What is an NFT?
NFTs are non-fungible tokens. The adjective “non-fungible” is often used in economics to represent characteristics such as uniqueness and non-exchangeability. In the cryptocurrency space, non-fungibility simply indicates that one item cannot be exchanged for another..
A “token” as a unit of account is basically a certificate of validity stored on the decentralized blockchain, which makes digital assets traceable and accessible to everyone. As a result, NFTs are a unique virtual currency that can fall into almost any category and often take the form of paintings, videos, music, collectibles in video games, or any other type of creative digital production.
Since the NFT boom in early 2021, everyone is buying and selling these tokens all over the world. But, how can someone turn real art into NFTs and how can they sell them? It’s hard? Is it necessary to know programming to do an NFT?
In a nutshell, the steps are pretty straightforward. To understand the main procedure and its details, the following quick guide is introduced.
What is crypto art?
Art is the most common use case for NFTs, and it is no wonder that the popularity of crypto art in the form of NFTs has blossomed recently. The fact that the new blockchain technology creates conditions that now allow artists to earn tens of millions of dollars from their digital paintings has attracted many creatives who previously could only dream of such a level of ease and accessibility..
NFT’s sensational high-profile auctions tied to digital art have received considerable public attention. The most expensive sales made headlines after reaching millionaire figures. In 2022, the most expensive NFT, priced at $91.8 million, was “Merge,” by pseudonymous digital artist Pak.
In 2021, Everydays: the First 5000 Days NFT collection by artist Mike Winkelmann, known as Beeple, was another very expensive auction and sold for $69.3 million.
Crypto art is associated with unique pieces of art created by well-known artists that are sold at auctions in markets that include not only the popular NFT platforms, but also traditional auction houses like Sotheby’s and Christie’s. However, most of the artwork in the cryptocurrency space is being created by beginners with unknown talent.
However, some NFT collections, including the pioneering one called CryptoPunks or the more recently hyped Bored Ape Yacht Club, are examples of generative art. This type of art is often created with the help of several autonomous systems. The images in these popular collections are created by assembling a selection of simple image components in different combinations..
How to turn art into an NFT?
If someone is already wondering if they should turn their art into an NFT, the answer is obviously: “yes, why not give it a try”. The process of creating an NFT is not complex, expensive or technical. All it takes is a set of creative skills and a personal computer.
It should be noted that NFTs can potentially convert not only images, but also songs, videos, GIFs, and other digital items. So, First of all, you have to choose the artistic field that suits you best.. Based on this, you will understand what set of skills you will need to become a true NFT creator.
For example, As a graphic artist, you will need to use graphic editing tools like Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Photoshop, MS Paint, CorelDraw and the like. You can also try alternative ways like the three-dimensional (3D) modeling, which is known to be more difficult for beginners. If you choose the 3D animation, you will need to use 3D modeling tools like Blender or Cinema 4D to design animated graphics and characters that will then be converted into NFT.
Afterwards, you will have to come up with a unique idea for your one-of-a-kind piece of art or perhaps a whole collection and think about what content it will eventually become.
Is it necessary to know programming to create NFTs?
It’s quite easy to create an NFT from digital art without programming. The process of creation is called minting.. It is basically the act of publish a unique instance of the token on the blockchain. NFTs are minted once created, similar to how metal coins are created and put into circulation.
After this procedure, the particular piece of digital art becomes secure and tamper-proof, as well as difficult to manipulate. Since this digital item becomes an NFT, can now be digitally bought, sold and tracked when resold or collected.
For artists, NFT minting in digital art is the newest way to monetize their work fairly. In most NFT markets, artists can schedule a copyright clause at minting so that secondary sales of their works will generate passive income for them. If the demand for the work increases and it becomes famous and rises in value, artists can benefit from it.
Minting is an automated process offered in most NFT markets. To get it up and running, follow a few simple steps mentioned below:
The interested party can try to program an NFT if they already have experience in this area and want to become a developer of this type of token. To get into NFT programming, keep in mind that the Ethereum network still has a monopoly on NFT development..
The usual programming language used for NFT development is Solidity, which has been designed for the development of smart contracts running on the Ethereum blockchain.. Others are Javascript and HTML/CSS. Additionally, the InterPlanetary File System is often used to store artists’ NFTs.
Choice of the NFT market to make and sell the NFTs
An essential part of the NFT minting process is the choosing a suitable non-fungible token platform. the right choice depends on various factors such as supported file format, cryptocurrency wallet matching, platform accessibility for users, and price to mint an NFTor a transaction fee, which is a payment made to offset the computing power required to process and validate transactions.
There are many online NFT markets in the cryptocurrency space and each of them works slightly differently. The crucial thing for artists is to know if the platform is curated or if it is self-service based and to choose the most suitable, visited and user-friendly one for them..
NFT’s self-service or non-curated platforms offer free access to all artists. To load NFTs into them, you just need to register through a cryptocurrency wallet and pay the transaction fee to mint an NFT. The most popular are the massive self-service NFT marketplaces like OpenSea and Rarible.
Curated NFT platforms are more selective with artists. In order to register and start minting their art on these platforms, the interested party will have to submit an application with all the details about the NFT collection and their previous artistic experience.
Another visible downside of curated NFT markets is the long waiting period for expert decision. However, Due to this strict selection criteria, most top-notch digital artworks are displayed on these types of platforms so that buyers have more confidence in the artists collaborating with them.. Well known curated platforms are SuperRare and Nifty Gateway, to name a few.
Setting up a cryptocurrency wallet
A cryptocurrency wallet is a tool needed to access NFT platforms, sign transactions and manage balances..
Before setting it up, the most important thing is to make sure that the wallet matches the cryptocurrency used on the intended NFT platform. Since most NFT markets are based on Ethereum, they accept Ethereum’s native cryptocurrency, Ether (ETH), as payment.. Therefore, it is necessary to have a cryptocurrency wallet with some ETH on hand.
There are many cryptocurrency wallets that already have millions of users. Many of them have various functionalities and some of them have their own mobile applications and browser extensions to facilitate access to blockchain-based platforms.
Choosing a suitable cryptocurrency wallet depends on the type of security you are willing to have. The main types include custodial, non-custodial and hardware wallets. A custodial wallet is also known as a hosted wallet, as user funds are automatically stored in it by a third party, similar to how banks store money in checking and savings accounts.
It is considered to be the easiest to use and configure. A non-custodial wallet gives users complete control over the security of their cryptocurrencies and does not rely on a third party to keep funds safe. A hardware wallet, also known as an offline wallet, is a physical device that can keep users’ cryptocurrency offline and secure it even in the worst case scenario when someone’s computer is hacked.
Sale of digital art as NFT
The NFT sale is likely the end point of minting the non-fungible tokens. Most NFT platforms have a feature to choose a selling method or an option to set a price for the NFT while minting it..
Fixed price sale and auction are currently the two main ways to sell NFT. Selling at a fixed price is considered the easiest way, as well as quite transparent and direct. To sell a newly minted NFT in this way, all you have to do is specify the price you want to sell at. Some platforms also ask for a percentage of royalties, the amount that will be received in case of future sales of the art, so pay attention to that too.
Another way to sell NFTs is through an auction so buyers can browse and bid on digital art. Some auctions may be online onlywhile others may end up in a completely live auction. There are usually two types of these.
The first type is an English auction, a rising price auction in which the highest bidder ultimately wins.. A timed auction is a specific form of English auction where you can bid on an NFT for a defined period of time and at the end, the collector who has submitted the highest bid wins. The second type is the Dutch auction, a declining price auction where the price falls until someone buys the NFT.
Everyone chooses the way to sell their NFT. Each way has its pros and cons, be it the possible misunderstanding of the real value of your work of art when setting a fixed price or the time dependency during the sale through auctions.
Clarification: The information and/or opinions expressed in this article do not necessarily represent the views or editorial line of Cointelegraph. The information set forth herein should not be taken as financial advice or investment recommendation. All investment and commercial movement involve risks and it is the responsibility of each person to do their due research before making an investment decision.
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