Mimic Shhans
A generative NFT art project of 10,000 works developed from Shhans
Summary
The Birth of Mimic Shhans
After the unlaunched Klay Shhans plan, I developed the concept of black cats imitating human culture. I designed clothing, eyes, expressions, props and backgrounds as separate parts and established combination rules. Unable to build a formal team, I worked at home with my younger cousin and began by minting the finished works myself for free on OpenSea.
I used the same black cat body as a base and designed small differences in parts to create distinct impressions. Changing clothing, eyes, hats and props was my way of giving each one its own character.
Mimic is the concept of imitation, not the cat’s name. I made the Shhans imitate human clothing, objects and familiar images from popular culture.
I drew the BG, BG Effect, BODY, CLOTHES, EYES, EYEBROW, FACE DECO, HAND, HEAD and MOUTH parts and set their frequencies and probabilities. From common parts to traits appearing only once, these rules produced 10,000 different Shhans.
First mint on OpenSea
In April 2022, I minted the collection for free on OpenSea using ERC-1155. Without an automated minting or reveal system, I generated and issued the finished images myself over several days. My income came mainly from creator royalties on secondary trades rather than initial sales; I later changed these royalties to 0%.
Derivative projects
For Christmas, I made Rudolph Squad and airdropped it to all Mimic Shhans holders at the time. I covered issuance and distribution costs.
I also prepared the winter-themed Snow Shhans, but stopped its launch during the NFT market downturn. Its designs and settings remain documented in that project.
I released the original Mimic Shhans images under CC0 so they could be used and modified regardless of NFT ownership. The black cat developed from Crowned #20 into Shhans continued through the 10,000-work collection, the Legendary Series and community creations.
I applied CC0 to the original collection, but not to every later work. I retained copyright for Rudolph Squad and my separately created reinterpretations, distinguishing them from the original collection.
Legendary Series
I began the Legendary Series at #10001, separately from the original 10,000. Instead of combining shared parts, I drew each image individually as a 1/1 work.
Early Legendary works were distributed through community raffles; later, some were also offered at auction.
Two works within the original 10,000 were also drawn individually as 1/1 pieces. I made Mimic Shhans #1211 for myself from the outset, using the number in my online handle, and keep it without selling it. I made Mimic Shhans #10000 separately around Luffy.
