In this week’s Meet the Artist, we are meeting a creator whose mark on enter.art has been huge since he entered the Launchpad back in August. The beloved Chocking_Crypto, also known as Fahd Chmak, is an extremely passionate game artist who has caught the essence of humanity with his collection ChoCkeD SoulS. His creative mind and past experiences in crypto are combined with fantastic detail, and it is no wonder it has become one of the most sought after collections on the platform. 

So far, close to a 100 Chocked Souls have been released, and we are excited to see the Chocked Souls expand with future features, utilities and plans in 2022. We got the pleasure of asking him a bunch of questions to get to know the creator and his project, and might have gotten some sneak peeks of the future. Get ready for a chocking bonanza!

Can you tell us a bit about your backstory, and how you got into art?

It all started when I was 4, and my mother noticed that I wanted to learn to write as my older brother did. She shifted my attention to drawing by showing me what she was drawing throughout the years - I was amazed.

At that age, she helped me out for a long period of time, until I was obsessed with redrawing and copying any character I loved in a dedicated drawing book. I was good at that, but I was more obsessed with drawing with the quality of comic books. It was a fail for months until one day a Playstation 1 flashed before me with it’s technology and cutscenes graphics. Since that day, I was obsessed with 3D technology.

Later, I got back to drawing as I needed to expand my artistic knowledge. Now, I know that 2D and 3D can complete each other in art in many ways, and I like to balance them both.

#3 Chocked Fiend - Currently only available for offer on the secondary market on enter.art

How do you combine your passion for drawing and digital art?

I love software and technology. It has forced me to stay productive and always be hungry to learn new techniques, while having all the tools I dreamt of. Especially the shortcuts, which is not possible in traditional art.

#87 Chocked soul - Currently only available for offer on the secondary market on enter.art

You’ve got broad experience in diverse creative fields, can you tell us a bit about your journey up until now?

I was planning to be a game artist as I have been obsessed with video games since I was very young. My interests were simple: playing, drawing, learning 3D software, and collecting video games and super hero toys. My life was easy and full of joy at that time, like many others. 

After the sudden death of my dad, I was faced with an immense responsibility that I hadn't expected as a student. But I did get myself together, and decided to shift all of my intention to my new professional life by creating clear goals, keeping the love for art and video games and let it serve me better in my new adventure.

I was facing life like I was playing Final Fantasy 7, where I saw progress like EXP and art techniques as a magic ability that I had to develop faster to progress further, until I reached all my younger self’s goals over a period of 11 years. 

I’ve worked in many artistic fields: video games - concept arts - sculpting - motion graphics - Arch-Viz  and TV Channels, and I’ve constantly been moving around the world. Now I feel confident enough to listen to my new self and set new and harder goals: like counting baby diapers (kidding).

#69 Chocked soul - Currently available on the secondary market on enter.art

What draws you to the NFT space?

All of the successive events in past years have led me to this point, as I’m always open to exploring new fields. I`m not afraid to start all over again, I already did it many times.

For years, working in a team was my only option to gain experience in a professional environment. But I always felt limited by others, and that hurt my feelings. Working by myself has inspired me since I was young, and crypto and NFTs were around while I was looking for ideas to launch my own project.

#20 chocked soul - Currently only available for offer on the secondary market on enter.art

Your collection Chocked Souls is a treat of visual details and vivid backstories - what inspired them?

The inspiration came from a mix of an amazingly positive art experience and a nightmare of a crypto journey. I was surprised by how I can be one of the best and one of the worst in the two different fields that I love the most - ART and trading.

Can you tell us a bit more about your own and the Chocked Souls' connection to crypto and NFTs?

I’m a chocked soul coming from the harsh crypto world, and I gotta find a way to heal from my past experience in crypto to grow from it. One way to do it was to express my feelings by doing NFTs, exposing all my past situations in trading and investing to be self-aware of what I was doing wrong or right. It was my way to meditate.

The good thing is that any trader or investor will be able to relate with at least one Chocked Soul and its description, as long as they've tried to trade, invest in or learn crypto.

Burn supply VS Art Process -  An amazing contribution to the $NFTART burn wallet (make sure to check it out), and the only NFT from Chocking Crypto available on first-hand sale. Well, unless you have a very keen eye on socials that is. 

How did you come across enter?

I was pursuing all the hyped projects of the past year. And yeah, I lost all my dollars, and I loved the idea - that I can be investing in the same platform that I’m using.

The Souls are by far some of the most sought-after on the platform, why do you think that is?

I was surprised too! I was preparing myself mentally to work hard for 6 months accepting the fact of not selling, but it was the opposite.

In my opinion, avatars are all around us, and people start to notice some pattern repetition that was absent in the Chocked Souls.

The link established between the art and the collectors can be, as I see it:

• It’s shared experience in the avatar description
• By the cool effect of the characters
• Or believe in the future of the project by noticing the potential

And by the way - I want to truly thank all the collectors for their engagement with the collection, and for all the real support they are providing as a community pushing forward with me. I'm really grateful! And on the other side, I also thank my wife for her daily support and all the positive vibes she gives behind the scenes. 

#81 Chocked Soul - Currently only available for offer on the secondary market on enter.art

How do you connect with your collectors?

Many are saying that I'm not engaged enough with the enter community, for example in Discord. It’s hard to have time to chat while I have a project to grow and goals to reach, not to mention a time-consuming daily job. But I always take the time to read DMs and reply to them. If you have anything to ask, reach out, and I will always be open to help!

Can you tell us a bit about the utility for the Chocked Souls? 

1st utility: Giving the ability for the Chocked Souls holders to exchange NFT souls between each other (more details coming later).

2nd utility: The more souls you hold, the more gains you will get. Gains are coming from the Chocked Souls sales, and sales will be split between the artist and all holders, or the seller and all holders, which will drive the price up fast with a great reason to buy.

3rd utility: The Custom Souls feature, where you can finally see your imagination, your description, or your beloved character come to life in a Chocked Soul form (as private sales). 

Where are the Chocked Souls going next?

• The metaverse 3D Chocked Souls characters will be in one of the biggest upcoming metaverse worlds. There will be a 10% discount for every 2D Chocked Soul you own. If you have 10, you will get a 100% discount for the 3D characters. Owning the same avatar in 2D will give you an additional 20% discount... In progress - A private sale will be organized at launch.

• 3D printed statues of the Chocked Souls, which will be hand painted and crafted with led lights. They will be in different sizes - 10 cm/ 30cm height, with different scenarios and characters

• 3D gallery, but not a regular one (It will have it’s own utility).

• A collection of a random generated Souls version will come out to keep a cheaper collection available, as the existing ones will be priced much higher.

• Start many collabs with the best artists out there. I’m observing now and choosing wisely later.
• More Rare Paparazzi will come out soon. A dedicated artist will be hired for it to bring my ideas to life while I'm focusing on other tasks.
  
  

Photo leak #43 /#28 - Currently available on the secondary market on enter.art

Keep exploring the world of Chocking Crypto and follow the journey of the avatars on enter, Discord, Twitter, Instagram, Facebook 

More is yet to be discovered...