NFTs, or non-fungible tokens, have seen their fair share of detractors as their acceptance increases. Skeptics eventually realized that NFTs were here to stay and gave artists a special opportunity for their work. Considering that NFTs are digital assets stored on a blockchain ledger, many would presume that actual works of art are ineligible.
On the blockchain, physical works of art can be minted and sold as NFTs. Selling tangible works of art as NFTs may increase accessibility to the field of art. You no longer need to set up a gallery showing to get people to see and buy your work.
How to Effectively Market Physical Art through NFTs
You can take on the task of directly listing the NFT once you have found out how to digitalize your physical artwork. Setting up an account on an NFT platform has the advantage of giving you total control over the selling of your artwork. After a service charge is subtracted, the profits go straight to you, and you may be eligible to profit from further transactions.
Consider OpenSea, which is now one of the biggest NFT marketplaces in the market. On OpenSea, NFT creation is completely free, and there is a 2.5% transaction fee.
Once your NFT is set up, you can sell hard copies of the work in the NFT’s area for unlocked content. If your NFT resells for $380,000, like Banksy’s “Morons” did when it was sold as an NFT, you would receive an additional $38,000 on top of the profit from the initial sale because OpenSea will let you set your royalties on subsequent sales as high as 10%.
A brief word about royalties: royalties vary slightly depending on the platform. You might be able to set the amount higher on “Platform A” than “Platform B,” for instance. Maybe the agreement will specify that the beneficiary of the piece is the owner of the NFT and that you, the artist, will retain physical custody up until that point.
What Advantages Do Physical Works of Art Have When Sold as NFTs?
The legitimacy of physical art, which is often recognized as fine art, versus digital art, which is widely seen as a poor form of art, has been a subject of much controversy. NFTs are still a relatively new technology in the field of digital art, thus some purists may remain skeptical of its advantages over traditional works of art.
The advantages NFTs bring to actual works of art and the artist is:
- The authenticity of the painting may be conclusively demonstrated by both vendors and purchasers.
- Due to the immutability of the blockchain ledger, proof of ownership is assured.
- Royalties for artists are still possible.
- direct communication between buyers and vendors.
How Can Your Physical Art Be Transformed into an NFT?
Let’s address the practicalities now that we’ve demonstrated that actual artwork can be converted into and sold as an NFT.
Your artwork can be digitally transformed using a few techniques so that it can be sold on the blockchain:
- Take a picture of the work of art.
- Use a 2D scanner to scan the artwork.
- Make a copy of the artwork using a design program.
- Put a tokenized code or message on a microchip inside the work of art.
The Problems with Selling Physical Art Through NFTs
The following are some difficulties in selling actual works of art as NFTs:
- The seller has the option of selling the NFT and the physical artwork to two different purchasers. Without the NFT, physical art cannot be supported.
- Fake NFT accounts sell works of art they did not produce. Fortunately, markets are actively putting practices in place to address this problem.
- Ownership of the copyright prevents buyers from displaying the work even though they may own the artwork. Before making a purchase, check the terms of the NFT for copyright; this information is typically recorded in the metadata.
- Original physical artwork might be destroyed if it is converted into NFTs.
- NFT creation and minting are expensive, particularly when done on Ethereum, the most widely used NFT blockchain. Although there are ways to cheat the system and mint for less, the cost of mining can approach $75.
Conclusion
Even if you are not a well-known artist, NFTs have already shown to be very profitable. You still need to promote your work and increase traffic to your NFT platform, but if you do it right, your digital and physical artwork might pay off handsomely for you.
