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For years, investing in art was something that was associated with the rich and wealthy. Today though, thanks to the emergence of NFTs, anyone with an internet connection and a web3 wallet can afford to buy art.
Read on to learn what NFT art is, what types of NFT art exists, and whether it is worth buying.
What is NFT Art?
Before we take a look at what NFT art is, let’s first define what a non-fungible token is. An NFT is a cryptographic token that represents unique digital or real-world assets - such as collectibles, in-game items, music, property, copyrights, and even artworks - on a blockchain.
NFT art is digital art represented by a non-fungible token, typically minted and sold on NFT marketplaces, such as OpenSea, Rarible, and others.
The NFT art ecosystem imitates the world of art galleries, museums, and stores, just like decentralized finance (DeFi) is a mimicker of traditional financial products.
How Do NFTs Work?
Traditional artworks have always been unique. A unique piece of art is typically more valuable in comparison to others that are easily accessible. The same can be a tad bit difficult in the digital world.
Why? Because anyone has the ability to view a digital asset as long as the creator retains the full ownership rights. Moreover, they can also be copied and used by other parties online.
With NFTs, it’s a bit different as the artworks get tokenized, resulting in the creation of a digital ownership certificate that grants one the rights to sell and buy the unique item.
And because NFTs are purchased using digital currencies and operate on the blockchain, any transaction involving its sell or purchase is recorded on a public ledger. The best part is that the blockchain is a public ledger that’s available for anyone to see. This means that if you are looking to purchase a non-fungible token art, you can easily view all purchase history to trace the item’s ownership.
Initially, NFTs mostly operated on the Ethereum blockchain. However, it’s easy to find NFT art on other blockchains as long as they support smart contracts. BNB Smart Chain, Solana, and Tezos are some examples of blockchains that support NFTs.
Today, NFTs have provided many investors with a new but risky alternative investment option. And unlike physical arts, NFTs are generally more liquidity and can be bought and sold online, much in the same way as cryptocurrencies.
Artists like Pak, who created ‘The Merge,’ which sold for $91.8 million, and Beeple, the creator of ‘The First 5000 Days’ that sold for $69.3 million, are just two examples of NFT artists that have made a killing in the NFT art market.
Types of NFT Art
There’s no bar when it comes to what counts as NFT art. Almost anything can be turned into an NFT, and pretty much anything can be considered art. As a result, the NFT art market is quite varied in the types of artworks you can find.
Let’s take a look at three popular genres you will find in the art NFT markets.
Crypto Art
Crypto art, also referred to as digital art or blockchain art, is tokenized artwork. It can come in the form of programmable art and often feature a unique mix of technology and creativity.
Collectibles
Crypto collectibles are digital collectible items that typically have value to a specific group of collectors. Cryptokitties, for instance, are one example of crypto collectibles that blew up and ended up congesting the Ethereum network back in 2017, due to their high popularity among blockchain gamers. Digital collectibles usually have distinct traits that make them more favorable and popular compared to others.
Generative Art
Generative art is created using algorithms and a set of predetermined rules that a software program can follow on behalf of the artist to generate a piece of digital art. Generative art is, therefore, also often referred to as algorithmic art. These types of artworks also exist in NFT format, created using smart contracts and stored on-chain. They are often among the most valuable in the NFT market due to their complexity and uniqueness.
How to Make & Sell NFT Art: A Step by Step Guide
Now, let’s take a look at how to make and sell NFT art. For the purposes of this guide, we will use OpenSea, the world's leading NFT marketplace, as an example.
Go to OpenSea
Visit opensea.io and click on the ‘Create’ option, then connect your digital wallet to OpenSea. If you don’t already have a web3 wallet, such as MetaMask, you can proceed to create one.
Once you have completed the wallet connection, you will be redirected to create your digital item.
Create Item
Next, you will need to create your digital item by choosing either an image, video, audio, or 3D model item. Proceed to enter and fill in the name of the item you are creating, description, choose the collection where your item will appear, the supply, and the blockchain, and then, click on the ‘Create’ button.
Complete item creation
Once you click create, a pop-up screen will appear, showing you that you have successfully created your NFT with the name you gave it. You can proceed to share to Twitter, Facebook, and Telegram, or just copy the link and send it to potentially interested NFT collectors.
Selling an NFT art on OpenSea
Now that your NFT art has been created, you can proceed to sell it. Click on the ‘Sell’ button as shown in the below image.
Next, key in the quantity, piece per unit in ETH, and the duration of the listing and click on ‘Complete Listing.’ You will be asked to confirm the listing from your wallet.
Complete listing
Once you sign the listing from your wallet, proceed to click on ‘Complete.’
And that’s it!
That’s how to successfully create an art NFT and put it up for sale on the OpenSea marketplace.
How to Buy NFT Art Online: A Step by Step Guide
Let’s take a step-by-step guide on how to buy NFT art online on OpenSea.
Go to OpenSea.io
Go to OpenSea.io and click on the ‘Explore’ button to view the different NFTs available, ranging from art, collectibles, and domain names, among others.
Select the 'Art' category
Next, select the category you are interested in, and then your preferred art NFT to get detailed information about it. If you are satisfied with the details, click on ‘Buy Now.’ And proceed to connect your wallet for the purchase.
Ensure that you have enough funds in your wallet to carry out the transaction. Once completed, the NFT art will be deposited into the wallet you had connected to the marketplace.
And that’s how to buy an NFT art on OpenSea.
Is NFT Art a Good Investment?
Probably not.
NFTs are a new and highly risky asset class within the global crypto markets. As the 2021 hype and the 2022 crash in the NFT market have shown us, you can make but also lose a lot of money investing in NFTs.
If you are looking at NFT art, therefore, you may want to purchase NFTs that are meaningful to you or to help support an artist you admire. But probably only at a price level that makes sense to you.
When looking to invest in NFT art, approach them just as you would any traditional investment. Do not invest in NFT arts because your friend is investing or because of FOMO. Instead, do your own research, and understand the risks involved before going on an NFT art shopping spree.