Hey guys, today in this guide, we will be learning about how you can turn your art into an NFT. You will be learning how to use platforms like MetaMask and marketplaces like Rarible.com. I will also be touching other NFT marketplaces like Christie’s, Nifty Gateway, Foundation.app and many more and how you can utilize each platform to your advantage.
In case if these words and keywords are new to you, don’t worry because we will be covering almost every aspect of the NFT world in this guide.
Before that, let me explain to you what an NFT really is.
What are NFT’s?
NFT stands for Non-Fungible Tokens are essentially Crypto Tokens that can be in the form of an Artwork, Collectibles, Digital Assets, Photos, Videos or anything Digital.
They are essentially Crypto tokens that come with a token ID but they represent a Digital Asset.
They possess a unique quality of being irreplaceable, and they cannot be duplicated or replicated. While, since they are Non-fungible, they also cannot be mutually exchanged with each other.
This is because each NFT asset is unique and cannot be identical. They all posses different value unlike Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies that can be mutually exchanged.
NFT’s has been booming crazily this year in 2021. Starting from Beeple, who sold his ultimate masterpiece art called “Everydays: The First 5000 Days” for a whooping $69 Million Dollars. From here, Millions of artists from all over the world have been creating NFT’s and dropping them on NFT Marketplaces like Rarible, Opensea and Nifty Gateway.
NFT Projects like CryptoPunks, CryptoKitties and Decentraland have really become popular lately with CryptoPunks being one of the hottest NFT Projects of 2021.
NFT really do have the potential to be sold for a lot of money. In fact, there are many artists out there right now, who are able to make over $1000 – $100,000 per month from NFT’s. This tells us that the NFT Industry is rising at a very fast rate. With loads of new NFT Projects popping up every month, NFT has a very bright future ahead.
So, if you are thinking to get into NFT’s, you have come to the right place. Today, I will show you how you can turn your ART into an NFT in these Easy Steps.
Before that, to turn an art into an NFT, you will be needing these three things:
- Crypto Wallet – MetaMask/CoinBase
- NFT Marketplace Account
- NFT Artwork or your Digital Asset
Creating a Crypto Wallet
A Crypto Wallet is essentially a place where you can keep and store Cryptocurrencies. It’s very important to have a Crypto Wallet because you will be using it to not only buy/sell NFT’s but also pay fees, like Gas fees and much much more.
Some of the famous and most popular Crypto Wallets are MetaMask and Coinbase. You can purchase Cryptocurrencies through these wallets.
MetaMask – Crypto Wallet
MetaMask is one of the most used Crypto Wallets by Artists and Blockchain users. It’s widely popular, easy to use and one of the most reliable one.
You can create a MetaMask wallet very easily. It just takes less than 5 minutes. Just follow the steps below.
1. Open the Official MetaMask website and Click on “Download now”.
2. Next go to Install MetaMask for Chrome/Firefox.
3. You will be taken to the Google Chrome Browser Extension page where you need to click on Add to Chrome -> Add Extension.
4. Once that’s done, you’ll see a MetaMask icon right on the top right section of your browser.
5. Click on that MetaMask Icon and then Choose “Try it Now”.
6. Now Create a Password and Hit “Create”.
7. Accept the Terms and Conditions.
8. Next you will get a secret seed phrase that you should write it down on a piece of paper or store it somewhere safe. This is a 12 letter words in sequence from 1 to 12 that is used to recover your MetaMask Account Incase if you lose your password or lose you access to your account.
9. The next step is “Verification” where you will be asked to write all the 12 words. Click “Finish” once done.
10. That’s it, your MetaMask Wallet is finally created.
ADDING MONEY TO YOUR METAMASK WALLET
In order for you to Create an NFT, you’ll need to Mint them. Which means minting comes with a cost which is essentially called “Gas fees”. Its a small amount of fee that you need to pay so that the transaction gets completed and the guy who is making this process possible is also happy. For this you will need to add money into your MetaMask Wallet.
For more information on “What are Ethereum Gas Fees?” – You can check this article out.
Follow the steps below to add money into your MetaMask Wallet:
- Go to the Google Play Store/App Store and Download the Official MetaMask Mobile App.
- Import your wallet to your Mobile using the 12 word Secret Seed Phrase.
- Go to the homepage on the Mobile App and Click on Buy.
- Then Choose the Option, Buy ETH Using a Bank Transfer.
- Next Swipe through the Introduction pages and select “Continue to purchase ETH”.
- Enter the amount of Money in US Dollars. I’d say have atleast $50 on it, as you really cannot estimate how much Gas Fees are going to cost you. Sometimes, its less, but sometimes, it can be costly.
- Next Click on Buy Now.
- Enter your Email and complete the Email Verification.
- Next Enter your Debit card/ Credit Card Details and Complete your Purchase
- Congrats!, you’ve successfully funded your MetaMask account.
NFT Creation Process
The NFT creation process is fairly simple and actually pretty straightforward. There are essentially 5 steps in the NFT creation process.
- Choosing the NFT Marketplace – Rarible, OpenSea, NiftyGateway…. many more.
- Connecting your wallet to the NFT Marketplace.
- Creating a Collection and creating your NFT item.
- Creating your token, setting properties, edition and royalties percentage.
- Starting the minting process and paying the gas fees.
We’ll go through each process step by step taking Rarible as the NFT platform of our choice.
How to Create an NFT on Rarible?
Rarible is one of the most popular NFT platforms out there. It’s totally based on the Ethereum Blockchain and uses ETH to trade, buy and sell NFT’s. They also have their own Crypto Token called RARI.
Creating an NFT on Rarible is fairly simple and easy.
1. First go to the Rarible Website and Create an account.
2. To create an account on Rarible, you simply first need to be using the browser where MetaMask is installed.
3. Next, from the Rarible Website, you should see a “Connect Wallet” button right on the top right corner of the screen. Click on Connect Wallet.
4. You’ll get a list of options there, Select MetaMask Wallet.
5. Your MetaMask Browser Extension should pop up asking for your password. Enter your password and hit Unlock.
6. Click next and then Hit Connect.
7. Accept the Rarible Terms and Conditions by checking the box and click on Proceed.
8. Your Rarible account is successfully created. You can now update your profile, add your email, twitter, username and also set a custom url. Additionally, you can also add your website and bio.
CREATING A COLLECTION AND NFT ON RARIBLE
So now that your MetaMask Wallet is connected with Rarible, you can now create an NFT or NFT collection. Let’s do that now.
CREATING NFT ITEM AND COLLECTION ON RARIBLE
1. Click on the Create Button right on the top right corner of the Rarible Site.
2. There will be two options, Single and Multiple.
3. Single is where you create only one of a kind of NFT. Multiple is if you want to sell the same NFT, Multiple times, and have multiple versions of it.
4. Click on Single for Now.
5. Next you will have to upload your Artwork or NFT Collectible. This can be in the form of png, gif, jpeg or a web picture.
6. Here one thing to note is that you are only uploading the image file. The original image file of the Artwork is normally stored somewhere else. Sellers are able to provide a “Unlock-able Content” feature where after the buyer purchases an NFT, he is able to get access to the original file.
7. Another thing is that when you turn an Image into an NFT, the artwork doesn’t actually get stored on the blockchain. It is actually the data of the Artwork that gets stored which includes, the name of the Artwork, short description, and a link to the web where the Original Artwork is stored. This file is usually stored in apps like Google Drive, however, this is not secure. Therefore, there are other options out there. You can check this article for more information.
8. Now you have the option for buyers to check “Unlock once purchases” and with this, you can add additional link or a digital key to a file.
9. You can use services like Inter Planetary File Service, or a IPFS Protocal, a peer to peer network for storing and sharing data in a distributed file system.
10. Here, you can upload the original file of the NFT and copy the link address to the external link section.
11. Get back to Rarible and check “Unlock Once purchased”.
12. Next set the “Instant Sale Price” and type the price that you want your NFT to sell at.
13. Choose a collection, Normally, I keep it on Rarible but you can create your own collection, if you’d like to .
14. Next set the Royalties fee. The standard is 10%, which means, you will get 10% of all the future resales of your NFT.
15. The last step for Creating an NFT is Minting. Which we’ll cover in the next section.
MINTING YOUR NFT AND PAYING GAS FEES
Now that you NFT is ready to rock and roll, the last thing to do is to actually start minting your NFT. Fortunately, it’s not at all a complicated process, however, it will take some time for the transaction to go through. This time, depends upon how much Gas Fees you’ve paid to the Ethereum Network.
1. Make sure that your Crypto Wallet is still connected and click on “Create the Item”.
2. Your MetaMask Extension should pop up asking for your confirmation on Gas fees.
3. Click on “Confirm”.
4. The next step is to sign the sell order. This is essentially, when someone agrees to pay for your NFT at your price. Click on Sign.
5. After a while, you should see your New NFT finally created and visible on your “For Sale Tab”.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ’s)
Q1. How much Gas Fees can i expect?
A. Normally, you can expect between $20 – $100 in Gas fees alone. However, it depends and sometimes, you can pay less than $20 too and the transaction will go through. But if you want speed, you might have to pay more.
Q2. What do you mean Transaction will go through, Does that mean Paying less Gas Fees may cancel the NFT creation process?.
A. Yes thats right, you can actually lower the Gas Fees, however, you cannot go below the minimum amount of required Gas Fees needed in order for the Ethereum Blockchain to accept your order and Mint your NFT. If you do pay less, your transaction may not pass.
Q3. How long does the NFT Minting process take?
A. After you’ve minted an NFT, it may take between 2 hours to over 24 hours for the NFT to be create. Most of the time, it’s quick but this is just an estimation.
