This digital art piece is an NFT which was sold for $69.3 million USD! 

And guess what? There are thousands of them in various forms being sold daily for thousands of dollars! 

If you’re a digital artist or aspiring to become one, this trend presents the perfect opportunity for you to capitalize on your art and we’re going to walk you through the process but first, you must understand what this is all about. 

So, what does “NFT’ mean?

Non-fungible tokens or NFTs are digital items that could be in the form of an image, a GIF, a video, audio, a piece of writing, and even a game item! 

A fungible token could be exchanged with something of its kind like money, while a non-fungible token is something that isn't interchangeable with its own kind which explains why they could fetch a high price.

But what made it possible and how did it become so popular?

How It All Started

This adorable crypto kitty was sold for 600 ETH, which is valued at 2,310,162.00 USD as of 5 Sept 2021

Most NFTs are part of the Ethereum blockchain, a digital ledger where you can store information in a chain-like database that keeps expanding whenever there’s a need to store new data. 

Blockchains are more than just an endless database, they allow you to trace where and when was the data issued and where it moved to for authenticity.

Most NFTs exist on the Ethereum chain; they're designed to assign a unique serial number to each item like Ether (a cryptocurrency). 

As of its history, the origin of virtual NFTs dates back to 2012 – 2013 with the creation of colored coins that represented the smallest value of a Bitcoin. Each coin was intended to be exchanged for specific items according to their colors such as coupons, subscriptions, and even property; however, the concept didn’t go mainstream.

The popularity of NFTs surged in 2017 with Crypto Kitties, a blockchain-based game where you can adopt, breed, win, and trade virtual cats with cryptocurrency. Each cat is unique and non-perishable which classifies them as NFTs, and they were traded like crazy!

The concept’s huge potential resulted in the rise of many markets that vary from games to digital art pieces (like the one we saw earlier), NBA moments (real-life videos), Pokémon-like virtual cards, music, and the list goes on. 

The Market Ecosystem

Image from theblockcrypto

There’s plenty of blockchains specifically made for NFTs such as Flow by Dapper Labs, Tron, Binance Smart Chain, Polkadot, Tezos, EOS, Cosmos, and WAX but Ethereum is the main one. 

Each one of these blockchains has its own wallet and markets where you can verify your NFT and sell it.

One of these wallets is CoinBase which is available as an app on both Android and iOS. 

There is a process that you need to go through in order to sell your NFT. It includes identity verification and buying an amount of the crypto coin which is compatible with your wallet that’ll enable you to sell your art.

Creating Your Art

Image from Nifty Gateway

If you go to Nifty Gateway, you’ll be able to see what’s trending and how much people are willing to pay.

Since you have an idea of what people are interested in, you could try to forge your own masterpiece but don’t get too intimidated by how high the standards are. 

Beeple who’s probably one if not the richest digital artists out there is willing to share with you his experiences and philosophy behind his art for free!

In addition to Beeple, there are many resources like Skillshare, Udemey, and YouTube where you can learn how to craft captivating art just from the comfort of your home, but what about the marketing part?

The Communication Channels

Image from artworkarchive

One of the best ways to establish your name as a digital artist is to share your art with the world!

If you look at Beeple, you’ll notice that his extraordinary art is interesting to many people all over the internet but how did he achieve this status?

Beeple’s been making art for more than 10 years where he shared his pieces on platforms like Behance, Tumblr, and Instagram for free. His fans circulated his content until he became one of the digital art community pillars.

Start with your friends and family. Get some feedback and most importantly, be yourself!

Success isn’t guaranteed or it might take a while but don’t let that stop you and always remember to enjoy the process!

Do you have thoughts on NFTs you’d like to share? Drop us an email at info@xaviermah.my.