On this new issue, I will be sharing the backstory of a new one of one of artwork, it's process and more. "Social Engineer" is part of the CryptoCube Creators series curated by Han (@hanrgb).
Hi everyone! Hope you enjoy the read :) I'm excited to be writing and documenting my journey as an artist and storyteller here.
This new work starts with Han inviting me to be part of the 9th group release on "CryptoCube Creators", a collaborative series where each artist chooses one of 256 CryptoCubes to work on, bringing a new concept and vision to Han's 3D, generative, and on-chain work.
Firstly, I played a lot on CryptoCubes Playground to see which one I would like to use to start my work. I played with CryptoCube#140 changing it's scale, global rotation, position and micro rotation, until I found something interesting to work with.
I proudly accepted and committed to create a piece for the series. I was really stuck on what to make, it had been a while since I felt so "stuck" on my creative process. I kept thinking about how to keep the squares and deal with a form I haven't worked with in months, even years. It even feels silly to feel that way, lol. But no "lack of creativity" beats the work.
I've now the file on Procreate and trying to visualize how to compose an artwork on this big 6969 px square canvas. I played a lot with the filters to get only the lines of the CryptoCube, then I'd have my initial sketch born from the Han's art to start my art.
Then I saw something in CryptoCube #140 that really caught my attention: the pattern, the organization within the chaos. I loved it, and started giving it colors and composition. The actual concept and story only came to me after I fell for a complex social engineering scam. I was naive to ignore some red flags, but happily it was only a financial loss and a big, big lesson learned, even though I was already somewhat neurotic and targeted unsuccessfully before.
At this moment I was seeking for a balanced composition, so I was trying to fit a story/concept around 2/3 of the square, divided by the "moons". I still didn't thought to draw any faces as the concept still was unknown to me.
What made this different from every other attack I've faced in my six years at the intersection of crypto and art is that this time, I DMed the scammer first. I was trying to acquire an "Ether-Man" edition, the first free edition I ever minted on ETH Mainnet. I messaged an OG Punk claimer on X who, last years, had collected some of my earliest works, to ask if they'd be willing to sell it. They responded happily and agreed to send it over once they were near their ledger.
A really good process on this new wip, I already painted all the moons and colors behind it, I wanted it to feel that's a peace/inner self area, with "The Moons" and "The Dot" around. I also started to design the figures I wanted to show to represent all the personas and social tools the scammer can uses to impersonate and trying to take advantage of you socially or financially.
I typed in the same handle. The exact one. We talked for days about art, the early days of cryptoart, the works they collected, the art coins no longer exist, and so on. Then they showed me a chance to invest in an early-stage company. There were around 15–25 participants in the Discord I joined after being invited. They were all discussing things that made sense, and they were clearly real people, I even joined a voice chat to clear up doubts and heard from them directly.
At this stage I got the desire to keep detailing it and giving it a type of floor and a sky. Micro details on others figures were also added.
I did see some red flags, but I chose to ignore them. I really believed that profile on X was the real collector of my work. It was the exact handle, but the real person who once held that name had deleted their Twitter for their own reasons, and the scammer took it once it became available. I agreed, transferred the funds, and knew I was in trouble the moment I did. Never act when you're not fully sure of a situation. Don't let yourself be pressured... And if you feel that pressure, just don't. Sadly (or happily), I lost a good chunk of money. It could have been far worse. I was never going to click a link, sign a transaction on my artist's wallet, or interact with the contracts they kept pushing on me even after I'd already made the mistake. My original art wallet was never in real danger.
It's already done on my mind, I just kept to giving it more live through details and shadows, something I usually not do on my works. I started the sky with clouds, small to large to give it more perspective and depth.
Unfortunately, I had to lose to learn a lesson this big, but you don't have to. We always think it can't happen to us. Read, understand what crypto means and how to stay secure, especially online. There's good content out there. Seek it out. Even chatting with Claude :) It's humbling to talk about this many months later. I know a lot of people just feel dumb and don't want to share, even when it could help others... I understand that completely. I hope this can alert you, or sparks a desire to chase safety in this digital world that keeps getting more dangerous for our financial and ownership security. AI, data leaks, you're not safe.
I then created a galaxy around the moons and dots. Really loved the details I could bring for this one after having it with me for many months with a 33h 43min screen worked. You can see the 4k full 11 minutes process on youtube.
One of the reasons I'm so open about this: I don't believe I have much to hide. It's part of my story in crypto and art. It's documentation of my life in this era, and of my work (in) process. There's provenance and love in this piece that make me love it the way I love "Ether-Man". That kind of feeling, that kind of documentation, is something I truly value and am proud to share, create, and own. Thank you to everyone reading. Be safe out there. You can be sure they're among us, just waiting for a moment of fragility or distraction. Stay aware. Much love, omentejovem
Mimetic Desire
The artwork is a single token on my own smart contract. Unique fine art print available to first collector, signed, year-dated and certificate. 103x78cm Mineral Pigments on Photo Rag 308g, 100% cotton.
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