How to Create an NFT
Contrary to popular belief, NFTs aren’t only for people trying to find the next big project and turn a profit before everyone else but also for artists who are looking for more channels to share their art, find inspiration, support other artists, or simply enjoy other artists’ works.
One of the beautiful things about NFTs is the opportunity for people to pursue their passion for art. Through NFTs, many artists have been able to make a living, and the narrative that artists can’t make money unless they are signed to major labels is quickly changing.
As Space is a metaverse catered for artists and creators, there is a strong focus on creating a culture that empowers every single user to showcase their talent through the powerful creation tools native to Space. To showcase your art on Space, you will need to tokenize your art, AKA, making it into an NFT so it can be displayed and sold.
Don’t know how to make an NFT? Don’t fret; we’ll teach you. It’s easy! Here are the steps below.
Pick Your Platform
There are many different NFT marketplaces to choose from, and it would take another blog to explain just a few of them. However, some of the main options you can use are OpenSea, Magic Eden, SuperRare, and Rarible.
Also, when choosing between marketplaces, there are a number of things you need, such as supported blockchains, platform fees, gas fees, different niches, etc. We suggest looking at OpenSea and Magic Eden first, as OpenSea is the most popular for Ethereum NFTs while Magic Eden is the most popular for Solana NFTs. Although the blockchain you mint on will not affect the way your art looks, you will want to consider things such as environmental footprint, gas fees, popularity, and interoperability.
Create a Wallet
Wallets are what you use to store your cryptocurrencies, as well as any NFTs you create or purchase. Just like NFT marketplaces, there are a variety of different ones, but if you’re new and just need one to create NFTs, the main thing to be considered is using a wallet that is compatible with the blockchain and marketplace you’re working with.
The MetaMask wallet is one of the most popular and supported by Ethereum-based applications like OpenSea and may be used as a Chrome extension or an IOS/Android app. Also, Phantom wallet is the MetaMask for the Solana blockchain and has really good features such as quickly making multiple wallets to store your crypto in. Additionally, you will be able to view your NFTs in the Phantom wallet extension, unlike MetaMask.
MetaMask and Phantom wallet will provide you with a “seed phrase,” which is a set of 12 random words that will allow you to regain access to your account. It’s critical that you don’t lose it because it may be the only way to get back into your wallet if you delete the app or need to set it up on a new device. If you lose your password and/or your seed phrase, there is no way to access that wallet anymore, as neither MetaMask nor Phantom wallet can help you.
Connect your Wallet to the NFT Marketplace
You can connect your wallet to the NFT marketplace of your choice after you’ve established and set up your wallet. Depending on the marketplace, you may need to enter your profile first and then be shown the wallet options, or you can simply find and press the “connect” option, which is normally near the top of the window. After you’ve made your decision, you’ll be prompted to complete the connecting process.
For your safety, make sure you trust the website you are connecting your wallet to. This could be a scammer attempting to access your crypto funds or NFTs, but you should be fine as long as you’re on a site you know is safe and generally used by others without issues. If an unknown site wants to connect to your wallet, you should do more research about the website before agreeing.
Create an NFT
Finally, you’ve reached the part where you actually get to create! As mentioned previously, there are many different NFT marketplaces you can use and thus, create your NFT with, so instructions will change with each platform and later updates.
An NFT is essentially a picture, video, document, or any other file that is recorded on the blockchain. The digital file(s) will be stored in a distributed ledger or decentralized database and will be impossible to edit, modify, or erase. You may know this as “minting,” and is what will happen in this step.
Once you have connected your wallet to OpenSea, you can begin creating your NFT by pressing the conveniently located “Create” option on the top right corner of the page. You’ll be directed to the create new item page.
Start by uploading the file you wish to make an NFT. Pay attention to the size and file types supported to ensure it is supported. Once your file is uploaded, you can give it a name or title. The External Link field is the URL that will be shown in your NFT that directs them to another website if clicked. Typically a collection’s Twitter or website URL is used here but isn’t necessary. The description is also not required but can give your potential buyers more information about your NFT.
A collection is a series of NFTs under title. If you’ve already created a collection for your NFT, you can then add properties, levels, or stats that can be used as metadata for the collection to help users go through the NFTs in it.
For example, if you’re selling an NFT interoperable with NFT games, the NFT’s attributes will go here. For art NFTs, you would put their key features, such as the color of the hat, shirt, etc.
You can also include text that serves as unlocked content that only NFT’s buyer/owner will be able to see. You can put things like a link to a holders’ only Discord group, a message of appreciation, and more by turning on the “unlockable content” option
Finally, you can pick the blockchain you want to mint your NFT on. Again, make sure to do your research on the different blockchains and think of your goal, purpose, audience, and other factors of your NFT, as this cannot be changed. While thinking about that, you can also decide how many of the same NFTs you want to trade around. Although they’ll all look the same, they can all be sold at different prices, with the lowest price being shown first. Once you’ve double-checked all the information you entered, click create! Give it some time to process, and voila, you’ve created your first NFT!
Now that your NFT is created, you can officially put it up for sale for a fixed price or timed auction, depending on the blockchain it’s minted on. Make sure you have considered gas, platform fees, etc. Once you’ve decided on the type of listing, price, and other relevant information, continue by clicking “complete listing” and confirm the transaction. If this is your first NFT on Ethereum, you’ll need to make a one-time approval transaction to “initialize” your wallet. You’ll need Ethereum in your wallet to perform this, but we’ll go through this another time!
And that’s it! Although there are many more things to consider for advanced creators, these are the absolute basics that will allow you to create and list an NFT. Keep creating and learning about NFTs, and we’re looking forward to your own personal NFT gallery in SPACE!
ABOUT SPACE
SPACE is a metaverse catering to the arts and commerce and aiming to provide powerful builder tools that allow users to design and create immersive commerce spaces without barriers.
It is the glue to the various metaverses, bridging the many virtual worlds into one trading hub. We are focused on creating a vibrant user-owned economy through unifying knowledge, joint effort, and fair rewards distribution based on a culture of collaboration and economic opportunities.
For more information on this immersive and personalized metaverse, check out the link: space-metaverse.com.
