Non Fungible Tokens or crypto art, has taken the world by storm. Nonfungible.com estimated that NFT sales in 2021 toppled the $17 billion dollar mark and it just keeps growing.
Are you ready to enter the world of crypto art and become part of this lucrative digital network?
Whether you know a bit about cryptocurrency, blockchain and the popularity of NFTs or not, this article will guide you in how you can create your own NFT, list and mint it to hopefully earn your first money on the NFT marketplace.
Did you know that the 10 most expensive non fungible tokens (NFTs) range between $4.5 million and $91.8 million?
Creating Unique Crypto Art or NFT
You might initially think that digital art pieces, or non fungible tokens, are similar to the grand fine-art pieces you see in an art gallery, but luckily the world of blockchain technology has created a metaverse with brand new opportunities. Even non-artists can become creators of Non Fungible tokens, sell new artwork, buy digital real estate or acquire a uniquely coded avatar for social media or that game you're playing.
Historically it was as simple as uploading a picture, funny family video or something interesting, but now, with the increased popularity of NFTs, it’s slightly more complicated. You’ll need to create something of interest, something that is commercially unique and work that people want to own.
With such an expanded playing field you’ll have to research the market and discover what sells.
A combination of your talents with knowledge of current popular NFTs, with an added touch of digital flavour might give you a potentially winning formula.
It is a skill to create work people want to buy and we recommend you delve into the transactions and art assets causing waves on the NFT marketplace.
Celebrities spice up their social media with avatars from Bored Ape Yatch Club or a unique crypto-coded punk NFT from CryptoPunks.
The world of NFTs, like cryptocurrency, is however volatile and ever-changing. Sometimes it’s simply a stroke of luck to be seen, but most of the time it is the persistence of creators that leads to a one of a kind piece to get the attention of high-profile celebrities or millionaires.
The art piece you commodify will only live in the digital world. So consider how you digitise it and make it relevant to the cryptocurrency community on the web, the ones who mostly drive and support the sale of NFTs. It’s also good to know that these contract tokens are not only for images ...
Different Types of NFT:
- Digital art (using coding or other digital techniques)
- Videos and GIFs
- Documents (original and historically significant documents)
- Audio (voice recordings, lyrical, instrumental or full music tracks)
Whatever you believe your signature mark will be as a singer, painter or videographer, you’ll have to find a way to capture a one of a kind artwork and ensure you are the owner and there’s nothing like it in cyberspace.
Bored Ape Yatch Club is one of the popular NFT sites with over 10 000 different ape avatars. A non-fungible token will be created through the Binance smart chain and uniquely encrypted to represent and verify membership of each item. Celebrities and billionaires all over the world got excited about this and it led to a significant increased popularity. Today the cheapest one trades for around 11.9 ETH which is equivalent to $280 000.
Want to know which items sell best? Read this article about NFT development or, alternatively, learn what it takes to make an NFT project successful.
Creating a Crypto-Wallet and Loading Funds
The buyers of NFTs are all exclusively on the web and therefore you’ll have to enter the world of cryptocurrencies and understand the relationship between cryptocurrency and NFTs to ensure you can buy or sell digital art.
When a buyer buys your art they will not receive a physical painting, at best they will get a certificate that endorses their NFT ownership. The art remains in cyberspace, just like cryptocurrency, with a permanent record made of it through the innovation of blockchain technology.
Definition of Blockchain: A system that records information and transactions in a way that is almost impossible to hack or change.
Initially blockchain technology was created with cryptocurrency in mind, but in the last couple of years, blockchain technology has led to the creation of other innovations like NFTs and smart contracts. You will need access to the blockchain and create your own cryptocurrency wallet if you want to list and receive proceeds from the sale of your art.
You might already have a wallet, but if not, it is quite easy to set one up and transfer funds into it. You can also check whether the marketplace you choose in the following step is compatible with your wallet, but if they trade in normal cryptocurrencies like Ethereum (ETH), Bitcoin(BTC) or Binance Coin (BNB), you should be covered.
For new users, you’ll have to familiarise yourself with blockchain technology a bit, as you’ll have to select which cryptocurrency you want to trade in. Similar to foreign currencies they fluctuate in conversion rates and in popularity and when you create your account you’ll have to convert your Rands into a cryptocurrency of your choice, like Erethreum tokens.
The most popular blockchain technology for NFT is Ethereum and Ether, or ERC*, is its native cryptocurrency.
*ERC = Ethereum request for comment.
There is also a level of risk involved in choosing certain currencies. Just like real world, bank currencies, world events and consumer confidence can influence their value and allow them to crash. There exists a wide range of blockchain technologies, each with its own pros and cons, generally better understood by those who trade frequently in crypto and NFT.
In the process of creating an NFT you’ll have to get someone to professionally ‘mine’ the artwork, using their experience to put unique coding and certification on this with the use of blockchain technology.
This comes at a cost and historically the NFT marketplace required an upfront payment for these 'gas fees'. The more modern way around gas fees is to charge the buyer once the art is bought, making the creator's life much easier.
Select a NFT Marketplace
Where will you find the ideal audience for your NFT?
The NFT marketplace you choose could determine whether you manage to sell your first art or not. The more sophisticated you become the more the various factors like blockchain technology used, gas fees charged and audience specifics start to influence your choice of marketplace.
We’ve created a list of some of the top NFT marketplaces you can choose from and what makes them unique. If you are new to NFTs we’d recommend you seek out the ones suited to beginners.
| Marketplace Name | Description & Pros | Cons |
|---|---|---|
| OpenSea | - Big, popular and well established - Covers all types of NFTs and accepts most cryptocurrencies - Gas-free NFT marketplace | Comparatively low royalties |
| Rarible | - The NFT marketplace for rare sports and media collections - You can choose out of three blockchains, - It is community-owned | Big brands are quite prominent and dominate |
| Binance NFT | - Low gas fees - One of the largest - Considered as future proof | Not considered to be ‘artist-friendly’ |
| SuperRare | - Digital art with a an art gallery feel - Rare artworks, carefully curated | Accepts few and exclusive artists |
| Foundation | - Artist-driven NFT marketplace - Exclusive projects - High quality art | High fees & limits artist selection |
| Mintable | An easy to use, broad variety newcomer that makes NFTs easy | Varied quality and high volumes to process |
You can register on the NFT marketplace of your choice and follow the prompts to then link it back to your existing wallet, connecting any expenses related to gas charges or proceeds from sales back to it.
Listing and Minting NFT
Now it's time to list your artwork. Artists need to be sure their artwork is exactly how they want it to be before they enter this stage as no one would ever be able to edit, delete or alter it once you’ve passed minting.
Every marketplace will have their own uploading process and general guidelines, but some of them, like SuperRare and Rarible, will have a longer selection processes and steps to assist their objective of only choosing exclusive and very rare art. User-friendly sites, like OpenSea and Rarible make it much easier for creators to mint artworks and the process generally involves a simple upload of the artwork.
Minting an NFT – publishing your token for sale, utilising unique non fungible token technology on the blockchain to protect its uniqueness.
When you mint your artwork its important to note what the gas charges are, as mentioned earlier. This cost is for validating transactions through blockchain technology to make the artwork uniquely the buyer's.
Since 2021 the marketplaces made gas fees the buyer’s responsibility and it’s only required once the sale is concluded, valuable information that could save you money in your marketplace selection.
Like most art, some NFTs will sell and some will remain on the shelf for years. It will take some time to master NFTs and this brand new exciting world, but the sooner you get your fingertips dirty, the better.
Hopefully we'll see something you created on the NFT marketplace soon.
Have more questions?
Learn more about NFT development in this article or speak to one of our technology tutors who specialise in cryptocurrency.
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