Qunks

Ode to the PFP

To gain some insight into how Culla feels about PFPs, check out his published article discussing the topic on fxhash Ode to the PFP

What Are The Qunks?

Quite simply put, the Qunks are the greatest PFP collection to date. A collection of provenance and quality meant for the collectors of fine collectibles that are here for the art.

This unique art PFP collection is soon coming to SEI and was created by Todd McCullough AKA Culla. Combining the neo-expressionist style of Jean-Michel Basquiat mixed with the concept of the CryptoPunks created by Larva Labs Studios (Matt Hall and John Watkinson), the Qunks Collection does PFPs differently.

History of the Qunks... errr, Basqunks Collection

The Basqunks first appeared in a limited collection of 500 tokens on the tezos blockchain in November 2021. Starting first on the now defunct hicetnunc marketplace and finishing on Objkt.

Original Basqunks on objkt
Original H=N Basqunks on teia (also visible on objkt)

Culla noticed after his first limited art PFP drops that rarity trumped aesthetics. Which he had a slight issue with. Rarity being what it is, and it does have an importance in defining value and provenance in a PFP, Culla felt that aesthetics should also rank highly in the eyes of collectors. That even if a PFP was given a low rank based on traits - if it were visually striking and pleasing - Culla felt that the rarity should be ignored.

Four existing minted Basqunks on the tezos blockchain. 193, 408, 425 & 0.

The Argument for Abstraction

So, due to that observation, Culla set out to make a collection that used abstraction as a way to distort the PFP image and hopefully raise the argument against rarity. Culla wanted the collector to see value in the image they owned, even if the rarity of that image was the lowest in the collection.

Abstract art, as the building blocks of a collection would blur the lines of what was good or bad. Or so he felt. To him, the human brain enjoyed picking out pattern and balance in the abstract works of art. There was some sort of connection within abstract works that would lend itself to the PFP. With the Basqunks, Culla wanted to abandon form somewhat while still keeping it appealing to the more conservative viewer. And there was no greater neo-expressionist master better suited for the inspiration of the style then Basquiat.

Abstraction in the work, using inspired elements of neo-expressionism while still maintaining form, is what gives the Basqunks collection its unique vibe. The attributes combine in ways that the majority of PFP collections do not. Many layers within the background and head attributes blend to make unique combinations while other layers mask or cancel out each other, causing the shape of the head and face to distort and deform. This all lends to a higher quality aesthetic within the collection and an overall higher visual quality and variability.

With the new current attributes, reworked, remixed and improved within the Ethereum Basqunks, this raises the quality level to 11.

Deeeeeeeeee-rop

The Basqunks were born.

And the collection was hot, at least by tezos standards. Collectors were clamboring over one another virtually and many other artists in the tezos scene began creating their own collections based on combining Basquiat with other notable PFP collections.
Check out Basquiapes and Basqkek for example. There were quite a few collections inspired by the Basqunks.

By no means was Culla the first to find inspiration from the work of the late genius Basquiat... as you can see here. But definitely, once Culla did what no other artist had done up to that point, combine PFPs with neo-expressionism, you can see a trend started to form.

And this is the sort of "underground concert scene" Culla would love to see happen once again.

Why SEI?

Copy-Mints

Would you believe that the majority of the PFP collections Culla has created have been copy-minted on either the chain he was on, or on another chain completely?

Fun Fact - Culla's work was copy-minted (don't buy it mmkay) on SEI and that's what made him take a look at it in the first place. The community loved some jpegs that butchered what he'd made and when it became known that the art was stolen; SEI rallied and the collection was taken down!

Afterward, KingBall and EL Stuff reached out to Culla and said, "Maybe you should consider minting here? Collectors love your work."

A few other people in the space, DMed Culla as well, explaining that the chain was new, strong, fostering the right kind of atmosphere, was looking to make NFTs "fun again", and wouldn't he consider dropping on it?

For his part, Culla asked himself, "What makes me so hesitant in trying out a different chain? What Kool-aid did I drink, that I won't even go in and have a look around?!"

The rest is history? Time will tell.

Burger Flippin'

Culla is now faced with the new reality that it might be back to flippin' burgers or likely some other low paying minimum wage job to keep the art dream alive. He hopes, at the very least, that his art will bring fortune to his children after his death.

But with such a bleak choice in the near future, why not give it one more go to see what is possible? To see if the Qunks can rise even higher? And this time around, go big and do it on a new chain that is trying to do things differently. Bitcoin may be the king of crypto, and Ethereum might be the Major league of NFTs... But SEI is championing royalties, sharing tech and the Qunks deserve a chance at promotion to see if they can move up into the Champions League.

Kickstart Something

Buy for the art. First and foremost. We do recommend that you definitely should hold something long term, because this collection has been made by a true artist, not some illustrator for hire, so speculate on that.

Please consider this as a Kickstarter as well. The Qunks deserve bigger. The fans of the collection deserve more and 500 tokens on a small chain was never going to cut it. The Qunks need to play in the big leagues.

Buy for the art, because who knows where it will all go?

The Collection

Specials

7 Deadly Sins
2 Untitleds
1 Tortured Soul
1 Lycanthrope
1 Dark Lord
1 Soul Lost in the V0iD

Tokens in this bunch will have a special attribute assigned that no other token in the collection has. The monster was added because it's Culla's collection and he felt like it was a good idea to promote his graphic novel - Who Needs the Moon.

Zombies, Ghouls & Vampires

Just under 100 zombies
Just under 110 vampires
Just under 75 goblins
Less than 30 ghouls

These tokens have a special head overlay and ear assigned within each set. The Vampires also have special teeth and the ghouls have special noses. While all other attributes are found within the collection, specific background colo(u)rs have been assigned to each set to limit the possibilites and add atmosphere here. The custom tokens also include the previously mentioned one-offs.

Main Collection

5 background colo(u)r combinations (4 layers make up the BGs)

3 base BG layers 35 attributes in each
fourth BG layer adds 32 attributes overtop (includes 11 rare)

Head has two layers

base layer 20
top overlay 45 (includes 11 rare)

102 hat/hair attributes
32 mouth attributes
26 nose attributes (includes 2 rare for ghouls)
40 animated eyes/glasses attributes (maybe some lazers are possible with airdrops?)
31 bg overlay attributes
37 special attributes that are used for the one-offs and unique rare cosmetics