If you had to choose the most popular phrase of 2022 it would most certainly be NFT. These non-fungible collectibles are the thing everyone is currently raving about. And while it might seem silly to the outsider, NFTs have brought a lot of good for many — collectors, sports, or fashion fans, and even artists.
With the occurrence of NFTs, many struggling artists have found themselves a platform to gather attention to their art. And if you’re an artist who has been thinking about putting up their artwork on the metaverse, here’s a simple step-by-step guide on how to start.
Step 1: Come up with an idea
That’s probably the most complicated step in this guide. Coming up with a catchy idea that will get people’s attention is hard. If you already have your own style of art but need some reassurance, here are some of the most popular pieces of NFT artwork that are in trend now.
Bored Ape Yacht Club
The most renowned NFT collection out there. You probably know all about it but if you don’t, here’s everything you need to know. The Bored Ape Yacht Club is a collection of 10,000 unique NFTs all depicting different-looking apes (hence, the name). These collectibles live on the Ethereum blockchain and double as a Yacht Club membership card granting access to members-only benefits.
This collection has been the most popular NFT collection — many celebrities, including Eminem and Justin Bieber, have acquired one for themselves.
CryptoPunks
Another popular NFT collection — CryptoPunks. Created by Larva Labs in 2017, they’re a collection of images randomly generated by an algorithm. Every image has one or a few different features that determine the NFT’s rarity.
Although at first they were just given away to any person interested, today the cheapest CryptoPunk is worth over $100,000, and three of them fall into the 10 most expensive NFTs ever sold.
CyberKongz
You could call CyberKongz a lovechild between CryptoPunks and Bored Apes. They are randomly generated ape images — they have different facial expressions and different features.
CyberKongz started as a collection of 1000 unique and randomly generated NFTs and over time grew into a community-based project with its own $BANANA tokens and the ability to customize your apes by giving them a unique name and biography.
Doodles
Doodles is a collection of 10,000 NFTs that all come in a range of joyful colors, traits, and sizes. The collection includes hand-drawn images of skellys, cats, aliens, apes, and mascots. Designed by Burnt Toast, each Doodle allows you to vote on community-driven features, products, and events.
Cool Cats
A collection of programmatically generated cat images. Cool Cats have a variety of outfits, faces, and colors. All Cool Cat holders can participate in exclusive events such as NFT claims, raffles, and community giveaways.
DeadFellaz
Another collection of randomly generated pictures. These zombie NFTs feature over 300 randomly generated traits and attributes including different variations of the mouth, eyes, head, and body grades.
Lazy Lions
Lazy Lions are also programmatically generated NFTs. They’re images of unique Lions — generated from over 160 possible traits, including clothing, mane, and expression.
Step 2: Get a crypto wallet
To sell NFTs you’ll need to set up a crypto wallet that’s compatible with Ethereum. Here are some wallets you can choose from:
MetaMask
MetaMask is one of the most popular crypto wallets. It has a browser extension which makes it easier to access and connect to any NFT marketplace. On MetaMask you also can set up multiple addresses so you hold your NFTs separately from your cryptocurrency and easily swap between currencies.
Math Wallet
Math Wallet is a strong competition to MetaMask. It supports more than 70 blockchains, has a mobile version, and lets you create multiple addresses. Other features include staking, swapping, and its own utility token.
AlphaWallet
Alpha Wallet is an open-source cryptocurrency wallet. It is newbie-friendly and has a simple user interface. However, it's mobile-only and the only blockchain it supports is Ethereum. AlphaWallet is compatible with OpenSea.
Trust Wallet
A popular wallet created by Binance. It’s a mobile-only wallet, however, it supports multiple blockchains, including Ethereum. It also has a built-in exchange feature that allows users to easily swap between currencies.
Coinbase Wallet
Wallet created by a popular cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase. It has a browser extension, making it easier to use the wallet on different marketplaces. What is unique about Coinbase Wallet, is the ability to transfer tokens to others by using usernames instead of public wallet addresses, making transactions feel more personal. It also offers a one-click cloud backup for your private keys, ensuring that you don't lose access to your wallet.
Step 3: Choose a marketplace
Now, after you have come up with an idea and have a crypto wallet, you have to choose the right place to sell your NFTs. Every marketplace is different, so make sure you do some research to find the perfect marketplace. Here’s a list of the most popular NFT marketplaces.
OpenSea
OpenSea is the world's first, largest, and most well-known NFT marketplace. It is easy to use and accepts more than 150 cryptocurrencies. It is one of the most established NFT marketplaces, meaning it has high traffic.
Nifty Gateway
A marketplace for renowned musicians and artists. It’s a popular marketplace that also allows buying using regular currency and credit cards. However, it’s dominated by celebrity creators, meaning it is quite difficult to make a breakthrough.
Rarible
Rarible is a popular marketplace full of different digital art. Here you can submit different types of digital art — photography, music, or media. However, similar to Nifty, it is dominated by celebrities and celebrity brands.
SuperRare
An exclusive digital art marketplace. It’s full of rare and delicate artwork. However, it is hard to get in — SuperRare only accepts 1% of all artists who apply.
Mintable
The newcomer to the NFT scene. Mintable requires very little background knowledge about NFTs and is very easy to use. It offers free video courses on NFTs and crypto if you need to brush up. And, it lets people buy NFTs using a credit card, meaning anyone can get their hands on your artwork.
Foundation
Foundation is an artist-owned marketplace full of exquisite artwork. Foundation invites both unknown and super popular artists. However, just like SuperRare, Foundation invites only a handful of artists.
Venly
If your art is more centered around video games, Venly might be the best place for you. Here you can create various blockchain gaming assets — characters, weapons, and other collectibles from such play-to-earn games as The Sandbox, Ethermon, and Vulcan Verse.
Zora
Zora is the most artist-friendly marketplace there is. It’s a marketplace where artists and creators have ownership and power over their art. Zora doesn’t take any commission payments and provides unknown artists with a place to gain popularity.
MakersPlace
MakersPlace provides a wide selection of established artists, galleries, and institutions offering NFTs of their work. Every issued art piece is signed by the creator. It’s a respected marketplace, and artists that are showcased there get a lot of public attention.
Step 4: Submit your artwork
Once you find out which marketplace suits you the best, you need to create an account and put your art on sale. The process of listing your NFT for sale differs with every marketplace, so make sure to follow the instructions provided on the platform.
For example, here’s how to create NFTs on OpenSea:
#1 Go to opensea.io and click 'Create' in the top right corner.
#2 Then, upload the file you want to make into an NFT, name it, add a description, and other information about your item — properties or traits, levels, stats, and the blockchain you want to mint your NFT on.
#3 After you’ve finished customizing your NFT, click ‘Create”. Now, you’ve created your NFT — you’ll be able to find it on your profile.
#4 Once you have your NFT created, you can list it for sale. To do so, you have to find an NFT you want to sell on your profile and select 'Sell' at the top right-hand corner of the page.
#5 This will take you to the listing page. Here you will be asked to choose how to sell your NFT the price, type of auction, and duration of the sale. There are two types of selling on OpenSea: Fixed Price, meaning that the NFT price stays fixed, and Timed Auction, where everyone can bid on your NFT.
#6 Pay your fees. Note that, you will be asked to pay two one-time transactions — one to initialize your wallet, and a second to allow OpenSea access. Also, on OpenSea, you can choose to make a royalty every time your NFT is sold.
#7 After you’ve finished all of these steps, all you have left to do is finalize your NFT listing. For that, a popup will appear and you will have to approve a signature request.
Step 5: Promote your content
This step is not necessary but it couldn’t hurt. Promoting your artwork on different social media platforms, or paying for celebrity endorsements, will only make chances of getting your NFTs sold higher. Besides, to become an approved creator on OpenSea, you’d need to include several social media channels where you actively share your NFT collection with the public.
And this is it! That’s all the steps you have to take to sell your first NFT. Don’t let the NFT world scare you — if you believe in your artwork idea, the public will believe in it too!
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