While there is still a level of controversy that surrounds NFTs, it’s undeniable that they’re led to a digital art revolution, with users from around the globe being able to sign up to an NFT marketplace and sell their art to an international audience.
After the March 2021 sale of Beeple’s NFT collection for $69,000,000 USD, the world finally started to take NFTs seriously. Yet, people still assumed that this was just a lucky fluke and that the market would die off. Once again, people’s distaste for NFTs was misplaced, with the market springing back up and reaching double the amount of sales in August.
A few months later and the world of NFTs hasn’t slowed down one bit. Especially if you’re an artist that’s looking for a more accessible way of selling your digital art, then these provide a unique avenue of pursuit for you.
In this article, we’ll be taking a look at some successful NFT digital artists, explaining what NFTs are, and plotting your journey towards selling your first NFT. Let’s get right into it.
What’s the verdict in the art community?
Becoming an artist has always been considered a rather difficult career, filled with uncertainty and barred by gallery elitism. NFTs represent a turning point for this career, with digital art that is easily accessible to everyone suddenly leveling the playing field.
When Artsy chatted to eight artists that had started to make NFTs, the sentiment was overwhelmingly positive. Many of these artists quoted the same few core reasons that they enjoyed this new pursuit:
- New Medium – Some artists cited the use of NFTs as an exciting new method of creating art in a new medium, with aspects like VR sculpting being something that simply would not be possible without the digital format.
- Reaching New Audiences – The Mullican estate is using NFT platforms to display the now-passed Lee Mullican’s artwork, allowing it to reach a wider audience than it ever did while the artist was alive.
- AI Integrations – The digital format of NFTs allows for moving portraits that have interactive elements, with Dounia being an artist that’s adding AI to her acrylic paintings to give them even further impact.
Yet, even alongside all of these interesting reasons, one always prevailed above all else – accessibility. No matter if you’re an artist that comes from a wealthy background that’s used to having an easier route into the art world or someone that’s unable to reach the same art mediums as the aforementioned people – the world of NFTs accepts everyone.
Gone are the days of galleries barring artists that don’t align with their ideas. Gone are the days of art that goes unnoticed. The movement to NFTs is an exciting new prospect for the art community, letting anyone launch their art for the world to see.
QuickFire: What’s an NFT?
NFT, standing for non-fungible token, is a digital asset that cannot be replicated. What this means is that the artwork itself contains digital information about its owner, with that information being safely stored on the blockchain.
When someone buys an NFT, they’re essentially buying that digital information, with the blockchain then noting down that it’s their possession. As with physical artwork, the NFT is still the property of the artist and continues to be their intellectual property.
An NFT can be anything that’s digital, from a photograph to a poem. If it’s on the internet – it can be an NFT.
How Will I Be Able To Monetize My Art with NAGAX
If you’re an artist that’s looking to sell their art to the global stage, then launching it digitally as an NFT or NFT collection is one of the most effective ways of doing so. Instead of waiting for long periods of time to hear back from galleries and then hoping that people attend your show, you’ll be able to upload your work online, ‘mint’ (produce) it as an NFT, and have it on the market that very same day.
When looking to sell your art as an NFT, there are a few steps that you need to follow:
- Enter The NAGAX Whitelist
- Open a wallet and stock up on Ethereum
- Pay to mint your NFT
- Add to auction or buy now
- Enjoy your digital art income
Let’s break these down further.
NAGAX Pre-Registration
NFTs can’t just be sold anywhere. In fact, there are designated platforms that accommodate the buying and selling of NFTs. One NFT platform that’s been gaining attention recently is one feature from the whitelisted NAGAX exchange.
This social trading platform is completely dedicated to NFTs and cryptocurrencies, offering a social trading experience. Within this platform, you’ll be able to list, buy, and sell NFTs.
Additionally, the profile tab on NAGAX will display all the NFTs that a user has. This social platform then often incites more people to buy NFTs as they can display them on their profile and gain notoriety. Due to this, listing your artwork on this site will ensure you have a higher chance of making that very first sale.
If you’re still in the development stages of your art, then joining this program’s whitelist while you’re still creating will let you get off to a flying start when they go live.
Let’s take a look at the process so you’re ready to go.
Open a Wallet
Once you’ve signed up to NAGAX, you’ll be asked to connect a wallet. In this context, a wallet is a digital vault where all of your cryptocurrency is stored. Whenever you make a sale, this is where your money will go.
There are several popular wallets that offer competitive rates and a range of useful features. Commonly, those that are buying and selling NFTs will use MetaMask, which contains all of the features that you’ll need as an artist. Once you’ve created an account with MetaMask, you’ll be able to fund it with Ethereum.
Why do I need Etherium?
A non-fungible token (NFT) is run off an Ethereum-based token. This specific token is how NFTs work, as they cannot be reproduced and therefore is perfect for something like a digital asset.
However, because the Ethereum network cannot run many transactions in a single minute, artists and other users have to pay a ‘gas fee’ whenever they want to either buy or sell something. This gas fee essentially pushes their command to the front of the Ethereum transaction queue, ensuring that it is executed as soon as possible.
When uploading your artwork to an NFT marketplace, all sites will ask for a gas fee to ensure that your work is uploaded and ready to sell as soon as possible. These gas fees change all of the time and will depend on things like the time of day and how much you’re trying to upload at once.
But, to sell your digital art online, you’ll have to mint it as an NFT. As this is a transaction, you’ll need a little bit of Ethereum to process this minting process. Be sure to check how much the transaction gas fee is going to be, and then buy that much Ethereum. This will ensure you never underbuy or overbuy Ethereum.
Mint your NFT
Now that you’ve got a wallet where your Ethereum is stored, you’ll be able to connect it to the NFT marketplace in NAGAX. In the NFT tab, at the top of your screen, you’ll see a blue button that says ‘Connect Wallet’.
By clicking on that button, you’ll be able to enter the details of the wallet you just created, linking it directly to your NAGAX account. From there, you’ll be able to send and receive funds – allowing you to buy and sell. At this point, you’re ready to mint your first NFT.
Click on ‘Create Storefront’ to start setting up your own NFT shop. You’ll be able to give it a name, as well as name any piece of art or collection that you upload. Once you’ve made your storefront feel like home, it’s time to mint.
Click on the upload button and drag the file that holds your digital artwork into the browser. From there, mint the NFT. NAGAX will ask for a small gas fee to cover the transaction cost on the Ethereum network. Once you’ve paid this (thanks to your connected wallet), your NFT will be live on your storefront.
From there, you’ll be able to list it for auction or at a buy now price. If you list it for auction, it’ll appear in the list of NFTs currently being sold, as well as its price and any past transactions on the piece. These past transactions will detail if a user had sold or traded the artwork before, as well as the different prices that it was sold at.
You’re on your way to becoming a digital artist!
With the publication of your first NFT onto NAGAX, you’re officially a digital artist. From there, you’ll be able to keep adding to your collections, creating new NFTs, and adding to collections that you’ve already begun to upload.
Now that your art is live, everyone on the platform will be able to see it, interact, place bids, or buy your art outright. From there, keep on uploading your art to become a household name in the NFT community.
Who knows, you could be the great artist behind the next Bored Ape collection, which is currently valued at over $1 billion USD.
Your Path to Become a Digital Artist
Unlike traditional methods of moving through art school, taking on training, growing your skills, getting into galleries, and becoming famous through public interaction, NFTs are an instant route for an artist to pursue.
Instead of waiting for your art to maybe one day make it big, NFTs give artists the power to go out into the world and seek their own sales. By signing up for NFT marketplaces and minting their artwork, they’ll be getting exposure to a global market of interested digital collectors. With this, artists will be able to sell their art, create an income, and make a name for themselves in this exciting new digital community.
Best of luck on your journey to becoming the next big NFT artist!
