Art Direction, 3D Design, Animation
TikTok
2021
FN Meka is leading the conversation of what identity means in the age of the metaverse. Together, we brought to life a wild ride that explores the endless possiblities of freedom in this new frontier.
Inspired by the creativity and innovation of the TikTok creator community, TikTok is exploring the world of NFTs as a new creator empowerment tool. NFTs are a new way for creators to be recognized and rewarded for their content and for fans to own culturally-significant moments on TikTok.
In the metaverse, FN Meka can be whatever he wants, whenever he wants – and in this case he wants to be a chef and test out his cooking skills. FN Meka’s personality is both uniquely his own, and a reflection of that of his creator’s. FN Meka hopes to show others that they, too, can be whoever they want to be through their own virtual avatars.
Before jumping right into creative exploration, I took a deep dive into his world to understand his vibe, tone and aesthetic to ground myself in the ways of all things FN Meka. Basically, he's a robot rapper who is known for his extravagant style and Hypebeast aesthetics. He has the appearance of a cyborg with green hair and eyes, lots of tattoos, and a hand made of gold. He can be anything and anywhere all of the time. With FN Meka, anything is possible.
Dissecting his viral TikTok moment where he explores his abilities in the kitchen would serve as the basis for bringing it to life. I wanted to amplify this chef scene in a way that captured his boundless energy. It seemed pretty obvious on how to do this...
"Let's have him smashing through downtown in a lifted G-Wagon food truck Monster Jam style!"
FN Meka is on a mission to inspire others to imagine who they could be in the metaverse, so it made sense not show his character to let the audience imagine themselves smashing in the truck.
Bringing to life the elements from the kitchen scene was key to tie everything together. Introducing the chef hat popping out the truck would be the perfect touch.
There are no road maps where FN Meka is headed, so I wanted to have the world unfold as he ripped through the city on an endless treadmill based metaverse.
Gettin' tactical!
I set up cameras to fine tune the details, run clay render tests & complete final cinematography.
Building out the world was the fun part.
Putting the frosting on the cake with texturing, motion blur, final composites & renders.
Then I wrapped it up by bringing us back to where it all started...
endless possibilities of what the future could be for us all.
NFT sales created meaningful revenue for participating creators. TikTok's foray into NFTs was largely well-received by the NFT-native community and mainstream media, garnering significant inbound interest from existing and new potential partners. TikTok made a clear impact on real-world behavior through partnership with the Museum of the Moving Image, which would lead to the doubling of museum attendance.
Creators minted their own NFTs and received 100% of the final auction amount - FN Meka - $14k (3.675ETH)
