Artist Interview With ImRedRyan
Every other week, the OpenZoo Team meets creators who offer their NFT creations on our marketplace, in order to get to know them better. This week we met an outgoing and witty creator, ImRedRyan…
ImRedRyan, welcome! Please introduce yourself to our readers.
Hey ImRedRyan! I’ve been involved in the crypto space since early 2017. I’ve literally made every mistake you could make as well as experienced the glorious moments where I think I’m a genius.
Turns out when I first started in crypto I just bought during a massive bull market and I wasn’t as smart as I thought I was.
I have 4 passions. Crypto/NFTs, music, video games, and video production. I literally go to sleep thinking about crypto, dream about crypto, wake up and check my portfolio in crypto. I might be addicted to crypto, but I think it might be the best addiction you could have. Maybe. I guess it depends on how many dog themed coins you bought, I don’t buy dog tokens. I buy ZOO tokens. Anyways…
How long have you been in the NFT market?
Well I guess since 2017 when I bought a few crypto kitties then proceeded to forget my password and thought, well this is dumb. Fast forward to today and I now understand that if I take a screenshot of a jpeg on the internet it doesn’t actually mean that I own it.
I love NFTs because it digitizes something people already do: collect things. Whether it’s a potato chip in the shape of Beyonce’s butt or a VHS copy of ‘Dude, Where’s My Car’. There is someone out there that will collect it.
Why choose OpenZoo over other marketplaces?
The potential here is unlike anything else I’ve seen in the space in my most humble opinion. It’s unsaturated, has a smooth UI, you can mint with a fraction of a penny, and it has one of the most helpful and non judgmental teams behind it (I know this because I still have the occasional dumb question to ask).
I feel OpenZoo is the best opportunity for creators to build on. The interface is so easy to use that I’m pretty sure my grandma could easily understand it… First I would have to successfully describe NFTs to her and I haven’t figured out how to do that yet.
For creators that don’t have a lot of resources, but have the talent, passion, and time to build something great, I think OpenZoo is the spot for them. I love it. I love being a part of it.
What are your creations about and how did you get inspired to make them?
I have two projects. The first project is ‘The Wanderfuls’. This is a project that I get to build with my wife when my wife isn’t busy being a mom to our two kids. She hand drew every character in that collection and I came up with the backstory you can unlock in the unlockable content.
It’s a series of characters that used to exist only in my head, but now they’ve been minted as NFTs on OpenZoo and we plan to release 100 different characters in total.
Second is the ‘Small Arms Syndicate’ (‘SAS’). I’ve been pouring everything I have into this project. It’s a collection of 10k unique T-Rex themed characters that will eventually be playable characters in our ‘Small Arms Syndicate’ game.
Each with different assets and rarity you can view on OpenZoo and on our website SmallArmsSyndicate.com.
I was inspired to make ‘The Wanderfuls’ because I wanted to build something with my wife. We were inspired to make Small Arms Syndicate because we decided instead of waiting for someone else to make something we wanted, how about we just make it ourselves in the hopes that we can build a community that would love it as much as we do.
Have your artistic creations successfully met their public and customers on OpenZoo?
We couldn’t be happier with our progress so far with the ‘Small Arms Syndicate’. In our first two months of launch we’ve become the third most traded collection (outside of the amazing ZooGenes) on OpenZoo.
Our experience on OpenZoo is amazing and the OpenZoo team is always ready and available to help us with any questions we might have. Nothing makes me happier than hearing someone tell us they love what we’re creating. Nothing is more rewarding other than seeing my kids walk, poop in a toilet, and stuff like that. You get it.
What is your favorite personal NFT creation and can you tell us a bit about it?
Without seeming too conceited, I love ‘The Wanderfuls’ character my wife drew of me which happens to be the third mint of ‘The Wanderfuls’ and I love ‘SAS’ Mint #1333.
I am a Wandalorian, a Star Wars fan, dinosaur lover and space enthusiast. So it’s everything I’d want in a single NFT.
What kind of creative process do you use in your NFT development? Is your focus on traditional or digital art processes?
To create our ‘Small Arms Syndicate’ collection we created hundreds of layers and ran scripts to create our collection. So it’s hand drawn layers and computer generated art. To create our ‘Wanderfuls’ Collection, all were hand drawn by my wife Lolabell.
How do you communicate and promote your creations online?
I use everything. Telegram, Twitter, Discord, giveaways, Youtube, Reddit. I try not to let a day go by without posting something in as many places as possible. My goal is to make sure nobody forgets about us. If we’re constantly updating on every social platform we’re on, most likely you will see a new NFT or update from our team and that’s how it’s always going to be. Consistency can sell almost anything, but it’s even better if your art or product rocks.
Are you currently reflecting on the possibility of using your NFT creations in metaverse or crypto gaming environments?
We’re working on a game and have released a few prototype models of what our characters will look like in game. We want to create an amazing in-depth and fun Play-To-Earn gaming experience.
We’re currently in the early, early stages of development so we don’t want to release too many details before we’ve ironed things out.
Tell us about the evolution of your current project?
We plan to add a scoring system attached to each ‘SAS’ NFT on our website that adds another layer of fun in collecting our NFTs as well as a token airdrop after all 10k of our NFTs are minted.
Our token will be used as in-game currency and the governance token for the ‘Small Arms Syndicate’ ecosystem. We’re in the early development stages and will release more information on this as we continue to grow.
We’re constantly trying to come up with new ways to keep our community excited about what we’re building and always have something in the pipeline for the ‘SAS’ family to look forward to. At some point this month, we’ll release our tokenomics GitBook Docs.
Which artists do you admire the most?
I love Quentin Tarantino. I watch Django Unchained almost every month. His movies do a great job of immersing me into his stories. Also, I love westerns. And the Patriot.
Is there any artist collaboration planned for your project?
We’re constantly trying to collab with other projects. We’ve partnered with CryptoCacs, Wicked Chameleons, Zoo Visitors, and ZooGenics so far.
We’re always looking for opportunities to collab with other projects. So if you’re a project that would like to collab with us, let us know!
What are your thoughts on the exponential development of NFTs within the crypto realm, and beyond? Any personal hopes or concerns regarding this?
I believe NFTs will continue to disrupt how creators monetize their creations. To the point that in the future record labels and production companies to some extent might become irrelevant. I think in the future when you buy a ticket to a sports event or a Dolly Parton concert it’s going to be an NFT.
My younger self would hate this. I may or may not have photoshopped my way into a few sports events.
What would you like to say to people who are skeptical about the NFT market?
People love to be a part of something. Doesn’t matter if it’s a group of people that collect dishes made of guano or Michael Jordan’s rookie cards. If there is a sense of community behind it it becomes important.
NFTs aren’t inventing something new, they’re modernizing the collecting experience. Making it easily accessible. In a generation where instant gratification is incredibly important, NFTs are the best way to deliver this.
Not only that, but with NFTs authentication has never been easier. How many people have accidentally bought something they thought was real, but turned out to be fake. One example I can think of currently is when Logan Paul spent 3 million dollars on what he thought was rare Pokémon card packs but turned out to be an excessive amount of overpriced G.I. Joe cards. NFTs are the future for creators to monetize their art and for collectors and entertainment consumers to authenticate what they are buying.
ImRedRyan, thank you for sharing your thoughts with us. You prove to us that size doesn’t matter, since a keen mind will always be more important than the length of the arms!
Discover ImRedRyan’s collections on OpenZoo:
Keep in touch with ImRedRyan on Twitter, Discord and Telegram.
Visit ‘Small Arms Syndicate’ website and Instagram page to know more about this collection.