WHO ARE THE RAGDOLL RONIN?

Simply put, Ragdoll Ronin are quite literally, ragdolls made of fabric, set in a world in which these ronin roam against a backdrop of traditional Japanese UKIYO-E woodblock style environments. Being ronin, these wanderers inevitably come into conflict with other warriors along their journeys. In the event of sustaining damage during a battle, these ronin do not die however, but are able to use fabrics saved from previous battles or obtained throughout the landscape to patch themselves up and live to fight another day.

Starting off as one single, solid INDIGO fabric(chambray/denim/linen/canvas), the ronin collect and layer these fabric patches over time. In doing so, these patches add up, continuously changing and evolving the ronin’s body and appearance. Layer upon layer of different fabric patches, ie, the technique of BORO, along with a distinct, heavy, SASHIKO stitch, reinforce the ronin’s original body fabric and gives them a very distinct and individual look and patina.

Most importantly however, these fabrics are not just superficial...each fabric obtained from a previous battle with other ronin holds attributes of that particular ronin...when applied, the new patchwork imbues characteristics of the previous owner to the new owner, granting the new owner more strength, experience attributes and fighting ability. Over lengthy periods of time, these ronin become so heavily patched, they are literally dripping with Boro, and become incredibly powerful.

As mentioned on our Roadmap, the PFP version of the Ronin will be available at launch. Shortly after mint, you will have the opportunity to evolve and transform your PFP into a full figure, Ukiyo-e, woodblock style painting as shown below. Please keep in mind, this new full figure version will be an entirely new NFT available to you. It is a full figure representation of your PFP, available to sell and trade. Obviously, once joining the Ragged Clan, we want all members to stay to keep the Clan strong, and to evolve spiritually on their journey to JOSHO and ultimately IMMORTALITY.

Clothing Assets:

In addition to the BORO patchwork available for your character, each ronin has the ability to obtain various styles of traditional Japanese clothing and accessories... from basic HAKAMA (pants) and HAORI (jackets), to various styles of KIMONO, UWA-OBI (sashes), HACHIMAKI (headwraps), KASA (headwear), HORO (capes), KABUTO (helmets), shawls and footwear among many others, all in various styles and colorways. Along with the clothing assets, many styles of masks are available, from traditional SOMEN (full face masks) and MENPO (samurai half-masks) to KABUKI theatre masks, NOH masks, and various others.

Weapon Assets:

Of course, no ronin is ready for battle without the appropriate weaponry. All manner of traditional Japanese samurai weapons are available to each ronin, along with the ability to show each weapon active(in hand), sheathed or un-sheatherd, or stowed(on ronin’s back or waist). Various swords, such as KATANA, TANTO, NAGAMAKI, NODACHI, SHIRASAYA, various styles of YARI (spear), TETSUBO (heavy club), YUMI (short and long bows), KAMA (sickle), and many others are all available.

Art and Creative Process:

While this project is living in a virtual world(for the time being), great attention has been placed on giving the project an actual, real world, tangible and tactile feel. All assets for the this project have been hand drawn and shaded in ballpoint pen, scanned, and then “painted” digitally, to reach the final image. Along with the fabric assets as described above, an immense amount of time has been spent incorporating actual textures into almost all assets. Wood grains, pitted and stained metals, worn and distressed fabric prints, straw headwear, woven rope textures and fabric textures have all been incorporated. Additionally, keeping with the look of traditional UKIYO-E woodblock prints from various periods in Japanese history, a distressed patina has been added to each background, giving each piece the look of a woodblock print worn over time. With all of these characteristics combined, this project presents very distinct and unique visuals, unlike anything else seen in this space to date.

We hope you enjoyed this brief overview of Ragdoll Ronin. This is just a very small sampling of what RR has to offer and we look forward to sharing more as launch day approaches…ありがとうございます