fxGems #3 ⏀ Representational Honorable Mentions from Nov. 2021
Only a handful of projects are able to make the fxGems Best of List, but that shouldn't mean we overlook all of the other incredible work dropping on fx(hash) each month. So here are some additional projects worth your attention.
fxGems is curated by Haiver. Follow on Twitter and Mastodon for recommendations, and sign up for email notifications for when a new issue drops. To support the work, collect a copy of this issue on fx(text) or past issues, or consider minting one of my generative pieces on fx(hash).
With 1859 projects released in November 2021, it's impossible for every good generative art project to fit in the fxGems Best of Lists for abstract and representational art, so the Honorable Mentions was born. And there are many possible reasons a project ended up in the Honorable Mentions instead of on a Best of List. There wasn't enough variety across the minted pieces, or some of the layouts were strong but other mints could have used more self-awareness between their parts. The piece was well executed but lacked originality, or the piece was original but lacked execution. Or there were a limited number of color palettes when the piece would have really shone with a few more.
Or perhaps the artist still has room to grow, but we should start rooting for them now. The algorithm needed to be pushed further, techniques stacked together, or the process used made less obvious (I'm looking at you flow fields). Or they're using a library with such a distinctive look, like Hydra, that the project struggles to stand out from the crowd. And then there are the artists who had a stronger piece make the fxGems Best of List this month and we're trying to spread the love around instead of having the same few names appear repeatedly at the top (but don't want you to miss a very fun piece either!).
It's important to note that fxGems is not a ranked list. One part of good curation is putting pieces in conversation with one another, so each numbered mint featured here has been carefully selected, then ordered into groups of twos and threes to create a dialogue between the different projects. There are juxtapositions and echoes, recurring themes and visual motifs. A thread has been woven throughout. How it draws you from one project to the next is up to you to find.
As always, this issue is available to view on fx(text), especially good for those animated pieces. And if you’re looking for more recommendations, check out the representational and abstract Best of Lists, as well as the many Honorable Mentions, covering November 2021.
FXHASH Generative Logo by fxhash
[Löv] by Juhani Halkomäki
![[Löv] #17](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F1d4a3558-a43d-4c16-9d46-1abac04e218b_1024x1024.webp "[Löv] #17")
Winterland by TeNinEight
Fifty Postcards From Mars by 0xm4_0
Tree Of Thoughts by Gen_Doodler
The Circuit Cure by 3amkind
Dungeon *Playable* Crawler by Mate Steinforth
Walking Bugs by Job Talle
Zpritez by KilledByAPixel
DNA by Sh!g
Galaxy Simulator by P1x3lboy
Three Body Problem Redux by aebrer
Plottable Mountain Moons by greweb
Topographic Playing Card by meodai
The Moth Experiment by Malavika Reddy
Flower by Camille Roux
Sprouting Buddies by Metamoar
Tales of an Older Future by AlexandreRangel
Distortion City #03 by Jinyao Lin
Deep Sketch by balintkulcsar
Figi by excited
Punevyr’s Face by punevyr
Snowflake by w1nt3r
Mountains by ruuddotorg
Generative Swans 2 by n-e-o
City Fragments: Tokyo Shinjuku by akizuki
The Plant IV by ge1doot
Lost Box by lomz
Socks by innadakota
The Value Of Art by ModernGenerative
fxGems is not affiliated with fx(hash) or fx(text) (hence the lack of parentheses), and none of the recommendations herein should be construed as financial advice. We’re here to celebrate the art!
Each month I go one by one through all of the projects that dropped on fx(hash) to find the strongest, most compelling work — generative art that has a unique voice, a wide variety across its many mints, and an intriguing approach to algorithms and technique.