Non-fungible tokens, commonly known as NFTs, have exploded in popularity since the past year. People are paying big money for these unique collectible digital assets. One NFT by the digital artist known as Beeple sold for a jaw-dropping $69 million in early 2021, while many others have fetched multimillion-dollar sales prices.
The potential for big money is leading more people to create NFTs in the hope of cashing in on the current craze. If you’re one of them planning to get involved in the world of NFTs, we’ve got you covered. Here's a step-by-step guide on how to make NFT, that you could possibly even sell for a sum!
What is an NFT?
So you might be sure you want to make an NFT, but do you know exactly what one is? At its core, it's a type of cryptocurrency token that is unique, cannot be replicated, and commonly treated as a digital collectible. A simple analogy of an NFT is a shiny Pokémon card. Anyone can print one off and perhaps even make it look almost identical to a real one. But it's just not the same in the mind of a collector.
The shiny Pokémon card is valued for its uniqueness and authenticity, and the same can be applied to an NFT. Of course, you can download the NFT's associated image or collectible, but that doesn't represent actual ownership or authenticity.
What can be an NFT?
A question to many is what can or cannot be an NFT – is it exclusive to only digital items or it can include real-world artworks too? While it's not as common, physical collectibles can be represented by NFTs. In these cases, the private key to a wallet containing the NFT is usually inbuilt or provided with the piece.
Though, it's still much more common for digital artworks, songs, gifs, and videos to be issued as their own NFT. Even video game collectibles can be represented with NFTs, as well as financial staking products. Crypto art and NFTs aren't just limited to one format, so the sky's the limit when it comes to creativity for your new NFT.
How To Make NFT?
1. Pick your item
Let's start with the basics. If you haven't already done so, you'll need to determine what unique digital asset you want to turn into an NFT. It can be a custom painting, picture, music, video game collectible, meme, GIF, or even a tweet. An NFT is a unique digital item with a sole owner – that rarity gives an NFT value.
However, do make sure that you own the intellectual property rights to the item you want to turn into an NFT as creating an NFT for a digital asset you don't own could get you into legal trouble.
2. Choose your blockchain
Once you've selected your unique digital asset, it's time to start the process of minting it into an NFT. That begins by determining the blockchain technology you intend to use for your NFT. The most popular among NFT artists and creators is the ETHereum blockchain. Other popular options include Tezos, Polkadot, Cosmos, and Binance Smart Chain.
3. Set up your digital wallet
If you don't already have a digital wallet, you'll want to set one up to create your NFT since you'll need some cryptocurrency to fund your initial investment. The wallet will provide you with access to your digital assets. The top NFT wallets include Metamask, Math Wallet, AlphaWallet, Trust Wallet, and Coinbase Wallet.
Once you set up your digital wallet, you'll want to buy some cryptocurrency. Most NFT platforms accept ETHer, the cryptocurrency of the Ethereum blockchain platform. If you already own some cryptocurrency elsewhere, you'll want to connect it to your digital wallet so you can use it to create and sell NFTs.
4. Select your NFT marketplace
Once you have a digital wallet and some cryptocurrency, it's time to start creating (and, hopefully, selling) your NFT. For that, you'll need to choose an NFT marketplace. Some of the top NFT marketplaces include OpenSea, Rarible, SuperRare, LooksRare, Nifty Gateway, Mintable, and X2Y2.
You'll need to research each NFT marketplace to find a platform that's a good fit for your NFT. Some are category-related marketplaces, for example, NBA Top Shot is a basketball-focused marketplace, while others are more general like OpenSea. It's also important to note that some marketplaces require their own cryptocurrency like Rarible, that requires the RARI token for using its services or to transact within the marketplace.
OpenSea is usually a good place to start. It allows you to mint your own NFT, and it's the market leader in NFT sales. This NFT marketplace sold $3.4 billion worth of NFTs in August 2021 alone.
After selecting your NFT marketplace, you'll need to connect it to your digital wallet. That will allow you to pay the necessary fees to mint your NFT and hold any sales proceeds.
5. Upload your file
You're now finally ready to mint your NFT. Your chosen NFT marketplace should have a step-by-step guide for uploading your digital file to their platform. That process will enable you to turn your digital file (a PNG, GIF, MP3, or other file type) into a marketable NFT that you can list on the marketplace.
6. Set up the sales process
The final stage in the NFT minting process is to decide how you want to monetize your NFT. Depending on the platform, you can:
- Sell it at a fixed price: By setting a fixed price, you'll allow the first person willing to meet that price to buy your NFT.
- Set a timed auction: A timed auction will give those interested in your NFT a time limit to submit their final bid.
- Start an unlimited auction: An unlimited auction doesn't set a time limit. Instead, you have control to end the auction whenever you want.
You'll need to determine the minimum price (if you set up an auction), set your royalties to continue cashing in on your NFT if it resells on the secondary market, and how long to hold an auction (if timed). Keep fees in mind when setting the minimum price as well because you could lose money on your NFT sale if you set the price too low.
Unfortunately, the fees to mint and sell an NFT can be costly and confusing. Depending on the platform and pricing, you could pay a listing fee, an NFT minting fee, a commission on the sale, and a transaction fee to transfer money from the buyer's wallet to yours. Fees also can fluctuate due to the volatility in crypto prices. Because of that, it's important to take a close look at the costs you'll have to pay to make and sell your NFT to make sure they're worthwhile.
Can I Share NFT Ownership and Sale Proceeds?
When it comes to collaboration, NFTs can currently be a bit tricky. For the most common types of NFT (ERC721, ERC1155, BEP721, BEP1155), it's only possible to have one owner.
However, some projects have plans to allow for the proceeds of a first sale to be split among multiple wallets. This feature is not built into the token's code but relies on the exchange or marketplace you are using. We recommend you check for the possibility of splitting the NFT's sale amount on the exchange you use.
If you want to have complete control over your NFTs and want to store them in a non-custodial wallet, you can use a decentralized platform, such as Featured by Binance.
Closing Thoughts
The non-fungible token ecosystem is growing fast and lowering its barriers to entry gradually. Of course, getting involved with any new frontier is a big decision – especially if it costs you money right off the bat. But if you’ve set your mind on learning how to make NFT, we are happy to let you know that the process is relatively simple, more so with our guide now!
If you'd rather dip your toes into the water and aren't trying to make a specific NFT at this time, you can start by exploring some real NFT marketplaces and learning how each one works. Either way, deep down the rabbit hole you go!
