NFT Collection NimTeens Investigates How Fast the NFT Space Moves

NimTeens, a new non-fungible token (NFT) collection by generative artist Bryan Brinkman, appears to be a homage to puberty at first glance. The latest 400-edition project, a followup to his January 2021 project NimBuds, depicts his characteristic cloud creatures growing up in an odd fashion to take their school photographs.

However, as Brinkman explained to CoinDesk, the collection represents much more and provides a larger reflection on how quickly the NFT ecosystem has evolved – sometimes awkwardly – over the last two years.

“A typical joke in the Web3 world is that time goes by at a rapid pace, and a week may often feel like a month,” Brinkman explained.

In keeping with his nephologic plot, his cloud “babies” have now evolved into “awkward teens” with new characteristics such as peach fuzz, acne, and huge spectacles.

“Just as in real life, some children have more growth spurts than others; some have acne and pimples, but each is unique and grows in an endearing way,” he stated.

Brinkman was one of the initial ten artists on Art Blocks, a generative art site that has seen rapid growth in recent months. Artists such as Dmitri Cherniak, Tyler Hobbs, and Art Blocks inventor Snowfro have all contributed to the revival and popularisation of generative art in the NFT area.

NimBuds, which depicts cheeky cloud faces linked to rainbow strings, has amassed 1,155 ETH in secondary sales, or around $1.8 million. Its current floor price is 3.2 ETH, or slightly more than $5,000. The amusing NFTs have been auctioned by auction houses such as Christie’s and Sotheby’s, and they will be featured in a “Saturday Night Live” parody of NFT projects in March 2021.

As he fleshed out the next chapter of his historical plot, Brinkman wanted to commemorate the original NimBuds token holders with his new drop. Similar to Art Blocks’ Friendship Bracelet collection, which led OpenSea charts last week, Brinkman gave NimBuds owners a free mint before selling them at a Dutch auction on Friday for roughly 0.3 ETH, or about $470 per token.

🚨The NimTeens dutch auction is live (it will decrease over time, only mint when you're comfortable with the price)

Mint here: https://t.co/hN3pgM3L0V

I also recommend joining the @artblocks_io discord, its the best place to follow along for info pic.twitter.com/vxigslKSz4

— Bryan Brinkman (@bryanbrinkman) January 13, 2023

NimTeens launched its mint on January 13, dedicating 10% of purchases to the suicide prevention organisation The Trevor Project. According to OpenSea data, the initiative has already generated 138 ETH in trading volume or around $220,000 in sales. Its current floor price is 0.44 ETH or around $700 at the time of writing.

Brinkman credited his projects’ success to the growing interest in generative art and the creative flexibility that NFTs provide to artists.

“In the two years since we introduced NimBuds, the Web3 and NFT sectors have altered considerably,” remarked Brinkman. “Art Blocks has evolved into one of the most renowned and profitable initiatives in the ecosystem; generative characters took off and became the most notable style of the space; and generative art has become acknowledged in auction houses and museums.”