How to make money on NFT if you draw, photograph or create other unique content
Miscellaneous / / May 18, 2023
Take interesting pictures or collages, create illustrations or AI paintings and post them on digital marketplaces.
How NFT works
First, let's find out what NFT is and what this term is used for.
NFT stands for non-fungible token, which means “non-fungible token”. That is unique, unrepeatable.
All digital tokens are stored on the blockchain. This is a technology for encrypting and storing data about all completed transactions. Its advantage is that there is no single center that would accumulate all the information recorded in blocks. Data reside on multiple computers at the same time, so they cannot be tampered with, altered, or destroyed.
In other words, the blockchain is a huge chain. And each block in it contains information that is located immediately in all devices of a single network.
Token is a record in one of the blocks. There are many identical tokens. For example, one bitcoin is equivalent to another such bitcoin. A simple example of such equality is bills with one denomination. Each of them can be replaced by another similar one or exchanged for several small bills or coins.
NFT is a unique token. It cannot be replaced by others. Yes, there are tokens of the same value. For example, like paintings that are sold at auction for the same price. But the collectors who bought them are unlikely to take one painting instead of another without looking. Each work is unique, and the buyer chose it.
digital illustration, photo, video, music, or text can act as NFT art. This content becomes a distinctive feature of the token, which cannot be shared, copied or replaced by another. Most of these tokens exist on the Ethereum blockchain, or "ether".
Who buys NFTs and why
NFT is a piece of digital art. It is of interest to collectors in the same way as paintings, unique manuscripts or sculptures. The difference is that this art lives only in the digital space.
It is bought to get ownership of a unique creation of a digital artist. And support the master, whose work you like and seem promising. When buying, the author and the collector specify exactly how the new owner can use purchased art. For example, place it as an avatar on social networks, use it when designing a website or blog.
Karina Maksimova
Illustrator, NFT artist.
The number of NFT sales always increases before the holidays. For example, before the New Year, collectors seem to become Santa Clauses — they give themselves and the artists pleasant emotions.
In the future, the collector may sell the NFT token for the same amount or more. Each such transaction will bring income not only to the owner, but also to the author of the work: the artist, at the first sale, indicates the percentage that he intends to receive from future transactions.
Perhaps the acquisition of NFT is a good investment and further digital art will only rise in price. However, no one can predict exactly how the digital art market will develop.
How to create an NFT
Any content can be used as a unique token. For example, pictures and videos, cartoons and music, poetry, stories or even memes. But digital illustrations, collages, photos and art based on creations of neural networks.
In NFT, you can turn a picture that is drawn by traditional means: watercolor, oil, pencils or markers. Many artists digitize their work and post it for sale on digital marketplaces.
If you are painting on graphic or a regular tablet, it will be even easier to create NFT tokens - you can skip the digitization step.
Karina Maksimova
Now there is a real boom in artificial intelligence and there are many AI artists. They create works only with the help of neural networks. And there are collectors who only buy AI art.
Important: if you want to sell artificial intelligence creations, you must purchase a license that allows the commercial use of neural network works.
The main thing in NFT is the collection value of the token. Therefore, it is worth creating really interesting and original works. Think about why a collector should pay attention to your art and pay for it money.
To begin with, it is worth studying what is now popular in the community, what arts are in demand. But it doesn't make sense to blindly follow popular trends. Choose topics that you really like: this way you will not burn out and will be able to create something really interesting. You can stand out with unexpected plots and unusual characters - try different approaches.
Try to immediately create collections - not single images, but series connected by a single theme. It can be similar characters, an unusual universe, a single plot. Let your art be united by an interesting story. Such works attract more attention and find their collectors faster.
Karina Maksimova
I started with portraits - I succumbed to fashion trends. But then I realized that in NFT it is better to draw what is close to you. Let these works be sold longer, but you will talk about them with love. Therefore, advice: do not chase trends - they are fleeting. And don't be afraid to come up with something new that others haven't done before.
So I created my collection of animals. I tried to show that they need care and love. And the collection turned out to be very successful - I sold more than 20 works.
Where and how to sell NFT-art
If the works are ready, you can put them up for sale on one of the popular marketplaces.
Choose platform
Most often, the Ethereum blockchain is used for NFTs. Jobs can be posted on multiple platforms - OpenSea, SuperRare, Art Blocks, Rarible. The first is the most popular platform, which is suitable for beginners.
Now, in the spring of 2023, registration on OpenSea is free and there are no commissions for posting works there either. But other marketplaces may charge a “gas fee,” a fee for including a new token on the blockchain.
There are other platforms that do not run on Ethereum, but on Binance Smart Chain. These are Binance NFT, Juggernaut, Treasureland.
Karina Maksimova
I believe that one of the most promising platforms today is Foundation. It may not be suitable for complete beginners. Here you need to pay "gas" to register, create a collection and sell the work. But this is a plus: serious collectors pay more attention to artists who are willing to invest in creativity and promotion. This is a guarantee that a person, for example, will not disappear the day after tomorrow.
And beginners should go to OpenSea.
Get a crypto wallet
This is where the NFT tokens themselves and your “ether” will be stored if you are hosted on platforms that support Ethereum.
On OpenSea, you can use different wallets, but the most popular is MetaMask. To get one, you can download plugin from Google Chrome. In this case, your wallet will be linked to a Google account.
Create an NFT token and place it in a collection
The platform will suggest a step-by-step algorithm that will help you upload an image or other digital object. It is generic and is used every time you add a new job.
Follow the link and put your token into the collection. It will contain all the works related to one story, style or characters. Be sure to come up with a name and description for each token. The more interesting associations associated with art, the faster your NFT will find connoisseurs.
As a rule, each token is created in a single copy. You can make several copies, but then their value will drop sharply. Collectors prefer unique works.
When you click the Create button, your token will be added to the blockchain. Now you can sell it or give. At the same stage, you can specify what percentage of the transaction amount you will receive for each NFT art resale.
List NFTs for sale
You can choose how to implement NFT: set a fixed price for the work or put your art up for auction. As a rule, beginners choose the first option, and the first tokens are sold inexpensively.
Learn in advance how art is valued by those who have roughly the same skills as you and have not been on the market for long.
How to promote NFT-art
Now you need to make sure that collectors know about your creations. Placing on the marketplace does not guarantee sales - it's just a place to make transactions. All work on promotion you will need to do it yourself. And do it regularly.
To get your art noticed, you need to be part of the NFT community. To do this, you should register on Twitter, find users actively writing about this area by hashtags. As a rule, among them there are both authors of works and collectors. Artists always report new art and provide links to them - future buyers can find out about a new interesting token right in the feed.
In order to successfully sell NFTs, you have to become your own in this community. To do this, you should constantly appear in your account, communicate with colleagues, follow the messages of collectors and respond to their tweets. And also - mark the works that you liked and write words of support to their authors. Then they, in turn, will not leave your art without reactions.
Important: communication is conducted in English, so it is worth pull up the tongue.
Karina Maksimova
NFT is a long game. I started from scratch and went to Twitter every day, like a job. Wrote morning and evening tweets, talked. And it’s not enough just to write “Good morning, I ate porridge for breakfast.” The community appreciates your thoughts, attitude to creativity, to cryptocurrencies and just to life - in a word, you are real.
My first sale was three months later. And in the next, fourth, 10 works were already bought from me. But if you are not ready to wait and want quick money, nothing will come of it.
There is another way to promote that is suitable for beginners: “spaces”. These are live broadcasts where they gather collectors and artists. Authors present their work and answer questions. Some tell legends and tales about their paintings and even sing songs. You can also find out about such meetings on Twitter and prepare in advance for the performance.
You can even buy a work right during the broadcast. But the main thing is that “spaces” help newcomers to express themselves, get to know the community and gain an audience.
How to protect yourself from scammers in the NFT sphere
Now, on the wave of interest in NFT-art, a lot of scammers have appeared on the Internet. They write private messages to illustrators on Twitter and Instagram*, admire the work, ask a lot of questions and offer to sell NFTs to them without going through official platforms.
You need to be vigilant: do not cross any links and carefully check all the information. As a rule, real collectors, unlike scammers, do not write to the authors of works. They follow the work of artists on well-known platforms, read their posts in the social network feed, but do not climb into their personal space.
Karina Maksimova
If they write to you: “What a beautiful job! I have my own platform, do you want to place NFT on it?” is cause for doubt. You can lose your wallet, so it's worth checking if such a collector really exists.
If you are worried about the safety of the "ether", you can get a so-called cold wallet. That is, store money not on the site, but on a flash drive that will be in your drawer and will definitely not be lost.
The basic security rules for NFT transactions are the same as for other virtual transactions. Question overly generous offers, make sales on official platforms, and don't give anyone information that could help an attacker gain access to your money.
*Meta Platforms Inc. activities. and its social networks Facebook and Instagram are prohibited in the territory of the Russian Federation.
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