A GIF file recently sold for $600,000 at auction. If that comes as a shock, then information technology might be fourth dimension to reconsider your definition of art and begin to explore the globe of crypto and NFTs.

Digital fine art is undergoing a renaissance and in this article we'll embrace everything you lot demand to know to start creating and selling your own art on the blockchain.

What is an NFT?

NFT stands for Non-Fungible Token. It's an alienesque term that I don't like saying aloud, just you lot tin can think of it equally a digital certificate of authenticity. In real life - classic works of art, antiques, and other historical items are often sold at auctions with a receipt certifying that they are genuine.

The historic Nyan Cat was turned into an NFT and sold for $600,000

NFTs serve the same purpose merely for digital items. They permit GIFs, videos, jpegs, mp3s, and just about any other file format to be certified every bit ane-of-a-kind. This applied science enables a new kind of "ownership" for digital files that wasn't previously possible. NFTs can be purchased, collected, sold, and even destroyed just like physical items. Thanks to the blockchain, they come with a transparent transaction and pricing history visible to anyone with an cyberspace connection.

The procedure of turning your work into an NFT is known as "minting" which refers to the act of creating a new token on the Blockchain that will forever exist attached to that content. When an artist mints a new NFT, they attach a built-in commision (usually 10-30%) that they will receive any time that work is resold in the hereafter.

Tin can my content be an NFT?

Probably.

We're living in the wild west of NFTs where almost anything goes. Digital art, songs, memes, recipes, and even entire startups are currently listed for sale on NFT marketplaces. In that location are currently very few restrictions as to what kind of content tin can be "tokenized" and turned into an NFT.

This meme nearly NFTs could easily be sold every bit an NFT

The engineering is still in its infancy making this a great time to experiment with the medium for your own work equally the market and demand for digital art continues to grow. One rule that should get without saying is to avoid turning copyrighted content or assets into NFTs.

What do I demand to start creating NFTs?

You lot don't demand an all-encompassing knowledge of crypto to create an NFT, but at that place are a few tools required to go started like a crypto wallet and Ethereum. If  these terms aren't familiar - that'southward okay. You tin go everything setup in but a few minutes from your phone.

In this department I'll provide step-by-pace instructions to set upwardly a crypto wallet, buy ETH, and connect your wallet to an NFT marketplace.

  1. Set up an Ethereum Wallet
  2. Buy a small amount of Ethereum
  3. Connect your wallet to an NFT Market

Step one: Fix an Ethereum Wallet


The outset stride in your NFT journey is to create a digital wallet where you'll deeply store the crypto currency that is used to buy, sell, and create NFTs. The wallet as well allows you lot to safely sign in and create accounts on NFT marketplaces.

At that place are hundreds of platforms that provide free wallets for storing cryptocurrency and all of the options laid out beneath are guaranteed to piece of work with nigh major NFT marketplaces and blockchain apps.

Coinbase Wallet

The Coinbase wallet is a great solution for beginners

Coinbase is one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges online today and their wallet is a dandy pick for those new to the world of virtual money. Coinbase was the first platform I ever used to buy cryptocurrency and I standby how simple information technology is to go started here.

MetaMask

The Metamask wallet is bachelor as a browser extension and mobile app

Metamask is a wallet used by more than one one thousand thousand crypto enthusiasts beyond the world. The wallet connects easily with about crypto apps and NFT marketplaces, and is available every bit both a browser extensions and mobile app on iOS and Android. Metamask also simplifies the process of purchasing crypto and so you don't accept to apply other apps to buy coins.

Rainbow

A marketing image for the Rainbow Ethereum wallet for iOS and Android
The Rainbow wallet is currently available on iOS and Android

A relatively new wallet, Rainbow is fabricated with Ethereum assets in mind. That means you lot can't shop your bitcoin here, but that won't be a problem for NFTs. I dearest the beautiful design of this wallet and the way it allows you to easily showcase your NFT collection. On iOS, Rainbow makes buying Ethereum as like shooting fish in a barrel equally using Apple Pay.

Footstep two: Buy a small corporeality of Ethereum

On most major digital art marketplaces, there are fees associated with turning your content into an NFT. I'll speak more than on that later on, merely in the meantime, you'll need to buy some Ethereum (ETH) to cover the costs of creating your first NFT.

The payment screen in the Rainbow Ethereum Wallet

The price of Ethereum fluctuates from second to second and can be hard to become track of. The easiest style to get started is by choosing a dollar amount you are willing to invest and purchasing exactly that much Ethereum. The Rainbow and MetaMask wallets mentioned above both allow you to purchase crypto right inside your wallet. Coinbase Wallet requires you to make the buy from a divide substitution and transfer it to your wallet.

Step 3: Connect your wallet to an NFT Marketplace


Once your wallet is setup and you've purchased some ETH, it'south fourth dimension to choose a marketplace where y'all want to create an NFT and list your work. For creators only getting started with NFTs, I'd suggest listing your piece of work on Rarible first as the site had the easiest and most straightforward setup of whatever I tried in my testing.

To connect your wallet to Rarible, head over to the site then click the Connect button in the top correct corner of the screen.

The Rarible website homepage
The connect push is visible from the first moment you visit Rarible

From the next screen, select the WalletConnect selection if y'all're using the Rainbow or Metamask wallets. Click on WalletLink if yous are using Coinbase Wallet. Many other wallets are likewise supported by these connection options, and then it's worth researching each to see if your preferred wallet is usable.

The wallet connections screen on Rarible
Your connectedness option will depend on which wallet you're using

No thing which wallet you are using, the next pace is roughly the same. After selecting your connection option, a QR lawmaking volition announced on screen. Use your wallet app to browse this lawmaking. Once you've scanned the code, confirm that y'all'd similar to connect your wallet to Rarible.

The screen that connects rarible to an Ethereum wallet
Scan the QR code in your wallet app and tap connect to get started on Rarible

This is a secure connection and Rarible volition always strength you to confirm purchases with your wallet app earlier moving forward with anything. Later connecting a wallet, your Rarible business relationship is instantly generated. Y'all now have everything you need to create, mint, and sell your first NFT.

Where can I sell NFTs?

New NFT marketplaces are sprouting upwards on a daily basis every bit hype around the applied science continues to mount. In this section, we'll go over several of the largest marketplaces online and hash out the unique focus of each one to help yous make a more than informed decision about where to list your first NFT.

Zora

An slice sold by EDM artist Dillon Francis on Zora

Zora is a marketplace built firmly around the idea that content creators should accept back control of their work from the major platforms. Zora allows creators to mint images, videos, sound files, and even plain text documents. The marketplace recently opened upwards and is now accessible to all creators. Zora is positioning itself as one of the coolest destinations for NFTs and is already collaborating with major music artists like Toro y Moi, Mura Masa, and Yaeji. We also listed our ain Kapwing Watermark here.

Rarible

The home screen of NFT Marketplace Rarible
A selection of works on the Rarible market place

Rarible is one of the nearly accessible sites for creators and collectors looking to get into NFTs. This was the first site I used when getting started, and the platform makes uploading your content and creating an NFT equally elementary every bit posting a YouTube video. In a market filled with invite-only sites, Rarible is 1 of the only NFT destinations that allows new creators to start selling work from the moment they sign upward. This openness leads to a catch pocketbook of material on the site and their moderation of copyrighted and offensive uploads needs some improvement. Sales for work on the site vary widely with pieces going for anywhere from a few dollars to tens of thousands.

SuperRare

The home screen of NFT Marketplace SuperRare
SuperRare gears itself toward digital artists

SuperRare prides itself on beingness the NFT marketplace for digital artists. Yous won't notice memes, text posts, or elementary sound effects for sale hither. SuperRare'south collection is highly curated and the team has intentionally been tedious to onboard new creators to the platform. The event is browsing SuperRare feels similar stepping into an elite digital gallery. The site has a stunning selection of NFTs reflecting thousands of hours of creative person try. Prices tin get pretty steep and new creators only accepted with an awarding.

Corking Gateway

The home screen of NFT Marketplace Nifty Gateway
Nifty Gateway focuses on daily NFT drops that promote fomo

Nifty Gateway is a highly curated NFT market place with a singled-out focus on digital collectibles. Nifty works with high profile artists and musicians like Grimes and Justin Roiland to release collections of limited edition NFTs. Dandy Gateway is one the only major NFT sites that accepts credit cards setting it apart from every other digital retailer in this list. Like to SuperRare, the art on Nifty is typically pretty expensive and new artists will have to employ before they can mail service work on the site.

OpenSea

The OpenSea homepage features works from major creators and small artists alike

OpenSea was one of the earliest NFT marketplaces established and features a massive library of content with prices beyond the board. The site deals in all kinds of NFTs ranging from digital art to 3D collectibles and items used in video games. OpenSea is also completely open to newcomers making it easy to get started here. The site is extremely attainable to those new to NFTs and has one of the all-time experiences for browsing pieces that I've seen from a major market yet. OpenSea is as well the first NFT marketplaces to openly experiment with a gratis creation organization for creators.

How do I make an NFT?


Step one: Make a Digital Art File for your NFT

There's no singular technique for creating a piece of art that can be used as an NFT. If the file you create is supported by the market where you're listing the content, then it'southward going to piece of work as an NFT.

This opens upwardly a new world of possibility for the content you can monetize. Any image, TXT, JPG, PNG, MP3, or GIF can be an NFT on Zora or Rarible. Create a smashing meme? That tin be an NFT. Produce a banger in your bedroom? There's an NFT. Construct a delicious recipe and have it saved equally a txt file? Northward-F-T.

The Comedian by Maurizio Cattelan

Inspired by creative person Maurizio Cattelan'south divisive 2019 slice "The Comedian," I used the Kapwing Studio Editor to create my first NFT in just a few minutes. Cattelan'due south piece consisting of a banana duct-taped to a wall sold for an astounding $120,000 at the Fine art Basel in Miami, and I figured a digital recreation could very well demand the same price on the blockchain.

I started by creating a 16:9 white sail in Kapwing to serve as the wall in my rendition of the piece of work. Next, I found a banana emoji and pasted information technology into the center of my canvas. Finally, I used the Images button in Kapwing to search for a PNG of duct tape and position it over the banana.

With my digital assistant taped to my digital wall, I was set to consign my showtime piece and mint it as an NFT.

An sectional wait backside the scenes of the writer'due south beginning NFT cosmos

Pace ii: Price your Art and List it on a Marketplace

Downloading my prototype from Kapwing and adding it to Rarible to mint as an NFT was virtually equally simple as uploading a YouTube video. Start past clicking the Create push button in the acme right of the screen on Rarible.

The platform will ask whether to mint your piece of work as a ane of a kind piece or as a collection of multiple items. I opted to make "The Banana" a 1 of one piece with a toll of .012 ETH.  I paid the fees that come up with creating a new NFT and my piece went alive on the marketplace in just a few seconds.

A screenshot of the Rarible listing for "The Banana" NFT
The Banana recently sold on Rarible for .012 ETH

Equally a quick plug - Kapwing has a number of tools well suited to helping you create and get more than from your existing NFTs. Our free studio editor makes it easy to create videos and GIFs, resize images and videos, make memes, and more.

Step 3: Await for Bids

Afterwards you list your art, anyone can notice information technology and place a bid for your NFT. For some reason, virtually platforms require creators to cheque dorsum for bids and will non notify yous when ane comes in. A growing problem that volition hopefully be solved in the weeks ahead.

The action feed in Rarible shows when one of your pieces has sold

Discoverability varies widely beyond the major marketplaces, and so you lot'll likely demand to promote your listing yourself. Nearly NFT marketplaces (Rarible, Zora, SuperRare, etc) have a large associated Discord or customs congenital around them that can help in your efforts.

Update: We made a step-past-step tutorial for this section on our YouTube Channel that yous can spotter below.

Why is information technology so expensive to create NFTs?

Turning a slice of content into an NFT requires a new ane-of-a-kind digital coin to exist minted on the blockchain. The creation of this coin requires a fairly circuitous computational chore involving an entire network of computers.

A $111 gas fee is displayed in the Rainbow Ethereum Wallet
An instance of a $111 gas fee to create a new NFT

Using the Ethereum network to mint your NFTs comes with a "gas fee" for the energy and effort that goes into that computation. This metaphorical "gas fee" fluctuates every day and in some cases will price more than the auction price of your work itself. Earlier choosing a platform to sell your NFTs on, I recommend using the NFT Gas Station tool from the squad at Optimist. The site provides live estimates of gas fees on all major NFT marketplaces and there's currently no other tool similar it.

A screenshot from NFT Gas Station
NFT Gas Station provides live gas fee estimates from every major NFT Marketplace

These frequently ludicrous fees are problematic for the wider adoption of NFT engineering and I hope to see them ironed out over fourth dimension. New funds that cover these fees for beginning time NFT artists are already emerging and will continue to exist essential every bit the marketplaces explore more ways to reduce gas prices for creators.


In that location'due south then much more to say about NFTs, but we'll go out it here for now. We're excited to share more than tutorials, tips, and advice in the weeks ahead equally we continue diving deep down the crypto art rabbit hole. Keep up to date with us hither or over on our YouTube channel where nosotros'll be sharing more NFT guides soon. And if you're creating crypto fine art - we'd beloved to run across it. Reach out anytime on Twitter or Instagram and testify u.s. your work!