Ethereum.
Art as a Non-fungible token (NFT)
The art on the blockchain scene seems to be taking shape. I do have some work converted to Non-fungible tokens (NFT) on Rarible and Opensea. For digital art collectors who want to buy and trade these works, read further.
Now to explain a little about the Crypto Art market. It is a very complex undertaking that can reap many rewards or leave some to figure out if it is worth it right now. That goes for collectors as well as the artist. As of this writing, work on this platform generated millions in U.S. dollars for the artist. That was the value of the Ethereum used to purchase it at the time.
Art in this space is very subjective. The phrase, “I don’t know art, but I know what I like,” appears to be the name of the game. First of all, the amount of items people classify as an NFT is overwhelming. Anything from Tweets, music, and 8-bit gifs to short highlights of an NBA star can be minted as an NFT. These are collectibles making hundreds of thousands of dollars, even millions. If you are looking to get in that game, there is stuff aplenty. If you are interested in the arts, there is plenty of that too. I will try to explain the process of getting in the door.
How to buy an NFT?
There are many popular NFT marketplaces such as Opensea, SuperRare, Lazy, and Rarible, where you can buy your non-fungible tokens. Similar to minting NFTs, if you’d like to purchase an NFT, you’ll need to connect an Etherum wallet to a platform such as Metamask. Once you’ve done that, you can hunt for digital creations that catch your eye. Most NFT marketplaces have an intuitive interface, but my work is housed on Opensea and has a direct link to my work on the Gallery page of this site.
To have the ability to review any work on this site:
1. Go to Opensea.io and click on the avatar icon on the top-right corner.
2. Click on My Profile. You’ll be prompted to create an account with Metamask, a digital wallet that functions as a Google Chrome extension or as an App on your phone. Follow the instructions to buy and deposit Ethereum into Metamask. For people in Texas, Coinbase is one of the only places you can buy Crypto. Make sure you have enough ETH in your wallet to purchase the NFT you desire.
3. Navigate back to Opensea.io and click Explore, which will lead you to the NFT marketplace. Depending on what you’re looking for, you can filter the NFTs by category (i.e., Art, Domain Names, Virtual Worlds, Trading Cards, Sports, Collectibles, and Utility).
4. Click on an NFT that interests you. NFT prices will be offered in ETH, but you’ll also see the USD conversion in parentheses.
5. Click on Buy Now. A window will pop up telling you the total cost of the NFT. If you’re OK with it, click on Checkout, and you’re good to go.
Things to be aware of; Opensea charges a gas fee for making these transactions. Gas is what they call Ethereum that you must pay someone to process this transaction. The price fluctuates. I’ve seen it as low as 15.00 and as high as 140.00 for one transaction. I won’t explain why this is in this article, but many sites do. Also, be aware of who pays for gas. In Opensea, if someone does not have anything for sale, but you would like to make an offer, and it is accepted, the creator pays the gas. If the price is listed, the buyer pays the gas. Both parties should make sure enough ETH is available to cover costs.