My “ticket to financial freedom?”
“NFTs ARE DEAD,” the world unanimously claimed by the end of 2023. At this time I just spent the last 2 years of my life slaving away at creating my own NFT project. You can imagine the dismay I felt wondering if all my time and effort was for nothing.
It takes courage and vulnerability to create original art. It also takes dedication and A LOT of time. This is a story about being resilient enough to see things through and push past failure when things don’t work how you thought they would.
My journey began in 2021 when a friend looped me in on what was happening in the Web3 space — people in the Philippines were making a living with crypto from play-to-earn video games and average, unknown artists were changing their lives financially by selling their art as NFTs. I had to see what this was about so I immersed myself in the space for the following 2 years learning as much as I could. I saw this exciting new frontier as my ticket to financial freedom as an artist and entrepreneur. The money side of it definitely had me sold, but the reason why felt more like a personal calling.
The art side of NFTs and how it supported creators is what really made me passionate about the space. This was the first time digital artists were being valued like never before. People were buying digital art from auction houses like Christie’s and trading it like vintage sports cards for thousands to millions of dollars. NFTs also “promised” creators royalties every time their work sold and traded. Before this, most digital artists could only aspire for likes and follows on Instagram posting their work for free hoping they’ll be discovered. Artists historically have always been undervalued, cheated of their fair share, and given the short end of the stick. So I was all about the NFT movement because it provided a better model to support artists and give them the monetary value they deserve.
Another factor that resonated with me was that NFTs were becoming an intersection for culture. Artists, musicians, and fashion brands including some of my favorite streetwear brands were participating in the space. It was really becoming a subculture itself that I felt I belonged to with all of my interests intersecting at this one center point. As an artist and designer working within the tech space for the past 10 years and being the owner of a streetwear brand myself, I felt like I was built for this. The next question for me was, “How am I going to be part of it?”
The evolution of CoursePeace
Around this same time in 2021 I was working on the prototype for my first toy figure which was a cartoon glove making a peace sign and holding a pencil. The pencil is an icon I use in my brand to represent creatives and the peace sign when combined with it created a concept I cleverly named an “Art Peace.” This concept was simply a play-on of words which reflects the playfulness of my work. FYI, I ended up later going with the name CoursePeace because it was more trademark-able. This design was only meant to be an apparel design originally, but something told me that this had to be something more.
CoursePeace figure prototype. Photo and toy design credit: Oasim Karmieh
So when I started working with a toy designer on the prototype, he suggested this could potentially become a series of figures that could hold various objects to represent different creatives. It was this suggestion that sparked the idea for the NFT collection I would make. It was no longer a one off design I was making. The “Art Peace” was becoming a bigger symbol that would represent my brand ethos of celebrating creative culture.
Let me tell you, creating an NFT collection is not easy. NFT collections are often made of thousands of artworks meant help to build communities around projects that are hoping to become the next big thing. Like I said earlier, it took me 2 years to create this project. Over the course of that time, I created 760 hand drawn elements that were randomized with a tool to generate 5,000 unique artworks total. What I really liked about this process was the element of randomization which created combinations of my art that I never would have thought of myself. It made the outcome so much better and it was cool that technology helped work as my collaborator.
Add more tools to your toolbox even when you don’t get it
I knew nothing going into this space, but I immersed myself and came out of it accomplishing what I set out to do. Working with this NFT-based tech taught me a new way to create art that I never would have otherwise. It gave me the ability to multiply my work by the thousands with the click of a button and now I have designs to last me for years to come as I continue to build CoursePeace as a product line. I think it’s only beneficial for a creative to continue learning and experimenting with the tech and tools of the moment. It could help push your work to another level when you experiment with new processes. The hot topic these days of course is AI which has many artists conflicted and scared, but we should also understand that AI is a tool that could benefit our workflow. Even keeping up with the latest social platforms like TikTok can be challenging (for us geriatric millennials), but we need to continue learning and participating to keep up. So keep adding tools to your toolbox because you never know how it will help you down the line.
Beware of putting all your eggs in one basket. Spread some out.
The NFT market was on a downward slope over the two years I created the project. By the time I was ready to launch in March of 2024 the world had already claimed NFTs were done and on top of that, my hopes of making money from it were too. This is because the government pretty much scared me away from wanting to make money on my project. In 2023, the SEC started making examples out of NFT founders by issuing lawsuits against their projects for violating securities laws for selling “unregistered securities.” One of which was a Mila Kunis-backed animated web series funded by NFT purchases called Stoner Cats. Not only did they charge these founders millions, they made them destroy their projects as well. Sheesh. The fact that the government has yet to figure out how to regulate NFTs and provide clear guidelines on what is a security and what isn’t, had scared me away. It was feeling too risky to make money off of NFTs and I didn’t want to deal with it so I ended up releasing my collection for free. Sigh*
There’s nothing wrong with diving into a space you’re excited about. I think its a good thing. Similar to my advice on experimenting with new tools and platforms, its good to gain experience from new places. The caveat here is being careful of putting too many of your eggs into one basket. Be aware and prepared if that thing you’ve invested so much time and energy into goes away. You’ll want to be ready for your next moves. Going back to AI — it’s meteoric rise as the next big thing that every business is investing in reminds me a lot of the NFT hype era. I don’t think AI will ever go away, but to my point you never know if the culture will shift again and move away from this latest craze. Technology, platforms and tools will always change.
To illustrate further, this lesson can be true for creators working solely on certain platforms. TikTok stars might heavily rely on the platform for their income and audience, but we’re still facing a real possibility of TikTok getting banned in the U.S. The same goes for an Etsy seller who relies on their shop, but could get banned unintentionally. What would you do if you lost it all? In this case its a good idea to not only rely on one place. I am a believer in diversifying your income and therefore diversifying where and how you make money from your work. With all that being said, this leads me back to my story. What happens if you need to pivot?
Failure means you can find the silver lining
In creative work you have a vision of what you’re making, but you don’t know exactly what the final outcome will be. This ambiguity is true for life as well and it’s good to be open to where it may take you because it can lead you to other interesting paths. If you stay true to your craft and are continuing to make work that excites you, maybe the way you thought it was supposed to happen isn't as important. Embrace the journey.
So the NFT thing didn’t really pan out how I had hoped it would. Now what do I do with this massive 5,000 piece art collection? Well, I’m doing what any successful person would advise when something fails — pivot and move on. When I released the collection online I simultaneously debuted the project at Chicago-based coffee shop Drip Collective with a massive wall of 50 framed prints from the collection. The response from the community was amazing and it was validating to see people taking photos, posting IG stories and appreciating my art whether they understood it was an NFT collection or not.
CoursePeace wall display of 50 framed prints at Drip Collective in Chicago
NFT or not, art is art and it can be appreciated by all.
I’m an optimist who believes that things happen for a reason and I tend to look for the silver lining in situations. So I’m okay with pivoting away from the NFT aspect of this project because it allows CoursePeace to not be confined to that box and to return to its intention of being art for the sake of art that people can enjoy. While I still support the technology behind Web3 and the ideas people hope to achieve, I’m going to focus my efforts on building beyond that space so that my work can reach as many people as possible.
I believe it’s important to see your ideas through and to share your work so that it can be experienced by others. As artists it is our duty to create, so keeping our work to ourselves would be a disservice to the world. I could have easily given up on this project, but CoursePeace deserves to live on beyond the NFT which was just its beginning. NFT or not, art is art and it can be appreciated by all.
For me the artwork is like fashion—it’s an expression of who you are and I think everyone can find a little bit of themselves in this project.
CoursePeace is now its own product line of Coursework where I plan to continue sharing this project through products like art prints, collectibles, apparel and more. My mission with CoursePeace is simply to spread art, peace and positivity with those who enjoy it. For me the artwork is like fashion—it’s an expression of who you are and I think everyone can find a little bit of themselves in this project. Years from now my hope for CoursePeace is to be something that impacts pop culture and be a symbol that represents creatives.
The world may say “NFTs are dead,” but art never dies.
—
You can shop CoursePeace products in our online shop here. If you’re interested, you can still get a free digital collectible (minus transaction fees) at mint.coursepeace.com. Whether you own a physical or digital CoursePeace, you’ll be part of the club! ✌️
