WAVE Drop Organizing

Backstage Story

By V5MT

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The WAVE drop - as I expected since the initial concept - turned out to be a huge success!

Thanks to the noticeable synchronization of our drop, the attention it garnered from the Zora audience, and the support from the Zora team — our project had the intended impact — an influential WAVE running through this community.

Now, after all the excitement has settled a bit, I'd like to share the story behind all the organizing, to archive this work, and perhaps inspire others.

This entry delves into the behind-the-scenes details and development involved in organizing the WAVE drop. It includes pages from the 'WAVE_ZORA_Drop_by_N3XTWAVE_Collective_Info.pdf' document I wrote and designed, promo posters, screenshots of shared WIP documents, and captures the entire process to the best of my recollection.

So how it started

After experiencing very little success with my recent Zora mints, I realized that it's really hard for an artist to have their artwork collected without being featured on the front page, even when it's a free mint.

During that time, I was watching the amazing success of the Newtro Arts Collective that they were getting on Zora, which inspired me greatly and fueled my desire to organize something similar with a group of artist friends.

Then I realized I was part of the N3XTWAVE Collective that Bleu281 founded a few months ago, and it hasn't been active since we established the name for it in June. So I asked members if they would be into a collective free mint drop on Zora, similar to the one executed by Newtro Arts. Everyone was into it, and we swiftly started brainstorming for the theme of the drop, which at the same time was about to be N3XTWAVE’s inaugural project.

Choosing a theme

For a theme we chose Francoise Gamma's brilliant suggestion, 'WAVE,' as it felt simple yet perfectly fitting, drawing from our Collective's name and offering multiple inspiring meanings. We decided to leave the WAVE theme open for interpretation and see all the various ideas that we come up to.

Organizing the event

I was highly motivated to bring this project to life. Despite the challenge of finding the necessary free time and considering other members were also busy, I made the decision to drive this project forward by taking on the responsibilities of organizing, crafting the statement, and creating promotional materials. In the end, I’m truly glad I did this and consider it a personal fulfillment.

Explaining Zora

First step to organizing this practically was guiding the artists through Zora specifics, as most of them weren't familiar with the platform and minting there. I wrote short informative documents to explain the essential aspects of minting on Zora, including: bridging to L2, the Protocol Rewards mechanism, token standards, etc., at the same time encouraging everyone to read Zora support pages.

Preparing the works

We gave ourselves two weeks to complete the artworks. Some artists were faster with delivering their pieces, and for some, it took some more time.

I was the last one to deliver my artwork, because all my spare time was occupied with organizing the drop, writing the article, creating strategy/information documents, and designing promo posters.

But eventually, we had everything ready for the weekend right before the minting start date on Monday, September 18th.🎉

Promo Materials

Since no one offered to make the promos, I also took on the task of designing the posters. From the start I had a concept for the flyer - I wanted it to be minimal, with a subtle line art, in blue and white tones, so it corresponds to Zora aesthetic. I ended up creating several versions, and all the materials I had prepared were used by the Collective members for spreading the word about N3XTWAVE and our WAVE drop.

WAVE Drop and N3XTWAVE Statements Document - The pillar of the event

As we needed to present the statement of our Collective and additionally develop a statement for the WAVE drop, I began working on a comprehensive document containing essential information about this event. I started with the key points such as 'What is N3XTWAVE?,' our genesis and members, our mission, 'Why WAVE?,' minting platform and network, and 'Why Zora?,' along with our future plans.

Throughout nearly the entire writing process, I shared the WIP document with all members and remained open to everyone's input; however, due to limited contributions, I had to prepare it all by myself.

I requested each artist to provide their short bio and made some minor edits to ensure a consistent style. I only wrote a brief introduction for Francoise Gamma, my favorite artist since 2010, and for one absent artist who couldn't participate in this drop.

From the beginning, I had the idea of minting a document summarizing all the information about N3XTWAVE and the WAVE drop - to archive it together with all the artworks, complementing the project. But I wasn't sure how to do it, so it would still represent the Collective, not just one person minting it, which was the only way I knew on Zora.

Here's a page with the original document with the article I wrote to present N3XTWAVE and the WAVE drop to the world and to Zora team, so we are hopefully being featured on the front page.

N3XTWAVE name

The part with the meaning of N3XTWAVE name was coming from the time we were choosing the name for our Collective. While I don't recall who exactly invented ‘N3XTWAVE’, I remember it happened via collective brainstorming and then voting for our favourite proposals.

N3XTWAVE statement

I based the N3XTWAVE statement part on the Collective's initial mission, which was announced by Bleu281, who gathered us - artists from various generations and styles, different backgrounds and nationalities, yet all based in Europe, with the main goal of organising IRL events and exhibitions of digital art locally.

The WAVE drop statement

Writing a statement for WAVE came naturally to me, as the word 'WAVE,' with its multiple meanings, was truly inspiring.

It obviously came from our Collective’s name.

But - to me - the WAVE also signifies the unity of our synchronized mint, and, as the powerful force, it also represents us making an impact on the art scene. Furthermore, I see WAVE as a constant motion that mirrors the dynamic nature of Web3, a space we shape daily.

I also wrote a condensed version of the Drop Statement, for every artist to include in the description when minting their artwork, so all the pieces in the WAVE collection are tied together, as currently that's the only way to do it on Zora for a collective drop.

This artwork is part of the WAVE drop, the inaugural showcase of art presented by N3XTWAVE Collective, exclusively distributed on ZORA Network as a free mint.

WAVE reflects the essence of our collective, signifying our unity through a synchronised mint.

WAVE embodies a powerful force, representing our aspirations as a fresh and influential art group to make a significant impact on the current art scene.

WAVE signifies perpetual motion, mirroring the ever-evolving landscape of Web3 that we actively shape everyday.

Each WAVE mint from N3XTWAVE Collective is a ripple sparking waves of inspiration and creativity, expanding the horizons of artistic expression.

Join us in making waves by minting the WAVE Drop!

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Thoughts after the WAVE

And plans for the future

I got really inspired by organizing this event and with how fast and intense, yet smoothly it went on!

The WAVE Collection

It’s amazing we managed to finalize the project within a really short timeframe! And getting the attention of the Zora curation team was another achievement for which we're truly grateful.

However, the biggest success, in my opinion, is the diverse and versatile collection of artworks that we have built, and that keeps getting a lot of love from the community and good reviews. This wouldn't be possible without all the great artists taking part in this drop, including: Francoise Gamma, Bleu281, danctrl, Lucas Lejeune, ugo, datura, k0ch, Nicholas Dietrich, Element Lee, mostwrongking, and I guess myself.😁

And Zora featuring us on the front page was the most rewarding opportunity for us!

The WAVE Collection keeps on getting tremendous appreciation - each artist received multiple mints, ranging from 300+ for some, to 1700+ for Lucas Lejeune, and these numbers are still growing!

The TEAM

N3XTWAVE collaboration was a seamless and delightful experience!

Turned out, the members of the Collective gathered mainly based on nearby locations, are a truly cohesive team!

Due to busy schedules, some artists were more involved in practical organizing, while others were less engaged. However, the entire crew remained inspired by the project, consistently keeping up with all stages of organization, offering valuable feedback and suggestions, and finally delivering their work on time.

The group's enthusiasm motivated me, and with everyone cheering on, we swiftly and efficiently kept moving ahead. 🚀🌟💫✨

Zora Tech & Community

I’m really inspired by Zora - with its technology and the creative community it gathers! I'm thrilled to be a part of it, especially now that we, as N3XTWAVE, have been included in the official 'Communities' section on the front page!

Zora was the main inspiration for this entire project!

I really like the self-sustainable ecosystem for creatives that Zora keeps on building, where everyone participating is rewarded, so we can all truly support each other and keep on creating, with minimal costs thanks to L2 bridging! Choosing Zora for the minting platform seems like the best choice for me.

I hope I will bring many more ideas to life there, with N3XTWAVE, and solo.

N3XT projects

One of my dreamy projects for N3XTWAVE would be a massive collaboration with Newtro Arts, that would be like Bridging the North and the South together - a North x South BRIDGE - uniting these two distant geographic regions through one powerful collective project. Maybe it will happen.🍀

Regardless, I have many more ideas to put into action.

Please find embedded links to each artwork in the WAVE collection on this page for easy minting.