Machine learning has come a long way since Google’s DeepDream software in 2015. What used to be limited to Mandelbrot-like images of puppies within puppies as far as the mouse could zoom, now allows us to create any image that we can think of, and in any style imaginable. What is perhaps most surprising, is that it can do this from a text description rather than reference images. The Project Artsy Monke was built upon recent years’ advancements in AI and image diffusion techniques, using Google’s collaborative Notebook platform Colab, and combining it with their powerful Cloud Computing service.
"We were able to take all ten thousand Bored Ape NFT images, and feed those into the machine as a loose canvas within which to frame the generative art. The end product was mind blowing. " said CryptoGrims, Artsy Monke’s in-house AI artist. "After that, it was a matter of teaching the machine to paint in the twenty different art styles we shortlisted, and then running multiple servers for several weeks to get the results we wanted."
The results are astounding. Browsing through the 10,000 Artsy Monke collection it’s easy to pick out the intricate Viking ship scenes, the moody neon city landscapes, and the intense stormy oceans, but if we half close our eyes while looking at any one piece, we see a very familiar Bored looking Ape.
"We felt there was something missing from standard NFT art. While we understood the hype and excitement behind minting a new Ape, knowing that you had no idea what it would look like and what type of rarity it would have, we also felt there was a fine art element missing from the standard NFT collections. No matter how much you loved it, would you really hang it in your home? We wanted to recreate the magic of the Bored Ape collection and convert it into art." said Dan Hovey, the project’s blockchain developer.
The 10,000 piece collection has since already sold out, with new buyers only able to collect the art from owners on the NFT marketplace OpenSea. The good news is that whereas Bored Ape Yacht Club’s cheapest entry point is now 85 ETH (around $100,000), an Artsy Monke original will only set you back a cool 0.001 ETH ($1.40). This may not be the case for much longer, as the team are about to release Artsy Monkeland, a Metaverse Themepark where only Artsy Monke NFT holders can participate in Play to Earn (P2E) video games.
"Having being in the NFT space since early 2021, we always knew that we needed more than just a great looking NFT. Which is why we also designed it as a utility token. We wanted Artsy Monke to be pieces of art that you could hang on your wall, but also, by using Web3 technology, we can also let holders access the Artsy Monke games and earn real money. The more Monke NFT you hold, the more games you can play and the more money you can earn."
More information can be found at OpenSea or the official website at ArtsyMonke.com.
