to the doctor and they would I guess they never picked up on it they always like, like several times they diagnosed me with homework itis said I didn't want to do a homework, homework guide, homework itis, dude, I remember this and I was like five and they kept saying homework, itis. I'm like I want to do my homework, but I can't focus because I, I look at these words and I just think of something else. Right, right, even to this day, I, I do that and I think you know, honestly, it's kind of helped me with doing art as well. Like I don't know, I feel like all these flights of ideas have come also from just like, or these flights of ideas have helped me, like with my art career and you know, figuring out different ideas and perspectives and stuff.
Speaker 3:But yeah, so you know, I've always had, like these like difficulties concentrating and focusing, and so my mom would always tell me, like you have to work or maybe my mom did know something, maybe my parents didn't know something and they just never told me that I was diagnosed with adhd, but they were, like you have to work twice as hard as any other person does.
Speaker 3:Um, like you have to work twice as hard as all the kids in your grade, basically, or in your class.
Speaker 3:And, of course, like you know, when you're a kid, you don't really, don't really like think about it like that and um, yeah, but I was just like hammered that that idea was hammered into me from essentially like preschool all the way up until high school, and I think, like once I got to college I really started to, once I actually became an adult and had to work and was able to pursue my passions to their fullest extent, I really took that to heart and, for example, as a digital artist before NFTs, and this is funny because this is how I discovered NFTs, or this is how I applied to NFTs.
Speaker 3:So, like you know, as digital artists, we really don't have any opportunities, or a lot of opportunities, so to speak. And so what I would do, what I used to do I guess I don't do it very much anymore, but what I used to do was every month I would sit down, like on a weekend, and I would send like 100, 200, 300 emails and like applications and everything like to like any magazine or gallery or exhibit that was willing to like help me, like, like put me on Wow.
Speaker 3:And so I just did that, like for for a couple of years, and so that's how I found work. And on reddit, um, I spam. I well, not anymore, not so much anymore, but I used to spam reddit like crazy, like I would make the same post on like 10 different subreddits, every illustration I used to do, and sometimes that like got me to like I've been at the home page of Reddit a couple of times, um, and I found work that way, cause people hit me up in the DMS, um, and and so, yeah, I just like was grinding, grinding, and then you know, I just found the super rare application after I heard about NFTs and I was, and it was just one of those little applications out of a hundred 200 that I applied to in December of 20 or November of 2020.
Speaker 3:And like I could. I just you know you, you send so many applications, you just forget about it, so I didn't even realize like what it was, until until I got accepted in February, right.
Speaker 3:So, I was like, oh, okay, cool. But yeah, I mean, that was kind of that's been my mindset. And you know, like applying to medical school, it's like apply to like 50 places, spend like I don't know a ridiculous amount of money applying. But like you kind of just, I've just been kind of like with the mindset of I have to shotgun it and whatever sticks sticks and that's kind of how I find opportunities. But you know, it's been that mindset really and like working like just making sure that I'm at least what whatever is in my power to like, you know, get ahead of the curve or maybe like stay on track with everyone. That mindset has like definitely helped me get to where I am today in terms of art and other things in my life. So that's just, you know, kind of what I've been living by damn, that's impressive.
Speaker 2:It's awesome that you do that I try man, I try man, I try so do you have advice for artists joining the NFT space?
Speaker 3:um, yeah, I was thinking about this and I think there's a lot to be said, but like I won't ramble too long, I know, like, if, um, you're getting to the nft space, and especially if you're listening to this podcast, you're probably already on twitter. You probably already know some of the bigger people, like NorCal guy, right. But, like you know, if you're listening to this, you probably have some idea of, like, how NFTs work on Twitter and stuff in the community. But I guess the biggest piece of advice I would have is just being self-aware and that kind of is there's a lot to be said about that. So the first thing is don't give into imposter syndrome. And I think, um, like, remember, like, do you remember? Like the astronaut craze of?
Speaker 3:early 2021, like everyone was making astronauts I was like I mean, and and it was really cool, like I really love that type of art and it was, it was good, it was good. Yeah, it was it was really good. I just think, like that's when I got in and so I was like, do I need to do astronaut art like to sell?
Speaker 1:like, do I?
Speaker 3:need to like change, change my whole style, like, so that like this is what sells. And um, it's funny because if you look at the bottom of my super rare like the oldest things I've made, there's kind of a discrepancy in styles that I have. And that wasn't really imposter syndrome, that was just kind of I minted whatever I used, like whatever I illustrated before, and then I don't know if he wants me to say his name, but like I got a message from someone and he was like a lot of collectors want to get your stuff, but you're minting so inconsistently they don't really know what to expect next and so they don't want to buy your stuff.
Speaker 3:So the moment he told me that, yeah. So the moment he told me that I was like okay, I, I'm going to pick this style and I'm going to run with it. And so that's the style that you see today, and I mean, obviously it's, it's been a it's, it's played out pretty well for me, but like, like, I didn't have that self-awareness of like, oh, I should probably be associated with a particular style, and I think you know a lot of artists have humble beginnings, especially digital artists, and so it's like, you know, sometimes you need someone else to tell you like, you know, this is what you should do, or maybe like, oh, yeah, maybe you should be doing this differently. And I'm always open to like people DMing me and just like, listening to what they have to say.
Speaker 3:So I think the first piece of advice in terms of or I guess, like, my biggest piece of advice is self-awareness in that like first, like, don't give into imposter syndrome. Stick with like, what you know, because if you're going to chase a style like, no one even buys astronaut, no one even makes astronaut related art anymore, and that's like. And so if like for, for some reason you minted only astronaut art, that wasn't even your style, but you like, for some reason, decided to learn how to use blender or cinema you just made a bunch of astronaut art.
Speaker 3:Now you have this whole 2021 portfolio. That's like okay, now what are we going to do in 2022 so that we can sell? Like are we gonna like I don't know, you know like are we gonna start making pepes, like our anime art, like what are we gonna do?
Speaker 3:copy grant obviously yeah, or that I'm well, I'm always open to people like copying myself, like even directly, as long as it's not like they're minting an exact piece like I love like I don't know. I think a lot of people are salty, like a lot of artists get salty when, like, um, people copy or like you know, stuff like that. But I I love it like because, like for me, like sure, I'm making some large sales like, but for me I'll never forget, like like trying to do a commission for like $50, right.
Speaker 2:Right.
Speaker 3:That was only like two years ago. So, like I'm not even mad like people. If people want to copy my stuff, I'm like I would be happy, like it would be cool to know that, like I'm actually making somewhat of an impact on other people and I'll never like chase people down because they're like trying to make money off of their art. Um, and and honestly, like because of this whole concept of provenance and stuff, like if, at the end of the day, because the space is so early, um, and this might not be necessarily a good thing, right, but at the end of the day, because the space is so early, we like attribute a certain style with the person who popularized it at the beginning. So, for example, if you see flow fields like flow fields are just a generative like, are just like a category of like, um concepts for generative art but, when we look at a flow field, we automatically think that it's ty, tyler Hobbs because of how he, how he did Fidenza.
Speaker 3:And so I think, like similarly, and so you know, I see a lot of people talking about wavelengths being a Fidenza copy, when in reality I know that I mean I don't really know if Caleb, you know, decided to copy Fidenza, but like if I were to bet on it, I would say he probably didn't and it's just a flow field. That you know, and flow fields all kind of look the same because that's what they are.
Speaker 2:Right.
Speaker 3:So, um, so I don't even know where I'm going with this, but I'm just saying like I think it's like we're so early in the space that it's critical. Maybe not critical, but it's pretty easy to monopolize on a style and then the provenance will speak for itself, where, like, since I'm into this style in 2021 and everyone else is now doing it in 2022 like look who the originator is and and that would bring more provenance the person who started it, or something right, you know, that's true um but anyways, that was a huge tangent.
Speaker 2:Now maybe, like I guess you could say, like glitch art can be attributed to like X copy people think of.
Speaker 3:Yeah, exactly Exactly. Yeah, it's exactly like that, um, but anyways, that was a huge tangent. But, uh, just a final point I wanted to make about like self-awareness besides that imposter syndrome, um, is that um? So a lot of people in this space and I know this because I've seen a ton of polls on Twitter about it is like people ask like, what age demographic are you right?
Speaker 3:and it's like teens 20s, 30s, 40s, 60s, 90s right but, it just seems like the majority of people are in their teens or 20s or 30s, right, like 95 percent of people in this space are just that age demographic, um. And if you're an artist, especially if you're in your younger years, I think, um, you know, the likelihood of you having recently started art is higher, right? Just because you're younger, like someone who is 15 probably started recently, versus someone who's 45, right? And so you need to have the self-awareness to realize if is what I'm going to mint, the style that's going to define my entire career. And it's really difficult because a lot of people because you feel the FOMO, right, a lot of people are minting stuff, making sales people. Because you feel the FOMO, right, a lot of people are minting stuff, making sales. And maybe you only started picking up Blender or Photoshop or whatever, like a year ago or two years ago. Well, your style definitely isn't as fleshed out as someone who's been working in cinema 4D for like 10 years, right?
Speaker 2:Right.
Speaker 3:And so I think you have to have that self-awareness of is what I'm going to mint mint today gonna be representative of what my entire career is gonna look like potentially? And I think for people who you know are established like ruben and you know just like I could go on and on um, you know their styles, you know they already solidified their styles before nfts, so you know, the transition was very easy. But for you know, younger people and I know this because a lot of people hit me up as well who are younger and it's like, and they ask for advice on, like the, their art, you know, and I just I just think to myself, like you know, you just have to have that self-awareness to know is this something that I want to admit and that's going to represent me to the you know best ability, to my best ability? And if not, then maybe you have to, you know, put MetaMask down and just go back to, you know, creating more stuff and making your stuff better.
Speaker 2:Yeah, Just put in some more time. You know, develop it out. Yeah.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I mean it's it's it's hard, though you know, you know it's it's really hard when you're see a lot of people who are doing sales and then you try to fomo and then you know, you know how it is right, right yeah, for sure, yeah, if.
Speaker 2:If you could live or move anywhere, where would you live and why?
Speaker 3:uh, guess, guess where I would live back in california where in california? Probably around the bay somewhere yeah, if I had to live anywhere, which honestly I would love to go to residency in any of these places, it would be palo alto, los altos, los gatos, saratoga, or south san jose. So, um, I think, my, I think growing up in that area.
Speaker 3:So, like you know, when you grow up in an area, like you know, just, your childhood memories will always stick with you wherever you go and like for me, like you know, you see it in my art a lot like I love spanish, the spanish colonial style of architecture, and I love the colors of california, especially that part of california where some, some, some of the seasons, you know, things can get really green, especially, like you know, kind of like the south bay area, and then, you know, during the summers everything is just like a nice golden, just like a nice golden grass, burnt grass color, and I just love all of it and, yeah, I would totally live, and hopefully I will live somewhere in South Bay. That's where I grew up and that's just hopefully where I would want to raise my family. Yeah, yeah, it's nice, it's nice man.
Speaker 3:I really like it out there, but I mean, I know the cost of living is high and and you know whatnot, but just ideally speaking, I would love to go back to California, especially, you know, that part of California.
Speaker 2:Yeah, for sure Do you have any questions for me?
Speaker 3:Um, no, I guess maybe you don't even remember and I don't even remember. But how did you? How did you find me, or did I find you?
Speaker 2:I dude, I can't even remember at this point um, I mean, I feel I don't know how well I feel recently it's through the Tungsten DAO.
Speaker 3:That's what I think. That's what I've been thinking.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 3:There's some, yeah. Yeah, I'm really happy that I'm in that DAO actually. Yeah, it's pretty awesome. Honestly, I just have to thank VVD for that honestly, because he hit me up asking if I would donate one of my pepes to get into the dow. So I feel like my process was fairly streamlined compared to some people's.
Speaker 2:So you know, I'll just be thankful, always thankful, for that but yeah, I mean, you made a freaking awesome pepe and burned a ton, oh man dude I I show that so much.
Speaker 3:But I, I, I show that a ton. I guess I show everything a ton. But you know, I think, like going back to you know what I just said, like I'm gonna be shilling until the day I die because you know the the past. Maybe I don't know, maybe like the past, like 10 sales on SuperRare Not all of them, but like some of the past 10 sales have been because people hit me up because they said they saw my art on Twitter that I posted.
Speaker 3:And like you can't honestly, like you can't knock that Like I like sure. Actually I don't know if people get annoyed with how much I post like my art, but like if that's landing me sales, then that's landing me sales and I can't really go back on that.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I mean you just had an awesome sale for that membership piece, for Tungsten Dao as well, oh yeah.
Speaker 3:Yeah, that was a yeah, I don't know. I just it just felt right to just donate that piece off to Tungsten Dao. It was gonna sit on my computer forever. I was like, oh, might as well just share it. I actually didn't think that it would get that high or people would want it that bad.
Speaker 2:I mean, it was a solid piece, it was awesome thanks, dude.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I don't know. I just yeah, it was nice. But yeah, I mean, I guess we've been going on for quite a while and I don't want to burden you with any more, do you? Oh, hey, what's your favorite fast food joint?
Speaker 2:my favorite. I mean I, I would have to. I feel like it'd be in and out, like. It's definitely nostalgic for me as well, like after, like some high school event. You know, let's go to let's go to in and out. Let's get a shot.
Speaker 3:Everyone's just waiting right behind the register, like just sitting on those red benches waiting for their order to get called Like no one, you cannot recreate that feeling. And and then the pink oh man, the pink lemonade. I forgot about that I yeah lemonade um man yeah animal style fries yeah, I didn't.
Speaker 3:I didn't, you know, because when you grow up in california you just or I guess for me, like I just went to in and out with my family, we never went to other fast food restaurants. So I always thought, like thousand island is like everywhere, it's only in and out right, you know, so yeah but they do it right. They do it right for sure right, for sure, do you?
Speaker 2:do you have any shout outs?
Speaker 3:uh, uh, man, if I started, if I start shouting out people, it's just going to be too long. I'll just say, um, shout out to all my collectors, shout out to all my friends that I regularly talk to on Twitter, like all my artists or collector friends. Um, and shout out to everyone in the in the tungsten.
Speaker 2:Yeah, Tungsten Dow. Tungsten Dow um.
Speaker 3:and shout out to everyone in the in the tungsten dow tungsten dow.
Speaker 2:Nice well, man. Thanks for thanks for the show, thanks for this pod yeah, no, thank you man.
Speaker 3:Thank you, and sorry I went for so long.
Speaker 2:No, no, no man that's what we're all about. It's not too long, it's it's below an hour.
Speaker 3:Yeah thanks so much, man, all right man have a good day you too.
Speaker 1:Bye. Norcal guy. Norcal guy. Norcal guy. Norcal guy. Norcal guy. Norcal and chill Podcast Show. It's chill time. Norcal and chill Podcast. What the what the Chill? Norcal and chill Podcast Show. It's chill time. Norcal and chill Podcast. What the what the Chill.