This creation turned out to be much more of an adventure and a project than I expected. I created this image for Slothicorn's Crypto Art creative commons initiative, I began with a different intention than where it all ended. I tried to record most of the art process in the video. The rest of the story is below the image. There are creative commons requirements that we use only our own art and that of other creative commons contributions so as to not violate anyone's copyrights or creative boundaries.
"Crypto-Evolution" by The Astral Cowboy(Click to view full size)
Artworks used to create this piece were created by me, other than the bitcoin image next to the QR code and the QR code. Unfortunately, this is where my creation story takes a turn.
Don't make the same mistake I did!
I downloaded this bitcoin image 
from Maxpixel because it listed the image as Creative Commons Zero-CC0. What does that mean?
Just because something is listed as creative commons, does not mean we can relax our standards regarding security when downloading files.
DO NOT DOWNLOAD FROM MAXPIXEL!
As soon as I downloaded the "royalty-free" file, I received the following message:
My experience will not deter me from contributing to the creative commons. I am restored and refreshed in my mindfulness regarding the work I choose to use and how I go about getting it. I've been creating art for years and almost never just hit download when I am going to use a creative commons image in a work. I'm going to lean more toward never in the future.
Here's the proof of work video for the creation of "Crypto-Evolution":
The music for the "Crypto-Evolution" proof of work video is by Ben Sound.
There are Steemians working diligently to increase our creative commons art ranks and resources. They include, but are not limited to: 
Hive account@stellabelle, 
Hive account@juliakponsford,
Hive account@creative-commons, 
Hive account@elohprojects, 
Hive account@ccommons.art, 
Hive account@drawingly,
Hive account@ghulammujtaba, and 
Hive account@playitforward. If you are interested in the creative commons, consider checking out their Steem pages, as well as who and what they are championing.
This work is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
List your favorite Creative Commons advocates and artists in the comments below!! (Links to your own works are completely acceptable and encouraged!)
@LucidLight
▶️ DTube ▶️ IPFS 
