Autism awareness NFT uses crypto for good

The Hedgie Fund mastermind Matt Landon is releasing a trait-based, randomly generated NFT collection. These “Hedgies” use characters, sets and props from the animated short film Sam the Hedgehog that promotes autism acceptance.

The Hedgie Fund will be used to complete the film and donate to causes that help drive global autism acceptance.

“NFTs are digital representations of ownership of various items, with one of the most popular use-cases being to represent art,” explains Landon. Purchasers buy, sell and trade for a number of reasons, but rarely do NFTs fund real projects with real purpose.”

“By purchasing a Sam Hedgie, collectors can become part of something meaningful that has intent and that raises awareness and funds for Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD).”

The film was conceptualised in 2014 and is being produced by MAAN Creative in Johannesburg and uses both stop motion and 2D digital animation. But, due to the extremely high cost of animation, the film is only partially complete.

To finish the project and have it shown at film festivals around the world its creators spotted an opportunity upon seeing how popular NFT trading has recently become. MAAN has algorithmically designed 8 128 Sam Hedgies for NFT amateurs and aficionados to mint for 0.05 ETH each and support a good cause.

“We realised that we could use the existing assets from the film, a mixture of hand-drawn characters and practical, hand-crafted sets, and engage those who are interested in NFTs and wish to support autism acceptance,” says Michael Clark, co-director at MAAN Creative.

“Not only will the owners who mint our NFTs own a beautiful image, but they will also be linked to a real project and cause.”

Owners will receive several benefits and perks including early access to view the film while it is submitted to independent film festivals, but before it is released to the public as a free resource.

They can also choose to have their name, pseudonym, .eth name, Twitter handle or Ethereum public address acknowledged or thanked in the end credits of the film, and even stand a chance to land a cameo role in the film.

“While only 8 128 NFTs will be available to mint, we could have had up to 1,9-million different variations,” says Landon.

“The film project has such a rich world with so many thoughtful details and the NFT project provides another avenue for us to showcase this world that will probably get lost in the film,” adds Clarke. “For example, the way Sam arranges his building blocks meticulously by colour – a subtle clue to his autistic nature.”

To get involved visit TheHedgie.fund or follow @Hedgie_Fund on Twitter.

Read more: NFT Lab takes Africa’s biggest collection to OpenSea