This article takes a deeper dive into the mindset of our Artist. To showcase the level of attention and care behind the scenes, we will look at the detail and diligence that went into adjusting just one of the many Octopie traits.
Welcome to a look at the behind-the-scenes at Pieland! This is the first in a new series of articles which will show different parts of our baking process — a series we are calling the Open Kitchen. As a team, we feel this level of transparency and insight is a core part of what Pieland is all about!
Today, we wanted to share a closer look at the process of creating the art for our Octopies. Our Lead Artist, Ryan, has been hard at work baking up some tasty and unique designs! So we wanted to show you the hard work that goes into even the smallest details of our Octopies.
Special Traits
To start with, it’s important to note that some of our Octopies will be extra special. One of these that we’ve already shown to the Pieland community is our pfp, the Golden Octopie. Another is the Rainbow Octopie. Both are shown below.
While this Rainbow Octopie looks good, our Lead Artist felt it wasn’t quite there (hence the frown!). “Is this Rainbow sufficiently Rainbowy?” he asked. Discussions around these questions are common here at Pieland — because we never want to settle on just “acceptable.” Instead, we strive to deliver the best possible art for our entire community. So Ryan made some changes…
Comparing the old version on the left to the new version, we think you’ll agree; this new version is sufficiently rainbowy. But that being said, the process to get it just right involved multiple changes and improvements.
The glow-up
To really demonstrate this level of diligence and adjustment, we wanted to show a few variations of the new Rainbow Trait we went through. Below are two of these variants — an earlier one on the left, and the one we went with using on the right. The earlier version a much stronger “glow” than the final one. The difference is subtle, but it’s there:
So why did we change it? Well, we’ll let Ryan explain:
“The glow in the left hand image was too bold. This new, more subtle, glow on the right hand image not only works better with other traits, but also allows the glitter and color of the main body to stand out more.
This improvement becomes more apparent when applied to an Octopie with other traits that have the same Rainbow effect. If you look at the image below on the left, you’ll notice how the Rainbow color glow stands out just enough to make itself known, but not so much that it completely overpowers the other traits. Compare that with the image on the right, displaying the earlier version of the trait design. This older glow recipe is more saturated and makes for harsher blending with the other traits. Details of this Octopie are washed out because of it.”
Ryan continues:
“These adjustments and changes aren’t as simple as tossing a color or overlay layer. In fact, to achieve this look, I added an effervescent glow, glitter to portray ultimate finesse, and switched up the direction of the ROYGBIV Rainbow design, so that the colors on the pie can co-exist with the colors in the glow effect. Effectively, it’s a lot of different layers and a lot of fine tuning. Of course there were some other touch-ups and adjustments not explicitly stated — we can’t reveal our entire secret recipe! But this is the main bulk of work done to get this glow effect just right.”
How does it stack up?
As you can see, the development of this rare Rainbow Trait has been an impressive creative endeavour for our incredibly talented Lead artist, who is working diligently to deliver the most beautiful Pies you’ve ever laid your eyes on (although, if your local bakery can make a gold or rainbow pie, please send us pictures). We think the result speaks for itself:
Hopefully, we’ve provided some insight into the time and attention going into every slice of our Pies, from filling to crust. And we have no doubt your taste buds are now seriously craving some rainbow pie.
If you’d like to see more from our team, make sure you join our Discord or follow us on Twitter. We will be exploring more of the behind-the-scenes in the next Open Kitchen series, so subscribe to our Medium account for updates!
We want to highlight that whilst the above article illustrates the process of artwork development for the Rainbow Trait in Pieland NFTs, it does not portray a final product. What you have seen here is still subject to changes and improvements.
