When the world’s first NFT artist Kevin McCoy sold his NFT digital art in 2014, it was a revolutionary concept for artists. People were astonished and many questions arose, “What exactly was NFT? How could I be an NFT artist? What made an NFT valuable?”
The concept of NFTs is quite confusing to a lot of people. Hence, in this blog, we will discuss the basic concepts of NFT art, and how to create your own NFT digital art.
What Is NFT Digital Art?
NFT stands for Non-fungible tokens, that help identify ownership of the artwork. NFT Digital art is art made completely digitally and stored securely in a blockchain. These digital assets can be sold or traded on a blockchain platform.
A basic understanding of blockchain is necessary to understand how NFT works and for a person who does not have technical knowledge, it can be challenging.
In simple words, a blockchain is a secure network of many computers that records and verifies transactions. Moreover, in a blockchain, you can not make transactions with physical money rather it is done through cryptocurrency.
Benefits Of Being A NFT Artist
You may be wondering, what is the point of creating digital art if we can’t earn from it? Nonetheless, there are many advantages to being an NFT artist. Some of them are:
- Sole Ownership
An NFT art piece is usually so unique that it can never be duplicated because a unique token is assigned to it during the listing. Suppose, someone tries to copy it, he won’t be able to do it as a different token will be assigned to the copied art. This protects the art from plagiarism and also prevents it from being sold by unauthorized people, which allows the artist to have complete rights and ownership of their art.
- Cryptocurrency
Investing in cryptocurrency is a high-risk, high-reward investment. While you may not be able to generate physical income by selling your artwork at a marketplace, you can earn through cryptocurrency which allows you to diversify your investment portfolio.
- Global Reach
A blockchain is a wide network of people from all across the world. Hence, when you market your art in the marketplace, you can easily get a global reach.
- Flexibility
NFT digital art is often valued because of its uniqueness. Hence, while creating digital art, artists can experiment with different styles. Moreover, this flexibility will allow them to think out of the box and create innovative art which helps in portfolio diversification.
- Privacy
When an artist uploads their artwork to the marketplace such as blockchain, they do not have to worry about it being plagiarised, duplicated, or stolen as this network is highly secure.
Drawbacks Of Being An NFT Artist
Everything has its pros and cons. While being an NFT artist has many benefits, it also has drawbacks such as:
- Initial Investment
When an artist initially mints NFT, it often comes with platform fees which can be quite costly compared to the traditional methods of marketing an artwork.
- Technical Complexity
If an artist does not have the technical knowledge about digital wallets, blockchain, or crypto, it can be extremely challenging to understand the complexities of it, thus creating a barrier for artists to explore NFT.
- Legal Uncertainties
NFT laws are still evolving with time. Hence, an artist must be able to navigate legal uncertainties that create a high risk.
- Establishing Credibility
While NFT digital art has been growing, there is still a lot of scepticism that makes it challenging to build trust and credibility.
- High Energy Usage
As we know NFTs are blockchain-based, and it takes a lot of power consumption to complete blockchain transactions.
Guide To Become An NFT Artist
- Creating a digital wallet
The first step to being an NFT artist is to set up your digital wallet. Ensure you research well about different wallets, their benefits, terms and conditions, etc. Select the one that is most suitable for you. Once done, create your account and add funds to your wallet which will later be used for an entry fee.
Ethereum and Bitcoin are some of the most popular cryptocurrencies which you can purchase and store in your digital wallet. The payment for selling your digital assets will be made using any of these cryptocurrencies.
- Create your digital art
If you have not already created digital art, now is the time to begin. Start by deciding the format, of your artwork. Additionally, ensure your art is of good quality and has a high resolution.
- Mint your NFT
When we talk about minting an NFT it simply refers to the process of turning your digital art into NFT on the blockchain. Decide which marketplace you would like to share your art into. Next, connect your wallet and upload your art. The balance you had initially added to your wallet will be used for the platform fee.
- Market your art
Next, list your art on the marketplace and decide the price. Ensure you promote your artwork on social media, and art communities to reach potential buyers.
Lastly, ensure you keep creating art to build your brand. Ensure that your art style is consistent. Moreover, ensure you engage with your audience to build credibility and trust. Furthermore, you can also collaborate with well-known artists on various projects to help you grow and earn visibility.
Suggested read: Art as a Career: Turning Your Passion Into a Full-Time Career
Top NFT Marketplaces
Before proceeding further, we need to learn what a NFT market place is and how it functions, let’s get started.
What is NFT Marketplace?
Well, for buying and selling products, there needs to be a marketplace where buyers and sellers can meet and fulfill each other’s needs to complete the transaction. Likewise, for buying and selling NFTs, we need to have a digital platform. All such digital platforms allow an artist to store, display and sell and buyers to buy those arts are popularly known as NFT marketplaces.
In these marketplaces, the transactions take place in cryptocurrency, moreover, there are marketplaces on which you can mint your NFTs.
For all such services, including the transaction and transfer of NFT assets, these marketplaces charge you a fee called the handling fee or the transaction charge.
Let’s learn about some of the best platforms to sell your NFT art, these are:
OpenSea
Open is one of the first NFT marketplaces, where one can buy and sell any kind of NFT art. It is one of the largest NFT marketplaces. This marketplace is built on Ethereum blockchain technology and payments can be made using $WETH, $ETH and $DAI.
Opensea marketplace charges a platform fee of 2.5% excluding transaction fees.
Zora
Zora is another platform to buy and sell NFTs, created using Ethereum blockchain by Slava Kim. It can be joined by anyone which makes it good option for beginners. Zora charges 0.000777 ETH + 3% of the listed purchase price as a fee.
Rarible
Rarible is another popular platform to buy and sell NFTs, it has become well-known in very less time due to its innovation and cross-platform services. Moreover, Rarible has its token which is known as $RARI.
Like Opensea, Rarible is also built on Ethereum and it also charges a platform fee of 2.5% excluding the transaction fees. Payments can be made using $ETH, $WETH, $DAI, $RARI, and $ATRI.
However, one of its drawbacks is its UI which is a bit confusing and uncomfortable for new users. On the other hand, it’s cheaper compared to other platforms such as Opensea as it charges a 1% commission from both buyers and sellers.
Before you get started on a marketplace, ensure you research different ones, make an informed decision, and ensure a site is safe and legit before you register on it.