A growing number of digital artists are selling their art in the form of NFTs for thousands or even millions of dollars. If you’re an artist looking to get into NFTs and sell your art on an NFT marketplace, there are some steps you will need to take. Here we’ll review what NFTs are, their benefits, and how you can make NFTs and sell them.
How to make NFT art: What can be an NFT?
A Non-Fungible Token (NFT) is essentially a certificate of authenticity for digital artwork. It acts as a digital counterpart to the certificates of authenticity that accompany many physical pieces of art sold at live auctions. With the purchase of an NFT, a buyer retains the original version of a jpeg, GIF, or another file format.
Nearly any type of digital media file can be an NFT that the creator can sell on a relevant virtual marketplace. Artists can create and sell everything from digital images and animated GIFs to videos and songs. Some are even selling files containing recipes and memes. Regardless of what you want to create and sell, there’s practically no limit as to what kind of digital content you can sell as an NFT.
If you choose to create an NFT, this process is known as “minting.” When creating an NFT, this creates a new token that is to be permanently linked to the designated file.
How to make NFT art: The benefits of NFTs
There are different benefits of NFTs, depending on whether you’re selling or buying them.
If you’re an artist selling your NFT, this gives you a chance to sell your artwork when it may not be as easy to find a marketplace for it. For example, you can’t sell an original GIF through an app store, while you may get a lot of money for your work via an NFT marketplace. Another advantage as an artist is the potential for royalties, as you can choose a certain amount of commission (usually from 10-30%) to receive for every time your work is resold. Subsequently, you won’t lose out on profits if your work increases in value as buyers resell it.
If you’re a buyer, purchasing NFTs gives you usage rights to use the image in nearly any way you want, whether as a profile picture, Zoom background, or another form. At the same time, you’re financially supporting an artist that you like by buying their work. Additionally, buyers can wait for the artwork to increase in value and sell it for a profit, part of which can go back to the artist based on the commission the artist set. Of course, many may buy a popular NFT for the bragging rights alone, as they can say they own an original piece and flaunt it.
How to make NFT art
Do you want to get started making NFTs and selling them? There are plenty of ways to go about “tokenizing” your work and selling it on an NFT marketplace. While you don’t need to know a lot about cryptocurrency to create and sell an NFT, there are some steps you will need to take that involves a crypto wallet and the specific cryptocurrency called Ethereum, which is the second-largest cryptocurrency just below Bitcoin. While it’s free to create an NFT, you will need to spend a small amount to sell your NFT on a marketplace.
- Create a crypto wallet
The very first step you will need to take is to set up a crypto wallet, in which you’ll hold some cryptocurrency. You can choose from a wide variety of wallets out there to get started, enabling you to securely sign in and start accounts on different marketplaces. One of the most popular wallets is Coinbase Wallet, which you can easily access via your computer or mobile device.
2. Buy Ethereum
To cover some of the fees involved in selling your NFT, you will need to purchase a small amount of Ethereum, abbreviated to ETH. You shouldn’t need to spend a lot, but it’s important to remember that the price of this cryptocurrency constantly fluctuates. It’s best to select the total amount you wish to spend in U.S. dollars when buying Ethereum. While some wallets may allow you to buy ETH directly through the wallet, others such as Coinbase Wallet will force you to buy it and carry it over from an exchange.
3. Connect your wallet to an NFT marketplace
With your wallet set up, you can connect it to an NFT marketplace where you’ll sell the NFT. There are plenty of options available to new artists out there, including OpenSea, the largest marketplace and one of the most accessible, along with Rarible, SuperRare, and Zora.
4. Turn your digital file into an NFT on the marketplace
Once you’ve selected a marketplace for your NFT, you will need to convert the digital file you want to sell into an NFT. Simply make sure the file format of your digital creation is compatible with the marketplace, and import it into the marketplace. However, you should make sure the file is of the highest quality before importing.
The marketplace should guide you through the process of uploading your file, which should be fast and simple, but you will likely need to pay a fee using the Ethereum in your crypto wallet. This fee covers the computation involved in converting the file to an NFT, which changes with the price of cryptocurrency and, in some cases, may even cost more than the price of the artwork. On the other hand, funds are available to help ease these costs for new artists, and this model may change as the industry evolves.
After adding the piece to the marketplace, it will now be officially minted with the certificate of authenticity that is the NFT.
5. List it for sale (if you so desire)
If you wish to sell your NFT, you can list the price you want to charge for it and put it on the marketplace. People can then begin bidding on the artwork until it’s sold to the highest bidder, much like a traditional art auction. Some platforms may make it easier for bidders to discover your art, but others may require you to promote it to boost visibility.
As you create more digital art, you can buy more Ethereum, upload your art to the marketplace, and continue selling for a profit. If you would like to learn more about how to make NFT artwork and sell it, or if you want to learn about how Block Link can help you, contact us today.