What Makes an NFT Superstar? The story of unimonkey.

By Shimmy shim | Oh the places you'll go | 17 Nov 2020

It seems that Non Fungible Tokens (NFTs) are the new hype of the cryptospace. These blockchain documented works of art challenge our ideas of materialistic ownership and value. The hype around NFTs is based on the assumption that collectors will give significant value to own an “original” / limited edition piece, or in the world of NFTs - limited numbers of mints (virtual copies) of a specific digital visual art piece.

A unique and special series of NFTs are the cryptomonKeys = a set of freely and fairly distributed NFTs created by members, and in the spirit, of the BANANO community. The NFTs depict scenes and figures from the crypto universe while incorporating typical motifs of the BANANO community such as the monKeys and famous memes, all done in a comic and fun way.

One NFT stands out among the 19 NFTs that have been minted so far, and that is the “unimonKey”.
This unique and very popular NFT has seen a rise in WAX$ value un-matched by similar NFTs of the same rarity. In the screen shot below you can see a real world offer on the wax.atomichub.io exchange: Four cryptomonKeys NFTs , three of them of the same rarity to unimonKey, in exchange for only one unimonKey.

This just shows that there is an inherent value to unimonKey that is beyond it's mathematical rarity, and it is derived from the enjoyment of the beholder who evaluates this NFT.

In order to understand the story behind cryptomonKeys, and specifically what made “unimonKey” an NFT superstar, I interviewed @Soggyapplepie, a prime member of the BANANO discord community , and the mind (and hand) behind unimonKey and other cryptomonKeys.
@Soggyapplepie in her non crypto life works as a freelancer graphic designer/artist. Ever since joining the BANANO community Soggy developed her special cartoonish style of BANANO themed illustrations that were used to advertise community events, so when the idea to develop BANANO oriented NFTs came up, she was the natural choice for the job.

When they (@SoggyApplePie + @bantano) decided to create cryptomonKeys, Soggy told me they looked for inspiration in the already existing NFT projects: "cryptomonKeys was most inspired by other notable collectible cards like Pokémon and MagicTheGathering, and other NFT projects like GPK and Blockchain Heroes", But being the BANANO-inspired project that cryptomonKeys is, memes had to be part of the story: "Memes are a huge part of not just BANANO and cryptomonKeys culture, but our ecosystems. We pretty much eat, sleep, and breathe memes - so you’re bound to see some inspiration come from those".

"We discuss a lot of ideas for cards. We also are always reading community suggestions. We like to pay attention to fun ideas for collaboration and find inspiration throughout the meme and crypto spheres. As soon as an idea comes up, immediately I am thinking of all the details I want to include, the story I intend to tell."

"The creation process of a cryptomonKey - from the initial concept, to the complete card, took about a month. My process of drawing cards is what most people would likely describe as a little bit chaotic or scattered... The end product is a vision in my head that I’ve created, and I just trust that I will get there somehow. Sometimes that means redrawing the same mundane detail a dozen times.. sometimes that means spending an hour drawing something that will mostly get covered up by the bigger picture. Take the supermonKey card for example. There is an entire vault behind the super suits. A detailed drawing with bolts, hinges, shading, and layers. But at the end of the process, when all the other card elements are present, it is hardly visible to appreciate. Still though, for me at least, there is something deeply gratifying in knowing that the details go back further than even the eye can see. It makes you feel like there is more story to be told in every card. That is worth it for me."

Below you can see an exclusive image, one of the inital sketches of cryptomonKeys depicting the external frame of all cryptomonKeys.

" I love to look back on this very early concept drawing just to see how far we have come since then!".

For those interested in the technical aspect of Soggy's work, she draws on an Ipad with an Apple pen, and uses the app procreate.

unimonKey

There are many reasons why unimonKey is such a star. Its big positive smile situated in the center of the image and it's vibrant and lively colors elicit positive emotions and energies. The association of the Unicorn with the "yet to be discovered" success stories of different famous crypto projects such as Uniswap, add some of their glory to the general atmosphere of the unimonKey.
Right behind unimonKey's figure there are two circular arrows in the sky. I believe this is a tribute to the DEFI and DEX world that unimonKey is suppose to represent.

Despite all of that, there is much more depth and complexity to this NFT. Like with other cryptomonKeys, Soggy combined different tributes to crypto projects and entities within her art. In unimonKey these appear as blocks resting in the clouds. Each block represents an important blockchain project in the cryptomonKeys and BANANO universe. The first in the upper left is the WAX blockchain. The second block, situated on the right side is a tribute to the DOGE blockchain, the first memecoin. On the buttom right you see the BANANO blockchain, and last on the buttom left, a blue block with a question mark - perhaps representing the next meme coin to come after DOGE and BANANO.
Another important feature, a tradition in cryptomonkeys, are clues alluding to the theme of the next NFT in the series. In the case of unimonKey it is the parachuting monkey in the background, alluding to "monKeydrop" which was revealed on the same day. Trying to guess what will be the theme of the next NFT is always part of the conversation on the Discord and Telegram cryptomonkeys channels.

In conclusion, unimonKey gains its special inherent value not just because of it's general cuteness and happy smile compared to other NFTs, but also from the gamifying complexity of the extra layers of information hidden within its art, and its association with the "unicorn success story" that we all aspire to be part of.