Understanding Crypto Art

Crypto art in NFT format has experienced explosive growth in recent times, with art being one of the most popular use cases for Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs). The advancements in blockchain technology have made it possible for artists to receive substantial sums for their digital paintings, attracting innovative individuals to the field.

High-profile NFT art auctions have gained considerable attention, with some fetching hundreds of thousands of dollars. In 2022, the most expensive NFT to date, “Merge” by a pseudonymous artist, sold for $91.8 million. These sales often make headlines and demonstrate the growing value and demand for NFT art.

In 2021, the “First 5000 Days” NFT by artist Mike Winkelmann, also known as Beeple, was sold for $69.3 million in a high-end auction. Crypto art typically involves unique pieces made by well-known artists, which are then sold on NFT art marketplaces, such as NFT mediums and traditional auction houses like Sotheby’s and Christie’s. However, much of the art in the crypto space is created by unknown up-and-coming artists.

Despite this, some NFT groups, such as the trailblazing CryptoPunks and the recently popular Bored Ape Yacht Club, are examples of successful art. This type of art is often created using automated methods, and is composed of simple image elements arranged in various combinations.

Do you need to know how to code for NFTs?

Making NFTs from digital art is relatively easy and does not require extensive coding knowledge. This process is called minting, and involves issuing a unique token on the blockchain. Once minted, the digital art becomes a non-fungible token, which is secure, unalterable, and can be easily tracked when purchased, traded, or resold.

For artists, minting NFTs is an innovative way to monetize their work. Most NFT marketplaces allow artists to set a royalty on their NFTs, which means they receive passive income from secondary sales. If the artwork becomes popular and increases in value, the artist stands to profit. Minting is a simple process available on most NFT marketplaces.

However, if you have coding experience and wish to become an NFT developer, you can try coding your own NFT. Ethereum currently dominates the NFT market, and the common coding language used for NFTs is Solidity, designed for creating smart contracts on the Ethereum blockchain. HTML/CSS and Javascript are also used, and the InterPlanetary File System is often used to store NFTs.

Choosing an NFT platform to make and sell NFTs

Picking the right NFT platform is crucial in the process of minting NFTs. There are several online NFT marketplaces in the cryptocurrency sector, each with its own unique features. Artists should consider whether a platform is self-service or curated when choosing one that is user-friendly, popular, and suitable for them. Self-service NFT platforms are free to access for all artists and require only a cryptocurrency wallet and a service fee to create an NFT.

Curated NFT platforms have stricter artist selection criteria, and artists must provide information about their NFT collections and prior artistic experience in order to register and start minting their artwork. The time it takes for curation can be longer, but these platforms typically showcase the best digital art, giving consumers more confidence in the artists they feature.

Setting up a cryptocurrency wallet

A cryptocurrency wallet is required to manage balances, log onto NFT platforms, and sign transactions. The most important step is verifying that the wallet accepts the cryptocurrency used on the NFT platform of choice. Most NFT marketplaces operate on Ethereum and accept payments in Ether, the native cryptocurrency of Ethereum. There are many crypto wallets available, some with millions of users, offering various functionalities and even web and mobile applications for easy access to blockchain-based platforms.

The type of cryptocurrency wallet you choose depends on your security preferences. The three main options are custodial, noncustodial, and hardware wallets. Custodial wallets are the most user-friendly and straightforward to set up, as users’ funds are stored by a third party. Noncustodial wallets give users

Selling Digital Art as NFTs

The first step in selling digital art as NFTs is to mint your token. Most NFT platforms have a built-in mechanism for determining a selling process or setting a price for your non-fungible token. There are two main ways to sell NFTs: through a fixed-price sale or an auction. Fixed-price sales are simple, straightforward, and easy to understand. To sell your NFT this way, you need to specify the price you want and, in some cases, a portion of the royalties you will receive from future sales of your art.

Another option is to sell your NFT through an auction. Customers can bid on your online art, either through an online auction or a physical one. There are two types of NFT auctions: English and Dutch. An English auction is a rising-price auction where the highest bid wins. A timed auction is a type of English auction where the token can be bid on for a set period, and the collector with the highest bid wins. A Dutch auction is a reducing-price auction where the price decreases until someone buys your NFT.

The choice of which method to use for selling your digital art NFT is up to you. Each method has its advantages and disadvantages, such as a lack of knowledge of your artwork’s true value when setting a fixed price, or the reliance on timing during auctions. However, there are several benefits to trading art as an NFT, including:

• Immediate and irreversible settlements
• The ability to sell multiple versions of your work, such as fixed editions and prints, all in one place
• The ability to reproduce and transfer NFTs without affecting the value of the artwork
• Full control over your artwork, allowing you to set rules and regulations

In conclusion, NFTs are a great platform for showcasing and selling cryptocurrency-based art. They are easy to use and accessible to anyone, even those without technical expertise. NFTs can also be used by art collectors to invest in works of art before they are completed. NFTs are one of the most exciting emerging technologies in the field of art and cryptography and offer benefits to both collectors and artists. This guide should make it simple for anyone in the arts, whether they are designers or programmers, to create and sell their NFTs independently.