How to Make an NFT: A Complete Beginner’s Guide 2023
When creating an NFT, it’s essential to ensure that you own the rights to the digital media you use, as creating an NFT from media you don’t own may result in legal consequences from the rightful owner. We’re also assuming that you’re aware of criticisms of and problem with NFTs. Some people are making millions with crypto, but plenty of others have seen their portfolios plummet in value.
Sometimes these are exact replicas, such as 5000 General Admission tickets. Sometimes several are minted that are very similar, but each slightly different, such as a ticket with an assigned seat. These can be bought and sold peer-to-peer without paying ticket handlers and the buyer always with assurance of the ticket authenticity by checking the contract address.
- Below we’ll go through the process step by step and look in more detail at NFT marketplaces, NFT crypto and everything else you need to know.
- Ethereum NFTs are created utilizing the ERC-721 and ERC-1155 standards, which store the metadata of the NFT on the Ethereum blockchain.
- Sometimes these are exact replicas, such as 5000 General Admission tickets.
This could be something like an invite link to a private Discord, a code to redeem something on an external website, or even just a message thanking them for buying. Rarible lets you sell NFTs using the Flow blockchain (the same one used by NBA Top Shot) if you sign up for it using the Blocto wallet, and both it and OpenSea will let you sell using the Polygon blockchain. Both options have much lower fees than those you pay for using the Ethereum blockchain, if any fees at all, so we will at least touch on using them. There are blockchains that use alternate systems that don’t use as much energy, and Ethereum has plans to move to a more efficient proof of stake system at some point in the future.
How much does it cost to create an NFT?
The first question Rarible will ask is which blockchain you want to mint your NFT to, offering you the options of Ethereum, Flow, Tezos, or Polygon. Unlike OpenSea, the site doesn’t cover Polygon fees, so you’ll have to pay to mint or sell an NFT if you’re using that blockchain. It’s also worth noting that paying gas does not 100 percent guarantee your transfer will go through. You can pay more to give yourself a higher chance, but it is never a sure thing. However, if something does happen and your transaction isn’t completed, you won’t get the gas fees you paid back. In almost every case, the files aren’t actually stored on the blockchain itself.
Some require you to authenticate or write your NFT on the blockchain, while some like OpenSea and Rarible allow for “shortcuts” like lazy minting. In lazy minting, you can avoid some fees by putting up your NFT for sale without writing it on the blockchain, then passing that fee to your buyer if it’s purchased. These frequently ludicrous fees are problematic for the wider adoption of NFT technology and I hope to see them ironed out over time. New funds that cover these fees for first time NFT artists are already emerging and will continue to be essential as the marketplaces explore more ways to reduce gas prices for creators. The platform will ask whether to mint your work as a one of a kind piece or as a collection of multiple items. I opted to make “The Banana” a 1 of 1 piece with a price of .012 ETH.
Put your item on the marketplace
You then give your NFT a name — or title — and a description if you want. This will change how much of each subsequent sale goes back to you in the future. For example, if someone purchases your NFT for 0.2 ETH and then sells it for 1 ETH in the future, you’ll get a percentage of that sale as well — by default, it’s 10 percent (so 0.1 ETH in our example). After you’ve approved and signed all the transactions, your NFT will be listed for sale on OpenSea. After clicking the Create button, you’ll be brought to the create new item page.
This will generate a hardhat.config.js file for us which is where we’ll specify all of the set up for our project (on step 13). You can download and create a MetaMask account for free here(opens in a new tab). When you are creating an account, or if you already have an account, make sure to switch over to the “Sepolia Test Network” in the upper right (so that we’re not dealing with real money). The best-selling NFTs are either those by established artists, such as Beeple and Damien Hirst, or those NFTs that have ‘utility’. One thing people new to the NFT world often wonder is what do people do with their NFTs when they buy them? Some collectors simply hold them, some try to flip them – that is immediately sell them on for a profit.
But if your NFT is a more complicated item, like a game, or has a complicated smart contract (conditions for the sale), then you may need the help of a developer. Smart contracts are pieces of software code that allow blockchain to store information in a secure and transparent way. Ultimately, these codes are what manage the ownership and transferability of NFTs. NFTs hold value because there is only one version of the assets made. In other words, an NFT can only have one owner at a time—no one can alter its ownership or mint the same NFT on the blockchain. Given this scarcity, creators/owners of NFTs hold the ability to set their own rates for their assets.
What’s a blockchain?
These rights may include reselling the NFT, partial ownership, how you can display or use it, and more. When you create the NFT, you can add in a royalty fee that pays you a percentage of the transaction each time your NFT is subsequently sold. A token, in this regard, is the item’s information hashed into an alphanumeric string. This token is stored on the blockchain and establishes ownership of a digital item.
When someone “creates” or “mints” an NFT, they’re basically telling the smart contract to give them ownership of a particular NFT. This information is securely and publicly stored in the blockchain. NFTs, like any digital items on the Ethereum blockchain, are created through a special Ethereum based computer program called a “smart contract”. These contracts follow certain rules, like the ERC-721 or ERC-1155 standards, which determine what the contract can do.
This is because Ethereum requires you to buy something called “gas” in each and every transaction. For practical purposes, it’s best to think of it as a transaction fee, though it’s actually a little more complicated, as we explain in our guide to Ethereum gas. Anyone can create an NFT on their own, they just have to open a crypto wallet and create an account. Platforms like OpenSea, Coinbase and Rarible can facilitate this process. After choosing a format, creators must consider the content of their NFTs. Serious artists will want to consider what the public might desire or find valuable in a digital work of art.
Set up an auction for your NFT
Ownership of an asset is publicly verifiable on Ethereum blockchain. MoonCats are the oldest NFT art built on the Ethereum blockchain, and were launched in 2017 before the term “NFT” was created. By 2021, the MoonCats collection has reached 25,440 minted works, and holds significant market and historical value for collectors. Most NFT marketplaces run on the Ethereal block chain, which leaves a pretty substantial carbon footprint on the environment. That being said, there are many platforms and creators making why administration accounting is important for any business the case for clean NFTs. There is hope that these concerns will be addressed and resolved, especially as proponents discuss the evolution of the internet into the virtual web3 and metaverse era.
Even if you don’t sell, adding collections of NFTs to your portfolio and social media accounts will show people you’ve got your finger on the pulse of the trending art world. Both of the marketplaces mentioned above offer “lazy minting,” a good set-up for curious beginners which allows users to pass the minting fee on to the buyer. If you decide to step into the market, you will have to pay a one-time initialization fee (which ranges between $30 and $400). When you sell, the marketplace will likely take a percentage, too, (usually ~2.5%). These platforms make it easier for new creators to dive into the world of NFTs.
The Rainbow and MetaMask wallets mentioned above both allow you to purchase crypto right inside your wallet. Coinbase Wallet requires you to make the purchase from a separate exchange and transfer it to your wallet. As a creator, you might own the intellectual property rights to the NFT, but you only own the NFT as long as you own the rights to the content and materials you used. As a purchaser, you own the rights that are legally passed to you in the purchase agreement.