NFT arts are tokenized works of digital art that can be bought and sold using cryptocurrency. Contrary to the misconception, NFT is not digital art in its nature — it is just a technology that allows you to monetize and distribute creativity innovatively.
Here is a complete guide on the NFT art industry that has gained popularity in the blockchain space since 2021.
What Is NFT in the Art World?
NFT plays a role of a unique avatar for any digital item and acts as a certificate of authenticity. NFT can be minted, i.e., issued on the blockchain on the basis of a photograph, animation, audio recording, or another type of file.
Creating an NFT performs two main functions:
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- Proves ownership and authorship.
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- Protects original copy.
Let’s explain. All digital objects can be copied an unlimited number of times. Still, tokenization allows a copy to be distinguished from an original and prove its ownership using blockchain technologies.
At the same time, a minted NFT is a digital object which can be sold and resold an unlimited number of times. Each new buyer becomes an owner. In addition, secured copyright is permanently preserved, and an author receives royalties from each subsequent sale of an asset in the secondary marketplace.
In this way, NFT brings transparency to the art world and revolutionizes it to some extent. This applies not only to technological solutions but also to value.
Here’s an example: a digital art minted by an artist called Beeple sold for more than $69 million. Until the sale, Beeple was known only among digital artists, and he had created 1 picture a day for 13.5 years and then compiled them all together to sell as an NFT token. Bidding started with $100. For several weeks, the rates had been rising. As a result, the art was acquired by an investor Vignesh Sundaresan.
Of course, investors really liked the art, but this is not the only reason for such a high price. It is assumed that they had a specific goal — to promote NFT so that as many people as possible heard about the technology. No doubt it worked.
Best NFT Artists to Follow in 2022
As of 2022, the most valuable NFT artists and designers are:
Beeple (Mike Winkelmann). One painting was sold for $69,346,250, a number of others for $6,000,000 or more. Mike is a graphic designer based in Charleston, USA. He releases many different graphic projects, including short films concert visual effects for famous performers (Justin Bieber, Katy Perry, etc.).
Trevorjonesart (Trevor Jones). The most successful sale is Genesis sold in October 2020 for $604,967. Trevor comes from Canada but lives in Scotland. He explores Augmented Reality technologies, video production, and animation.
FEWOCiOUS (Victoria L). She became famous in the field of crypto art at the age of 18 and has sold more than 3,000 artworks for millions of dollars. She adheres to a surreal style, bright colors, a combination of images and text.
Pak. Unknown artist. He became famous for his collection of Pak’s Explore and has sold about 2,000 works of art in total. Although the author’s identity is unknown, his Twitter account has 380,000 followers, plus 2.8 million on a sub account.
Maddogjones (Michah Dowbak). The Toronto-based artist started his career at the Diesel Art Gallery. Creating futuristic works, he takes most of the modern technologies. Each image tells a specific story. The most successful sale took place in February 2021 — $388,888.
Celebrities and NFTs
Famous actors and musicians love to invest in innovative things, and in 2022, there is a significant increase in their investment in the NFT sector.
This also applies to ordinary investors since celebrity attention can signal the promise of a particular item or collection, as happened with the Bored Ape Yacht Club. BAYC is not just a collection of NFTs — it’s access to an exclusive club, live meetings, and other opportunities.
Reese Witherspoon is convinced that ‘cryptocurrency is here to stay’ and intends to support the creators of NFTs. She pays special attention to the female half of her audience, urging them not to be left behind.
Lindsay Lohan released the song Lullaby in NFT format in March 2021, and once devoted an entire interview to this technology. Shaquille O’Neal has launched his own NFTs, whose sale goes to his Shaq Gives Back Fund.
Gwyneth Paltrow first mentioned cryptocurrency on Twitter in June 2021. And recently, she announced the purchase of BAYC NFT.
In addition to the stars listed above, there are dozens of others, including Justin Bieber, Snoop Dogg, Paris Hilton, etc.
Marketplaces for NFT Trading
Digital art objects are bought and sold on special blockchain platforms, either centralized or decentralized.
In the first case, you need to create an account in the usual way. In the second case, you need to connect the marketplace using a web3 wallet, for example, Metamask. Decentralized platforms operate on the blockchain, and each purchase/sale transaction is accompanied by a network commission, which must be taken into account.
Examples of the most popular NFT marketplaces:
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- Rarible
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- Mintable
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- SuperRare
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- Bybit NFT
Conclusion
NFT paintings and drawings are gaining more and more attention with each new major sale. From an investor’s point of view, such assets certainly cannot be the main type of investment in the portfolio. The real value of NFT lies in the fact that this technology is revolutionizing the world of art and blockchain technologies.
Who is your favorite NFT artist? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments below!
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