March 16, 2022
9551
0How to Become an NFT Artist
Can artists make money on NFTs? Can each of us “discover an artist in ourselves” and by drawing a few pictures or taking a few photos, sell them for thousands of dollars and discover a new hobby? Fortunately, the answer is YES, and this is not fake news. This is the reality of our life as we enter the NFT economy.
Can anyone make money on NFTs? Yes again, but you need to overcome certain complexes in yourself and form completely different values for this.
This article will tell you how to become an NFT artist.
Previously, we’ve written about the popularity of NFTs. You can read more here.
What is an NFT?
An NFT is a non-fungible token, a unique digital item whose originality is proven by blockchain technology. It also stores information about the owner of the token and its sales history. It is difficult to hack the blockchain and change its data, but access to blockchain information is open.
Therefore, the owner can easily prove his digital item ownership without being afraid that it will be “stolen.” Roughly speaking, an NFT is a digital certificate of authenticity that contains information about a digital item, its author, owner, and transaction history.
An NFT differs from cryptocurrency in that it is not interchangeable. One ether, bitcoin, or dollar bill is the same as any other — they are complete analogs. For example, if you borrowed $1,000 from a friend, and a week later you returned the debt with another $1,000 bill, your friend will satisfied because the value of the bills is the same.
With NFTs, the opposite is true. They are unique, allowing you to create rare digital collections or possess some item that no one else has and will never have until you decide to sell it. Even if someone scans your NFT and publishes it in their feed, you will still be able to prove that you are the author or owner of the token.
The list of the most expensive NFT deals is here.
How to become an NFT artist
Below, we will take you step by step through the process of turning your favorite works of art into a newly minted NFT that will outlive all of us on the Ethereum blockchain. We say Ethereum because, at least for now, Ethereum is the main blockchain for the sale and trading of NFT.
Step 1. Create some art
The first thing you need to do when you become an NFT artist creates your art. It can be almost any form of multimedia – GIFs, illustrations, videos, 3D models, etc.
For the sake of an example, you can look at Rarible or Foundation, where you can enjoy the general trends of NFT art. Currently, such trends as avant-garde, experimental abstract art, or references to internet culture saturated with memes are popular.
Once you have selected the type of art you want to upload, you can proceed to the next step.
Step 2. Create an Ethereum wallet
There are many wallets which you can choose to serve as your public address and store your private key, but it is usually recommended to rely on a hardware wallet.
We have conducted a detailed comparison of the best-selling hardware wallets in our Trezor vs. Ledger comparison.
If you are new to cryptocurrency, here is a short course on how a cryptocurrency wallet works: it is software or hardware that helps you manage the public address in the blockchain of your cryptocurrency. This public address is what stores the cryptocurrency and is viewable by everyone, although its ownership is completely anonymous (unless you specify otherwise).
Each public address has a private key that is used to deposit, withdraw or send funds to and from the address. Think of it as a mailbox: everyone can see it, know where it is, and send mail. But only a person who has a key to the mailbox can open it and extract what is inside.
There are two types of wallets: hot wallets, which are connected to the internet and provide more convenience for the user due to less security, and cold wallets that store your information offline and are less convenient for frequent use, but provide much more security for the user.
A popular example of a hot wallet is the commonly used MyEtherWallet. The best examples of cold wallets are the hardware wallets from Trezor or Ledger, which we mentioned above, and pen and paper.
Step 3: Buy some ether
In the maelstrom of news and growing interest in NFTs, it may be news to you that putting NFTs up for sale will actually cost you some money. This is due to how the Ethereum blockchain works: unlike Bitcoin, in which miners are rewarded with bitcoins for contributing the computing power needed to verify transactions and add their entry to the blockchain, Ethereum miners are paid with another currency in the blockchain.
Whenever you want to confirm a transaction and add it to the blockchain, a transaction fee is charged (ostensibly to cover “gas” and platform fees). Ethereum miners can choose which contracts they would like to spend computer power on. Thus, the more gas you pay for a transaction, the faster your contract will be executed and added to the blockchain. This includes downloading your NFT.
So you will want to buy some ether to pay for “gas” and pay the transaction fee. Transaction fees fluctuate quite a lot, but they are generally significantly lower than a month or two ago when ether began to skyrocket to $2,000.
Step 4. Select a trading platform
When you have art, a wallet, and some ether, you are ready to bring your NFT to the market. But first you want to go to ethereum.org and look at their choice of dApps – this is a good starting point for mastering the Ethereum market and some views of their own NFTs.
Foundation seems to be best suited for digital painting. At the same time, Nifty Gateway caters most to 3D models, and Rarible seems to be a chaotic mix of the fusion mentioned above of avant-garde cultures and internet memes.
Step 5. Upload your art
Although each platform will differ in terms of where you click the actual button, they all start by connecting your crypto wallet. Then, each of the main sites will automatically create an account associated with your wallet and guide you through a relatively simple download process. Finally, you have to choose how many “copies” of your NFT to mint and what percentage you want.
This last feature represents an innovative step forward for digital artists who, unlike their traditional counterparts, will never be able to truly limit the supply of any released work or create a real “original.”
An NFT, in fact, comes with a certificate of authenticity printed on the blockchain that proves its originality as a work, which allows the original artist to receive a share from each subsequent transaction/sale – a feature that even traditional artists cannot really take advantage of.
After you have selected the job, set the number of copies and the fee, you are ready to move on to the last stage.
Step 6. Pay the transaction fee
When your NFT work is blocked and uploaded, all you have to do is pull the trigger, and you can relax. In contrast, your work is uploaded to the blockchain and becomes a unique entity on the network, immutable and invulnerable to any server crash. The transaction fee guarantees that any Ethereum miner will mine your NFT.
After that, it should only take a few minutes before your newly minted NFT appears on the market, where it is just waiting to make the day of the astute patron who will see it first.
Conclusion
NFTs undoubtedly open up new opportunities for digital artists, allowing them to demonstrate their skills to a global audience, like on Facebook and Instagram. However, this time you will get paid for your creativity.
