GM GM Everyone,
I had the recent pleasure of talking virtually with Mr. Lakon.
He recently finished his project MEIOS which we talk about below and it was a long journey with many auctions in the middle of the bear. Lakon is an extremely talented individual I met in the Monster Server and one with an artistic style that caught my attention immediately.
He is an artist that in my opinion is a great example of someone who minted on Tezos first and moved on to ETH and has done so successfully. Hailing from Indonesia, which has produced a strong cohort. Mr. Lakon and others carry the web3 flag proudly in Asia for us.
Grab a cup of coffee and enjoy my conversation with Mr. Lakon.
What are five words you would use to describe yourself? and why?
I guess: Geek, Gamer, Story-Junkie, Wanderer and Wonderer.
I like to listen to a good story while wandering and wondering
What are you reading or watching these days?
Currently playing Baldur's Gate 3 PC game. I watched Mr Roger's documentary, "Would you be my Neighbor", it's really good.
For those not familiar, the new Baldurs gate is highly acclaimed Role Playing Game and gets high remarks for story telling.
What is a good book/story you read/listened to recently?
I listened/read about South East Asian fables lately, it is fun and absurd.
Paint the scene of where you grew up, do you think this influenced your art in anyway?
I grew up in the 90's in an urban neigborhood. My childhood house is in the corner of a city and near a ricefield beside the river.
I was the oldest in a 2 children household, my dad is civil servant and my mom is a newspaper journalist.
It might, as a jounalist my mom have a lot of trinkets and books of stories with a lot of interesting drawings.
Have any of the stories your mom/dad read to you or showed you inspired a piece you have made?
I think my father ha(d) bigger influence story-wise, since he t(old) me the stories of wayang, which inspire my Bharatayuddha collection in tezos.
How would you describe your art?
Controlled Chaos
MAHISASHURA MARDINI
What made you take the leap to mint your first piece (Lunacy of The Moon Goddesses)? And why this piece?
I heard that tezos's Hic Et Nunc is a place where you can play around and that piece is 100% an experiment.
It was minted in Monday, the Moon's Day, so it's about the moon.
Are your formally educated in art? If so, do you feel that your formal education has helped you in anyway with being an artist?
I go to an Animation Institute, I can't say it's an art education since I mostly learn about the technicality and not concept or art-thinking.
I would say it helped a lot technical-wise since it helps me produce what's in my mind into a comprehensible visual.
X01_The Book of The Dead
Do you teach art/animation?
Yep, I teach animation and storytelling in university
Is there anyone in your life (web3, history, irl) that inspires you? If so, what are the biggest lessons you have learned from them?
A LOT, I met A LOT of great artists and thinker and inspired every time, including you ser! I love reading your articles and your great questions.
I can't say there is a single big lesson, since most of the time I learned something new from different people. What I always advice myself is just be honest, be yourself and manage your expectation. Coming from design/animation industry, getting paid to make what you like is a prize by itself.
How did you choose your name? Or does it mean anything?
'Lakon' in my traditional language means 'an act' in a theatrical term. I always love that term and how it sounds since I was a kid.
mrLakon Icon #32
How are you coping with this bear market? Does it influence your decision on when you do drops?
Thankfully I still gets a lot of support from a lot of my friends in web3, some of my income also come(s) from outside web3,
so I can still create arts that is interesting and not influenced by monetary value.
What does a typical day look like for you?
Wake up, morning walk with wife, breakfast then I sit in my working room, checking email, social media, reading or scrolling pinterest.
After that, I spend a whole until lunch to draw a bunch of sketches or refine any that I like and continue doing it after lunch.
Some other day, If I have teaching schedule, simply go to the campus to teach after breakfast. Evening/Night is my gaming time.
What is the process behind MEIOS, how do you get started with a piece? They are super awesome!
Z(α)_AHURA_MAZDA
Thank you! Growing up I really love mythology of any culture and I never missed a chance to read/experience more of it.
I love to make art that I can relate to since it will be effortless for me to depict them.
I always started with sketches, what I think and what represents the mythical figures that are the current subject. I develop from the one that I think are the most suitable yet interesting and animate it. I used a limited frames for my animation, 4 frames 12 fps for non-Z, 6 frame 15 fps for Z, then I finalized it with glitches and stuff, I let it all go wild in this part.
How did you choose which cultures deities you would bring to life?
I choose from the pantheon that I understands the most and familiar with.
Which one (MEIOS) was the most difficult to draw or get started with?
The most difficult would be the Z's, AHURA MAZDA and ANGRA MAINYU, hence I always start early with them and develop it alongside the other MEIOS.
Z(Ω)_ANGRA_MAINYU
They take thrice the time of the regular MEIOS to make. The second difficult will be the Yamatos since they have a lot of details.
Ya2_RAIJ1N
I have the most of fun making the Deimos ones since I can go crazy with their designs.
De6-ANDR4S
What goals do you have for the rest of 2023? What is next for you?
I want to learn new software or tools to make stuff, what is next are always more art.
I also wish to build more connections with wider artists and collectors.
Really wish my art will be displayed in some gallery somewhere.
Are there any pieces of work that you think are underrated?
I think I'm happy with my own selling, I make stuff that I like and let the market decide their worth.
What are some of your hobbies or activities you like to do to unplug from the space?
Playing games, Riding my motorcycle, Traveling with wife, Reading book, Hanging and chatting with friends online or offline.
Do you collect any pieces from any other artists, if so who are your favorites?
I do collect stuff! I have A LOT of favorite that I cannot name em all, you can always check my gallery as I only buy the ones that I like.
Final Remarks
I want to thank Lakon for doing this with me. I personally have collected some of his work on Tezos and I admired the work and craft to build MEIOS which I now own (NFA).
I think what stood out to me the most from doing this is. Lakon strikes me as a curious and loves a good story. This was evident to me by his love of reading, playing RPGs and for anyone who has played an RPG some of the production value of these games are more than movies sometimes. As someone who inherently is curious this is what stood out to me.
The next was his research and love to bring the stories that these deities from across the world have and bringing them to life but in a Lakon way. The animations on some of these are insane.
Lastly, and this is something that has been on my mind for a bit is the fact he has another steam of income has made him flexible to explore his own thoughts with out the pressures to only create what sells. Luckily his style sells but not having that added pressure gives an artist the range they need to explore their own ever evolving craft.
Fin
I hope you all enjoyed this type of content. I have more of this style, with the next artist being Nishe out of France. Let me know what you think.
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