In a fascinating blend of digital and street art, the renowned French artist Invader has created his unique style of mosaics with its pixelated, video game-themed art. Besides the mosaics, the artist also creates other styles of art. One of Invader's projects looks rather familiar, like the NFTs from CryptoPunks. Does this mean that Invader is going to sell his art as NFTs or Cryptoart? Let’s find out!

What are CryptoPunks?

Before we dive into Invader’s project, let’s first introduce CryptoPunks.

Cryptopunks are a collection of 10,000 unique, algorithmically generated characters that pioneered the NFT (non-fungible token) movement. The special thing about CryptoPunks is that none of the 10,000 generated characters have the same features. Originally, Punks could be claimed for free using any Ethereum wallet, as long as your wallet had enough $ETH to cover gas fees. Now, they have to be purchased from owners who list them on the marketplace, which supports both instant purchase and bidding.

CryptoPunks are 24 x 24-pixel art images, with most being punky-looking guys and girls. However, there are a few other creatures in the group such as Apes, Zombies, or even Aliens. Every Punk has a profile page that shows their attributes and ownership/for-sale status.

Since their release on June 23, 2017, CryptoPunks has been featured in numerous international publications, headlined prestigious international auctions at both Christie’s and Sotheby’s, and even entered the permanent collections of important art museums such as the ICA Miami, the Centre Pompidou, and the LACMA.

See the official marketplace instructions to see how you could acquire your very own Punk, or join Discord, which includes a bot that announces all bids, offers, and sales in real-time.

Crypto Invaders

Crypto Invaders are…

According to a blog by Medium, an online publishing platform, Crypto Invaders were once sold online as NFTs. They look nearly identical to the real deal with decent color and style, therefore it was believed to be an Invader project during quarantine. The project featured 1000 different Crypto Invaders that were available for sale.

However, as of today, the sublink of the website selling these Crypto Invaders is currently unavailable. This may hint tot the fact that they are rip-offs. With that being said, this could be the most successful rip-off of Invader’s works ever, with the creator earning a huge amount of money.

art style of CryptoPunks

The pixelated style of CryptoPunks makes them a fitting muse for Invader's mosaic art. Invader’s series reimagines Cryptopunks as physical mosaics, with each piece paying homage to the original digital art. These mosaics do an amazing job of capturing the distinct features and personalities of these iconic characters. Invader selects specific CryptoPunks to adapt to the physical environment using small, colored tiles that recreate the pixelated look that defines the Cryptopunks' aesthetics.

The CryptoPunks

NY_192

In 2016, the first-ever CryptoPunk work of Invader’s was made. However, it was not referenced from any of the characters sold as an NFT. It may have a similar hairstyle, but the other parts don’t look remotely close to the Punks’ facial features, including its eyes, hands, and mouth. This piece seemed to be a test more than a mosaic itself. In addition, it is a half-body work, which is different from CryptoPunks, which only includes the face.

PA_1478

In 2022, Invader used CryptoPunk 7124 as the mosaic PA_1478’s inspiration in Paris. As you can see, Invader retained many of the major features of the mosaic, including the gender male, and 2 attributes: a cigarette and the peak spike hairstyle. It should be noted that this CryptoPunk is currently not for sale.

PA_1479

Another Invader CryptoPunk-inspired mosaic used CryptoPunk 8229 as the mosaic’s inspiration. As always, the main features of the NFT remained, including female, and 4 attributes, being black lipstick, green eye shadow, crazy hair, and earrings. This Punk is also currently not for sale.

PA_1480

Invader used CryptoPunk 6515 as this mosaic’s inspiration. This CryptoPunk is only one of the few of Zombie Punks, and it has 2 attributes, being cigarette and wild hair. This Punk is once again currently not for sale.

PA_1481

Following the previous mosaics, this last one of the series in Paris references three of the same Cryptopunks, all with the same design but different color variations: 2216, 5580, and 5777 respectively. They have three attributes in common: earring, mohawk, and regular shades. According to Invader, this mosaic is a tribute to Usine de Pali-Kao as the mosaic is placed in the street where alternative artistic creation was active in Paris in the early 1980s.

LDN_156

This mosaic is different from the others. It’s located in London, instead of Paris. It seems that this mosaic comes directly out of the CryptoPunk series, but it isn’t an official one. It has a cigarette and earring attribute but that hair with the eye shadows is not a feature on any of the 10000 Punks. If you look closer at the background, there are subtly shaded Space Invaders in the square mosaic, which acts as a signature of Invader. However sadly, it was removed by the owner of the building the next day, as Invader states “there was scaffolding and workmen to remove the piece.”

What are CryptoPunks?

CryptoInvaders

Art Style of CryptoPunks

The CryptoPunk Mosaics