DePioneers

NFT Collection 

Illustration of a black and white cat dressed as a cowboy, wearing a wide-brimmed hat and a bandana, set in a desert landscape with rock formations and a bright sun in the background.
Anthropomorphic cat wearing a red hoodie, smoking a cigar, with a futuristic space-themed hat and goggles that display the word 'DEEP IN'. The background is outer space with planets and stars.
A black cat with green eyes wearing a wizard hat and a patterned shirt, set against a colorful cosmic background with stars.
A cartoon cat wearing a large black witch hat, a yellow scarf, and a camouflage jacket. The background features colorful, geometric patterns.
Animated cat dressed in an astronaut suit with a purple helmet that has cat ears, set against a futuristic cityscape with a night sky and stars.
Cartoon illustration of a black and white cat wearing a cowboy hat and a brown jacket against a pink background.

238 unique assets, combined for a stellar collection of 10,000 intergalactic-cowcats.

Lovingly designed and hand-drawn by yours truly.

A digital illustration of a cool cat dressed as a human, wearing a brown cowboy hat with a blue band, a blue shirt with a name tag that says 'Hello, my name is Eli,' a black bandana with white patterns around its neck, and smoking a cigar. The cat has blue eyes with a hint of pink, a serious expression, and is set against a vibrant, colorful psychedelic background with swirling patterns.
A black and white cat lying on its back inside a round, colorful woven basket with a plush lining.

Making the art for DePioneers

Because the overarching themes of this project felt like they had been tailor-made to suit my interests and aptitudes, I sometimes had to remind myself that they weren’t. I just got lucky enough to be tapped on to make a whole lot of cats with a sci-fi, western sort of angle.

After all, I love my cat, as evidenced by the inspiration for my personalized DePioneers NFT over there. I’m also obsessed with science-fiction. I consume it, I write it, and I illustrate it. And lastly, I’ve spent a lot of my life in the Southwest, so… I guess cowboys are cool and stuff.

Beyond all that, I’m a creative problem solver and visual artist of many mediums. I’m a professional tattoo artist, published illustrator (notably for Analog Science Fiction Magazine, the longest running sci-fi publication in history), and I’ve been very interested in expanding my creative output in the digital space.

After designing and creating all the assets, it was thrilling to see the collection brought to life, when all the pieces were assembled and DePioneers was shared with the world by the super UpRock team (who were amazing to work with btw).

Suffice to say, the prospect of tackling an NFT collection like this was more than appealing to me, and I hope there will be more projects like this in my future!

If you’d like to view the DePioneers collection, you can see them on Magic Eden or Tensor.

I’d recommend using the search parameters to view highest to lowest rarity. It’s a cool project, so I think it’s worth taking a look!

Hit me up if you’re interested in working with me on an NFT collection, I’d love to hear about your project!