Why NFTs are a Gold Mine for Artists

NFTs (Non-Fungible Tokens), have some artists discovering a gold mine of digital assets they never knew existed. Digital assets that can be turned into valuable NFTs can be anything such as images, art, memes, gifs, audio clips, video clips, trading cards, tweets, e-books, music, articles and basically everything that one can create, store, and sell on a blockchain.

Artists of various disciplines: authors, artists, content creators, musicians, filmmakers, are seeing NFTs as a way to transform their business, the creative process, income sources and even how people value art.

But is it actually lucrative or worth it? Some say ‘absolutely!’ and some are skeptical. Regardless of how you feel about NFTs, it’s a fact that some artists are raking in the dough to the tune of six figures within a matter of months. Interest in NFTs surged this year, garnering $2.5 billion in sales so far. That’s compared to just $13.7 million in the first half of 2020.

“digital-art trading platforms could make more traditional art markets obsolete.” – NFT artist, Trevor Jones

If you’re an artist or content creator looking to get involved, read on.

What are NFTs?

Behold the era of NFTs where digital art can now be truly owned and sold for the first time. The fact that NFTs run on a blockchain, usually Ethereum, makes them easy to track. The tracking system enables the verification of artists’ online assets’ authenticity, their history, and their owners through unique meta code.

Non-Fungible Tokens are referred to as NFT. The blockchain allows anyone to create, store, and sell anything they create, such as art, doodles, memes, gifs, video clips, audio clips, tweets, books, articles, or trading cards. This cryptocurrency for artists enables purchasing, selling, and trading of assets once they've been tokenized.

Why Artists Should be Getting Involved

As the digital world is saturated with videos and photo-based content, many artists are rushing into the NFT craze. After years of creating content that generates visits and engagement (but no monetary value) on social media networks, artists are looking for new ways to earn a living with their art. Up until now, it was almost impossible for artists to cash in on their art or digital creations. With the NFT movement and big-name influencers getting on board, it’s becoming more lucrative for artists to sell their work.

Most recently, rapper, actor, and business mogul Juaquin James Malphurs, best known by stage name Waka Flocka, announced he’s partnered with Satoshi Art, an NFT marketplace owned by people from underrepresented communities.

If you’re an artist looking to get in on NFTs, here are some of the reasons why you should be getting involved now:

• Creative digital assets, such as art, animations, poetry, songs, recipes, selfies, tweets, and blog posts, etc. can be created on a blockchain and sold to fans and collectors on a Marketplace in exchange for a cryptocurrency (ETH) that can be converted into fiat, or tangible currency, such as the USD or your local currency. Quite simply, the NFT marketplace is to NFTs what Amazon or eBay are to goods. So, how much is the exchange rate for ETH and the US Dollar? It does change daily, however, today’s rate is 1 ETH Ethereum = $2,237.08 USD.

• The most exciting aspect of NFTs today (and one that is highly incentivized) is that it gives the creator autonomy and power over their work in ways that traditional art does not. In the blockchain world, an artist or creator doesn't need a gallery, agent, or a large social media following to make money.

• On top of that, the artist can receive royalties after each sale of their work. The standard royalties are between 10 and 20% and depend on the platform with which the artist mints their work.

NFTs are similar to a stock market and something that artists are encouraged to consider for a short-term and a long-term investment. Here’s how you can get started with NFTs:

Basics to Getting Started with NFTs for Artists

It has never been easier to get started with NFTs than right now. The most popular marketplaces currently are Nifty Gateway, OpenSea, Rarible, and Foundation. Let's discuss how to get started with NFT for Artists.

• Create a wallet on Metamask after downloading the software.

• Download the MetaMask Chrome extension and install it on your phone or ideally, your laptop. As a result, you'll be able to access your crypto wallet both on your phone and computer, so you can mint, check sales, and engage with the community much more easily.

• You will receive a "seed phrase" from MetaMask, a string of random words used to allow you access to your digital wallet if you lose your password. Keep this in your mind, or write it down in three places. To reduce the risk of getting hacked and stolen, data should not be stored digitally but instead in a tangible place like a book, a planner, a safe, etc. Never ever lose this seed phrase. If you lose it, you will not have access to your wallet, funds, etc.

• Once you've done that, send some ETH to the wallet. Ether (ETH) is the cryptocurrency of the Ethereum network, which is arguably the second most popular digital token after Bitcoin (BTC). If you don't have a credit card, you can buy ETH on exchanges like Coinbase, Kraken, and Binance. When you are verified, and the transaction has been completed, you can send it to Metamask. It may take up to five days for that process to complete, but you only have to do that when starting. Once you've accomplished that, everything else becomes easier.

• You will need to decide where to mint your work. Marketplaces fall into two categories: Open and Closed. The most popular open NFT marketplaces right now are OpenSea and Rarible. OpenSea doesn't require users to pay minting fees every time for creating new NFTs.

• For marketplaces like SuperRare, you may need to wait a while for acceptance into a closed market because you must apply or request an invitation. (Can also often mean rejection if the platform itself is making the decision, rather than existing creators inviting others into the platform.) With so many open markets, however, finding the right NFT marketplace for you shouldn’t be too difficult.

• Observe the specifications of the platform and upload your digital assets accordingly. The specifications of all platforms vary, so you need to figure this out for yourself.

• Put the title and description into the fields provided. This is not to be missed. When it comes to your art, it is impossible to overemphasize the importance of telling a story. Engage the viewer - tell them “Why" your piece exists. Remember, too, that people are as much drawn to the artist as they are to the art.

• Select the royalty percentage you want. Cryptocurrency art appeals to artists for precisely this reason. It is common to ask for 10-20%. Whenever your piece sells from one collector to another, and so on, you are entitled to 20% of the money earned.

• When a collector purchases your NFT, include information about the properties, such as whether the collector will receive the high-resolution digital file.

• Click "Create Item." A popup will appear to guide you through the process of minting your work on the blockchain.

• After listing and creating your item, share it.

Gas-Free NFT Platforms

Here’s how you can make an NFT for free and save hundreds of dollars in Ethereum gas fees. Libra.codes is a brand new NFT marketplace that offers two great things:

1. Gas-free: There are gas fees from ETH that a user/creative has to pay via their wallet (Metamask) to mint the NFT. Libra.codes have the lowest gas fees that they removed it altogether. OpenSea just announced that they are gas-free based on their Series B funding of $100M

2. Multiple Cryptos: libra.codes have approximately 29 cryptos that a user/creative can use or receive. Therefore, you are not stuck just using ETH. No other NFT marketplace is currently offering this.

Libra.codes allow artists and digital content creators to easily create an account, start uploading assets to turn them in NFTs, deploy and mint for free and sell or auction for a 2% sales fee.

Currently, libra.codes is still in beta and getting ready to launch a new skin in a couple of weeks. Sign up now to be an early adopter.

How to Succeed in the NFT Market?

The keys to success in NFTs are having both critical understanding and an attentive audience. Besides practicing their craft, the most successful crypto artists dedicate much of their time to building a fan base and learning about complex cryptocurrency and blockchain protocols.

Digital artists and content creators of all types can benefit from NFTs because they offer more equitable compensation systems. By using NFTs, artists can monetize and track their work without going through stock agencies, galleries, and other platforms.

Header artist credit: Lethabo Huma. Bid on NFT artwork at: https://superrare.com/lethabo

At Our Project Experience, we have a dedicated team to help get your crypto art or project off the ground to reach your goals. Each client is paired with the perfect project manager, based on project requirements and how well we think you’ll work together. We’ll make sure your experience is a smooth and happy one, and you’ll have our full team at your fingertips. Learn more here.