What is it and is it worth buying?

For years, investing in art was something associated with the rich and wealthy. But today, thanks to the rise 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 there are, and whether it’s 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 values—such as collectibles, in-game items, music, real estate, copyright, and even artwork—on a blockchain.

NFT art is digital art represented by a non-fungible token, usually minted and sold on NFT marketplaces, such as OpenSea, Rarible, and others.

NFT’s art ecosystem imitates the world of art galleries, museums and shops, just as decentralized finance (DeFi) imitates traditional financial products.

How do NFTs work?

Traditional works of art have always been unique. A unique piece of art is usually more valuable compared to others that are readily available. The same can be a bit difficult in the digital world.

Why? Because everyone has the ability to view a digital asset as long as the creator retains full ownership rights. Moreover, they can also be copied and used by other parties online.

With NFTs, it is slightly different as the artworks are tokenized, resulting in the creation of a digital certificate of ownership that gives a right to sell and buy the unique item.

And because NFTs are purchased using digital currencies and operate on the blockchain, any transaction involving a sale or purchase is recorded in a public ledger. The best part is that the blockchain is a public ledger that is available for anyone to see. This means that if you want to buy a non-fungible token art, you can easily view all purchase history to track the item’s ownership.

Originally, NFTs operated mostly on the Ethereum blockchain. However, it is 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 given many investors a new but risky alternative investment option. And unlike physical art, NFTs are generally more liquid and can be bought and sold online, much like cryptocurrencies.

Artists like Pak, creator of “The Merge,” which sold for $91.8 million, and Beeple, creator of “The First 5000 Days,” which sold for $69.3 million, are just two examples of NFT artists who have made a killing in the NFT art market.

Types of NFT Art

There is 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 artwork you can find.

Let’s take a look at three popular genres you’ll find on 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 has a unique blend of technology and creativity.

Collectibles

Crypto collectibles are digital collectibles that typically have value to a specific group of collectors. Cryptokitties, for example, are an example of crypto collectibles that exploded and ended up overloading the Ethereum network back in 2017, due to their high popularity among blockchain players. Digital collectibles usually have distinct features 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 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 the chain. They are often among the most valuable in the NFT market due to their complexity and uniqueness.

How to make and sell NFT art: a step-by-step guide

Now let’s take a look at how to make and sell NFT art. In this guide, we will use OpenSea, the world’s leading NFT marketplace, as an example.

Go to OpenSea

Visit opensea.io and click “Create”, 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 complete the wallet connection, you will be redirected to create your digital item.

Create item

Next, create your digital element by choosing either an image, video, audio or 3D model element. Proceed to enter and fill in the name of the item you are creating, description, select the collection where your item will appear, the supply and the blockchain, then click the “Create” button.

Complete item creation

When you click create, a pop-up screen will appear showing you that you have created the NFT with the name you gave it. You can continue sharing to Twitter, Facebook and Telegram, or simply copy the link and send it to potentially interested NFT collectors.

Selling a NFT art on OpenSea

Now that your NFT art is created, you can proceed to sell it. Click the “Sell” button as shown in the image below.

Then enter the number, piece per unit in ETH, and the duration of the listing and click “Finish Listing”. You will be asked to confirm the entry from the wallet.

Complete list

Once you have signed the entry from the wallet, proceed to click “Finish”.

And that’s it!

This is how you successfully create an art NFT and put it up for sale on the OpenSea market.

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 at OpenSea.

Go to OpenSea.io

Go to OpenSea.io and click the “Explore” button to see the different NFTs available, ranging from art, collectibles, and domain names, among others.

Select the category ‘Art’

Then 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 “Buy Now”. And continue to connect to the wallet for the purchase.

Make sure you have enough funds in your wallet to complete the transaction. Once completed, the NFT art will be deposited into the wallet you had connected to the marketplace.

And that’s how you 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 2022 crash in the NFT market has shown us, you can make but also lose a lot of money investing in NFTs.

So if you’re looking at NFT art, you might want to buy NFTs that are meaningful to you or to support an artist you admire. But probably only at a price level that makes sense for you.

When looking to invest in NFT art, you approach them just as you would any traditional investment. Don’t invest in NFT art because your friend is investing or because of FOMO. Instead, do your own research and understand the risks involved before embarking on an NFT art trade.