Getting Started On The Line

The Line is a micro-verse that connects thousands of artists together in a single line filled with 1 million artworks. Yes... 1 million artworks. Over 350 artists are already on The Line.

"One million is not an impossible goal if 3,000 artists add their collections to The Line." MintFace

Collectors are visiting The Line to experience an entire canon of work in the way that artists intended, all their work in one place.

2023 is the year of the artist. As we get closer to our goal, we will invite CNN's viewers in and say 'here, we all made this.'

Why Artists Love The Line

There are four 'killer apps' for artists on The Line.

1. Art you minted.
2. Unlimited space for art.
3. Inclusive of all artists.
4. Show Eth and Tez collections together.

"The Line is truly an open metaverse because you are not constrained by any centralising forces of curation, creation or categorisation." MintFace.

Now let's look at how you can get started on The Line by exploring four curation methods that artists are applying to The Line.

1. Artist Curation, Always

Art first, always is a promise that The Line will always be about the art. Artists generally approach The Line by adding all of their art on The Line. There are three curation methods you will find on The Line.

Provenance first curation
Artists who order their artwork by the date of mint make it easy for collectors to see your progression as an artist.

Cataloging curation
Cataloging shows the range of traits or variations between different artworks by an artists. It is the preferred choice for generative artists who know the traits back to front.

Collection based curation
Artists who have two collections in different styles, often display one on the left side of The Line and one on the right side.

Vibe curation
Artists who curate a new story from their entire canon of work is my personal favorite. Often, the new story is accompanied with titles and text that guide the viewer through the story.

You are already seeing there are many ways to add your art to The Line and you will never run out of space. Let's now explore the six primary surfaces available to add your art to.

2. Space For Everything

The Line has space for everything, because we believe walls are unnecessary in the metaverse. By removing walls, we open up entirely new ways for artists to display their work on The Line creating a powerful new canvas for creativity.

"Each artist accepted to The Line received a segment with exactly 302 places for artwork across three standard surfaces and three advanced surfaces." MintFace.

Line Surfaces

There are three standard surfaces on The Line and three advanced surfaces for the pro curator. The three standard surfaces are:

Left line
The left line contains up to 100 places for your artwork.

Right line
The right line also contains up to 100 places for your artwork.

Top line
The top line also contains up to 100 places for your artwork. Artists also use these when extra frames are needed to place text. Drone and aerial artists love the top line!

Standard Line Surface Examples

Here are a few standard line surfaces curated by artists so far.

Left line
Curated by Tyler's Journey. Tyler has filled both the left line and the right side of his line creating a wrap around experience for his collectors.

Right line
Curated by WildAlps. I love that WildAlps starts with her pfp to connect with collectors, before introducing us to her entire collection of work.

Here is another Right Line example by ChristopheJR.

Christophe has thoughtfully added his work aligning the top and bottom borders while also adding a hero shot to the beginning of his line.

Top line
Curated by Kurt Jurgen. Kurt puts collectors up above his work by displaying his top down drone photography on the top of The Line.

We have covered the three standard surface areas. Now let's look at the three advanced surfaces areas that aren't immediately obvious to artist who are used to curating their art on walls.

Advanced Line Surface

There are three advanced surfaces available for artists who have a little more time and want to flex their pro curation skills. They are advanced, because it will take a little bit of practice to line up your art (pun intended!) correctly.

Let's explore each of the three advanced surfaces available to artists on The Line.

Left Surround
Left Surround is the unlimited space to the left of the line. Artists often place work above the edge of The Line.

Right Surround
Right Surround is the unlimited space to the right of the line. It is a mirror image of the Left Surround.

End Line
End Line is the space that surrounds the door through to the artist before and after your on The Line. It is often used by artists to create an immersive feeling of entering and exiting the gallery space.

These advanced line surfaces are included as standard for every artist. It is easier to see the power of the advanced line surfaces where artists have completed their Line. Let's take a look at some advanced line surfaces examples.

Advanced Line Surface Examples

Here are a few advanced line surfaces curated by artists so far.

Left Surround
Curated by Claudiu Guraliuc. Claudiu won the Fine Art Photographer of The Year 2021 and his work looks absolutely stunning in big screen mode on the left surround of The Line.

Right Surround
Curated by Noealz. Noealz' work needs a large size to see the detail and experience the full awe of his work. Noel has immersed the viewer with supersized placed on both the Left and Right Surround.

We have now covered the three advanced surface areas. But wait, there is more.

Big Screen Mode

Big Screen Mode means you enlarge your artwork to immerse the viewer. You can go 'big screen' anywhere on the line, the surrounds or the end of The Line.

Ramiro has added his landscapes on Big Screen Mode on the right side of The Line and they look simply stunning with a black frame that melts into the background.

3D Showroom Mode

Architect 3D has placed his own 3d spaces inside The Line to effectively create a showroom for his assets. 3D Showroom Mode is a powerful way to get collectors to experience your space first that is superior to 2D marketplaces.

3. Inclusive Of All Artists

You will be accepted to The Line. There is no censorship on The Line. You art will be accepted because there is no rejection process like you may have already experienced with marketplaces.

"The Line is about delivering on the promise of Web3.0 to showcase your entire canon of art in a way that you decide." MintFace.

Artists who were made to feel unwelcome by marketplaces because of the country they originate from, have discovered a new way to connect with collectors on The Line. This is absolutely critical to ensure that voices of artists are not silenced.

The Line also does not sort or categorise artists giving preference or position to 'favorites' or those currently in favour. MintFace isn't say there is not a place for that. Curation is by its very nature, a form of gatekeeping. However, and its important to make this point, artists are the curators on The Line and artists decide their position on The Line simply by wen they join.

4. Show Eth and Tez Collections Together

Ethereum and Tezos blockchains separate the collections of artists in a way that would feel unnatural in the real world. While we have come to accept it in Web3.0, the time has come to reunite our cross-chain collections.

Wen you are accepted to join The Line, you will receive a single invitation link that will work across both Ethereum and Tezos blockchains so you can add your collections from both places.

You might decide to add your Ethereum on the right side of The Line and Tezos on the left side. The choice is yours.

What The Line Doesn't The Line Do

The Line doesn't attempt to replicate the real world, the way early TV tried to replicate theatre. The Line is the first truly native metaverse design, because it provides a blank canvas that needs art to exist.

The moment I first saw something like the Metaverse... was 20+ years ago wen Neo was introduced to the construct in The Matrix.

The ability to experience everything conjured up from white space felt freeing. That feeling of being free from the rules of others is why The Line was created to begin with.

1/ The Line doesn't rank artists. Your place in The Line reflects wen you joined and that's it. We are each a mere dot in this new metaverse world we are buidling. Together we become The Line.

2/ The Line doesn't categorise your art based on your geographical location so your art gets to stand on its own merit.

3/ The Line doesn't hide your art behind slow loading portals. Your segment of The Line loads within 3-5 seconds.  

4/ The Line doesn't mix your art with a kids game, corporate posters, advertising or memes. Nothing wrong with these... but they don't make sense to mix together with art, unless you are the artist. You get to decide what goes on your segment of The Line and you alone.

5/ The Line doesn't require a map. The Line fixes this. Walk forward. Return again. Experience way more art without portals getting in the way. You get your own website link to include in your Twitter bio.

6/ The Line isn't replicating the real world. No distractions. No fuss. No skeumorphic virtual timber beams weighing heavily on your art. The Line is a 'metaverse primitive' that you develop in your own way and extends and evolves as more artists join.

7/ The Line doesn't separate artists. Each segment of The Line is connected together from one artist to the next. We want art and artists to be able to be discovered through serendipity and design of The Line achieves this in the most frictionless way possible.

8/ The Line doesn't impose artificial walls that restrict art size. You get to decide how big to show the art you have created.

9/ The Line doesn't artificially restrict the number of artworks you add. You get to decide how many artworks to add. Each segment includes space for up to 300 artworks which is more than enough for 96.9% of artists.

The Line Is Freedom

The Line is freedom for artists. The Line removes contraints. The Line is a fundamentally new way to experience art in a 3d space. Wherever possible, MintFace and team have designed out the barriers that made it more difficult than 2d environments most web users are accustomed too. Nokia snake game fans will be able to connect the dots... ...with what we are attempting to buidl here.

If we each connect our curated part of the Metaverse together... ...The Line could become quite a substantial experience.

How Big Is The Line

The Line is home to 800 artists and over 30,000 artworks. To see The Line in full today, takes a similar amount of time as visiting the Tate Modern in London and MoMa in New York. Here is a good thread on line length.

"Nokia snake game fans will be able to connect the dots... ...with what we are attempting to buidl here." MintFace

If we each connect our curated part of the Metaverse together... ...The Line could become quite a substantial experience.

Artists Join The Line

You can join The Line if you have minted artworks to share.

Our commitment to you is your application will be processed quickly. Usually the same day. No waiting for weeks without hearing anything... we are not TradArt 😂