How to Build NFT Art?

Although the first NFT project was launched in 2015, almost a decade ago, the market is still new and obscure for most people. In this article, we will give you the simplest explanation of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) followed by a step-by-step guide on how to create and sell NFT art.

To understand the definition better, let’s puzzle it out word by word. First, let’s focus on the word fungible, which has a very precise definition of the economy. Fungible means replaceable. It’s anything that can be replaced by another one with the same value. A dollar banknote or a sack of sugar is fungible. You don’t care which one of them you get, they are the same, identical to the rest.

Non-fungible things are unique. It’s something that has an emotional value. Da Vinci’s “Mona Lisa” is non-fungible, there’s only one on Earth. You can get a replica, but it never will be the same as an original canvas, it has no significance. Unsurprisingly, non-fungible things are way more precious than fungible ones. NFT is also non-fungible. In other words, each NFT is a unique digital asset and can not be replaced by any other NFT. Some non-fungible tokens become popular and expensive collectibles due to their rarity and value.

Now let’s move on to the word token. Token means a tradable asset that resides on a blockchain. A blockchain is a public-distributed digital ledger that has records of all the transactions. The information stored in the blockchain is set in stone and can not be hacked, changed, or deleted.

After buying or creating an NFT, you get digital proof of ownership inside the blockchain coding. Authentication means you have the right to the original artwork. For example, anyone can buy a tee with a logo on it, but there’s only one who has the right to the logo. First, a designer, then the person who bought the rights. When you own NFT, you can do with it whatever you want, or you can transfer it to the other owner.

You can mint an NFT on any blockchain which supports the technology. But mostly non-fungible tokens are held in the Ethereum blockchain. This blockchain supports its native cryptocurrency called ether, the second largest cryptocurrency in the world after bitcoin. Ethereum blockchain is the leader among others, and also is a ledger where NFTs were born.

NFTs are stored on a blockchain, but there is a fundamental difference between them and cryptocurrency. A cryptocurrency is an encrypted form of digital currency. Like any currency, it is fungible and can be exchanged by one another. NFT is the opposite of cryptocurrency since it’s non-fungible. It’s a cryptographic token. Each of them is unique and can not be replaced by another token even if it has the same rate. You can only sell NFTs and buy ones on special peer-to-peer NFT marketplaces.

Anyone who wants to share their creation with the world can create an NFT. It’s a pretty simple process called NFT minting. When you mint an NFT, you create your ownership certificate and upload it to the blockchain.

Nevertheless, you should put a great level of creativity into your NFT art. Since NFTs are usually perceived as collectibles, their rate depends on their significance and the idea behind it. Having a clear goal in mind will help in creating NFT artwork and its promotion, and, potentially, will bring more earnings. Or maybe you already have a huge fan base waiting for you to roll out new digital art. In both cases, NFT is worth trying.

Learn more: What Does NFT Artist Mean?

RetroStyle Games has its own NFT project, so we went through all the steps of the NFT creation process ourselves. Now we can lead you through all the steps on how to create an NFT art. We wanted to share our knowledge with you since we know from our own experience how confusing it can be to enter an unknown market. In this article, we will explain how to create NFT art using the OpenSea marketplace.

1. Create a concept

Your new NFT can have any concept. It can be a collectible or a part of a charity campaign, it can give access to a private club with some benefits, or it can be made just for fun. Ensure that each single NFT is one of a kind and that you own the right to the media you’re using. OpenSea admits at least 80% of NFTs hosted on its platform are plagiarized or knock-offs.

2. Set up a digital wallet

Before you can mint and sell an NFT, you’ll need to set up a cryptocurrency wallet. A wallet provides access to the NFTs held on the blockchain. It also lets you spend your cryptocurrencies, and pay fees and will allow you to transact on NFT payment platforms. OpenSea usually recommends using the browser extension of the MetaMask cryptocurrency wallet. It adds a wallet icon to your extension bar and is used for accessing Ethereum-enabled distributed applications. MetaMask wallet is free and one of the most popular crypto wallets.

3. Add cryptocurrency to a wallet

If you’re going to store your NFT at the Ethereum blockchain, you will need ether crypto accordingly. However, you can choose any other blockchain supporting NFTs. Choosing a blockchain type you should consider its transaction speed, security of the technology, functionality, and transaction costs. MetaMask wallet can be used to store ether only.

4. Choose NFT marketplace

Marketplace is a platform where you will create and sell an NFT. Each platform has different rules and requirements, so be sure to review them before getting started. Here are some examples of popular NFT auction platforms where you can sell your NFT:

• OpenSea – the largest NFT market with the widest supply. The top choice to sell NFT art.
• NFT Showroom – the marketplace based on fast and feeless HIVE-blockchain. An option to sell an NFT without paying any fees.
• Nifty Gateway – the platform is hosting the most expensive and exclusive NFT sales, focusing on artwork from celebrities and top artists.
• Binance – offers the typical digital assets found on other major platforms while charging very low transaction fees.

5. Upload file

Once you’ve set up your wallet, stored cryptocurrency in it, and connected the wallet to a marketplace, it’s time to upload your NFT art. OpenSea has one of the simplest upload processes. Just click the “Create” button, upload a supported file and fill a short digital form. Keep in mind that blockchain charges a fee for minting an NFT. However, there are several ways to avoid or lower the fees. We will talk about it further.

6. Set up a price

A marketplace will allow you to choose how to sell your artwork. The listing type can either be an auction or a fixed price. With a fixed price option, you can set a price and sell your NFT instantly. The auction option will allow people to make bids until you accept one of them.

7. Promote

There are several ways to increase the demand and raise the chances of selling NFTs. Build community and an NFT brand, promoting your artworks on social media and collaborating with other NFT creators.

You may need or may not need coding to create NFT art, depending on the route you choose. Coding NFT from scratch is a complicated process that varies from one blockchain to another. When you mint NFTs you create smart contracts that outline NFT parameters such as the NFT ownership, the ability to transfer it, having a token ID, and get paid for it. The token standard and coding language will differ depending on the blockchain technology you decided to use.

Fortunately, as NFTs have grown in popularity, lots of no-code NFT collections generators have emerged. They simplify the process of making NFTs and don’t require any coding knowledge. Most NFT marketplaces even provide a step-by-step guide on how to use the NFT platform and set everything up. One of the largest and oldest NFT marketplaces – OpenSea – allows you to sell NFTs and collect them just after connecting your crypto wallet to the NFT platform.

Having launched in 2017, OpenSea now has over 121 million people visiting the website per month. No-coding NFT platforms made the process of creating NFT art more convenient for a regular user. However, choosing a non-coding approach, you should consider marketplaces typically charging a commission from each NFT sale. Typically, the transaction fee is around 2-5%. For instance, OpenSea NFT marketplace charges 2.5% of the sale price.

If you are an artist and already have wonderful digital artwork, you can turn it into NFT. Minting tools usually cost money. But there are some ways to avoid this fee. We’ll talk about them later. There are different formats supported by NFT marketplaces. Essentially, any unique digitally stored good can be an NFT. These digital assets can be images, GIFs, audio and video clips, in-game avatars, domain names, etc.

If you want to create an NFT of the artwork you own, you can upload it to OpenSea in JPG, PNG, SVG, or GIF file formats. Make sure to convert your digital file to the supported format before uploading it to the NFT marketplace. Moreover, the NFT platform you choose may have a file size limitation. For OpenSea, the maximum file size supported is 100 MB, so make sure your art does not exceed the limit as well. Want to create NFTs, but art is not your forte? In this case, you can use NFT art creation services.

Before making NFT art, you’d likely want to know if it is even worth it. First, let’s take a look at the benefits of creating and selling NFTs.

Royalty payments. Artists always struggled to find fair compensation. Once the intellectual property is sold, the artist loses all the right to get the downstream payments. Royalties were designed to solve this problem. Royalties are the percentage NFT artists collect on secondary NFT sales. This percentage is designated by the creator at the time of NFT minting. Typically, it’s around 6%. OpenSea offers to set the royalty payout from 3% to 6%. Unlike parameters like ownership or token ID, royalties are not implemented into a smart contract. Instead, NFT marketplaces, where contracts are minted, took the responsibility for automating the payments.

Potential of the NFT market. The NFT market is growing rapidly and is estimated to climb from $11.3 billion market cap to $231 billion by 2030. OpenSea, one of the largest NFT marketplaces, has more than 1 million registered users in 2022. The number of potential buyers grows simultaneously with the number of people interested in NFTs.

Reselling. You can trade NFTs, buying them for one price and selling NFTs again when they rise in value. To make a profit, buy NFTs you see potential in. Reselling is a benefit both for traders and the creator since the artist earns royalties on each secondary sale.

Market transparency and encryption. The Ethereum blockchain is encrypted. Meaning it’s securing data, systems, and networks, making it difficult for unauthorized parties to gain access. Blockchain records all the transactions, providing proof of ownership. Thus, NFTs are easy to authenticate and verify. The market is transparent for all parties, since the creator, subsequent NFT owners, purchase price, and acquisition prices are all visible and are connected to the artwork.

Marketing dependence. The NFT market is overflowing with art, and it can be much harder to sell your NFT than to make it. NFT sells quickly if it’s well-marketed. Thus, it’s better to already have a fanbase and fame or to make a significant promotion campaign.

Market volatility. The fluctuation and the trend dependence of the NFT market don’t make it a place for safe investments.

High gas fees. The fees you pay to blockchain for processing the transaction grew rapidly over the past years. Some artists, they’ve already reached cost-prohibitive levels.

Theft. Although the blockchain attached to digital assets is unique and encrypted, the images themselves can still be copied.

Bad ecological impact. The Ethereum-based platform is notorious for consuming energy. It excesses carbon and wastes non-renewable sources. However, there are energy-efficient blockchains on which NFTs can be built.

These digital arts became so popular, you’ve seen at least some of them, even if you know nothing about NFT. Here are the most popular NFT samples on the market.

CryptoPunks. CryptoPunks first launched in 2017 and are profile picture art and one of the highest-valued NFT collectibles after gaining mainstream recognition. Basically, they have algorithmically generated 24×24 pixel art images. The CryptoPunk token #5822 is one of the most expensive NFTs ever sold. This token is a part of the series’ rarest alien edition, of which only 9 exist out of the 10,000 punks available. In 2022 its price reached $23.7 million. Generally, 6 out of 10 most expensive NFTs are CryptoPunk tokens. Thus, we can say that CryptoPunk is the most popular and expensive NFT collection.

Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC). BAYC launched in April 2021 with a collection of 10,000 digital tokens. Apes are made using the same NFT creation principles as for CryptoPunks. Each ape has a unique generated look, randomized from 170 possible traits. The most expensive token #8817 has been sold for $3.4 million. The ownership of an ape token offers not only the image itself but a Yacht Club membership card and provides member-only benefits, including access to a virtual, collaborative graffiti board.

What are gas fees?

Some digital artists join the NFT movement only to be hit with unexpected bills in the form of gas fees. We want you to be aware of the extra charges, so there will be no unpleasant surprises for you in the future.

A gas fee is a transaction fee specific to the Ethereum blockchain network. These gas fees are the fuel that allows the Ethereum network to operate, in the same way, that a car needs gasoline to run. Basically, NFT gas fees are the money paid to the blockchain for processing the transaction. Blockchain miners use powerful computers to manage the network and verify transactions (such as when an NFT is minted or sold). To reimburse the energy these computers are using, gas fees are charged whenever a transaction is requested. Gas is the fluctuating price charged straight by the blockchain, so the NFT marketplace does not receive them.

How to avoid gas fees?

Gas fees have reached cost-prohibitive levels for many artists. Fortunately, there are several ways to lower or even avoid gas fees. Ethereum is the most popular blockchain for NFT transactions, but it’s quite expensive for most artists. Alternatively, try other blockchain networks like Solana that tout lower fees. Another way to avoid paying the gas fee for minting NFTs is by using “lazy minting”. Using this method, the NFT isn’t transferred on-chain until the first purchase or transfer is made. Once a purchase is accepted, the gas fee is paid and included in the sale price. Meaning, you’re paying only one fee instead of two (one for minting and one for transaction).

The next way to lower the fees is to list multiple NFTs as a collection. You can combine multiple NFTs as one transaction and sell an NFT package to a buyer to lower the amount of gas used on the Ethereum network. But the most effective way to avoid the fees is by using a sidechain network. A sidechain is a separate blockchain that runs independently of a parent blockchain but is connected to the parent. Many sidechains like Polygon allow for faster and cheaper transactions than the primary Ethereum network. The Polygon sidechain is supported by OpenSea and some other marketplaces and has no gas fees.

How to determine an NFT price?

Deciding the value of an NFT, it is very similar to selling art in the real world. Like any tangible asset, NFT has its own pricing factors working for it. The main price of NFTs originates from the popularity of the respective asset. Before you sell an NFT, research the market to find the average price for these kinds of digital assets. Take this information to determine the initial price of your NFT art. From that point, observe the demand, as it’s the primary factor behind deciding the value of the digital asset. That is where the interest of potential buyers drives the value of an NFT art. Overall, the prices of digital art depend on hype, demand, and popularity, and it can get a bit complicated to determine who decides the price of NFTs. But the longer you are on the market, the more common an NFT valuation will be to you.