RMRK Artist Spotlight #8: Erphan Malek and His Monuments

First, apologies for skipping the artist spotlight last week. But we're back baby!

On this week's episode of RAS (RMRK Artist Spotlight) we interview Erphan Malek, one of the most talented artists we've met. Doubt us? Check out some of his works below.

Erphan is a 32-year-old Iranian digital artist and illustrator who started his career as an enviroment and chararter designer for animated series. He is a big time game lover who's had a dream of creating his own game since he was a kid. The vibrancy and dynamism one senses from his work seems to bear the outward fruits of this desire.

We chatted about his foray into crypto and NFTs, his favorite work, his art creation process, and more. Read the interview below.

Q: How did you get into NFTs?

Erphan Malek:

I first saw the OpenSea website by chance but didn’t know how to sell my work there. Later on, a good friend sent me a Foundation invite and taught me how to mint my works there.

Q: What is your favorite art creation (personal or client)?

Erphan Malek:

My Monuments collection is one of my favorite personal projects. The combination of architecture with different faces tells a story that involves the audience emotionally. This is why the collection is special to me.

Q: What has being in the NFT space shown you that you would not have seen if you were still outside?

Erphan Malek:

Before getting acquainted with NFTs, I never knew we had lots of good artists, particularly in my country. I found so many new artists and made friends with them. The fascinating this is that each of them has their own worldview and the way they present their work. Seeing these varieties of artwork is really attractive to me.

Q: What is your creation process like?

Erphan Malek:

Normally, it starts with an idea and then I start making some simple schemes on paper. I usually set it down in two or three different schemes before choosing the one with the best formation and shape. Then I add more details using software and, if needed, make some necessary changes. When I'm satisfied with what I have, then I start the final performance.

Q: What are your inspirations?

Erphan Malek:

I get ideas from almost everything. I can be inspired by nature, animals, my experiences, people I meet, or books I read. I am also inspired by art in the form of animation and movies I watch.

Q: What are your goals in the NFT space?

Erphan Malek:

Although I have created many works in the past, I've never made any decent income with them. But with NFTs and the many available platforms now my artworks have the chance to be seen and collected by so many people. Thankfully, I work in different styles and my plan is to dedicate the various styles to different platforms. My works are currently on Foundation, Hic Et Nunc, and Art Station.

Q: What’s your favorite platform and why? It doesn’t have to be RMRK. We promise, won’t hold it against you.

Erphan Malek:

My favorite Nft platform is Hic Et Nunc because of its culture.

Often, artists collect artworks and support each other. I have not seen many collectors there.

Q: What are your honest thoughts on Singular?

I think it's very user-friendly and has an excellent UI. I have not used many platforms yet but I think Singular is one of the best.

Check out Erphan's Princess Mononoke NFT on Singular.

Our biggest takeway from this interview is how detailed Erphan's creation process is. It perfectly explains why his art is so striking. Thank heavens for Bitcoin, which gave us Ethereum, that granted us NFTs, which exposed us to Erphan's artistic brilliance.

We had a good time chatting with Erphan and we hope you enjoyed reading it too. Until next week. If you want to learn more about Erphan, purchase his art, or keep up with him on social media, go here.

Know any interesting crypto artists doing something cool, wild, or groundbreaking? Drop a comment so we can check them out.

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