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How To Create & Make NFT Art | Scopio

Creating NFT art can open you up to a whole new world of possibilities as an artist. NFTs can be sold online from anywhere in the world, with instant payments and no need for costly exhibitions. They can also allow you to collect royalties on future sales. 

With the popularity of NFTs skyrocketing, learning how to make NFT art is a sure-fire way to future-proof your work. As more and more brands get involved, knowing how to create NFT art is also fast becoming an essential skill for businesses, as well as for artists. If you’re still not 100% sure what NFTs are (which is understandable), check out our article on what is NFT art.

If you’re ready to start making NFT art, but not sure where to begin, read on for our step-by-step guide on exactly how to create NFT art and sell it. Note that if you’re already listing your art for sale on Scopio, it’s even easier to turn it into NFTs – skip to step 5.

 How to create NFT Art 

1.  Be sure you want to create NFT art 
As obvious as it sounds, the first step in how to make NFT digital art is making sure you want to do it. Turning art into NFTs represents an exciting opportunity for many global artists – but it may not be the right choice for everyone.

Whilst many NFT marketplaces will assist you in creating NFT art for free, there are fees associated with every transaction on the blockchain, particularly on the popular Ethereum. These fees are known as ‘gas’ and you will be charged gas for selling and transferring your NFTs. This is one of the reasons we at Scopio chose to build our NFT marketplace on the Solana blockchain, which has much lower fees, so the artist receives a higher reward for their work.

There is also the environmental impact of NFTs to consider. The energy required to mint, store and transfer NFTs on the blockchain is considerable and some blockchains, including Ethereum, come with a sizable carbon footprint. This is another reason we chose Solana – as of 2021, the network is carbon neutral and has pledged to remain so, thanks to carbon offsetting programs. The energy required for a single Solana transaction is just 1.4% of that required by the Ethereum network.

2. Decide on your art
If you’re sure you want to create NFT art, the next step is deciding what you want to turn into an NFT. This needs to be a digital file in a format that is supported by the marketplace or minting service you want to use (more on that later).

NFTs can be just about anything, but some of the easiest and most popular options are images, photographs, and audio files. Spend time designing something you think will catch people’s attention. If you're not an artist but still want to make an NFT to sell, you could also consider hiring a freelancer - just make sure you retain all rights to the work.

3. Choose a blockchain
Once you’ve designed your art, the best way to proceed is to choose the blockchain that you want to create your NFT through. This will directly affect the NFT marketplace you can list on. There are options across all the major blockchains, and we recommend doing some thorough research into each one before making a decision. 

The most common blockchain for NFTs is Ethereum. Its gas fees are typically higher, although you can sometimes secure better prices at quieter times, such as weekends. Other blockchains that support NFTs include Tezos, Tron, Binance Smart Chain and Polkadot. 

As well as transaction fees, you should also consider which cryptocurrencies your target buyers are likely to own. Cheaper blockchains, such as Solana, Flow and Polygon, offer a more affordable alternative to Ethereum – but your potential buyers won’t be able to pay using Ethereum cryptocurrency, which may deter some NFT collectors.

4. Choose an NFT platform
Once you’ve decided on a blockchain, you need to choose an NFT marketplace that supports it. Options include OpenSea, Rarible, Magic Eden, Nifty Gateway, SuperRare, Foundation and NFT ShowRoom. 
Some NFT platforms, including OpenSea and Rarible, allow you to create Ethereum NFTs for free, through ‘lazy minting’. Minting is the process by which your artwork is recorded on the blockchain. With lazy minting, the NFT is created and listed for free, without being written on the blockchain, and the minting fee is charged to the buyer once your art is purchased. 
However, there may be expensive fees to initialize your account before you can sell NFTs or to remove your NFT from sale. You may also have to pay a commission once your art sells, and a transaction fee for transferring the payment. It can be difficult to decipher exactly what these fees will be in advance, partly due to the fluctuating natures of blockchain and cryptocurrency, so there is an element of risk involved. 
Of course, we’re biased, but if you’re selling photographic NFTs, Scopio is the only photography-focused NFT platform. We use Magic Eden, which is the leading marketplace on Solana, and we’re committed to helping photographers and artists access new opportunities and avenues for their work.

5. Set up a wallet
When you’ve chosen your NFT platform, you’ll need to set up a crypto wallet, to allow you to store your NFTs and get paid in cryptocurrency when they sell. The wallet must be compatible with your chosen blockchain. For Scopio, you’ll need to set up a Phantom wallet, which is the crypto wallet for Solana. For other platforms, you may want to consider Coinbase or MetaMask, which are widely supported by most platforms.

Whichever wallet you use, it is crucial to store the passphrase key you are given securely so that you can access your wallet when recovering your account, or installing the app on another device. You may wish to use a password manager, or keep multiple physical copies in secure locations. Once your wallet is set up, you'll need to add some cryptocurrency to it, to pay any fees. You are usually given the option to do this in your wallet by clicking 'Buy', or similar.

6. Connect your wallet to the platform
With your wallet set up, you now need to connect it to your NFT platform. On an NFT marketplace such as OpenSea, you can click the ‘Create’ button and follow the steps to connect your wallet. To connect your Phantom wallet on Scopio, simply fill out this wallet set-up form.

7. Create your NFT
Once your wallet is connected, it’s time to create and list your NFT. Each platform will have a slightly different process for this. On the OpenSea platform, you can start by again clicking the ‘Create’ button, which will open the page ‘Create new item’. 

From here, upload your image file and give it a name. You can add a link to your website and any details about yourself or your art that might be of interest. This is an important part of learning how to make NFT art to sell – you need to sell your story to potential buyers. 
You can also add ‘unlockable’ content, which only the purchaser of the NFT can see. Some artists use this to add event invites or discount codes. Businesses can take advantage of this to add messages to customers – NFTs can be a good solution for coupons or loyalty cards, as they can't be forged. 
You must then select the blockchain to which you wish to mint your NFT. On OpenSea, your choice is Ethereum or Polygon. Note that once you’ve selected a blockchain, you won’t be able to change it. Check that all your details are correct, and then click ‘Create’. Congratulations - you’ve just learnt how to create NFT art and made your first NFT! 
If you want to create a collection of NFTs – such as the famous cartoon apes of the Bored Ape Yacht Club collection (although you probably can’t expect to fetch similar prices!) – you can do this on the OpenSea platform by clicking on your profile, then ‘My Collections’ > ‘Create a collection’.

8. List your NFT for sale
Once you’ve created your NFT, you can list it for sale. To do this on OpenSea, select your NFT under the ‘Created’ tab, and click ‘Sell’ in the top right of the screen. Depending on the marketplace, you may be able to set a fixed price for your NFT or run an auction for a set time. You may also be asked to set the percentage of royalties you require on future sales. Finally, click ‘Complete listing’ and approve any gas fees and authorization requests to finish listing your NFT. 

If you’re already listing your art for sale on Scopio, the process to create an NFT is slightly different. You can simply upload your art to our platform and connect your Phantom wallet to your account. We will then make all of your published work available as NFTs on the Solana blockchain and list them for sale through the Magic Eden marketplace.

 FAQs

How do I convert an image to NFT? 
To convert an image to an NFT, the easiest choice is to use an NFT marketplace. Popular options include OpenSea or Rarible, which use the Ethereum blockchain. For photographic NFTs, try Scopio, which is the only photography-dedicated NFT platform. You will need to create a cryptocurrency wallet and link it to the marketplace before you can create and list your NFT for sale.

How do I create an NFT art code?
The good news is, you don’t need to know coding to create an NFT art. If you want to know ‘How to create NFT art without coding?’, the short answer is:

  1. Choose an NFT platform
  2. Set up your crypto wallet
  3. Connect your wallet to the platform
  4. Upload your art and mint it to create the NFT
  5. List your NFT for sale
  6. Sell and collect your reward!

How much does it cost to create an NFT?
The cost of creating NFT art varies depending on the platform and blockchain you’re using. There are advantages and disadvantages to all the options, and prices can fluctuate depending on the time of day and the current value of the cryptocurrency. The gas fee on the Ethereum blockchain is typically $80 - $450. Other blockchains can be cheaper, but there may be set-up fees or restrictions on how you can sell your NFTs.

How do I make NFT for free?
One answer to the question, ‘how do I make NFT for free?’ is that you can ‘lazy mint’ your NFT. You list your art for sale on an NFT marketplace for free, and the platform charges the purchaser of the artwork for the minting process once it sells. OpenSea and Rarible both offer this. You could also list your art on Scopio for free, and pay fees once it sells. Our fee structure is 60% to the photographer, 38% to Scopio and 2% to Magic Eden.

So, now you know exactly how to create NFT art. If you want to learn in more depth how to make and sell NFT art, see our article on selling NFT art for the next steps in maximizing your sales. Scopio is dedicated to helping photographers from around the world sell their art as NFTs and make the most of this exciting new technology.

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