What Do NFTs Mean for Designers and Artists?
Considering the current rage on NFTs, what do NFTs mean for designers and artists?
Making a living as an artist of any kind, whether as a painter, sculptor, or cartoonist, has proven to be very challenging.
Your art and design masterpieces may be published or exhibited in well-known galleries and museums.
They could even garner accolade from very discriminating critics.
However, the chance for you to earn a decent living from them could be quite a struggle.
But these days, you see and hear a lot of people making a name for themselves in the world of digital art.
A number of artists are making a lot of money and becoming famous.
Thanks to the NFTs.
So what exactly is it about NFT artworks that makes them so different from traditional art?
Table of Contents
What is an NFT?
As you probably know, an NFT (non-fungible token) is a digital asset or a special type of cryptographic token that contains unique, identifying information.
Therefore, they are not exchangeable and cannot be shared or duplicated.
It can be used to certify images, videos, memes, game assets, mp3 files, or even recipes as unique.
NFT is a token that is created on the blockchain and is forever associated with that content.
You can link NFTs to almost any type of content as there are few to no restrictions on what cannot be tokenized.
So why are NFTs a great way for artists to participate and both create and sell their artwork on NFT platforms?
There are several reasons, the most important of which we have listed and explained.
What Do NFTs Mean for Designers and Artists in Terms of Ownership and Finances?
Ownership
Unfortunately, if you are a painter, architect, graphic designer, or something similar, the problem is often that you cannot claim credit for the work you have done.
Unless you sign your name in large letters on the painting Mona Lisa or engrave it on the “David” sculpture, in most cases, no one can really know that you did it.
In today’s society, we see people being praised and promoted into jobs based on someone else’s work.
It can be especially difficult to prove that you’ve created a work of art when you’re just starting.
Especially if you don’t yet have a place among the big shots.
In this, the digital NFT art world differs from the traditional or digital art world we knew until a few months ago.
Now imagine a place where you can create work without fear of your work being attributed to someone else.
Think of a place where you don’t have to have physical witnesses throughout the creation process.
Simply put, imagine a place where you can create your art with only advanced technology as a witness.
For the first time in history, NFTs allow us to trace the work back to its original artist.
As we mentioned earlier, NFTs are exchangeable digital assets.
They are tracked on the blockchain and therefore cannot be counterfeited or hacked.
Digital artworks are fungible until you tag them with an NFT, and then they become authentic and scarce.
With the advent of technology, we have seen many graphic designs, memes, etc., but have we really thought about who made them?
Reproducing Digital Art
The truth is that while the world of digital art has opened up many opportunities for artists to expand the way they make art and offered many features, digital art are much easier to copy than a physical painting.
Trying to paint another exact Mona Lisa with the same characteristics has been attempted for years but never achieved.
On the other hand, trying to copy a meme or digital artwork is as simple as clicking, downloading, or using the copy and paste option.
Technology has opened many great opportunities for artists to create art in hundreds of ways.
We see the new features in Photoshop, Illustrator, and other digital art apps every day.
It’s safe to say that technology has made it difficult to trace a particular meme back to its original creator.
Someone can come forward and claim to be the creator of the meme.
However, this could be impossible to prove, especially if others also claim to be the creator of that meme.
Selling your artwork as an NFT, there will always be information about the creator of the work, even if you sell.
No matter how many times the artwork is resold and changes hands, there will always be information about the creator within that work.
And on top of that, there is always a minimum commission of 10% of the price for each resale.
Financial Stability
If you are in any way a traditional artist or know someone who is, you must be familiar with the realities of being one.
Your love for your art is not sufficient to give you a comfortable life.
You also have to have a “practical, regular job” just so you can pay the rent or the bills.
There are so many great artists that we hear and learn so much about in schools.
Artists whose work sells for hundreds of thousands and millions today.
Artists whose works are displayed in high-profile galleries and museums, yet they lived and died poor.
Langenberg and Van Gogh
If you are an artist or have studied art, you have probably heard of Gustav Langenberg.
His portrait of Queen Wilhelmina still hangs in the Royal Palace in The Hague.
Although he was already known for his portraits and even spent some time with kings and queens, he died penniless.
Another painter best known for the famous painting, ‘Girl with Pearl Earring,’ never gained recognition as an artist during his lifetime.
He constantly struggled to make ends meet and was constantly borrowing money from family, friends, and relatives.
He died in poverty, leaving his family penniless due to his debts.
And, of course, Vincent van Gogh.
You may or may not be familiar with his art, but I doubt there is a single person in the world who has never heard of him.
Van Gogh’s works have been praised and lauded.
He served as an inspiration to so many artists who came after him.
He is still an inspiration to many today.
Ironically, he sold only one painting for about $70 in his lifetime.
He also died without a penny and believing he was a failure.
These are just a few of the many artists who have had a hard time making a living from art.
If you want to learn about more artists who have died in poverty, you might want to check out Redbubble Blog.
The Advent of NFTs
That today’s artists have it even harder than they did back then.
That is, until a few months ago, a lot of things seem to have changed in favor of the artists.
You hear something about a piece of art selling for thousands of dollars in a matter of days.
There’s a 10-second video that sells for like 6 million dollars.
And all this happened and is still happening on many NFTs platforms.
You can take a look at the list of top-selling artists on NFTs on NASDAQ.
Finally, being able to not only pay the rent but buy a house or two sounds more than tempting.
NFT Marketplaces
Now that you have decided to move your business into the world of digital art, it is important to find the right marketplace to promote yourself.
There are many options to choose from, some more sports-related, others more art-related.
Although you can theoretically succeed on NBA TopShot or AtomicHub by selling artwork such as paintings or 3D designs, the chances are very slim.
You should turn to the marketplaces that are more art-related.
We’ve created a list of the best places to create and sell your art, depending on your experience, expertise, etc.
1. OpeanSea
OpeanSea is definitely and without a doubt the largest NFT marketplace. It is also the very first.
You can sell absolutely anything there,.
Choose from art to sports videos to trading cards to domain names.
It’s a platform used by almost everyone interested in NFTs, and it’s where most of the pieces are auctioned off.
In general, it’s very easy to navigate and therefore a great place to start.
Especially for those who aren’t tech-savvy and aren’t familiar with the whole concept of making or selling art digitally.
2. Known Origin
Known Origin is a perfectly made place for artists and designers to create, sell, and discover and buy rare digital art.
This is purely a marketplace for digital artwork, so no one would come to this platform with a desire to buy or sell anything else.
It is a kind of “ón sale,” a kind of sale.
3. NFT Showroom
NFT Showroom is a digital art marketplace based on Hive, a fast and free blockchain.
Artists can register their digital creations and issue rare tokens, “Proof of Art,” which can be traded on the marketplace.
It operates at high speed and low cost.
4. SuperRare
This social platform promotes the creation and collection of crypto art.
SuperRare has been working with artists since its inception and places a high value on catering to the needs of artists and collectors.
It is an NFT marketplace that deals in unique digital artworks.
SuperRare promotes both the creation and collection of crypto art.
SuperRare has been working with artists since its inception and places great emphasis on meeting the needs of artists and collectors.
This market deals in very rare, unique, and single edition digital artworks.
5. Nifty Gateway
Nifty Gateway is definitely the best marketplace for artists and a place to cheque out.
The extremely popular and well-known marketplace has just hit the 2020 mark in digital art sales.
It has raked in more than $12 million within nine months of launch.
High-profile artists such as Beeple, Trevor Jones, Kenny Scharf, and Jon Burgerman are exhibiting their art on Nifty Gateway.
They have boosted the sales on Nifty.
Nifty Gateway is a marketplace for art and collectibles that are in high demand these days.
Some of the art on display is by well-known artists such as Kenny Scharf, Cey Adams, and Jon Burgerman.
Nifty also regularly offers limited edition collectibles through drop sessions with artists.
You can read more about it in Delightful.
This platform is also user-friendly as it allows users to buy and sell with debit or credit cards, whereas, on other NFT marketplaces, you would have to buy with your ETH wallet.
And if you didn’t have one, you would have to go through the buying process as well.
So Nifty really makes it easier and saves your time.
However, be aware that it is almost impossible to get in there because of the high selling prices and high-profile artists.
You have to submit your work, get in touch with the team at Nifty Gateway, and wait for it to be either accepted or rejected.
Final Thoughts
However you choose to participate in NFT platforms or not, it is important that you are well informed.
You need to explore your options before joining the bandwagon.
If digital artwork doesn’t work for you, that’s fine.
But if it does, you’ve just opened a door with thousands of possibilities.
You will get to know first hand the answer to the question, ‘What do NFTs mean for designers and artists.’
For more helpful articles on NFTs, do check our list below.
What’s The Deal With NFTs & Copyright Protection?
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