Asset Refresh Proposal
An Update from the Artist
In a sea of digital art PFPs, The Heart Project stands out for its uniquely hand drawn aesthetic, characterized by freehand lines, rough edges, and playful textures. Needless to say, this look was no accident.
Our talented artist Stefan Meier created The Heart Project assets by hand drawing each individual attribute and converting them into digital files, where they were assembled on a rarity structure across 10,000 unique artworks. With the project having aged a few months, Stefan has been reflecting on the aesthetic of the project and listening to the community’s feedback.
With your feedback in mind, the Hearts team will be proposing an asset refresh that the community will be asked to either approve or reject in a Snapshot vote. This article describes those proposed changes.
The proposed asset refresh includes the replacement of some backgrounds by their hand drawn equivalents, as well as the adjustment of assets to have a more uniform scale. Snapshot vote here.
At its inception, a few of the heart backgrounds were designed digitally to give visual variety to the project, and to generate a wider array of combinations.
“Looking at it now, the digital versions don’t feel like they fit with the aesthetic of the artwork, and I wanted to replace them with hand drawn versions in order to match the rest of the collection,” Stefan explains.
Wanting to stay true to The Heart Project’s original vision, Stefan sat down to revisit some of the backgrounds with a piece of paper and his permanent markers, hoping that this update can bring a deeper element of artistic coherency and unite the collection under its unique visual language.
In Stefan’s own words, “The artwork for this project is so important and distinctive, making us unique in a space where everything is digital. This approach makes us a unique project and coincides with the mission of the project being a community where everyone’s identity is recognized and celebrated.”
Some examples of specific asset changes include: the three-eye asset being realigned, the beard asset adjusted to be tighter to the heart’s face, the witch hat and top hat recolored grey, the middle finger pointing upwards, the skeleton arm boxing glove redrawn to look more realistic, and placing all eyes over the headwear assets. The gun seen in some heart’s hands has also been replaced by a water gun.
“I wanted to change the guns to water guns because gun violence is a serious issue in this country (U.S.), and I have people in my life who have been affected by gun violence. I don’t want any of the assets to deter anyone from wanting to be a part of our project,” says Stefan.
As a team, we want to make sure that we approach this proposed change thoughtfully, and stay true to the original vision of the artist and the project. We are eager to hear your thoughts and look forward to opening the vote to the community. Vote here.
