Okay, this might be one of the hottest topics of the mfer community, the derivatives. First of all, there are many derivatives and I am only referring to the derivatives I know and every time I check twitter I find more. “So what are good derivative projects, which ones are notable?” This is a question, that can only receive a subjective answer. It is most likely that our opinions differ and that is totally fine. The right derivative for you is the one you like the most, that’s it.
Overview
“Which one will you like the most?” That might depend on your use case. There are different categories of derivatives. Derivatives that are meant to be used as PFPs , derivatives that are meant to be used as twitter banners, derivatives that show mfers that are doing different kinds of activities like driving a yacht, derivatives that feature parts of the og collection like the dad or the watches, derivatives that combine mfers with popular memes and so on… I am probably missing quite a lot of categories. Each of these bigger categories has many sub categories. For example the derivatives that are meant to be used as PFPs either combine a totally new art style with the og collection or use the art style of another NFT collection or use an art style with another background or combine different art styles. It is important to mention, that there is not the “one” derivative that combines the art style of the mfer collection with another specific popular NFT collection, but many. Great minds think alike and many people had similiar ideas which resulted in derivatives that have many things in common.
Categories
“So, which derivative should you pick, if you want to pick any?” The first question should be: “What do you want to use the derivative for?”. Do you want to rock it as a PFP / banner / print it out and hang it into your office / something else? You decide what you are doing with the derivative you purchase, but certain derivatives might be more fitting for a specific use case than others. I will separate the field of derivatives now. Beneath I will explain why certain derivatives might be better for different use cases.
| PFPs | Banner | Location changers | Art | High detail | On demand |
| They are referred as “children derivatives” by the community and usually feature mfer like drawings in a similar posture (usual count 100-10000) | NFTs, that are meant to be used as twitter banners | These NFTs put mfers into other places, than a chair in front of a desk | Very arty derivatives that combine traditional drawing styles with mfers, instead of the art styles, that are commonly used for NFTs | NFTs that come in very high resolutions and usually have super small editions (usual count 1-10) | Independent artists offer to create 1/1 derivatives according to the wishes of their customers |
Use case
Secondly, ask yourself what you want. “PFPs” and many “Art” derivatives are usually good for PFPs, while “Banner” derivatives are good for twitter banners and “Location changers” are something like a wild card, because they are mostly undefined. Some are simply fun / have a different use case and others are great to be used as twitter banners or PFPs. The “High Detail” and “On demand” NFTs are probably good options if you want to purchase an NFT that is like a painting and which you can print out and hang into your office / or into your dining room / somewhere else.
Another question you might have is the reason why you want to purchase an NFT / a derivative. Do you consider the purchase as an investment into art that you appreciate or do you want to invest in a team / an artist / a long term project / a community. The og mfer collection has its own vibes and so do many derivatives. As stated before, these communities usually appreciate each other.
You might have more questions than before, but I really tried to point out, that there are many possibilities and the right choice depends on you, your use case and the reason why you want to purchase a derivative. There is no official guideline for good or bad derivatives. Sometimes Sartoshi retweets the posts of derivatives, which he likes and so do other mfers. Since we are all mfers, all opinions count. The thing everyone can see is the art, but NFTs and derivatives are much more than that. Your opinion counts, follow your taste and your evaluation, the choice is yours.
If you can’t find a derivative that fits your liking… it is up to you to change that. You don’t have to create a derivative, but you can.
First side note
Some derivatives that found a big liking are being copied by other people and are simply renamed, even though they are copying the images and the metadata of derivatives with no further effort. If I would give you an advice, then I would recommend to stay away from fakes and ask other mfers if the derivative of your choice is really the work of your chosen artist.
Second side note
A look behind NFTS, marketing and rugs. This information is purely subjective and has nothing to do with the mfers collection, but might be useful. A friend of mine created his own NFT project, started a discord and so on. Soon he received offers from many influential people on twitter and YouTube with price lists for different types of “marketing”. According to him, these influential people really have price lists for tweets / promotions / retweets and so on… Please take a moment and think about it. People with a big influence are risking their own reputation and their own moral integrity to promote a project they are not believing in… Another guy I knew created his own supplement brand. He simply exchanged cheap protein products for social engagement, retweets etc. Sometimes protein products of other brands could be seen in the background of the promotions… Sounds ridiculous, right? Sadly this is a true story. You would be surprised how much “artificial” engagement someone could create with bad moral standards and a couple hundred bucks.
That might be a reason why many NFT investors usually wait till projects minted out and then start to observe what the team behind a project is building and make a decision after a certain amount of time. Simply be careful and don’t get blinded by the hype a projects receives in its early stages. Sadly, I heard recent news about some mfer derivatives that are considered to be “rugs”. What is a rug? Well, NFT collections usually work this way: Believers invest and maybe they will receive something in return. NFT collections are all about trust. So, please, make proper background checks about the artist / the team/ the project. Not every NFT project / derivative needs an active artist / team behind it, but it is usually better for the holders. The rugs I know of were all soft rugs. That means that the derivatives started to establish themselves within the mfers landscape and the team simply vanished slowly after a few months. The projects die off and the holders take the loss (the market evaluation drops drastically and the artwork leaves a bad aftertaste, when a person knows, that he or she got rugged)… Some people that perform rugs directly move to the next rug. This will continue as long as people don’t perform proper background checks and get blinded by initial / artificial hype. These “rug pullers” target communities with hype and are no representatives of the mfers community.