In my prior article, I discussed the many types of NFTs, and how investors should approach each category with different expectations.

In this article, I’d like to cover several A4As that I have found interesting because of their art, first and foremost, and secondly, because of their vision.

I would like to emphasize that, in my opinion, collecting NFTs that are A4A should be done because of your desire to support artists and your personal connection to the art itself.

While I am not an expert in 3d modeling or art, after my brief interviews with each of these creators, the artists here strike me as sincere, motivated mostly by the desire to create and share their work.

That said, for people thinking of investing in A4A NFTs, keep in mind that you should always ask these questions before investing:

1. Do you like the art?

2. Why do you want to support the artist’s visions?

3. Is the current price decided by the market, or by the artist?

4. Should the price drop significantly, approaching zero, would you enjoy having this NFT anyway?

5. Will investing in this NFT take too much opportunity away from you in other investments?

It should be obvious, but the reasons these questions are raised are because people tend to buy first and ask questions later in the NFT space, and often, the risk-reward is determined by the market rather than by the logic and active decision making of the investor.

This is why I do not own every one of these NFT collections, because while I like all of them, there are reasons why the opportunity cost is too high for me at present.

That said, I’m keeping an eye out on all of these artists, and I hope they succeed regardless of my participation.

Now that disclaimers are out of the way, let's get on with the features:

MAO Collection: with Ash Lee

I covered this collection briefly in my last piece, but I was so intrigued by Ash's work that I decided to reach out and ask more questions…which led to more questions and more artists. You can thank the MAO collection for inspiring this article in the first place.

The MAO collection is actually built from a team of three, with Ash being the visual design arm, having a history in design for a well-known Russian company while the other two team members building the technical and strategic sides. They are actively seeking additional team members to focus on the social side of their project.

The team believes that art can change the way people see the world, but combined with technology, each individual can use this blend of art and technology as a tool to achieve far more in their own lives.

The MAO collection is actually a complete ecosystem, including Snails (Earth), Butterflies (Air), and Fish (Water). While only the Earth collection has been launched, the other collections are right around the corner, with previews coming out as soon as within the month.

Each collection will have 10k pieces (though the latest interview states a revised 5k total). What’s launched on Singular now are the 250 special pieces ranging from Super Founders (25 pieces), Founders (75 pieces), to Rare (175 pieces). Each of these early launch pieces will also receive additional drops from their Limited collection, the remaining pieces of the collection, after RMRK 2.0 is launched.

They have their eyes set on integrating with the RMRK Metaverse, and they have designed their assets to be multi-layered for that goal (ie, the Snail collection will have variable eyes, headdresses, items on their neck, types of shells, different stones under the snails, and backgrounds).

The team would love to build in elements of play-to-earn, DeFi, and DAO mechanisms into their collection as well, though that hasn’t been solidified yet as much depends on the various metaverses that are being created.

The MAO collection is also running a 500 limit "MAO Avatars" collection for .5 KSM each in which the user will receive a generative NFT plus extra assets on RMRK 2.0 that is capable of swapping nested features that they prefer most.

Truth be told, I am uncertain if the MAO Avatars are banner pictures, profile pictures, part of their limited collection, or a totally different collection of playable avatars on RMRK 2.0. I'll update the article as I learn more.

My Position: I really enjoy the idea of a collection that has a complete ecosystem within itself, which can enrich many layers of the metaverse experience. I think the future goals in this collection are a bit vague, but I also never expected much from an A4A project. I don’t necessarily expect my one investment in this collection to grow in value, since the truth is that I think the numbers don’t make sense—not without a significant driver for demand—but I do enjoy these pieces and I hope to collect one of each part of the ecosystem, just for fun.

You can find the current collection here: https://singular.rmrk.app/collections/ca4a9b2c4e24404f09-56BCF

Make sure you only purchase from "Mao Snails" owner, however. The Snail Collection drops on a weekly basis (Mondays with the following Monday leading to the egg’s "hatching"). You can buy them, as well as the MAO Avatars, here: https://singular.rmrk.app/space/H9ZMSFU5nyVsaN7DDC9NzMb7zbdHd8dWbNmc5XpQqFW12yq?page=2&tab=onSale&forsale=forSale/?ref=D8WrK1jsFy9zpFwFZStaDTmX32pMZVdwXTm5rt9LsRKBQrz

TATATA Beavers: Vitaliy and Tanya

The Beavers are a collection of 450 generative, and 50 unique pieces for a total of 500 pieces. The team members, Vitaliy and Tanya, have backgrounds in marketing/finance and design/mathematics, respectively.

Both have, as many artists do, the simple goal to create and to inspire joy in others, and many creators, crypto and NFTs were new for them.

In both the Beavers collection, and the original All My Friends collection that Tanya started her exploration with, you can see the level of care and detail behind each custom piece. In Vitaliy’s case, he also is an artist and he started with a collection of his own called "Into the Music Verse" that he put significant effort into long ago, but it wasn’t until Singular that he was able to release it for a second life. After, he built another mini collection called "Kusama Warriors" in which he brought his girlfriend onto the team to help create.

It was from these individual projects that Vitaliy and Tanya have collaborated to make this "fluffy beavers" collection being featured in this article.

At the bottom of each image are icons that designate mood, gender, etc. In the future, the beavers will have a breeding mechanisms built into them, in which the gender will matter (and of course, you’ll need two), and the characteristics will affect the future offspring.

Beaver owners will get an airdropped pixel version for RMRK 2.0, along with banners and various bonuses and activities.

As for pricing? Well, some original pricings were as low as 1 KSM, but each unique one gets more expensive over time.

My Position:

I see this as a "true story" of how artists can finally find success in an emerging industry, if they are willing to take the risk and try. NFTs are empowering artists in a way that hasn’t been for many generations, and I love to see artists achieving worldwide attention.

As for me, I’ve held out on this one because the drop happens at my middle-of-the-night, and there are a couple flippers who buy at drop and immediately resell for much higher, so—personally, as much as I love them, I’m counting myself out of this project but I am hoping for their success!

You can check out their collection here: https://singular.rmrk.app/collections/02182bd1df69629e65-%F0%9F%A4%A4?page=1&forsale=forSale&sortBy=latest/?ref=D8WrK1jsFy9zpFwFZStaDTmX32pMZVdwXTm5rt9LsRKBQrz

Kusama Girls, To the Moon: Dice (ダイス）

Kusama Girls caught my eye because it struck me as authentic and in-line with the NFT space. This is a tricky subject because the NFT world shifts quickly, but there are elements that you become more aware of over time that signal that the artist understands the industry that they are in.

Up until now, I felt like I could clearly delineate artists who were here without understanding blockchain, and those that did understand.

Perhaps I’m wrong about this, and I’d like to know more about Dice’s history and forward vision to confirm just how much he’s been involved in blockchain, but Dice’s art struck me as one very in-tune with not only art and blockchain, but the Dotsama ecosystem.

This means that to me, this collection is a hidden gem—especially as it is still awaiting the verification and curation checkmarks on singular.

The Kusama Girls are personifications of various Parachains on Dotsama, with a very limited supply of 20.

Dice has been drawing manga as a hobby since Dice was a child, and is self declared big fan of Dotsama with many friends through Singular. Dice loves to be experimental in art and believes it to be critical to art’s future. Dice is inspired by manga culture and fashion shows.

The collection will be released in order, not all at once, and some may be given away. No price has been established yet.

My Position: I love Dice’s energy and philosophy. It can be summarized easily by a single statement from his interview: "I don’t plan to have a lot of followers. I just want my artworks to be popular and many people to see them, so, if you retweet my artworks, I’m happy."

To me, this is exactly the kind of artist I want to support, and I can’t wait to (try) to grab one of these Kusama Girls.

Follow Dice's twitter here: https://twitter.com/dice_in_dice

Follow the collection here: https://singular.rmrk.app/collections/f43436557a30592d4a-OK98A/?ref=D8WrK1jsFy9zpFwFZStaDTmX32pMZVdwXTm5rt9LsRKBQrz

Ku Eggs: Code

One of the most mysterious creators on Singular, this new collection from Code was stealth launched with no fanfare, and sold out almost the instant it hit the markets.

What is this collection and why does it command such attention?

Code originally started as an investor, with KSM one of his biggest investments. He wanted to build something for the community that contributed and excited the ecosystem, but also let him experiment with the functionality of RMRK, Singular, and Kusama.

The low fees on KSM, and being a dotsama community member, made it an easy choice.

The original Ku Collection was from Code’s desire to create realistic, yet unique versions of the Kusama logo. Further inspired by pop culture, memorabilia, and famous characters have resulted in even more unique birds.

Code’s goal is to continue to develop the Ku Collection brand parallel to the technology’s evolution. He hopes to bring additional functionality to owners as RMRK develops and while he won’t say exactly what he’s working on, he reminds us of the 5 legos of RMRK NFTs:

• Nested NFTs
• On-Chain Emotes
• Multi-Resource NFTs
• Conditional Rendering
• NFTs as DAOs

He does envision that the Ku Collection will be brought into the metaverse, perhaps as a beloved pet.

All that said, Code fundamentally doesn’t "try to be mysterious". Instead, he sees himself as a builder, working on multiple projects, and he doesn’t believe in hyping something until he has something tangible to deliver.

The current Ku Eggs collection comes with a promise to hatch later this year, along with RMRK development, and that’s all he wants to say at this time.

As for why the first collection was so successful?

He "blames" the community of passionate and supportive members. In his words, he states:

"The Ku Collection is nothing without the community and I want to say a big thank you from the bottom of my heart to everyone who has supported and continues to support this project. I am very excited to continue to build this project and for the future of Ku Collection."

My Position: The Ku Eggs were my first jump into A4A NFTs on Dotsama. Despite all the mystery, Code’s ethos to avoid hyping his collection into anything more than it actually is attracted me, and also the attention he’d already garnished.

I do not own an original Ku Collection piece, but I definitely wish I had because it represents one of the first major A4A NFT collections on Kusama and therefore holds a place in Kusama’s history. His branding does come across as something that can evolve in the long term, and maybe even become something prestigious, so in terms of a speculative investment--who knows? Maybe the brand will be worth something, someday.

To me, Ku Collection has somewhat surpassed the A4A subgenre for even more reasons than brand identity, even, because of this connection to history (and in no small part the logo), and Code seems to me a sincere builder who represents the complete ethos of Kusama’s: "Expect Chaos."

Check out the Ku Eggs here: https://singular.rmrk.app/collections/66241b171becfd500e-EGG/?ref=D8WrK1jsFy9zpFwFZStaDTmX32pMZVdwXTm5rt9LsRKBQrz

KSM Donations for this article can be sent to: D8WrK1jsFy9zpFwFZStaDTmX32pMZVdwXTm5rt9LsRKBQrz