Sailing the OpenSea: Plasma Bears, Damsels, and More
Ahoy & GM weary traveler,
Traversing the vast expanse of the world’s largest NFT marketplace has become a bit daunting, hasn’t it?
Well fret not, I’ve been venturing far and wide with the simple goal of unearthing the most innovative and awe-inspiring NFT projects out there!
In this weekly column, I’ll share all sorts of discoveries with you – big, small, new and old.
So all aboard the S.S. WAGMI to marvel at what I’ve found whilst Sailing the OpenSea….
Plasma Bears
Plasma Bears is a collection crafting game developed by Coin Artist that dates back to 2019. Users worked to collect individual Plasma Bear parts (head, arms, legs, etc.) in order to assemble a full bear.
The visuals for each bear were created by a crew of talented artists, including crypto art OG XCOPY. With notable holders including Gary Vaynerchuk, FaZe Banks, Steve Aoki, Coldie and Matt Kane, Plasma Bears have emerged as one of the hottest OG projects to resurface as a new generation of NFT collectors dig deeper.
Damsels
Damsels is a unique collection launched by multidisciplinary artist Empress Trash. With the theme of celebrating expressionism and the feminine form, each 1/1 depicts a different colorful, animated damsel.
Only 333 damsels will ever be minted, and the collection currently sits at 25 NFTs. As if the art didn’t make for an impressive enough project, 10% of all sales will go to the Bay Area Workers Support — a mutual aid emergency fund for sex workers run by sex workers.
Shitty Emojis
Emoji art created by yungjake has been going viral for years. His highly-detailed portraits of celebrities and superstars have garnered millions of views, and Shitty Emojis is his way of bringing his art down a notch to open up accessibility within the NFT space.
Shitty Emojis is a collection of currently 314 “poorly” drawn portraits of people, anime characters, memes and more. Each is vastly different from the last and their uniqueness makes for an incredible PFP.
Dutch Tulip Field
Dutch Tulip Field is an immersive project created by anon artist Bubbles. Featuring 50 unique and pixelated tulips, this collection took an interesting turn after every NFT had been purchased.
With a Discord community up and running, plus the recently formed Tulips DAO now active, Dutch Tulip Field has unveiled instructions for a metaverse scavenger hunt. With each tulip featuring unlockable content that provides 1/10th of an IRL coordinate, the goal is to team up with your fellow collectors to solve a puzzle which will reveal a physical location.
Where My Vans Go
Isaac “Drift” Wright is an urban explorer who has traveled all over the United States. Where My Vans Go is a photo NFT project crafted over the span of three years that acts as a compilation of his journeys.
Featuring 75 hand-picked photos, Drift offers up downward facing POVs that showcase extraordinary scenes from the places he has explored. Adventure-seekers are sure to find something to love in this collection… but if you have a fear of heights, you might want to skip this one!
CryptoCosplay
CryptoCosplay is a collection of animated characters masquerading in costumes drawing inspiration from pop culture, anime, memes and more. Born from the mind of the talented Miguelgarest, these collectibles are ridiculously cute.
Considering his success on Hic et Nunc and beyond, the floor for this project is considerably low. There are currently only 49 of these little cosplayers in existence, with more batches on the horizon.
New Face
Masks, in one form or another, are a big part of the NFT space. While collections like Hashmasks and Generative Masks have followed the 10,000 supply template, New Face is a 1/1 project upping the ante.
Launched back in February 2021, New Face is a collection of 3D sculpted and animated masks that initially gained some solid traction before petering out a few months later. Although only one is left for sale on OpenSea, the project’s Rarible page still has quite a few listed!
With The Light
With The Light is a new collection from Canadian artist Marlo Johnson that is intended to serve “as a reminder of one’s own light, beauty, and power within.”
These 99 unique NFTs showcase different perceptions of light depicted by soft, colorful orbs. Each piece is meditative and brings with it a sense of calm and comfort.
Diela Maharanie
This project is less of a cohesive collection and more of a catalog of illustrations from popular Indonesian artist Diela Maharanie. Her highly-detailed 2D pieces come in varying edition sizes, ensuring a more fair distribution among her collectors.
After joining the NFT community earlier this year, Maharanie brought both her large following and immediately recognizable style into the space with her. This catalog is continuously evolving with new pieces being frequently minted.