NFTs or non-fungible tokens are increasingly popular not only in the creative industry but globally. This growing popularity driven by celebrities and artists like Mark Cuban, Jack Dorsey, Beeple,Trevor Andrew, Lindsay Lohan, Grimes and brands like the National Basketball Association (NBA Top Shot), NIKE and Taco Bell, has led many people to research how to create NFT artwork and eventually join the NFT craze.
On the other hand, there was a wider adoption of NFTs when the artwork “Everydays: The First 5000 Days” by artist Beeple was sold as an NFT at traditional auction house Christie’s for $69.3 million dollars.
To begin with, NFTs are digital assets built on the same blockchain technology as cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin – they represent various rare and unique items, such as digital collectibles, virtual worlds, metaverses, digital art pieces, collectible sports cards, virtual real estate, and many more.
What is an NFT art?
NFT stands for Non-Fungible Token. Basically NFTs work like a digital certificate of authenticity. In real life, fine art, classical pieces, antiques and other historical items are traditionally sold at auctions with a receipt certifying that they are original works.
NFTs work in exactly the same way, but for digital items. They allow formats and extensions such as PNGs, JPEGs, GIFs, MP4s, MP3s, and any other digital file format to be certified as unique and collectible.
Thanks to this new technology, you can now collect a new kind of “ownership” for digital files that was previously impossible. NFTs or non-fungible tokens can be bought, collected, traded, or sold in the same way as classic items of traditional art. Thanks to blockchain technology, you can see transaction history, prices, and former collectors in real time.
On the other hand, NFTs allow you to connect with a brand and receive exclusive rewards by owning that token.
For example, WePlay Collectibles are for people who want to be part of Esports events and show that they like players and talents in a different way, besides merchandising. WePlay Collectibles are part of a platform, where you can buy items with NFT technology – both digital and physical. They are rewards and items associated with a specific tournament.
Find more information about the platform and NFTs at https://weplaycollectibles.com/
Are NFTs the same as cryptocurrencies?
Although NFTs are tokens stored on the blockchain, they are quite different from cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum. The main difference is that they are not interchangeable.
Bitcoin and altcoins (cryptocurrencies that emerged after Bitcoin) can be exchanged or traded with each other for the same value, so the result is the same thing. For example, one Bitcoin (BTC) can be exchanged for another, and it will always be worth one Bitcoin. But, you cannot exchange one NFT for another NFT. NFTs are not interchangeable with each other, even if they are from the same package or issue.
And lastly, NFTs are bought and sold by cryptocurrencies, (usually Ethereum).
What programs are used to create NFTs?
You don’t need to be an expert in Blockchain and Cryptocurrencies to create your own NFT, but there are some online tools and platforms needed to get started, such as a crypto wallet or digital wallet and Ethereum cryptocurrency. If these terms are unfamiliar to you, that’s okay, we’ll explain how to set it up on your computer or smartphone.
- Create and set up a digital wallet
- Buy Ethereum cryptocurrency – Ether (ETH)
- Connect your digital wallet to an NFT Marketplace
Step 1: Create and set up a digital wallet
The first step in getting started as an NFT artist is to create a digital wallet where you will securely store the cryptocurrency that will be used to create, buy NFTs and sell digital art (usually ETH) The digital wallet will also allow you to create accounts on NFT marketplaces.
There are several platforms that provide free digital wallets for storing digital tokens, and all of the options described here work seamlessly with most of the major and largest NFT markets.
Coinbase Wallet
Coinbase is one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges in the world, it has its own crypto wallet, which is a great option for those who are new to the world of cryptocurrencies.
MetaMask Wallet
Metamask is a standard Ethereum wallet for most platforms NFT, and is available for free as a browser extension and mobile app for Android and iOS.
Step 2: Buying Ethereum cryptocurrency – Ether
In most major crypto art or digital art markets, there are fees associated with turning your digital painting or drawing into an NFT. You will need to buy Ether (ETH) on any cryptocurrency exchange to cover the costs of creating your first non-fungible token (NFT).
The price of Ether (ETH) varies all day every day, and it is impossible to know exactly. Therefore, ideally, you should choose a dollar amount that you want to invest, and buy exactly that amount of Ether (ETH) on cryptocurrency exchanges such as Coinbase, Binance, Kraken, and Gemini.
Step 3: Connect your digital wallet to an NFT Marketplace
After setting up and depositing ETH into your wallet, it’s time to choose the marketplace where you want to create a new NFT and list your artwork for sale. The most popular NFT art markets are OpenSea, Rarible, SuperRare, Foundation and Nifty Gateway.
Why do artists use NFT?
Throughout the history of art, artists have struggled to make more money from their artistic works, even when the value is considerable. But, this case is not right for crypto art. If you love doing digital painting and drawing, you might want to consider turning your content into NFT because of these three main reasons:
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Royalties
Digital artists not only make real money selling their digital art tokens after the first sale, but they can continue to make much more money from them as long as those tokens are in circulation. You can set royalties for your digital artwork, and this allows you to receive a commission from the sales proceeds whenever the crypto art is sold to a new collector.
Through smart contract, you can program between 5% to 10% royalties, but this depends on the platform you choose, Rarible for example allows you to set up to 10%. This makes sense for the artist, as he earns passive income from his NFT art.
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Global reach, cheaper and easy to set up
Because the sale of NFT art is conducted through various P2P (peer-to-peer) online marketplaces to a borderless audience, you do not need to spend money in art galleries, museums, stores and auction houses. This allows you to receive a significant share of the profit made from primary and secondary sales.
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Traceable and authentic
Although anyone can view your crypto art, make a capture, download it, or even share it on social media, the NFT token can only belong to one person at a time.
Once inserted into the Ethereum blockchain, digital art has an immutable certificate of authenticity because the artist, purchase price, former owners or collectors, and subsequent purchase prices are visible in real time. This contributes to an unprecedented level of market transparency that has never existed in the traditional art world and classic collectible items.
How do I turn my artwork into NFT?
You can turn your content into a digital art token by following the steps below:
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Select an NFT Marketplace
(OpenSea is the largest marketplace for digital products and assets)
This is the first step in creating your own NFTs. There are two categories of NFT marketplaces and platforms that you can choose from:
By-invitation platforms: this NFT marketplace category allows only hand-picked artists to create NFTs of digital art. Platforms like SuperRare, Foundation and Nifty Gateway focus exclusively on high quality digital art tokens.
NFT marketplaces like SuperRare and Foundation are curated platforms. They have higher trading volumes and lower percentage of royalties that you can set on your artwork.
Open platforms: This category of NFT marketplace allows anyone with a computer and internet connection to create NFT. So you can turn a photo, image, video, or any digital file into NFT. Platforms such as OpenSea and Rarible also allow you to set a royalty percentage that you want to receive as commission for each secondary sale of your token.
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Create a digital wallet
After selecting the marketplace or platform you want to use and creating an account, the next step is to create a crypto wallet to store your Ethereum cryptocurrencies and your NFT tokens. Yes, the cryptocurrency, Ether (ETH) is essentially indispensable, during the process of creating, buying and selling NFTs.
Ether (ETH) is generally used to pay the gas fee, the transaction cost of the Ethereum network before listing any digital paintings or designs you have made.
The Google Chrome extension MetaMask is generally the default wallet for creating an OpenSea account, buying your ETH, and preparing to create a new NFT and list it for sale.
Depending on congestion on the Ethereum network, it can cost around $50 to $200 in Ether (ETH) to pay the gas fees during the process of creating and listing an NFT.
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Creating your digital art Token
After creating and customizing your collection, now is the time to upload your digital art. To do this, you can go into your OpenSea account, and click on the “Add New Item” page, and this is where you can add metadata that includes your visual content (PNG, JPG, MP4, GIF, etc.), audio (MP3, .WAV, .WMA, .AAC, etc.) and 3D files (.STL, .OBJ, FBX, .DAE, .3DS, .IGES, .GLB, etc.) and assign a name to your token.
Next, you can add details, including links from your social networks, personal website or blog, an image, description and name, and then click on the “Create” page to add your digital token to the blockchain, and it is at this step where you pay the gas fee for listing your NFT.
Next, you can choose the payment cryptocurrencies you would like to accept for your crypto art. OpenSea supports +150 payment tokens, including fiat currencies like dollars. Here You can also configure the royalty percentage you want to receive commission on secondary sales of your artwork.
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Listing your crypto art for sale
After uploading your file and creating your first NFT, the next step is to list them for sales. This is where you choose to sell NFTs at fixed price or auction.
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Promote your work on digital platforms
Just like any digital product, the chances to sell better, is to build a fan or subscriber base. Therefore, you need to share the direct link of your work with potential buyers or collectors and promote your digital drawing or painting to your fans on social media like Instagram, Twitter, SnapChat, Discord, etc, to help them discover you and grow your fan base. You can take a lot of inspiration on promoting your NFT from these ideas on how to promote crypto offers.
How do you make an NFT and sell it?
The process of making NFT we have described before, and it is called minting, is the moment when your digital artwork is added to the Ethereum blockchain.
Unlike Bitcoin and altcoins, NFTs are not traded on cryptocurrency exchanges mainly because they cannot be exchanged for each other, each NFT has its own value, in other words, each NFT is its own market. However, they can be bought, collected, sold, and traded on various P2P marketplaces. The main platforms are OpenSea, SuperRare, Rarible, Foundation, Nifty Gateway, VIV3, BakerySwap, and NFT ShowRoom. And other payment platforms include Metamask, Trust Wallet, Coinbase Wallet, MyEtherWallet, Torus, WalletConnect, Portis, and Fortmatic.
But for this article we will focus on the 4 top digital art marketplaces.
Top Platforms to Buy and Sell NFT
OpenSea
This platform hosts a wide range of digital products and assets. Think of OpenSea as an online gallery where you can browse digital art, collectibles, trading cards, virtual land and real estate, metaverses and items used in video games, and other crypto collectibles…
On the other hand, OpenSea works like an auction house, where you find a wide range of crypto art and bid on items of your choice and hope you are the winner, but some digital artworks are available for fixed prices, so you may find the “buy now” option for an owner-set price.
OpenSea is completely open to artists who are in the meantime in the NFT space, which makes it easy to get started in the world of NFTs. Finally, the platform is also the first NFT marketplace to release free NFT creation tools.
Nifty Gateway
Nifty Gateway is an NFT marketplace that works only with NFT artists and creators already established in the market, and its focus is on digital collectibles. On the other hand, the platform does “NFT Drops” of superstar artists and musicians like Grimes, Beeple and Justin Roiland to release limited edition collectibles. And it is also one of the only major NFT platforms that accepts credit cards.
Rarible
Rarible is one of the most accessible online platforms for artists, NFT creators and collectors looking for non-fungible tokens (NFTs). The marketplace hosts a wide range of digital goods including art, photography, DeFi, Punks, Metaversos, music, etc.
Rarible has an intuitive interface and makes the content submission and NFT creation process as simple as posting a photo on Instagram or uploading a video on YouTube.
In a marketplace filled with platforms just for superstar artists, Rarible is one of the only NFT marketplaces that allows new creators and digital artists to start selling digital art from the moment they sign up.
This openness leads to a plethora of digital products on the platform, from digital art to metaverses and DeFi. Sales of works vary widely, from the most affordable to the most expensive.
SuperRare
SuperRare is an NFT marketplace exclusively for digital artists. On this platform you will not find for example memes, game items or text posts for sale. The SuperRare team intentionally chooses the collections that appear on the platform. For you to embed your content on the platform you need to submit your artist profile here. SuperRare is also a platform where prices are very high.