### The Explosion of Digital Art

The internet is awashed with free art, especially with the rise of AI-generated creations. Some of these pieces are stunning, and it can be difficult to distinguish if they were human created or AI generated, especially to the untrained eye. These images are often circulated on social media, to boost viewership, and you don't have to pay to appreciate them. Contrary to that, "free art" in BLOOM's context refers to fine arts NFT that can be owned and minted at no cost. It should be a piece that you can print out and that adds value to spaces like your home or gallery.

### My Journey into Generative Art

So, where do I stand in the creative coding generative art space? I discovered the beauty of coding during the pandemic, and the learning process has been truly exciting. The following masters have had the greatest impact on my journey:

-   Learned p5.js from *Coding Train*, where [**Daniel Shiffman**](https://thecodingtrain.com/) made learning so interesting
-   Bought an online course from [**Che Yu-Wu**](https://www.fxhash.xyz/u/Che-Yu%20Wu) and even attended his [*Generative Art Solo Exhibition*](https://youtu.be/J99tOkS0a44?si=N03i4LJEyBLS6aFK) in Taipei in 2023
-   Enjoyed watching the life of [**Dan Catt**](https://www.fxhash.xyz/u/revdancatt)
-   Learned the minting steps from [**Steve's Makerspace**](https://www.fxhash.xyz/u/Steve's%20Makerspace)

This journey required a significant investment of time and mental effort. I would say that I’ve finally graduated from kindergarten and am now starting to create ‘elementary’ level artworks with a touch of aesthetic value, thanks to my years of design experience.

### Challenges in the NFT Space

The harsh reality is that I am starting from zero - with no social presence, no fans, and no viewership value in my generative art and I have fewer than 5 friends in the crypto space. From my few years of experience in the NFT space, I’ve witnessed the rise and fall, made earnings and suffered losses in coins, traded NFTs, and seen the essence of real art getting diluted in the NFT space. Some people buy simply because they know they could make a quick buck in a short period. Of course, there are people who buy into art because they genuinely like them, but the adoption rate of fine arts NFT is still slow to gain significant public interest.

### Building Exposure and Growth

From a personal level, I need exposure to grow my social media in the NFT art space, therefore I am starting this free mint campaign, hoping more people can own a piece of my amateur generative art piece and you are encouraged to mint more and get a version that you truly like! On a broader level, I hope BLOOM represents a catalyst for the blooming of the crypto space and flourishing fine arts NFT. It aims to serve as a low-barrier entry point for attracting more people and raising interest in generative art. This, in turn, will help the masses to understand the limitless potential of NFTs and appreciate the beauty of non-fungible token ownership.

### Last but Not Least

It took me more than a week to restart and complete this abandoned exploratory piece. With the experience gained from creating MARBLES, I added even more controls and functions to BLOOM, which I will elaborate on in Part 2.&#x20;

Open edition, free mint opens on **10 Jul 2024** for BLOOM. Please help spread the word, follow me on X: @LeoHuGArt or IG/ Farcaster: leohugart, and share your minted BLOOM and thoughts and let NFT art reach a wider audience!

::tezos-storage-pointer[]{contract="KT1BJC12dG17CVvPKJ1VYaNnaT5mzfnUTwXv" path="ledger::0xa142ab7dfA978eb4Fb7D284df8620546d76B9f1A" data_spec="FX-GEN-DATA-002"}

***

### Artworks from Creative Coding Masters

::tezos-storage-pointer[]{contract="KT1BJC12dG17CVvPKJ1VYaNnaT5mzfnUTwXv" path="ledger::0x1B80898BaD0f98ACf278E5F6db7bB98c0977444f" data_spec="FX-GEN-DATA-002"}

::tezos-storage-pointer[]{contract="KT1BJC12dG17CVvPKJ1VYaNnaT5mzfnUTwXv" path="ledger::14069" data_spec="FX-GEN-DATA-002"}

::tezos-storage-pointer[]{contract="KT1BJC12dG17CVvPKJ1VYaNnaT5mzfnUTwXv" path="ledger::23005" data_spec="FX-GEN-DATA-002"}


Venturing into creative coding and generative art amidst the surge of free AI-generated artwork is challenging. This article discusses my journey into owning and creating generative art NFTs and the difficulties of gaining exposure within the NFT space. It addresses the lack of mass market interest in fine arts NFT and how BLOOM aims to provide a low-barrier entry point for appreciating the potential of NFTs and expanding the audience for digital art ownership.

Designer / Artist collecting Fine Art NFTs and creating Generative Art with p5.js. Excited to learn and connect with fellow Artists and Collectors! 🌈

BLOOM (Part 1) – Free but Not Least

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