Platonic Love

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Platonic Love is a 11 piece NFT collection featuring visuals by Esteban Diacono, a motion graphics designer from Buenos Aires, Argentina, and original music by Mike Shinoda.[1] It was debuted on March 29, 2021 through Nifty Gateway.

Background

Mike Shinoda said the duo started talking through Instagram DMs.[2]

The project was announced on March 19, 2021. Esteban Diácono wrote, "Very happy and very excited to announce "Platonic Love", a collaboration between myself and the the great Mike Shinoda. We'll be debuting our first collaboration on March 29th, exclusively on Nifty Gateway. "Platonic Love" is a humble homage to 3D Graphics and how I fell in love with the art and the craft. The collection features original compositions and sound design by Mike Shinoda, who through his music, added a whole new dimension to the visuals."[3]

"The most challenging part of this drop has been getting eyes on the concepts and the decisions," he explained.[4] He further elaborated on the concept behind the project, "The collection is called "Platonic Love" and yes, there's Platonics, and there's also a ton of love put into it. It's a collection about 3D history, about the tools, the journeys, the discovery and the learning processes. It's a bit of a nostalgia trip."[5]

Composition

The collection is categorized into three 3D Test objects, Five Platonics and three Open Editions.[6] The 3D Test objects are "The Cornell Box", "The Stanford Bunny" and "The Utah Teapot" while the Five Platonics are the solids: "Thetra", "Hexa", "Octa", "Dodeca" and "Icosa". Each piece of the Open Editions is composed of all Five Platonics (hence why they all have "Platonics" in their titles) with the same mechanics but they are visually different and features different music.

3D Test

About the 3D Test objects, Esteban Diacono explained "the idea was to pay homage, remember and maybe introduce to a new audience the work of the people who helped advance the field of 3D graphics."[7] He continued saying, "The objects presented above were instrumental in getting us to the point we are today, and the Five Platonics have been the faithful companion and favorite subject of countless artists. It felt pretty good to work with all of them again."[8]

The Cornell Box

The description for "The Cornell Box" reads:

"The Cornell box is a test aimed at determining the accuracy of rendering software by comparing the rendered scene with an actual photograph of the same scene, and has become a commonly used 3D test model.The physical properties of the box are designed to show diffuse interreflection. For example, some light should reflect off the red and green walls and bounce onto the white walls, so parts of the white walls should appear slightly red or green."[9]

The Stanford Bunny

The description for "The Stanford Bunny" reads:

"The Stanford bunny is a computer graphics 3D test model developed by Greg Turk and Marc Levoy in 1994 at Stanford University. The model consists of 69,451 triangles, with the data determined by 3D scanning a ceramic figurine of a rabbit. The data can be used to test various graphics algorithms, including polygonal simplification, compression, and surface smoothing."[10]

In a Twitter thread, Esteban Diacono gave a lengthy explaination of the piece:

"This piece is about a bunny, just not ANY bunny. The "Stanford Bunny" is one of the most famous computer graphics test models, and it was developed by Greg Turk and Marc Levoy in 1994, at Stanford University."[11]

"The model consists of 69,451 triangles, with the data determined by 3D scanning a ceramic figurine of a rabbit Levoy bought while doing Easter shopping. This figurine and others were scanned to test methods of "range scanning" physical objects."[12]

"The technique that the Cyberware's range scanner uses to make a range image is to move an object through a sheet of bright red laser light. The sheet of laser light is created by sending a beam through a cylindrical lens."[13]

"A camera sees a ribbon of light that wiggles as the object moves through the sheet of light. The scanner examines one row of pixels in such an image and the position of the brightest part of the ribbon gives a measure of distance of the object from the source of laser light."[14]

"In order for an object to be visible to the camera of the range scanner its surface must reflect the red laser light, that's why black or shinny objects may not scan well. This is why the bunny proved to be an exceptional subject for the range scanner."[15]

"Over the years, the "Stanford Bunny" dataset has been extremely useful to test and advance the fields of 3D scanning, UV mapping, polygonal simplification, compression, surface smoothing, non-photorealistic rendering and more."[16]

"While the bunny's polygonal count is low by today's standards, it's still relevant and has become one of the most beloved 3D test models of all time. I used it extensively when I was learning how to render with new render engines like Brazil, or the early incarnation of Arnold."[17]

"Our version of the Stanford Bunny was retopologized, and then remeshed in Houdini in order to provide a surface simple and consistent enough for animation. The pearlescent shader was developed based on the muted colors the range scanner would have liked."[18]

"Mike's score reminded me of the jumpy and attentive nature of bunnies, while maintaining a joyful and nostalgic vibe that completes the vision for this animation."[19]

The Utah Teapot

The description for "The Utah Teapot" reads:

"The Utah teapot, or the Newell teapot, is a 3D test model that has become a standard reference object and an in-joke within the computer graphics community. It is a mathematical model of an ordinary Melitta-brand teapot that appears solid with a nearly rotationally symmetrical body. It was one of the first to be modeled using bézier curves rather than precisely measured."[20]

Five Platonics

The description for the Five Platonics reads:

"In three-dimensional space, a Platonic solid is a regular, convex polyhedron. It is constructed by congruent, regular polygonal faces with the same number of faces meeting at each vertex. Five solids meet these criteria: Thetraedron, Cube, Octahedron, Dodecahedron and Icosahedron."[21]

In a Twitter thread, Esteban Diacono gave a lengthy explaination of the five pieces:

"When I was young and wanted to become a 3D artist, my dreams were made of steel and glass. Having been visually nurtured by countless brandings built around colored crystal & sharp reflective metals, I wanted to learn how to create them and apply that knowledge to my experiments."[22]

"While I consider myself quite curious and open to challenges, over the years I've noticed that I totally suck at tons of aspects of the 3D world. For example, I was never able to learn how to model anything more complex than, let's say, a table."[23]

"Also, 20 years ago there was no internet marketplaces and you were LUCKY if the copy of your software of choice came with a few test assets. So I started to learn by using the most basic tools a 3D app has to offer: Primitives."[24]

"To avoid adding here graphics and more graphics, let's say that Primitives are the most basic figures, like a box, a sphere, a cone, a torus, etc. Among those basic, simple figures, I found the Five Platonics."[25]

"I would present to you the Platonics, but you've already seen them. They're everywhere, in the art of people you never heard of, and in the art of the people you love the most."[26]

"A few artists already present in the NFT space have used them recently: Joanie Lemercier, Jon Noorlander, Odesza, and many more. Each one of these artists used the same elements to different means and with amazing results, so I guess now it's our turn."[27]

"I wanted to pay homage to those ever-present objects, those early inspirations, and the elements that have been with me for more that 23 years. I've been around viewport grids, UV checkerboards and shinny spheres for two decades+, so how could I leave them out?"[28]

"I guess I could write another thread about Mike Shinoda score but I'm not sure I'll ever find the words to do them justice. Mike's synths made the animations feel like coming home and gave me a deep, nostalgic feeling from the first time I saw it all together, sights and sounds."[29]

"I'm so thankful and humbled by this collaboration that I'll avoid embarrassing myself writing cheesy things and move to the next tweet."[30]

Release

The initial release of Platonic Love happened on March 29, 2021 through Nifty Gateway. It is presented as 11 videos in mp4 format, each with an average duration of 40 seconds and containing a different instrumental song made exclusively for the video. The 3D Test objects were limited to 1 unit each, while the Five Platonics were limited to 15 each (despite the announcement that there were only 10).[6][21]

"Platonics: On A Budget", "Platonics: At The Frathouse" and "Platonics: With Honors" were released on a separate page as Open Editions, meaning the platform allowed for up to 9999 purchases of each piece. However, there was a time limit and they were only available for 5 minutes.[31]

An additional 50 seconds piece titled "A Lot Of Platonic Love" was sold for $1 starting on June 8, 2021 at 2 PM ET exclusively for holders of Platonic Love pieces. It was limited to 20 units.[32] Owning multiple pieces granted multiple entries.[33] While the visuals are unique to this piece, the music is an extended version of "Icosa".

Track Listing

Platonic Love

No. Title Writer(s) Length
1 The Cornell Box Mike Shinoda 0:40
2 The Standford Bunny Mike Shinoda 0:40
3 The Utah Teapot Mike Shinoda 0:40
4 Thetra Mike Shinoda 0:40
5 Hexa Mike Shinoda 0:40
6 Octa Mike Shinoda 0:40
7 Dodeca Mike Shinoda 0:42
8 Icosa Mike Shinoda 0:40

Platonic Love Open Editions

No. Title Writer(s) Length
1 Platonics: On A Budget Mike Shinoda 0:40
2 Platonics: At The Frathouse Mike Shinoda 0:40
3 Platonics: With Honors Mike Shinoda 0:40

Reward Drop

No. Title Writer(s) Length
1 A Lot Of Platonic Love Mike Shinoda 0:50

Gallery

External Links

References

  1. Mike Shinoda on Instagram: “Coming to @niftygateway in one week /// visuals by the incredible @_estebandiacono /// audio by me #nft #nftart #blockchain”, March 22, 2021
  2. Mike Shinoda YouTube Q+A (March 30, 2021) - Newswire - Linkin Park Live, March 30, 2021
  3. Esteban Diacono / diaconoesteban.eth / on Twitter: "Very happy and very excited to announce "Platonic Love", a collaboration between myself and the the great @mikeshinoda. We'll be debuting our first collaboration on March 29th, exclusively on @niftygateway. https://t.co/Obt23o46DJ" / Twitter, March 22, 2021
  4. Esteban Diacono / diaconoesteban.eth / on Twitter: "The most challenging part of this drop has been getting eyes on the concepts and the decisions, so I decided to write some mini-3D history threads that hopefully will give context and help understand why a teapot, why a bunny, etc. https://t.co/Vsi1TbKmfg" / Twitter, March 29, 2021
  5. Esteban Diacono / diaconoesteban.eth / on Twitter: "The collection is called "Platonic Love" and yes, there's Platonics, and there's also a ton of love put into it. It's a collection about 3D history, about the tools, the journeys, the discovery and the learning processes. It's a bit of a nostalgia trip. https://t.co/LenpEOZ2Fg" / Twitter, March 29, 2021
  6. 6.0 6.1 Esteban Diacono / diaconoesteban.eth / on Twitter: "The drop's format is the following: 5 Silent Auctions featuring the Five Platonics (editions of 10). 3 1/1 Auctions, featuring the most iconic and beloved 3D test objects. 3 Open Editions. Each piece has an original, made-for-this-drop score by @mikeshinoda. https://t.co/M6ukS9MZRs" / Twitter, March 29, 2021
  7. Esteban Diacono / diaconoesteban.eth / on Twitter: "About the 3D Test objects, the idea was to pay homage, remember and maybe introduce to a new audience the work of the people who helped advance the field of 3D graphics. Here's a few threads for the last couple days with some #OriginStories (sorry, @RogerDickerman)." / Twitter, March 29, 2021
  8. Esteban Diacono / diaconoesteban.eth / on Twitter: "The objects presented above were instrumental in getting us to the point we are today, and the Five Platonics have been the faithful companion and favorite subject of countless artists. It felt pretty good to work with all of them again." / Twitter, March 29, 2021
  9. The Cornell Box - Nifty Gateway
  10. The Stanford Bunny - Nifty Gateway
  11. Esteban Diacono / diaconoesteban.eth / on Twitter: "This piece is about a bunny, just not ANY bunny. The "Stanford Bunny" is one of the most famous computer graphics test models, and it was developed by Greg Turk and Marc Levoy in 1994, at Stanford University. Meet the bunny: https://t.co/CcFDe8f0D4" / Twitter, March 26, 2021
  12. Esteban Diacono / diaconoesteban.eth / on Twitter: "The model consists of 69,451 triangles, with the data determined by 3D scanning a ceramic figurine of a rabbit Levoy bought while doing Easter shopping. This figurine and others were scanned to test methods of "range scanning" physical objects." / Twitter, March 26, 2021
  13. Esteban Diacono / diaconoesteban.eth / on Twitter: "The technique that the Cyberware's range scanner uses to make a range image is to move an object through a sheet of bright red laser light. The sheet of laser light is created by sending a beam through a cylindrical lens. Below is a schematic diagram of a scanner. https://t.co/7lKEzbBQdU" / Twitter, March 26, 2021
  14. Esteban Diacono / diaconoesteban.eth / on Twitter: "A camera sees a ribbon of light that wiggles as the object moves through the sheet of light. The scanner examines one row of pixels in such an image and the position of the brightest part of the ribbon gives a measure of distance of the object from the source of laser light." / Twitter, March 26, 2021
  15. Esteban Diacono / diaconoesteban.eth / on Twitter: "In order for an object to be visible to the camera of the range scanner its surface must reflect the red laser light, that's why black or shinny objects may not scan well. This is why the bunny proved to be an exceptional subject for the range scanner. Meet the original bunny: https://t.co/zYismcs0Tt" / Twitter, March 26, 2021
  16. Esteban Diacono / diaconoesteban.eth / on Twitter: "Over the years, the "Stanford Bunny" dataset has been extremely useful to test and advance the fields of 3D scanning, UV mapping, polygonal simplification, compression, surface smoothing, non-photorealistic rendering and more. https://t.co/HWJamt2KdP" / Twitter, March 26, 2021
  17. Esteban Diacono / diaconoesteban.eth / on Twitter: "While the bunny's polygonal count is low by today's standards, it's still relevant and has become one of the most beloved 3D test models of all time. I used it extensively when I was learning how to render with new render engines like Brazil, or the early incarnation of Arnold." / Twitter, March 26, 2021
  18. Esteban Diacono / diaconoesteban.eth / on Twitter: "Our version of the Stanford Bunny was retopologized, and then remeshed in Houdini in order to provide a surface simple and consistent enough for animation. The pearlescent shader was developed based on the muted colors the range scanner would have liked. https://t.co/id0yA86f89" / Twitter, March 26, 2021
  19. Esteban Diacono / diaconoesteban.eth / on Twitter: "Mike's score reminded me of the jumpy and attentive nature of bunnies, while maintaining a joyful and nostalgic vibe that completes the vision for this animation. This concludes today's 3D graphics history lesson. Thank you, and don't forget to visit @niftygateway on March 29th." / Twitter, March 26, 2021
  20. The Utah Teapot - Nifty Gateway
  21. 21.0 21.1 Thetra - Nifty Gateway
  22. Esteban Diacono / diaconoesteban.eth / on Twitter: "When I was young and wanted to become a 3D artist, my dreams were made of steel and glass. Having been visually nurtured by countless brandings built around colored crystal & sharp reflective metals, I wanted to learn how to create them and apply that knowledge to my experiments." / Twitter, March 28, 2021
  23. Esteban Diacono / diaconoesteban.eth / on Twitter: "While I consider myself quite curious and open to challenges, over the years I've noticed that I totally suck at tons of aspects of the 3D world. For example, I was never able to learn how to model anything more complex than, let's say, a table." / Twitter, March 28, 2021
  24. Esteban Diacono / diaconoesteban.eth / on Twitter: "Also, 20 years ago there was no internet marketplaces and you were LUCKY if the copy of your software of choice came with a few test assets. So I started to learn by using the most basic tools a 3D app has to offer: Primitives." / Twitter, March 28, 2021
  25. Esteban Diacono / diaconoesteban.eth / on Twitter: "To avoid adding here graphics and more graphics, let's say that Primitives are the most basic figures, like a box, a sphere, a cone, a torus, etc. Among those basic, simple figures, I found the Five Platonics." / Twitter, March 28, 2021
  26. Esteban Diacono / diaconoesteban.eth / on Twitter: "I would present to you the Platonics, but you've already seen them. They're everywhere, in the art of people you never heard of, and in the art of the people you love the most. https://t.co/wFWIVO8JNM" / Twitter, March 28, 2021
  27. Esteban Diacono / diaconoesteban.eth / on Twitter: "A few artists already present in the #NFT space have used them recently: @JoanieLemercier, @JonNoorlander, @odesza, and many more. Each one of these artists used the same elements to different means and with amazing results, so I guess now it's our turn." / Twitter, March 28, 2021
  28. Esteban Diacono / diaconoesteban.eth / on Twitter: "I wanted to pay homage to those ever-present objects, those early inspirations, and the elements that have been with me for more that 23 years. I've been around viewport grids, UV checkerboards and shinny spheres for two decades+, so how could I leave them out?" / Twitter, March 28, 2021
  29. Esteban Diacono / diaconoesteban.eth / on Twitter: "I guess I could write another thread about @mikeshinoda score but I'm not sure I'll ever find the words to do them justice. Mike's synths made the animations feel like coming home and gave me a deep, nostalgic feeling from the first time I saw it all together, sights and sounds." / Twitter, March 28, 2021
  30. Esteban Diacono / diaconoesteban.eth / on Twitter: "I'm so thankful and humbled by this collaboration that I'll avoid embarrassing myself writing cheesy things and move to the next tweet." / Twitter, March 28, 2021
  31. Platonic Love Open Editions by Esteban Diacono x Mike Shinoda - Nifty Gateway
  32. Esteban Diacono / diaconoesteban.eth / on Twitter: ""A Lot of Platonic Love", a reward mini drop for holders of last March collection. 20 editions, $1 each, featuring original music composed by @mikeshinoda from @linkinpark. JUNE 8th, 2 PM ET. You MUST own a piece from "Platonic Love" to enter. @niftygateway https://t.co/TbWbPfR59n" / Twitter, June 5, 2021
  33. A Lot Of Platonic Love by Esteban Diacono x Mike Shinoda - Nifty Gateway