Sit down with Order of Otranto
Written by MoodyM {@Moodyx_M}{@BlockBurnouts
Order of Otranto, with a story to tell, is here on Cardano. Adding ghoul and gore into their fantasies, it begs the question.. who brought life to such darkness? Blockchain Burnouts sat down with the creators of the project, to talk about what inspired the idea, the artwork and the gloomy nature of this new project on Cardano. Hope you enjoy!
Introduce yourselves.. Who is the team behind Order of Otranto?
Keeper: “We are a collective of storytellers, technologists and visual artists. Some of us have actually been friends since early childhood, so it’a a tight group.
Before launching Order of Otranto, we worked in a range of related areas: Film/TV writing and producing, graphic design, digital marketing and on some of the largest apps in the tech space. We love the opportunities that the NFT world is creating as a way to merge tech, art and narrative. We were already huge fans of the CNFT community — having watched SpaceBudz develop and having been early holders of Clay Mates (before Clay Nation) and Yummi Universe. Inspired by the creativity and this renaissance of digital art, we decided to combine our skillsets to build out this world. CNFTs are the beginning of what we intend to create — with the aim of taking this project and releasing a graphic novel based on the material. In time, we plan to create an immersive narrative world and community.”
What was the first project that brought your attention to Cardano?
Keeper: “SpaceBudz was the first one to captured our eye, for obvious reasons, but Clay Mates is the one that grabbed our hearts. We were immediately drawn in by the creativity of their short clips. We also just loved the positive vibe of the community. I know that it may seem odd to have a creepy, gothic collection like ours gushing about the bright, positive space that is Clay Nation, but that’s the truth. We aim to build an equally positive space, just with a darker theme.”
What inspired you to create for the Cardano NFT space?
Keeper: “We’re just big fans of Cardano and have been for years. We HODL’d through the highs and lows, because we believe in it. We particularly believe in Charles Hoskinson’s vision and we know he has what it takes to pull it off. Also, as CNFT collectors ourselves, we LOVE the CNFT community. It’s a good vibes only space that celebrates great art. We love it here.”
My introduction to the project…
My first introduction to the project was through CryptoDramz (shoutout one of the goats ly) where he posted a link to their website on twitter. When I first saw the artwork it was unique to what I usually buy and mint. The darkness factor honestly resonated with me at the time and I thought it was really cool that they were doing an airdrop to all holders after mint. The combined mystery of why the moon/characters were the only things not in black/white added a simple yet elegant touch to the art. I ended up minting a few and collecting 2/3 characters through the airdrop. Now, I am happy to have the team behind the project (Keeper) here with me to answer a few questions and to talk about what exactly the “Order of Otranto” is really about!
Background info.. What is the Order of Otranto?
Keeper: “The Order of Otranto is a hand-drawn, gothic CNFT project. It’s inspired by the first gothic novel ever written (The Castle of Otranto, by Horace Walpole in 1764). We always found that novel to be super creepy and eerie, dealing with concepts of the uncanny and the sense of feeling trapped in a world that is somehow unfamiliar to one’s self.”
Keeper: “As for the artwork, keeping with the gothic theme, all is inspired by wood print/engraving art. Artists like Lynd Ward and Art Spiegelman are initial inspirations, but our art has taken on a look and feel of its own. We’re trying to keep it grounded in reality, to provide a sense of the uncanny and strange.
Our first limited mint — The Abbey Mint — launched on March 6th. It went amazingly well, selling out in just a few hours. It was only 463 pieces — all centered on the primary location of the narrative that we’re building. The main image is of the infamous Abbey of Otranto, featuring a number of church figures (in various colors) — the Nun, Grave Digger and Grounds Keeper). The NFTs also features various moons in the sky, with the eerie Rainbow Moon as the rarest of the bunch.”
What motivated your team to do an airdrop to all minters of the project?
Keeper: “Since we are a new project, we wanted to reward our OGs with a gifted Airdrop. Each wallet that held an Abbey Mint NFT was Airdropped a gift NFT. These Airdrops consisted of close-up shots of the various church figures (the Nun, Grave Digger and Grounds Keeper). We wanted people to feel like they were getting good value for their investment in our community. The Airdrops went off without a hitch and it was amazingly gratifying to see our church figures gracing profiles and Twitter feeds. We also ran a Meme contest, featuring the close-up of the Nun. This led to some hilarious creations by our community, including the winning Meme — the Nun sitting on a bench with none other than Forest Gump.”
What do you believe is your team’s biggest strengths creating CNFTs?
Keeper: “We are creativity focused in our approach. We work really hard to make sure our art is unique and well-crafted, filled with little details that close-examiners will enjoy. We also pride ourselves in being strong storytellers. We think this is showcased in the various trailers we’ve released. Ultimately, we are building a graphic novel narrative here, so we are carefully laying down the pieces that will ultimately infuse our full story. Some of our team members have written for Netflix series and feature films, so story is front and center in our approach. That said, our team also includes tech experts — one of our members has worked for one of the world’s largest tech companies, so we lean on that expertise to guide the smooth workings of our mints.”
What has been the biggest struggle as an NFT creator?
Keeper: “Each step along the way has its challenges, but we’re having a great time rolling with the punches. Initially, we took a good amount of time to land on the art style that best suited our tastes. We spent some quality time refining elements and now we’re just thrilled with how it all looks. We’re sure more obstacles will come our way, but we’re leaning on our group’s various past experiences to try and foresee as many issues as possible.”
What can we do as creators/collectors to help educate others on NFTs past the surface level of interest?
Keeper: “The NFT space is still so new, so really, the sky is the limit with where this tech can go. I’d encourage people to do what we strive for — that is… to try to create or collect something new and innovative. We’re continually learning and adapting. We can’t wait to see where the wider NFT space goes, and in particular, how the Cardano NFT space blossoms.”
What is one piece of advice you would give to a new creator trying to join the NFT space?
Keeper: “Slow and organic is the way to go. We’ve learned a lot from being respectful to those who came before us. As mentioned, we’re huge fans of SpaceBudz, Clay Nation, Yummi Universe, Zombie Chains, Old Money, EquineNFT, Vudu Brigade and so many others. We stop and listen to community leaders like Alessandro, Fahadouken, $fettucine, Slate, CryptoDramz, Blakelock, Shabro and others. Teachers are everywhere, if you listen.”
Last minute shill.. Is there anything exciting happening in the near future for the project?
“We’re so damn excited about our upcoming mint — The Black Wedding Mint on Sunday, April 24th. For those who know the narrative that we’re building, it all centers around the doomed wedding of our lead characters, Beatrice and Emmanuel. This Victorian couple expected to get married at the Abbey of Otranto, but on the ill-fated day, a mystical happening led to sudden death and destruction. The bride and groom where never the same, not to mention the wedding guests and clergy. With this back drop, our upcoming mint is themed as THE BLACK WEDDING MINT.
We’re excited about the innovative approach we’re taking to the BLACK WEDDING MINT. Instead of dropping 10K pieces all at once, we’ve decided to go the slow and steady route. We are taking inspiration from the graphic novel we are creating by releasing the 10K slowly, in a series of smaller drops — or “Chapters.” Each Chapter will focus on a set of characters from The Black Wedding. Chapter One features our two leads, the bride and groom, showcasing the horrific ways in which they were affected by the tragedy of their plagued wedding. April 24th is sure to be a creepy and uncanny experience for all involved — which is just how we like it.
In the run-up to April 24th, we’ll be doing a number of giveaways and contest, including a virtual Stag/Hen Party for the wedding party (come on down, you’re all invited!). We are also offering a whole slew of Holder Perks, which we encourage your readers to check out. They can be seen in our Discord. And for advance access to the mint, we encourage readers to get their hands on any Abbey Mint of Airdrop NFT from our last release. They’re available on JPG.Store and other sites. Holders of these early mints get early access to the Black Wedding Mint and are eligible for other perks, as listed in our Discord. We hope to see you all there, dressed in your fanciest duds. It’s a wedding after all!”
