Chris: Hi! Can you tell us more about yourself and the role you're playing in that blooming project?
Thorsten: Hello Chris, thank you very much for inviting you and your team NFT calendar to the nice interview. It is an honor and a great pleasure for me to be able to talk to you about my art. If I may briefly introduce myself: My name is Thorsten Trantow, the stage name “Thotra” comes first. Live and work in my studio near Switzerland and France. I am an illustrator and comic artist by profession and in my spare time I am a father of two children.
Chris: Thank you for taking the time for me! What inspired you to start the Thotra project and how did you get involved?
Thorsten: The Thotra stands for my signature as an artist and I find it exciting to publish my NFT works with it. I have been working as a freelance illustrator for many years, mainly in Europe, where I sell my drawings and comics. I started with the NFTs this year, first with the flamingos in January and since March 2023 two more comic-style collections have been added:
One is the "Crazy Chicken Heads" and the second and newest collection is the "Pizza Faces", of which 100 motifs are already available in the collection. Overall, I really enjoy working on the works. As a comic artist, the challenge is to design crazy chickens in different positions. And because I love pizza, I wanted to draw a first pizza delivery service for the NFT community. A delicious pizza for every taste. Like the Hannibal Lecter Pizza, it looks delicious.
Chris: Great! How do you see the future development of Thotra and what are your plans for its growth and development?
Thorsten: My collections are growing day by day. The drawing pen does not stand still. There are still so many interesting ideas on the table that I want to implement in the coming months. So I would like to create a few more motifs with the crazy chickens and the delicious pizza faces. I am also very pleased that I found the first collectors in the first few days from the start of the Pizza Faces. That gives me hope and gives me inspiration to continue promoting and publicizing the projects. It would be a great pleasure for me if we could draw a little attention to my projects with our interview.
Chris: What challenges did you face while developing Thotra?
Thorsten: When the NFTs started, there were suddenly so many ideas in my head. I had to sort them first. created step by step then the first works. The time came for that. For the past few weeks I've been working around the clock on the drawings to create my everyday work as well. There were still orders from my customers that I had to do.
Chris: Speaking of art, can you guide us through your creative process when designing new products or projects for Thotra?
Thorsten: Sometimes I still draw very traditionally with pencil and paper at the drawing table when I design the sketches for the motifs. Later, the drafts are finely worked out on the computer. The process is still a craft, the drawings are made by hand from the head to the final drawing. I'm often spontaneous with the ideas for the works, whatever moves me and I find very appealing, original or funny.
Chris: In terms of the community, what impact do you hope Thotra will have on its users?
Thorsten: Maybe I can put a smile on my face with my works. Lighten the mood a little. To make someone's day.
It is important to me that my visitors enjoy the motifs. As a comic artist, my job is to entertain people.
I see myself as a circus director who runs a circus tent with artists so that people have something to admire and laugh about.
Chris: Mice! When was the date of the first minting? How many have been minted so far?
Thorsten: The start of the crazy chicken collection was in February. The pizza faces have been on the market place for a week and new motifs are created every day. So far there are 200 listed motifs in my collections.
Chris: Please talk about your team.
Thorsten: I'm still working alone on the NFTs. If the series should really become more successful, I'll probably look for other artists
look around for my team. Then we will have fun together with the works that will then be created for our collectors.
Chris: Amazing! My last word for our readers?
Thorsten: Very gladly. I hope I was able to tell the community a little bit about myself and my work with the interview. I had a lot of fun.
Much peace, love and hope. As an artist, I see the NFTs as a great opportunity to put all creative thoughts out into the world for a common and better world.
Also, don't forget to join our Discord and Twitter. It is the best way to stay informed on news and announcements.
Thanks very much, Thorsten „Thotra“
