Introducing Composable Trait Tokens by intrinsic.art

These days, numerous platforms and marketplaces offer the possibility to create and collect generative art on the blockchain (in different flavors), making it hard to differentiate advantages for artists and collectors alike. Some might say that the rate of innovation from the platform standpoint and the number of truly unique artworks being released has stalled a bit over the past year.

That is why I’m excited to introduce intrinsic.art and their novel way of constructing and collecting generative art, called ‘Composable Trait Tokens.’

Let’s cut to the chase because this is a new way of thinking about generative art.

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“With intrinsic.art you choose your favorite traits before you mint. After that, you can reclaim and recombine your traits in new ways. Artwork on intrinsic.art can always be reborn.”

There are two ways to use ‘Composable Trait Tokens.’ The first one, when minting, is by selecting the specific trait or combination of traits you would like to mint. Interestingly, each trait has a limited supply, so it is possible that a trait or a specific combination is minted out before other combinations. In fact, this already happened in the first ever intrinsic.art release - Metta by Matto.

The second way of using traits is by ‘burning’ an NFT you own and reclaiming the traits in that NFT, which gives you the possibility of minting a new piece of artwork.

Intrinsic.art was created to celebrate and underscore the unique aspects of natively generative artwork, moving away from traditional models of buying and selling artifacts. The design of intrinsic.art is based on three key principles. Firstly, generative art is unpredictable, mainly driven by the randomizer component. Secondly, it is ephemeral because it is a system that can take multiple forms, and lastly, it can be described as 'living code'—a phrase that really stuck in my head as I was researching and trying to grasp this new concept.

This system should spark additional mechanics and interactions. As intrinsic.art runs on the Base L2 network, gas is decently cheap; therefore, minting and reclaiming traits is inexpensive.

Matto–Shinkai, a Buddhist multidisciplinary artist, is renowned for creating 'Creative Frameworks' like '100x10x1', 'BLONKS', and 'Chainlife'. These frameworks are his unique approach towards ‘Malleable Generative Art’, a concept he introduced in his blog and pairs perfectly with intrinsic.art vision. Each framework embodies distinct themes, incorporating specific technologies, or exploring novel concepts. They provide him with an organizational structure for the diverse range of artworks he aspires to create, spanning various media, styles, and genres.

Before working on Metta, the first collection to use Composable Trait Tokens, he released multiple collections, including Ensō on Art Blocks and ****Time Between the Lines is Thread Through the Mind on Plottables.

Learn more about Matto, his art practice, and the process behind the creation of Metta in this interview with Phil Smith, intrinsic.art cofounder.

Besides Metta by Matto, two upcoming generative art collections are in the making: Tack Line Torn by Phil Smith and One Ring by Heeey.

Most generative art platforms tend to get things started with a release by their founders (who usually are artists themselves). That was the case of Chromie Squiggle by Snowfro (Art Blocks) and RGB Elementary Cellular Automaton ****by ciphrd (fxhash). In the case of intrinsic.art, Phil Smith (@onlygenerated) will release ‘Tack Line Torn.’ Phil previously explored the narrative potential of line in generative art with (Dis)entanglement, released on Art Blocks.

“Tack Line Torn takes inspiration from seafaring, repeating the basic components of line and color to portray the wide range of outcomes that are possible when control is lost.”

Release Date: May 9 @ 1 pm EDT.

Heeey is a seasoned generative artist, architect, and designer based in Barcelona, Spain, who has released multiple generative artworks, including Bright on ArtBlocks, And Yet It Loops on Highlight, and Transit on Prohibition.

In One Ring, Heeey explores and finds inspiration in Tyler Hobbs and Indigo’s QQL, letting users explore the dialogue between concentric rings of various tones and hues. QQL is among the most prominent collector-curated generative art projects, and is one of several other predecessors that have explored customizable generative art, including ethblock.art and fx(params).

“After having curated QQL artwork extensively, one of the concepts I've studied are single-ring seeds. And that's where a generative artwork, One Ring, begins. It's my homage, my rendition to the QQL algorithm and its nuclear element, the simple yet complex ring.”

Release Date: May 16.

This mechanic feels quite innovative, not just for the generative art space. Let's consider the AI art use case for a moment.

There are several ways to incorporate AI into artwork creation. However, two methods have become popular. The first is when an artist uses text-to-image open models, also known as prompting. The second is when an artist trains a model with custom inputs.

By incorporating the prompts or the final traits of a custom model as a Composable Trait Token, collectors can recreate their artwork in the future – almost infinite times. This empowers the full exploration of an algorithm or an AI model.

Moreover, it wouldn't surprise me to see Composable Trait Tokens in other types of NFTs, ranging from profile pictures to game artifacts. This may even include the fantasy card games that have recently gained popularity. An example is Story Protocol, a programmable IP Layer.

Composable Trait Tokens are designed to fit into a world that is natively generative. When generative content is limitless, the thing holding value isn't the artifact that was produced, but rather the permission to use the traits/prompts/IP that defined the artifact.

It is exciting to see new possibilities in the onchain art space. Features that broaden the horizons of artists and collectors are always a positive addition, as they empower new creative avenues and ways to enjoy art. I feel this is the first iteration of ‘The Composable Trait Token,’ and their flexibility will only expand from here.

As always, I’m interested in hearing from you. What are your thoughts on intrinsic.art and their ‘Composable Trait Tokens’ innovation? Do you see any other potential use cases for the future?

Until next time,

- Kaloh

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