Are you an artist whose interest has been peaked by the new and emerging world of digital art? Are you interested in music, design, art, video games, or virtual reality? If so, continue reading to answer the question- are NFTs good for artists?
Before you think to yourself “I know nothing of NFTs, it can’t possibly fit into the category of what I do,” think again! There are endless possibilities when it comes to creating NFTs and NFT licensing. There are so many types and uses which we will get into right now.
Photography NFTs allow photographers to tokenize and therefore own the rights to an image they took, enabling them to sell the image and make a profit. There is only one owner of the photo, but the image can be used, looked at, and shared online.
Music NFTs are a digital file — usually a song that is kept on the blockchain as a one-of-a-kind collectible item. Many mainstream NFT ART Marketplaces sell this type of NFT.
One of the most common types and uses of NFT. You may be familiar with the types of avatars that people have on their social media profiles. NFT profile pictures are just the same- only they purchased the image and are displaying it on their socials.
A 1/1 NFT is exactly what the name implies- this means that there is only one copy of this work ever created. This makes the piece super rare, and oftentimes drives up the price since purchasing the only copy is a great asset to any collection.
Gamified NFTs are very specific to the game in which they belong to. The interesting aspect of gamified NFTs is that there is usually an interactive aspect to purchasing the NFT. Some examples include purchasing a character that you can level up and buy costumes for, or reaching locked levels on a game.
Many (not all) NFTs are released in collections or groups. Just as with any other collection, the more NFTs you have from a group, the more valuable the whole collection is. Digital collectible files are readily available for anyone through NFTs, and they can be collected, traded, invested in, and even find other utilities in the context of video games or the metaverse.
NFT art is taking over the world, and the future of NFTs will give more power to artists, and completely reinvent the way digital art is made, sold, and displayed. NFTs hold the power to decentralize the money in the art world, and give new opportunities to new artists and minorities, and gives equal access to anyone with an internet connection. Because of processes like tokenizing and minting, artists are now in control of who can view, buy, and where their art can be displayed.
The digitization of art had significantly lowered the barriers of entry into the world of design, art, and collection. A main contributor to this is the convenience of the internet. You can do all of this- make, sell, buy, collect, and view art all from the comfort of your computer.
VFX artist Bilali Mack, B.F.A. in animation and media from Emerson College, has rapidly established himself as a talent to watch in the visual effects and animation space. He explains how artists are able to take control of their projects, and how NFT art is enabling diversity. As NFTs can help fund films and even education platforms. NFT art can be more than expensive jpegs of apes, and Mack even says the “NFT bubble must burst for the technology to succeed.” Here are just some ways Mack suggests NFT art can be a force for change.
«NFTs are such a great way of levelling the playing field for people of color, for women, for any community that you can imagine that has been disenfranchised or been left out in some way,» says Mack.
Mack explains «NFTs can be a powerful thing for women, women of color, you know, to be like, ‘we want to tell people and create content for women of color,’ if you don’t care about anybody else, whatever, [just] make your film for women of color, and make it beautiful. I guarantee you, probably every woman of color that you know, will want to jump into it and get involved in the community.»
«We’re now in a place where artists are being empowered to use this digital art to create art and find audiences through the internet without having to go through a studio or without having to go to art galleries,» says Mack. «It’s basically decentralizing the way we as artists, as visual effects artists or digital artists, are able to monetize our art and it’s very liberating.»
Outside of creating art to express and for fun, Mack explains that art can create a sense of community. «Especially people that are creating NFTs that have some sort of utility outside of just aesthetically being a piece of art,» says Mack. It can help if you know who is buying NFTs too, this way you can target your projects.
Since the major event of the creation of the internet, there have been some not-so-lovely consequences of complete online freedom and anonymity. NFT platforms and creators aim to avoid problems such as hacking, identity theft, monopolies, and lack of diversity. With a completely reinvented online space, and with these goals in mind, the founders of the NFT revolutionization aim to dissolve these problems through added layers of security and embedded safety features with the purchase of NFTs, as well as on major NFT marketplaces.
A fear though is that the metaverse will become just like today’s social media. What started as an inclusive and educational world of art and invention some fear will turn into daily drama and online shopping. But this should not leave you thinking-is NFT bad for artists? Because many artists and collectors along with the NFT platforms are working to ensure that this fear does not become a reality.
The truly unique and original concept of NFTs stems from the frustration of musicians, artists, and filmmakers who originally had to give up a portion of their rights to ownership of their work. NFTs only grant ownership to one person, the creator. The token holder, or someone who purchased the NFT, can display what they have purchased, but they do not own the copyright to the image. So next time you think- “is NFT good for artists?” think YES!
