Chromie Squiggle, the pioneer collection by onchain generative artist Snowfro, has become an iconic symbol in the crypto space since the collection’s official launch in November 2020. The groundbreaking collection fused generative art, math, along with the permanence guarantees and verifiable randomness afforded by blockchain databases.
Recently, the last Chromie Squiggle in the collection – #9999 – entered into the permanent collection of one of the world’s preeminent museums: The Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA).
At MONA, we’ve long admired the Chromie Squiggle collection, along with Snowfro’s technical, artistic, and creative contributions to the blockchain space since 2017. The Chromie Squiggle's simplicity, rooted in procedural generation and minimalistic design, also made it a perfect candidate for a new challenge—recreating the math-based collection in three dimensions, using the same design constraints as the original artist.
Over a six month period, MONA took on the challenge of converting the Chromie Squiggle into 3D, using Snowfro's original algorithm as the foundation. This project was more than just a technical exercise; it was a mission to preserve the integrity and spirit of the original art while pushing the boundaries of Ethereum-based, onchain, generative art. The exercise is also MONA's way of paying tribute to Chromie Squiggle, and giving back to the crypto art community at large.
In this post, we'll share the process, challenges, and significance of this complex exercise.
The Vision: Bringing the Squiggle to 3D
The idea of converting the Chromie Squiggle to 3D arose from conversations between MONA and Snowfro, facilitated by Derek Edwards. We discussed the potential of extending the Squiggle's foundational concepts—math, entropy, and procedural generation—into a new dimension. The goal was ambitious: to create an entire collection of 3D Squiggles, fully on-chain, procedurally generated, viewable in a browser, and persisting forever on the Ethereum blockchain.
This project was not just about adding another dimension to the Squiggle; it was about preserving the spirit of the original art. We wanted to ensure that the 3D Squiggle would be spiritually aligned with its 2D version, respecting the design principles and aesthetic choices that made the original so iconic. We saw this project as a way to inject more fun and joy into the web3 space, giving collectors and enthusiasts a new way to interact and play with art that has come to be synonymous with generative art and blockchain.
Snowfro’s Chromie Squiggle (2020) was an instructional guide for the world’s creative coders to employ verifiable randomness to their algorithmic work – using blockchains as part of the work’s creation. As both an object of art and an icon of history, Chromie Squiggle represents one of our space’s most influential collections. Today, MONA’s Chromie Squiggle 3D Project (2024) is a technical celebration of the possibilities that blockchain, interoperability, and composability offer to the internet’s next generation of creators, collectors, and designers.
- Derek Edws, Managing Partner @ Collab+Currency / Owner @ glitch Gallery
The Origins of the Chromie Squiggle
Before diving into the 3D conversion, it's important to revisit the origins of the Chromie Squiggle. Snowfro's creation is founded on principles of mathematics, entropy, and procedural generation. Each Squiggle is a unique output of a carefully crafted algorithm, where variables like color, thickness, and curvature are determined by the token's hash on the Ethereum blockchain.
The beauty of the Chromie Squiggle lies in its simplicity. Using minimal dependencies, the collection’s onchain algorithm has generated a total of 10,000 unique variations, each distinct yet part of a cohesive whole. This approach makes the Squiggle a visually striking piece and an embodiment of Web3's core values: decentralization, uniqueness, and immutability.
What MONA has built here captures the essence of interoperability that makes the blockchain such a powerful tool. We’ve demonstrated through generative art the power of individual expression as part of a larger family of works and they’ve taken it to the next level by enabling collectors to live with their Squiggles in a 3D environment. I can’t wait to explore all of the Squiggles in 3D and see what MONA can unlock by recreating the Squiggle in this way.
– Erick Calderon, Founder of Art Blocks & Creator of the Chromie Squiggle
The Process: Turning Circles into Spheres
Converting the Chromie Squiggle to 3D was a meticulous process that spanned six months of intense design and development.
For this project, MONA tapped the help of in-house award-winning game designer and Art Blocks artist, Ryan Green. The first challenge was translating the 2D algorithm into 3D space. In the original Squiggle, each point on the line is calculated based on specific mathematical rules. Our task was to take these points, represented as circles in 2D, and transform them into spheres in 3D space.
This transformation required careful consideration of how each point would relate to others in three dimensions. We had to ensure that the Squiggle maintained its characteristic fluidity and randomness while also gaining depth and volume. This involved tweaking the original algorithm and introducing new parameters to control the 3D form's curvature, orientation, and thickness.
Procedural Generation in the Browser
One key requirement for the 3D Squiggle was that it had to be procedurally generated in the browser. This meant the entire generation process had to be lightweight and efficient, allowing users to view and interact with their 3D Squiggles without delays or performance issues.
To achieve this, we optimized the algorithm to work seamlessly within a browser environment. We leveraged WebGL for rendering the 3D Squiggles, ensuring they could be viewed in real-time on any modern web browser. The challenge here was maintaining the integrity of the original art while introducing the complexity of 3D rendering.
As a result, each 3D Squiggle is generated based on the token's hash on the Ethereum blockchain – just like the original. While satisfying this technical constraint was difficult, doing so would ensure that every 3D Squiggle would always be mathematically tied to its corresponding 2D counterpart.
Today, the CHROMIE SQUIGGLE 3D PROJECT is now live at MONA – available for anyone to generate and interact with all 10,000 onchain Chromie Squiggles in three dimensions.
Snowfro's Input and Collaboration
Throughout this process, Snowfro's input and collaboration was invaluable; his original deep design principles and feedback guided many of our decisions. Erick emphasized the importance of staying true to the original art, particularly in how the 3D Squiggle should be generated and displayed.
One key aspect of this collaboration was ensuring that the 3D Squiggles would be spiritually aligned with the original project. This meant preserving the visual aesthetic and the underlying philosophy of minimalism, procedural generation, and on-chain persistence. Erick's insights helped us navigate the project's complexities while maintaining the original Chromie Squiggle's integrity.
When Justin approached me with this initiative I got super excited but also realized that while recreating a “normal” Chromie Squiggle in 3D might be relatively straightforward, recreating the variants was going to be really complex. I was worried that a good result might simply not be achievable, especially with variants like Slinky and Ribbed Squiggles. I was ultimately blown away by Ryan’s magical coding skills and his ability to interpret the complex variants as well, which required not just a deep understanding of the Squiggle math itself, but an artistic approach in the subjective interpretation and evolution of the 2D Squiggle into 3D.
– Erick Calderon, Founder of Art Blocks & Creator of the Chromie Squiggle
Designing for the Six Main and Hypervariant Categories
In creating the 3D Squiggle collection, we focused on replicating the six main categories and their six hypervariants from the original Chromie Squiggle project. Each category represents a different variation of the Squiggle, with distinct characteristics and visual styles. Our task was to faithfully translate these variations into 3D, ensuring that each category retained its unique identity.
For example, in the original 2D Squiggle, categories are based on color variations, line thickness, and curvature. We extended these parameters into 3D, adding new dimensions such as sphere size, orientation, and spatial distribution. The result is a collection of 3D Squiggles that mirrors the original categories while introducing new possibilities for visual exploration.
By meticulously designing each of the 12 categories (six main and six hypervariants), we ensured that the 3D Squiggles would resonate with collectors familiar with the original project while also appealing to new audiences. Each 3D Squiggle is a unique piece of art, procedurally generated and tied to its on-chain token, reflecting the principles that made the original Chromie Squiggle so groundbreaking.
The Broader Impact: Art, Gaming, Crypto Economies, and the Dawn of Spatial Computing
The Chromie Squiggle 3D Project is not just a technical achievement – we believe the work reflects the broader impact 3D generative media will have across contemporary art, modern gaming, and the emerging crypto economy. The original Chromie Squiggle articulated a new era where code could be wielded to create unique digital art, on-demand and onchain, and subsequently owned and traded on a blockchain – empowering creators and collectors all over the world.
Now, we stand at digital media’s intersection with spatial computing.
We believe the 3D Squiggle Project stands in integrity with MONA’s broader mission – to build tools and protocols that accelerate digital ownership and experiences within immersive environments. The ability to create, own, and trade 3D art onchain will open up radically new opportunities for artists, developers, and collectors.
It's our honor to support and accelerate these technical breakthroughs.
How to Interact with 3D Squiggles
To interact with 3D Chromie Squiggles, simply visit squiggle.monaverse.com and explore them directly in your web browser. You can generate all 10,000 Squiggles, each unique and vibrant. By visiting the MONA Marketplace, you can further interact with the full collection using MONA's custom 3D viewer. Through MONA, Squiggles can also be viewed in augmented reality on your mobile device or Apple Vision Pro. If you are a collector, or if you were one of the inscribers of Squiggle #9998, you can use your 3D Squiggle across any game, app, or immersive world via the MONA SDK.
The journey of converting the Chromie Squiggle to 3D has been challenging but incredibly rewarding. By staying true to the original principles of the Chromie Squiggle—minimalism, procedural generation, and on-chain persistence—we've created a new dimension for this iconic piece of art.
This project is more than just a technical accomplishment; it's a celebration of the possibilities that blockchain, interoperability, and composability offer to creators and collectors. The 3D Squiggle represents the next step in the evolution of digital art, a step that honors the past while boldly embracing the future.
As we look ahead, we believe that the 3D Squiggle will inspire new generations of artists, developers, and enthusiasts to explore the limitless potential of blockchain technology.
It's a reminder that in this new era of the internet, the only limit is your imagination.
Thank you Derek Edwards and Erick Calderon for your help with editing this story.