A Comprehensive Guide to CryptoArte Paintings
by Z Naddaf and Sebastián Brocher
TLDR: Over the years, we’ve shared lots of information about CryptoArte paintings. This compendium puts it all together in one place — as well as revealing some never before shared features!
What makes CryptoArte paintings special?
CryptoArte is a generative art collection that blends the Ethereum network through a deterministic transformation to create a multi-faceted art form, non-fungible token, and decentralized application. In this post, we’ll focus on the art itself by breaking down the unique artistic and computational aspects of the paintings. If you are not familiar with the CryptoArte project, a more general introduction is available at the cryptoarte.io about page.
Blocks, Structure, and Resolution
The collection has 9,895 paintings, each an amalgamation of exactly 576 consecutive Ethereum blocks. These are distributed into 18 rows of 32 columns so that they can be perfectly mapped into a 7,680 by 4,320 pixel digital image (or 8K UHD-TV resolution, also known as 4,320p). This precision allows for both high-resolution prints and creates an excellent fit on modern monitors and TVs.
Timestamps, Block Numbers, and Historical Context
The “bookend” blocks at the beginning and end of the painting each contain two numbers: at the top, there is a block number which signifies the start of the 576 blocks that are represented in the painting. At the bottom, there is a timestamp in UNIX epoch time which reflects the moment when the block was mined down to the second. In this way, the bookends serve as a marker of the painting’s “real life” lifespan and a way to find its place in the history of Ethereum.
We believe this forms a trifecta of historical significance: the history behind the collection itself, the real life timeline the paintings depict, and the connection from each painting to a specific Ethereum period.
For example, Painting #80 begins at block 46,080 and an initial timestamp at 1,438,917,120, which maps to Friday, August 7th, 2015 03:12:00 GMT.
Since the collection starts at Painting #0 and each painting depicts 576 blocks, dividing the painting starting block number by 576 gives the painting number. In this case, dividing 46,080 by 576 gives us Painting #80.
Conversely, information from the last block can be used to calculate the exact lifespan of the painting — if we subtract the timestamp of the first block at 1,438,917,120 from the last at 1,438,926,848, we will deduce that painting #80 was “alive” for 9,728 seconds, or 2 hours, 42 minutes, and 8 seconds.
Taking this one step further, we can derive the average speed of the Ethereum blockchain for the painting. By dividing the lifespan in seconds by the number of blocks, Painting #80 averages 16.89 seconds per block.
For context, the longest lived painting in the collection had a staggering 27,392 seconds — or 7 hours, 36 minutes, and 32 seconds, while averaging approximately 47.56 seconds per block!
Miners and Rarity
Inside of each block there is a very important shape: a hieroglyphic icon which functions as a signature for the miner of the block and reminds us of the immutable nature of the Ethereum blockchain.
This icon is derived from the miner’s Ethereum address of 40 hexadecimals digits or 20 bytes long and split five ways, creating five procedurally generated shapes.
Since Ethereum miner addresses are unique, no two miners can ever have the same icon, and their icons remain constant throughout the collection. As a result, some icons can only be found within a single painting, while other miners have mined many blocks and can be recognized throughout the collection. For instance, Painting #93 is an exceptional case with no less than seven unique one-block miners!
Check out the Miners Gallery for more information about miners in the collection.
Block Background Colors
Color serves several functions within the composition of the painting. For instance, the background of each block is calculated by melding together a “base” blue-gray color with four “signals” that are encoded into corresponding RGB values:
- Red: Ethereum gas used/congestion at the time of mining the block/transaction fees
- Green: the total amount of Ethereum transacted (money)
- Blue: the difficulty of hashing the block
- Transparency: layered on top and determined by the number of transactions within the block
While these signals are representative, the generative algorithm does lots of treatment to smooth transitions, striving to maintain a balance between representing and visualizing the network while producing aesthetically pleasing images. This can be especially striking during specific events that occur in certain paintings — consider Painting #80 again, which contains the first ever Ethereum transaction (note the first block in the sequence with a bright red background).
Hashes, Vitraux Effect, and Security Marks
With the exception of the first and last blocks of each painting (which contain block numbers and timestamps as mentioned), the corners of each and every block are decorated with 8 colorful triangles to create a glass-like or vitraux effect. The 32 byte-long Ethereum block’s hash is encoded in the colors of the triangle and — because every hash is unique — adds another security marker for the authenticity of the painting. This means that not only every painting but also every single block in the collection are provably unique.
Miner Icon Colors
While the colors of the triangles are calculated via the block hash, they also play a role in determining the color for the corresponding miner icons. Beginning with the top left corner on the second block of each painting, the leftmost triangle determines the color for the miner icon. With each successive block, this association moves in a careful clockwise rotation until the cycle of eight is complete, at which point it begins again — a detail which has has never before been revealed!
This effect not only acts as yet another “hidden” (not anymore!) security mark, but also creates a smooth and soothing color cycle throughout the painting. To enhance contrast, the algorithm treats the triangle color together with the block background color to arrive at a pleasing middle point.
Golden Miner Icons
Within each painting, there is exactly one miner icon highlighted by a distinct “golden” border. Moving progressively from left to right and top to bottom, these are found across the collection and positioned at the remainder of the painting number divided by 576 — so the golden miner is at position 1 on painting 1, at position 575 on painting 575, and then all the way back to position 0 on painting 576.
Just like the vitraux effect triangles derived from block hashes, the golden miner icon also creates a security mark in the overall configuration of the painting. Using Painting #2,881 above as an example, we can see that dividing the painting number of 2,881 by 576 gives us a remainder of 1, hence the golden miner icon is at position 1.
Learn More
And that’s it! We hope you enjoyed this deep dive into the CryptoArte paintings and their composition. If you would like to read up on additional information pertaining to the overall CryptoArte project, checkout our prelaunch articles and announcements here on Medium:
- Pre-Launching CryptoArte
- CryptoArte Pre-Launch Update
- CryptoArte Pre-Launch Update #2
- The Miners Gallery: CryptoArte Pre-Launch Update #3
If you’d like to contact us, feel free to reach out on Twitter, or join the CryptoArte community via our Discord server.
For a related NFT project, have a look at this post on Block Parks.
