Jay ▚▘▚▘▚▘

Powerlifting and Crypto. It's a lifestyle

[Majin 魔人 @majinbysoto]

Scroll right to see the rare sawed-off cat paw shotgun 🐾

[Majin 魔人 @majinbysoto]

My favorite bluechips have been created in 2021. Let me show you with the example of @doodles why the passion of the creator is vital to the long-term success of the IP.
You’ll see from these early sketched by @burnttoast that there’s an extraordinary amount of creativity flowing into the collection. The characters and traits were drawn with purpose and love for the craft.

I believe the point was not to create a product but to create something unique and beautiful. And that intent can be felt so strongly by holders that their art remains relevant and in demand even 5 years later.
Doodles, Azuki, BAYC, Cool Cats... it almost looks like we as an industry lost the ability to create evergreen art like this. It's just my personal opinion, but in recent months and years nothing really comes close to the artwork and IPs which were created during the 2021/2022 era.

And I think the reason for that is the commercialization of something which primarily should be beautiful.
Most new collections focus on selling themselves as a way to make money or as a product. I don’t feel the spirit of passionate artists anymore.
As a collector and someone who appreciates beauty I think we lost our way and are headed in the wrong direction where we put the product above the purpose. And as a result most products fail, because they serve no purpose.
Or in other words: how can you expect people to love your art if you didn’t love creating it?

My work with Majin is focused on bringing that passion, creativity and love for the craft back to digital collectibles. The highest priority is creating something beautiful. Everything else comes second. Because I know if I succeed at that, if the IP truly is something people enjoy looking at, the success will come naturally. And I believe that’s how it happened for all bluechips. Someone put an incredible amount of love into their work, other people could feel and appreciate it, and as a result of that, passionate communities were formed. This is what I aim for and what I hope to achieve by giving our art all the creativity and love I have.

[Majin 魔人 @majinbysoto]

https://t.co/Ktj0pmf5hW

[Majin 魔人 @majinbysoto]

It has been very interesting to me to study the creative process of @cloncast, who is the artist behind @coolcats. Especially the exploration of different character concepts and the pursuit of simplicity, before eventually developing the iconic blue cat that launched such a popular and fun IP.

[Majin 魔人 @majinbysoto]

I want to bring anime on-chain because it influenced me heavily throughout my childhood. But you can’t build a business on romanticizing reality. The numbers also have to make sense. And they do.
In fact, they highlight even more strongly why anime and Japan in particular have such a creative influence on the rest of the world.

[Majin 魔人 @majinbysoto]

My idea is to give our collection attitude. My new PFP should give you a feel for what I mean.
And I mean "feel" in the literal sense, because my ambition is for you to genuinely feel something when you look at our art.
That's why our PFPs will express a variety of attitudes, to ensure everyone with their own unique personality finds the right piece that moves them.
I always wanted to create something provocative, defying, rebellious, peculiar and beautiful. But it was a mystery to me how to do that without appearing try hard or cringe. So I started with the goal of giving our art soul, and with soul comes life, and with life comes the attitude of your being.
That attitude might be introverted or extroverted. It might be polarizing or inconspicuous. But it's there. It's your soul, your being... it's: you.
I want to give you art in which you see part of you. A good part. Something which gives you hope, ambition or peace.
Maybe something that reminds you of a quality you thought you had lost. Or it will give you a piece of yourself back which you once valued. Or maybe it will add a new piece to your identity which makes you whole.
Whatever it may be - spiritual comfort or creative inspiration - my purpose is to make you feel something extraordinary.

[Majin 魔人 @majinbysoto]

The early concepts of BAYC reveal an important secret: it's not only the traits which made them iconic, but the expressions which gave each character its own personality.
It's very interesting to see how @allseeingseneca found the visual identity of the apes and created one of the most important contributions to digital collectibles with @BoredApeYC.
Still to this day I have not seen any IP do it better when it comes to quality, variety and diversity, and to making each PFP feel alive.

[Majin 魔人 @majinbysoto]

An original IP needs a coherent world, but great artists also require creative freedom to fully realize their talent. In this clip I explain how I balance both while building Majin.

[Majin 魔人 @majinbysoto]

Big things are ahead.

[Majin 魔人 @majinbysoto]

For our original IP to achieve mainstream adoption, it's important that we strategically develop the right character archetypes.
Below you see a concept of a personality which is bubbly, warm and cheerful. In Japan this archetype is often described as 元気っ子 (genkikko). This character's enthusiasm brings energy and forward movement to the cast.
This in return makes Majin more colorful and approachable. Good examples of similar identity types are Carrot (One Piece), Pan (Dragon Ball) and Sakura (Naruto).

[Majin 魔人 @majinbysoto]

The spine katana might be one of the rarest traits in our collection.

[Majin 魔人 @majinbysoto]

This character is influenced by the style of Tekken and based on a concept which I created for an effortlessly cool antihero. I like to think that even without going into the lore, the laid-back attitude, physical strength and capability are immediately obvious.
That's also important to separate him from other characters like the introverted Fallen Angel, and to ensure that the world of Majin offers something for everyone's taste and personality.
It will be a big plus when the vibe of the collection isn't flat and when not every character carries the exact same attitude. So we pursue variety and contrast in our character, trait, and weapon designs.
That in return allows you to more accurately choose your favorite combination of traits, and creates a stronger bond and sense of identity across the entire community.

[Majin 魔人 @majinbysoto]

This is Wolfy, one of the companions in our collection. But the real alpha is the rare weapon which you see on display: the shrimp gun 🦐

[Majin 魔人 @majinbysoto]

185 members are signed up for our private Discord stream.

If you have access: tune in! Otherwise you miss out on our first anime production video, trait leaks, the companion reveal, booster pack previews, and a huge art piece unveil. Most of that will be too hot to share on Twitter!