Nicolas Daniel is a Digital Artist active for several years but only heard about NFT last year. His latest project was a cooperation with Han. They discovered that both of them are currently learning to play the Piano and love lovely melodies. That’s why they wanted to create some generated tunes! Any artwork of “AlgoRhythms” will create a melody and bring different perspectives if you click anywhere on the art piece. And for the future, he already has some ideas for new projects!
NFT Granny: “Dear Nicolas, thank you for taking your precious time to answer my question. I am not very familiar with computers. After talking to Erick and Han, I am very excited to meet you finally. After looking at pieces of you, I wondered: How do you create a piece like “Surprise”? Is it difficult?”
Nicolas Daniel: I would not say that it is difficult. It is more about the process because “Surprise” has not been done in only one day.
I did some explorations about the quadtree algorithm one year ago. At the end of last year, I looked at this piece again, and I just wanted to explore more about this algorithm. I added colours and variations and then added some fun ways to animate them. The process is like a journey. You learn all the way through. And as I tried to explore mathematics, it was a fantastic journey for me. 🙂
How did you first become interested in art, and how did you get started by it yourself?
Nicolas Daniel: I don’t know when I started to be interested in art. Since I was a child, I was always interested in creating stuff by myself. I loved creating stories and making some fun drawings! I was terrible at it, but hopefully, I learned to code in 2013 since I studied Web development in France.
Meanwhile, I was trying to make some cool digital stuff and animations. Since then, I’ve learned many programming languages and software to enlarge the field of possibilities.
Open on codepen.io
Nicolas, can you tell us more about the story behind your project “AlgoRhythms” on Art Blocks?
Nicolas Daniel: It’s a project in collaboration with Han, whom I met via Twitter at the end of 2020. We started chatting, and soon we wanted to make a project together, something that was important and meaningful to us. We discovered, very quickly, that both of us are currently learning to play the Piano and love lovely melodies. That’s why we wanted to create some generated tunes! So we thought that Art Blocks was the best platform for us.
We spoke with a friend of Han, who is a musician, and together we discussed and improved the project a lot. Then we found the algorithm, based on subdivisions, which works nice in both cases, visual and sound. Fun fact: it is the same algorithm base that “Surprise” is using.
Any artwork of “AlgoRhythms” will create a melody and bring different perspectives if you click anywhere on the art piece.
Speaking of your artworks, do you have one favourite piece, which you are most proud of?
Nicolas Daniel: That is a difficult question. Before NFTs, I did not think that I would make art or be an artist: I was just trying to create something that made me happy.
Is there an artist you would like to work with? Like a collaboration?
Nicolas Daniel: For sure! A lot of artists! I would love to collaborate with musicians and visual artists. I have already done some collaborations, and I loved it. It brings new possibilities, new ideas, a new vision, and it’s fantastic!
We are so curious 🙂 Would you be willing to share any plans for upcoming projects?
Nicolas Daniel: I have some ideas, but at the moment, I don’t have so much time to explore them since I’m not a full-time artist. I’m working in a web agency in Canada, where I’m living now.
I should admit that it’s a bit difficult to have that amount of time to do a big project. I always try to have more ideas, but I can’t tell you about them, because ’til now they’re still ideas in my head.
But don’t worry: there will be more projects in the future! I would love to make a living by making art – as that is what I enjoy!
They’re already a couple of years since you started with digital art, so do you remember the first time you heard about NFT Art?
Nicolas Daniel: Yes! I heard about NFT only last year. I had never heard about it before, I only heard about crypto money some time ago, but I had no idea about NFT Art. Last year I saw that many artists on Twitter spoke about NFT, so I started learning it myself, and with the help of other artists, I have been able to experiment with it myself.
I feel it is and will be even more critical for the future of art but not only.
How do you enjoy NFT Art you have collected?
Nicolas Daniel: Yes, I have some! The first NFT I bought was on Hic et Nunc. I now have some pieces from artists I admire on Art Blocks, NiftyGateway and Rarible. And I hodl! 😀
Do you have a digital frame to display them at home?
Nicolas Daniel: I did not, but I have some prints and pen plots on my walls (Zach Lieberman, Julien Espagnon, PanpanCucul and others). Before being active in digital art, I was and still am enjoying physical art. The breakthrough was the fact that you can own digital art. I think it is essential to have proof of authenticity and ownership.
Where do you see the NFT Art scene in the future?
Nicolas Daniel: To be honest, I don’t know because it’s difficult to estimate what it will become since it’s a new thing (at least for me), but I’m pretty confident it will become mainstream. I can’t wait to see how much it will evolve! I’m here for the long run!
Who or what are your biggest influences or sources of inspiration?
Nicolas Daniel: A lot of things! I love mathematics since I was young and at school. Algorithms always inspired me because you can interpret them in so many visual ways! They’re an excellent inspiration to me!
Visual inspiration is everywhere. Even though I try not to focus on digital stuff, I feel physical goods are even more inspiring. We are surrounded by them everywhere!
Have you been active in the offline art world?
Nicolas Daniel: Offline yes – but as I am making digital art, it is all programmed with my computer. For example, I began a project last year based on my Piano, where I created live performances. I love to immerse the digital and physical art together!
What does a typical day for you look like, and what do you like to do when you’re not busy with NFT Art?
Nicolas Daniel: My typical day is pretty standard, as I have a full-time job. I like to work on my stuff in my free time, but most of the time, I try to enjoy time with my girlfriend by going outside. We are living in Montreal, Canada, which is surrounded by wonderful nature. I also try to travel a lot during the weekends.
What’s the best piece of advice you’ve been given?
Nicolas Daniel: Try, fail and repeat.
Is there something aside from art or NFTs you collect?
Nicolas Daniel: When I was a child, I remember collecting bird feathers from parrots and other strange and beautiful animals. Please don’t ask me why 😀
- Full Name: Nicolas Daniel
- Current hometown: Montreal, Canada
- Languages you speak: French and English
- What did you want to be when you were a child? Pastry chef
- Education: Study in Computing and Web-development
