Frank DeGods and his team have finally revealed its long-awaited y00ts NFTs, a collection of 15,000 yeti-inspired avatars, on November 4, 2022. The announcement has brought mixed emotions to Crypto Twitter, not only because of its clean art but the journey behind the project.
Crypto Twitter Reaction on Y00ts Reveal
The official y00ts Twitter account began changing its bio to “tonight,” hinting that the Solana community’s one of most awaited events is finally here—the y00ts NFT revelation; but wait, could there be more?
The Crypto Twitter community couldn’t contain their excitement, as well as disappointment, after seeing the current y00ts collection. Some saw it as more diverse, stylish, and one-of-a-kind art, but others also expected more considering the two-month delay.
Every y00t is publicly accessible on its website (Explorer tab), but the team slowly revealed each at three-minute intervals. This turned out to be a clever marketing ploy, leading the community to tweet their sentiments, creating a mixed atmosphere on the social media platform. Here are only some of the overflowing reactions:
If you thought the tweets died down after a few hours, you’re wrong. There’s no stopping Crypto Twitter from showing off their new PFPs as y00ts surprised them with same-day mint. Even xNFT founder Armani Ferrante of Coral flexed his y00t.
There’s no doubt that y00ts has been successful in its launch despite some flak, given the dominant warm embrace from most of the community. However, aside from the art, Frank DeGods and his team also unveiled their heartfelt journey, connecting them deeper to their supporters.
Y00ts’ Art Journey: The Trials and Triumph
The y00ts’ reveal alone was a surprise, but the team’s documented journey is on another level. However, like any other undertaking in the NFT space, the process was far from easy. It took a ton of challenges, iterations, FUD, and all manner of accusations before they were able to deliver the final collection, which they did successfully. Now, it’s time to know the project story:
Aesthetics
One of the biggest challenges for the DeLabs team in making the collection aesthetically beautiful is color. They didn’t want to create art that would appear chaotic and imbalanced, so they underwent four experiments until they were satisfied: generative art, limited color palettes, bright colors, and muted colors.
After the team’s four failed attempts, they returned to their goal: make the end product simple. Choosing primary colors became their option, while enhancements came later on. The combinations may have taken time, but their hard work produced the most colorful result.
Paying Homage
The DeLabs team realized the art would become more aesthetically pleasing by adding a color pop in the traits called color block glasses. However, the design was not only meant as a final touch but also served as homage to the artists and designers who inspired them.
Some color combinations came from Van Gogh’s Starry Night, Andy Warhol’s Marilyn Diptych, Apple’s original rainbow logo, and more.
Characters
Another challenge for the y00ts team is the character of their PFP, as it needs to be original, aspirational, and accessible. Apes and bears were off-limits because the community had already seen them from one project to another.
The team tried doing three characters: a younger version of DeGods, a cute Duppy, and a yeti.
Final Output
The team settled with a yeti but still had a lot to work on, which became the reason for the delayed reveal. The sketches failed to show aspiration, were too goofy, had a dead-end story, and so on.
As the art progressed, the team started giving it a name. The initial plan was to call it “Dups,” which embodies being distinct. Later, they experimented with putting a fuzzier fur, leading them to rebrand as y00ts, a youthful character.
It was a roller-coaster ride for the team, yet they proved themselves one more time even though they already knew everyone would have varying opinions about the final output.
“Between dealing with 1-2 months of FUD vs. allowing this to exist forever on the blockchain, we chose the former. We think it was the right decision,” says Delilah, one of y00ts’ artists.
Frank DeGods and Y00ts’ Team Branding
Crypto Twitter has seen fresh ideas from how Frank DeGods and his team handled y00ts branding, making its identity uniquely different from other projects.
Y00ts revelation didn’t come out too fast but slowly, letting the community enjoy the entire process. The day began with a drop of a short video clip that gave a glimpse of the team’s efforts. No explanation is needed as the story unfolds on its own.
Next is the simultaneous unveiling of y00t drops, where you’ll see an explanation of their traits and which artist or designer they got the inspiration for their design. They even included the color combinations used for every avatar.
The whole process was a highlight, but what Crypto Twitter didn’t see coming was the documentation of Delilah about the team’s journey in creating the artwork, which is also publicly accessible.
The revelation wasn’t only meant to tell a story; it was the teams’ letter to their beloved community. Undoubtedly, its branding struck right at heart, and it’s only the beginning.
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