Global animation major Toonz Media Group and GuardianLink are jointly launching the world’s first Integrated NFT design lab specializing in state-of-the-art Non Fungible Tokens for custom-made digital assets.

The award-winning Toonz studio, with a legacy of more than two decades and over 100 original animation IPs to its credit, is venturing into the NFT space with a first-of-its-kind NFT design lab. The Toonz NFTLabs will provide integrated services for artists, creators, collectors, athletes and brands to create curated digital assets and NFTs representing them.

“The emergence of NFTs is possibly the biggest disruption that has happened in the art world in recent history, completely changing the way we perceive, own, and consume art. Toonz NFTLabs will be a game-changer in this space, being the first-ever and the largest NFT service provider for curated digital assets. The NFT marketplace provides us with the unique opportunity to generate traction for animation IPs even before they are produced or launched in the market. It provides a whole new world of opportunity for funding projects, a model that even independent creators and brands can adopt. We want to help those creators and brands by producing custom-made NFT assets for them and launching them in the NFT marketplace. We are extremely happy to have the right technology partner for this venture in GuardianLink, who have already launched over 45 NFT marketplaces on their own,” said P. Jayakumar,  CEO, Toonz Media Group.

Singapore-based GuardianLink which specializes in Guardian Branded MarketPlace product and Legitimacy Protocol for NFT’s, has extensive experience in the NFT space and with over 45 marketplaces launched in 30 countries. With offices in India, Japan, and Singapore, the company houses 350 NFT concept creators and blockchain technologists, teamed with product specialists.

 “NFT is the new medium of digital assets with economic underpinnings and its acceptance has proved to be a true testament to the decentralized economy at scale. This is the first time in history, any creator, any athlete, or any known or unknown brand can make a dent and indulge in enormous monetization of one’s own rarity, creativity, and uniqueness. Gaming, Media, Release and many other segments of the industry are touched by NFT and it is just the beginning of the revolution. With Guardian platform supporting both Fiat and Crypto payments globally, we feel this will push NFT and acceptance will be much wider among audiences globally,” said Keyur Patel, Chairman and Co-Founder, GuardianLink.io.

Toonz NFTLabs in partnership with GuardianLink will specialize in both the creative and technological aspects of NFT generation, including conceptualization, development, character design, modelling, and asset designs along with smart contract generation for NFTs. With over 1000 designers and technologists from Europe and Asia, the NFT lab will offer services like Creative Storyboarding & Conceptualization, 2D Character Design & Digital Asset Development with Smart Contract Attributes, 3D Design & Modelling, Gamification, Smart Contract Auto Generation, Metaverse Immersion Model, and Incubation Lab for Emerging Artists. The lab will also offer top-tier IP partnerships for television properties, movie properties, games and metaverses.

Developed using some of the most advanced technologies such as the Isomorphic NFT Framework, these NFTs will be designed and generated randomly using smart contracts on Ethereum, Polygon, or Solano blockchains. GuardianLink will also provide a branded marketplace and launch pads for creators, brands, and athletes/celebrities who want to launch their own independent NFT destinations for auctions and trades integrated with third-party exchanges.

Non Fungible Tokens or NFTs are blockchain-based digital certificates that certify that the digital asset tied to it is unique and not interchangeable. NFTs can represent photos, videos, audio, or any type of digital file. They are now widely used to purchase and validate ownership of digital artwork, collectibles, in-game assets, memes, etc. Although they have been around since 2012, NFTs shot to popularity in early 2021 with the staggering auction sales of assets such as artist Beeple’s digital artwork ‘Everydays – The First 5000 Days’ (sold for $69m), NBA Top Shot video clip of LeBron James (sold for $208,000) and Twitter founder Jack Dorsey’s first tweet (sold for $2.5m). The NFT technology is also empowering artists and creators by eliminating middlemen, providing direct access to buyers and fans, and more importantly through resale royalties trickling back to the artist.