Introducing Sketchbook
Sketchbook is a place for artists to mint their sketches (works in progress) as free open editions on Zora, validate their concepts with collectors, and then raffle the completed pieces to them.
Currently in Beta
At the moment, Sketchbook is a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) to test the concept with artists and collectors. So the entire experience isn’t yet built into the site, but it will be soon. Also, we will be deploying the Omega protocol, which powers the raffle component, on layer twos such as Zora Network, Base and Optimism.
Best part about making it available on these networks, is that due to differences in block times, and some other variances around MEV and the likes, we will no longer need to use Chainlink VRF to get sufficient onchain randomness for the draws, like we do on mainnet. This means that the user experience will be much simpler, with very few steps.
This post describes how to use Sketchbook in its current MVP format, and for a limited time, Gami will be subsidising any $LINK and gas expenses relating to the raffles. This is very important, so that our early, curated cohort of artists don’t have to worry about the technicalities and can simply focus on what they do best.
If you’re not an artist, feel free to skip the next section and go directly to an explanation of the Sketchbook business model.
Artist Tutorial
Keep this tab open, then follow the steps below:
- Mint your sketch (work in progress) as a free open edition on Zora, selecting Ethereum (mainnet) as your chosen network.
- Make sure you are on the Single Edition page, not Multi-Edition (not yet supported), and follow the prompts to mint your sketch.
- Include the following text in your description, it provides a clickable link:
An experiment with Sketchbook, [click here](https://sketchbook.wtf/intro.html) to learn more. - Set whatever parameters you like for the sale, such as making it a timed open edition, or giving it a limited supply, BUT make sure you set the price to 0 ETH.
- This is really important, so that collectors can mint your sketch for f(r)ee, and you will earn zora protocol rewards of 0.000333 ETH per mint.
- Then once a few mints roll in, you’ll get validation that there’s demand for you to finish your piece. Once completed, mint your completed piece as a 1/1 or limited edition, on your platform of choice, making sure you’re minting an ERC721 NFT on Ethereum (mainnet).
- Once the mint for your sketch is complete, either in time or quantity (based on your setup), you can either proceed to omega.build to raffle your completed piece to sketch holders (will cost you some $LINK for onchain randomness and some ETH for gas), or send the NFT of your completed piece to mvp.gami.eth, and Gami will take care of the rest.
In future, any steps that warrant Gami’s involvement won’t exist, and for full disclosure, Sketchbook has a business model that also depends on zora protocol rewards, just like your earnings from your f(r)ee open editions.
Business Model
Sketchbook, once in full production, will allow artists to mint, and collectors to collect, from sketchbook.wtf itself. This will qualify Sketchbook, which is a collaboration between Gami, Iain Nash and Volky, for the Create and Mint referral portions of the zora protocol rewards.
Here’s how the split will look:
- Artist reward = 0.000333 ETH
- First Minter reward = 0.000111 ETH
- Sketchbook (create) referral = 0.000111 ETH
- Sketchbook (mint) referral = 0.000111 ETH
- Zora split = 0.000111 ETH
The First Minter reward is a new initiative from Zora that incentivises discovery. For works on Zora Network, artists can create without needing to spend any ETH, not even on gas. Instead, the First Minter pays the deployment cost and in return, they earn 0.000111 ETH for every mint thereafter.
Why Sketchbook?
If you’re an artist, you’ve likely a sketchbook full of ideas and concepts itching to get out. But it’s equally as likely that you experience a sense of apprehension, as you try to gauge whether or not people will vibe with the piece, when deciding whether to finish and release it.
So we’re helping break down that barrier, by normalising the minting of everything, even your sketches, at a price point (basically free) that helps validate your ideas with collectors, onchain. So even if there’s no interest, at least you’ve an onchain story unfolding, of your development as an artist.
Perhaps you’re wondering why “Sketchbook” was chosen as the brand name? Well it’s an obvious reference to an artist sketchbook, but “book” is also a subtle reference to bookmaking, as in setting odds.
How many collectors mint your sketches, and the quantity they each mint, will essentially set the odds for all collectors’ chances of winning the completed piece.
Feedback Welcome!
Sketchbook is actually the second project powered by the Omega protocol. Forgeries was our first attempt at building on top of fair, transparent, and verifiably random onchain raffles. We’ve learned loads and applied our learnings to this pivot you’re reading about now.
So thanks for taking the time to read this introduction, and tutorial, and if you’ve any questions, please join our Discord to discuss further with our team and the rest of the community.
Finally, we’re kicking off the fun with a f(r)ee open edition, remixing the original “I drew it, really!” meme. During the mint, Gami will be completing the famous sketch in his own style.