The Best Dreams Become Reality…
Todays’ Guest | Durk Van De Meer
Art Director | Aku World
Remember the good 'ol days when we just talked about NFTs & the Metaverse instead of billion dollar implosions & contagion? 'Twas a simpler time.
Well, today we debut Season 3 of Native Assets by kicking off the our Metaverse mini series with the wildly talented Durk van der Meer, Art Director for Aku World.
As art director for Aku World, the VISA Creator-backed project by former Dodger's player turned acclaimed artist Micah Johnson (& the only NFT collection featured at Disney's recent D23 conference), Durk has been an instrumental creative force translating Johnson's vision from a 2D work of art to a robust, rich 3D world built out in Unreal Engine. With their recently announced Aku Cribs, holders will soon be able to craft their own world within the Aku universe.
🕰 CHAPTERS:
0:00 Intro
3:04 The Origins of Aku
4:26 Transitioning From Artist to Art Director
6:01 Why Digital Artists Love & Need NFTs
8:20 Learnings From The Past Couple Years
11:20 Establishing The Unique Aesthetic of Aku
15:34 The Importance of UE & Its Role In The Metaverse
23:33 The Challenge of 3D Generative Collection
29:12 The Visa Accelerator
31:54 Experience working with Artifex
34:48 How The Longterm IP Vision Influences The Art & Creative Direction
37:21 Pivoting From Early Style & Iterating w/ Real-Time Feedback
38:54 Learnings From The “Dream” Phase of Aku
41:22 Creating A Universally Loved Character w/ No Face
46:16 The 2 Keys To A Successful “ Metaverse”
🪶Join The Tribe
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