RIDE ON ART #1 - ZLUCHKAYAAA

Hello everyone, my name is Claire, and I'm working in KodaDot as marketing and social media manager. I'll introduce you some of the most talented artists we have worked with.

Hello Zluchkayaaa, and welcome to our Substack edition.

1) I saw more names around you. So what is your most preferable artist name? And is there any link between Zluchkaya and Yuliia? Does it mean the same in your language?

Yuliia is my name, and Zluchkayaaa is my nickname from high school. It means "evil me". To be honest, I don't remember why I started calling myself that, maybe because I was like a hedgehog, an introvert who wouldn't let anyone near me. Or maybe it was something else.

2) I think for me it is always the most exciting to hear what was the artist's journey from the beginning.

When and how did you discover the crypto world? What was decisive for you to start to create NFTs?

The way of the artist is always extremely unusual. I learned about cryptocurrency closely in 2017 when I started working as a designer on a crypto project. It was something super new and incomprehensible to me, but the longer I worked with it, the more I learned, and it was interesting to learn about it.

And about the NFT - that was about a year ago. My best friend told me a lot about it, and he literally made me take a tablet and draw the first picture. I was sceptical, but when the first nft was bought out in 2 minutes - honestly, I was shocked. I had to spend a lot of time looking for answers to "why people buy pictures", and while I was looking for those answers and making different collections - an incredible community formed around me. Then all the questions fell away by themselves.

3) What made you choose in which ecosystem you want to start minting your work? Have you thought about starting on ETH, or was the Kusama straight answer?

I can firmly say that Kusama was a straight answer. I was led to singular by the same friend I mentioned above.

4) If you should give some advice to just starting artists, what would you tell them? How to choose the best ecosystem, and maybe what is the best on the DOTSAMA one?

The first thing artists need to do is be active on Twitter. Let's be honest; the NFT story is 95% how you show up in the community, how you communicate, support others or share your thoughts - that's all important. And the rest is creativity.

That doesn't mean you can just draw something and have it bought from you. Creativity is a process that you also share, put some meaning or your thoughts or excitement into it - and then it all starts to work together.

As for the ecosystem, I think Dotsama is the best for beginners. Here artists can experiment not at a crazy pace. Good commissions, which I also think for beginners, play an important role. It's a good springboard to start, and then everyone chooses his own - to go further or stay here and develop with the ecosystem.

5) Have you heard about the KodaDot marketplace before I contacted you? What was your first impression when you heard about this project? And from the artist's perspective, does it have everything you are looking for?

Yes, I had heard earlier about KodaDot. I was on discord before you wrote to me. But I didn't really deal with the site until RMRK 2.0 came into the world, and I saw that some of my work stayed on kodadot.

I like the KodaDot, and that's why I plan to create a collection on your site.

Yes, as Zluchkayaaa mentioned, RMRK 2.0 is on its way to KodaDot.

6) You are one of the personal artists who is not scared to post anything. Is it the only way how do you communicate with your, let's say, fans? Are you planning to do your discord for your community?

I'm afraid that I just don't have time for discord (this world of crypto and NFTs is a hobby and an outlet; in reality, there is work/projects/personal projects and sometimes recreation (but if there is a request from the community, we will solve it).

For now, I have enough of Twitter, where I get harsh criticism for everything I write and from which I can disappear for a couple of days or weeks.

But I can't do otherwise. I talk about everything that concerns me, no matter how "uncomfortable" that truth may be.

7) Where do you think will go the newest trend for NFTs? Or what do you believe to be necessary for a fabulous collection, has it?

The world of NFTs is too unpredictable and difficult to make predictions because when we see some super idea, we as artists may seem that here, this collection will blow up the platform - in fact, it turns out that no one understood it, and the collection did not meet expectations.

So all that is needed is 1. Do it from the heart.

2. Do not expect anything.

8) What are you planning now? I know you are super busy, so what can users look forward to? Is something even more significant that you have a plan than ever before?

I have many collections with which I need to decide what to do with them next. There are some that I will maintain and develop on Singular, some that need to be declared complete, and one that I still can't decide which platform to move to. Maybe it will be Kodadot!

Well, and of course, these are new collections, more elaborated, I want to show a new level, but so far, I'm not satisfied with everything.

9) Are you creating art solely to make art, or do you plan to have some more extensive utility in the future? Or do your collections already have some?

I can tell by the example of the one-moment collection that it's a little more than just photos I took on film, and there's a story in the description. To every NFT owner, I send a digital zine, which is a digital journal with all the photos and additional stories. That was my choice to enlighten my country and my thoughts.

Perhaps further down the line, I will come up with an idea with profound philosophy, or perhaps not. I'm just coming up with an idea and going for it.

10) Can you tell us what users can look forward to in this new collection you will be minting on KodaDot as part of BSX implementation? Are you excited?

I have a few ideas, but each of them is going through its own transformations now. Which one I finally like is hard to say, but I suggest following Twitter from time to time and looking for pass-marks.

11) As the last question, I would like to ask, how do those around you (family, friends) perceive how you make a living? Or do you already surround yourself only with crypto people?

And is it even possible to do only NFTs for a living?

My parents have long accepted the fact that if I enter a new field - it means it is necessary, so I know what I do. And about crypto, it so happens that my current work is also associated with crypto, though from the side of the metaverse, so yes, my environment is more in the subject of all this.

Is it possible to earn only on NFTs? I think yes, but you need to consider market factors, be able to allocate assets, and so on, and you need to come to this a hard way. No one cancelled the 10.000 hours rule.

WHAT DO YOU SAY?

This was the first article from our new edition, "RIDE ON ART", with artist Zluchkayaaa. If you want to read more content like this from another artist, let us know in the comment who you would like to see next, or you can send me a message on my Twitter.

PS: Don't forget to mention how did you like it!:)

Lav you and see you next time!