Pplpleasr: The NFT artist who spawned a movement

NFT artist Pplpleasr has created visual effects for films like Wonder Woman, Batman vs Superman, and Star Trek Beyond. She’s also become the “DeFi artist, spawning an entire movement. After several successful collaborations with DeFi companies, she has had two auctions which spawned a DAO which directed over $1 million in proceeds to charity.

Who is Pplpleasr?

• Background: In her first year of college, she saw the movie WallE and imagined herself being in the end credits. She researched how to get a job at Pixar and found that she needed to learn new programming skills. She dedicated her time to learning the programs for two years. Eventually, she postponed finishing her college program for a year to work there.
• Why the name? When Pplpleasr created her Instagram account, she wanted a cool artist name because her own wasn’t that unique. The name Pplpleasr resonated because she finds it hard to say no to others. It has a double meaning of also pleasing people with art. She later moved her art account to Twitter.
• Moving into crypto art: She worked full time at production studios but had an interest in cryptocurrencies. In 2017, she began to invest in them. She held her investment through the bull market and bear market. During DeFi summer, she saw several promotional memes on Twitter under the name @pplepleasr1 and thought it would be interesting to get involved. Binance had seen her art on Instagram and wanted to collaborate. She gradually made a name for herself as a crypto artist.

Quote

“Always ask yourself the question: what is the use of this coin or this technology? What is it being used for? And, if you can’t answer those questions, then you probably shouldn’t invest in it.” (Timestamp: 5:55)

DeFi Art Collaborations

• New career? In the beginning, Pplpleasr created the art because she enjoyed it but afterward, she was offered rewards by the community. Eventually, she was paid for her work. The art had two paths. For the NFTs, she was creating Instagram content as a form of expression. At the same time, she was making DeFi crypto art.
• Cross-over art: The two genres crossed over when Pplpleasr began to sell more pieces through Instagram. As the crypto artwork became busier, she had less time to sell NFTs. At the time, she was setting prices rather than auctioning the pieces. There was very little promotion happening.
• The NFT boom: Early the next year, there was an NFT boom. The Uniswap video collaboration happened, and she had the idea of selling her work as an NFT. The company was opened to it and the two paths converged.

Defi community art space

• NFT success: During DeFi summer, Pplpleasr collaborated with a crypto influencer called Blue Kirby. Wifi was having a boom and he was selling NFTs. It was a cross between a meme and art. The piece sold for 51 ETH which had a value of $20,000 at the time.   
• The Uniswap piece: Uniswap is a decentralized crypto protocol and an AMN (Amon coin). It can be used to swap tokens or to buy liquidity. The company agreed to pay for Pplpleasr’s time. The idea of creating an NFT for charity was hers. She already considered her commissions and collaborations as a form of crowdfunding. The risk paid off.
• Animation: The idea was to create a piece of media or art to tease the Company’s V3 launch. The artist created an animation with the intent that it would be enjoyed and shared on social media. The video was posted and now has over 700,000 views. She posted a breakdown video about the technical process of creating the piece, the concept behind it, and the symbolism in it. She announced it as an NFT and was purchased for about $500,000 by the community after they put together a DAO.  

Proceeds went to charity

• #Standwithasians: Stand with Asians is a social media movement with volunteers. March 26th people took a day off work to protest violence against Asian people. After the sale, a press release was drafted. Recently, they have reached out to other charities to help them.  
• Ethereum value: The final proceeds were worth about $600,000 and the proceeds were divided between several charities that would receive $25,000 grants each.  
• The DAO: The group has made several big purchases in the NFT world. She has no idea who the members are, they may even be CEOs of the protocols she’s collaborated with. The DAO has grown from 30 members to over 50 people. There is a lot of interest in being part of it now and it is being curated. Down the road, they are planning governance tokens. The idea is also to create an internet Museum of Modern Art where the general public can visit the NFTs.  

Full-time NFT artist?

• Being selective: The NFT art has not become a full-time career. In fact, Pplpleasr believes there are few artists in the space who can sell pieces for hundreds of thousands of dollars. She wants to put her talent to good use and has recently sold another piece. The process is time-consuming, so she is selective about which charities she contributes to.  
• Using her superpower for good: She researches how the charities use the money, what their history is, and what they support. She hopes she can make a living doing commissions and use her superpower for generating proceeds for NFTs for good.
• The technical side: The US has a cap for charitable donations and Pplpleasr has had to be careful about taxes. $200,000 of her $700,000 donation would have been taxed had she kept the money, but she is not a US resident.

What’s next?

• She’s having fun exploring her options. She recently partnered with Ethereum Name Service (ENS) on a project. Rewarding people for engaging with crypto is important to her.
• Raffle Giveaway: ENS is celebrating its 4th anniversary with an original NFT piece from Pplpleasr. Several editions will be minted to allow more people access to the art.
• Learn more: Anyone with an ENS domain name can sign-up for the giveaway. You can find pplpleasr on Twitter @pplepleasr1.