ArtKongtest: The Story Behind the Art — Part 2
by Gold Mamba
In this article series you get to learn some of the most interesting details about the incredible #ArtKongtest work submitted to the the contest this past week for the Rumble Kong League.
Our first artist lit up Twitter with a stop motion animation submission that had me thinking back to my childhood love for a “Claymation Christmas ‘’ with the California Raisins. Maybe someday soon kids will receive a Rumble Kong League figure with their happy meal like how I collected my Raisins :)
One of the fascinating things that both these creators have in common is how they use IRL creative tools to bring RKL out of the metaverse and into the physical world.
Creator: Lam_posts @PostsLam
Link to ArtKongtest post:
https://twitter.com/PostsLam/status/1443412922684817416?s=20
(video)
Interview Responses from: Lam_posts
Why did you decide to enter the ArtKongtest?
I love sharing art and getting feedback from the community It’s a great way of getting to know other kongs. Theres also the small matter of potentially winning a kong. That was definitely at the back of my mind!
How did you come up with the idea for your piece?
For a few weeks I’ve wanted to somehow portray a Kongs personality off the court. I’ve always thought what would my Kongs house look like?. So when the Kongtest came up I knew exactly what my submission would be.
What was the most difficult part of creating your piece and why?
The project had a lot of moving parts and I’m quite particular about things so juggling the limited time I had with the desire to perfect everything and add more elements was difficult. That and trying to get enough sleep!
From a technical standpoint, the most challenging aspect was getting the lighting and ambience right for the final shot (The kong heading out on the court.) That shot is the big pay off so I wanted to capture it as well as possible.
What did your creative process look like? (how you created it, tools used, etc)
I started the project in Cinema4D. To begin I blocked out my scenes with basic shapes and added any camera moves so I could get a feel for composition. I Then created the sneakers using zbrush as it’s a lot more efficient than c4d for sculpting. Once that was done and I had also created the various items for my scene I got to work replacing the primitive shapes I’d used for blocking with the
Final assets, Plants, Trophies, weights etc…
Fortunately for me I already had a sculpt of my Kong from some of the 3d derivatives I’d made, unfortunately for me though, I still needed to rig the character as it wasn’t built to move! This involved creating a basic facial rig so I could animate the angry expression and also one for his walk/run scenes.
Once I was happy with the look of the overall animation I used photoshop to create some of the finer details like the newspaper and holiday photo. The news broadcast on the tv was composited in after effects.
For the final step I brought the whole project in to premiere pro to add music, sound effects and to sound mix everything. I’m a video editor so this part was important for me!
What do you want to say to the RKL community?
Just a massive thank you for all of the support and motivation. There are so many amazing people in the Kong community that i’m super grateful for.
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Our second creator took quick creative action to partner with a local school to give the kids there a basketball court they never forget!
Creator: DrJay.eth @DrJayDD
Link to ArtKongtest post:
https://twitter.com/DrJayDD/status/1442284140880146435?s=20
(still image of IRL mural)
Interview Responses from DrJay.eth:
Why did you decide to enter the ArtKongtest?
It seemed like a great way to do some good, connect the RKL community with other NFT projects (KB24), and have some fun :)
How did you come up with the idea for your piece?
The ArtKongtest and KB24 launch coincided quite nicely! It was a great way to pay tribute to one of the GOATs. The collaborating school was in need of some sports gear so decking them out and giving the kids some daily Kobe inspiration in exchange for permission to paint there was an easy choice.
What was the most difficult part of creating your piece and why?
The most difficult part was getting approval from the school board so that we could paint on the playground. Sourcing the paint overnight was also a logistical nightmare as we had to bring it from a different city.
What do you want to say to the RKL community?
What I want to say to the RKL community is that hopefully the altruism that we display within our small circles can extend to the broader community at large, and that we can change lives as NFTs have changed ours!
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The RKL will now select the top 10 pieces and let the community decide who the top 3 winners are. But we all know the real winners here… it’s all of us.
I’d love to hear from you! Gold Mamba is on Twitter @stevenshill21
Disclaimers: NOT investment advice. Do your own research. Make your own decisions. Gold Mamba is a holder of Rumble Kong League NFTs and a co-founder of the KONG DAO. The KONG DAO is not affiliated with the Rumble Kong League.
