How to Create Your Own NFTs?
In this section, I’m going to tell you how to create an NFT!
If you’ve read the previous sections in this Crypto 101 Handbook, you know that the topic of NFTs was already covered quite extensively. We’ve discussed both what these crypto assets are, as well as, among other things, how you can start trading and storing them.
However, what if flipping and trading NFTs isn’t necessarily your cup of tea? What if, instead, you’re a creative person who wants to launch their own non-fungible token, or perhaps even an entire collection? Well, all that you really need in that situation is to learn how to create NFTs.
In this section, we’re going to talk about how to create your own NFTs. Specifically, I will guide you through the entire process of creating your very first non-fungible token - everything from figuring out the direction that you might want to take, all the way to launching your project on one of the biggest NFT marketplaces in the world!
Without further ado, let’s get to it!
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Figuring Out the Dos and Don’ts
To start things off, I will assume that you’ve already read the previous sections about NFTs in this chapter, and that you’re at least somewhat familiar with the concept of what they are. If that’s not the case, I highly recommend reading them, before continuing with this section!
Now, then, before we get too deep into it, there are a few essential things that you need to decide, as you start learning how to create an NFT. For a quick reference, these things are:
- The purpose of your NFT;
- The art direction that you want to take;
- The properties that your NFT will have;
- The blockchain that you’d want to launch your NFT on;
- The rarity, additional features, and so on.
Most of these points will mostly be applicable to any type of NFT that you might want to create, but there are a few which are specific to NFT collections, instead of single tokens. That said, let’s take a closer look at each of these mentioned points.
The Purpose of Your NFT
So, the very first thing that you need to decide when looking at how to create an NFT is the purpose of your project. This is one of those points that are rather self-explanatory - if you’re creating an NFT, you probably have a pretty good idea of why you’re doing so, right?
This process of establishing a clear purpose is very important, however, since it will lead you all throughout your journey. Are you creating an NFT strictly to make a profit by selling it? Perhaps you’re doing an art project, or a university assignment? All of these situations are frankly going to have different approaches, and different points that you’d need to focus on!
Art Direction
Moving on, art direction is essentially the thing that will either set your NFT apart from the competition, or make it blend in with the thousands of other projects. It’s the same as if you were to try and sell, say, custom-made coffee mugs - if your mugs look the exact same as those of hundreds of other sellers, chances are that you’ll struggle to find success.
On the flip side, if your coffee mugs are unique, even a bit eccentric, perhaps, there’s a pretty good possibility that you’ll find a customer base easier. The same is true with NFTs!
I should, however, mention that this is something that will also depend heavily on who you are. I mean, if you’re an artist who already has a distinct art style, I think that this point might seem pretty trivial to you. If you don’t have any digital art skills, though, and will rely on others (for example, freelancers) to create the artwork for you, keep everything that I’ve just told you in mind!
The Properties of the NFT
Next up, we have the properties of the actual NFT. This is mostly going to be important to you if you’re looking at how to create an NFT collection, instead of a single non-fungible token.
Now, what are “properties”, in the context of NFTs? Well, think about it like this - if you’re looking at how to create NFT art in the form of a drawing of some sort of a character, its properties could be the color of the character’s hair, what they’re wearing, the jewelry they have on them, their skin color, and so on.
Essentially, it’s like the description of the artwork - in a collection, all of these properties are likely going to be different, for each unit.
Why is all of this important, in the first place? Well, it mainly has to do with the concept of rarity.
Essentially, while you’re looking at how to create your own NFTs, you’ll learn that most NFT collections have a rarity system associated with their artwork - think of it as if it were collectible trading cards. Some of your tokens might be very common, while others - super-rare. This will eventually dictate the price of each piece of art, as well! Properties are a great way to differentiate between common and rare NFTs, within that same collection.
The Blockchain That You’ll Launch Your NFT On
The next major point to consider, when you’re learning how to create an NFT, is the network that you’ll be launching that NFT on. This has a few different implications.
First of all, in many cases, NFT launches may include paying a fee to mint your NFT on the blockchain. These days, there are various ways to get around this - postponing the minting process, allowing your future customers to mint the NFT themselves, and so on.
It kind of answers the question of how much does it cost to create an NFT of your own, too. If you choose to learn how to create NFT art without coding, do the work yourself, and launch your project on a dedicated marketplace, your costs could be as low as zero!
Sticking with the traditional model, however, you might have to pay some minting fees, unless you choose to mint the NFT on, say, the Polygon blockchain. Different networks have different fees associated with them - some are negligible, while others could get pretty costly!
That being said, it’s important to consider the popularity of the blockchain network, as well. If you mint your NFTs on a network that’s not really all that popular, and isn’t supported by one of the big NFT marketplaces (like OpenSea or Rarible), then your project could be doomed to fail, straight from the get-go.
My advice here is to stick with “the network that started it all” - namely, Ethereum. Non-fungible tokens that are minted on the Ethereum network are exposed to a huge potential audience, since it’s the most popular network to mint NFTs on, in the first place.
At the same time, if you want to create NFTs for free, the aforementioned Polygon is a good option, as well. Being a Layer-2 solution for Ethereum, it still retains the popularity aspect, but might offer super-low or even non-existent minting fees for your tokens!
Rarity, Benefits, Giveaways, etc.
The last point that you need to consider, when learning how to create NFTs, has to do with everything that surrounds your token project - in other words, all other important features that your NFT will possess.
Rarity, for example, is one such feature - it was already mentioned before, but rarity is really important, since it can create a strong “fear of missing out” feeling in potential future collectors. Depending on how many NFTs your collection will house, it’s a good idea to think about the rarity system that you’ll want to implement, as well! I mean, if you’re looking at how to create 10,000 NFTs, it would probably be smart to employ a few custom rarity levels, too!
Moving on, you should also consider any additional features that you’ll want your NFTs to have. So, for example, imagine that, in addition to being a crypto enthusiast, you’re also a musician, as well. Perhaps you have a new mixtape that you’d like to share with the world? Or, maybe, you have concert tickets to see some famous band, and you’re willing to give them up?
Essentially, you could add additional benefits to your NFT! Whether it be something that only the initial buyer would receive, or a perk that all future holders of the token would get, it’s completely up to you. This could definitely boost the value of your project, and make it more appealing!
Launching Your NFT Project
So, by now, you should have a pretty good idea of all the points that you’ll need to cover with your NFT idea. If you have all of that figured out already, though, it’s time to move on to the actual question of how to create an NFT!
While there are a few ways of how we can approach this, I’ll tell you about the OpenSea method. It’s the most popular NFT marketplace on the planet, and learning how to create an NFT on OpenSea is super-fast and simple!
Note, though, that there are other software to create NFT art out there, as well. However, if you learn the OpenSea route, you’ll have some solid foundations, for any future endeavors of this kind!
What you’ll want to do first is navigate to the website, and then connect your crypto wallet to it. If you don’t have a wallet yet, or would like to learn more about crypto wallets, in general, there are a few dedicated sections on the topic in this Crypto 101 Handbook - check them out!
Once you have your wallet connected, you will then want to navigate to your profile, and click “Create”. This will bring you to the page where all of your NFT creation magic will happen!
This is where you’ll want to upload your artwork, name your NFT, as well as describe it, as best you can. On the same page, you will also be able to attach any and all properties or unlockable content that you might have come up with, to your NFT, and then choose the blockchain network that you want the token to be minted on.
Now, picking out a network is a really important step! As it was mentioned, though, if this is your first NFT mint, it’s probably a good idea to stick to Ethereum or Polygon.
Once you create your NFT, you will then be able to navigate to the sales page, and create a listing - namely, choose the price of the token, whether it’s a fixed sale or an auction, and so on. The fantastic thing about OpenSea is that you won’t really need to pay any gas fees, upfront - since the token will only be minted on the blockchain when someone purchases the NFT, this is when the minting fees will be paid, as well. So, essentially, if you were looking for how to create NFTs for free, this is the way!
As a quick side note, if you want to create an entire collection of NFTs, and not just a single token, you should first go to your profile on OpenSea, and navigate to the “My Collections” tab. You will be able to enter all of the important information about your collection here, and then add created NFTs to it later on.
Wrapping Up
That’s about it, really - you now know how to create an NFT on OpenSea! The process has been made really simple and beginner-friendly, and there are arguably many more things to consider before you start creating your NFTs, rather than during the actual process.
This isn’t where your work ends, however - now that you have your NFT created and listed on the biggest non-fungible token marketplace in the world, the next step is to market it successfully!