How it works

Alba supports entirely on-chain generative art. Here’s how it works:

1. Artists use the dashboard at Alba.art to configure their collection:
   1. They tell us which dependencies their script needs
   2. They add their script to our AlbaCodeStore contract on the blockchain.
2. When a collector mints a token, a unique seed for the image is created from the transaction data.
3. Each collection contract has a function called tokenHTML - this function can be used to return all of the HTML needed to recreate the artwork, with no external dependencies!

That’s it! The piece will be preserved fully on-chain for as long as Ethereum lives.

Also, for convenience:

1. The Alba backend detects the mint, and executes the artist’s script in a renderer context. The resulting image is stored on IPFS. This is the image which will show on marketplaces.
2. The collector can also view the script executing through our website (a “live render”).

How does it differ to other platforms?

Other platforms like ArtBlocks store the code on-chain, but they do not store dependencies. It is not possible to completely recreate a work without making external calls and relying on centralised repositories (such as CDNs) to re-create a piece.

For each collection, you’d need to create some custom HTML which brought in the right external dependencies.

This means that whilst the code might be on-chain, you may not be able to find the specific version of the library that the artist used. This could lead to inconsistencies with rendering the piece, or in the worst-case scenario, not being able to render it at all.