Selling your art as an NFT does not require knowledge of how blockchain technology works. It’s a straightforward process, just like selling an item on eBay. You do not need to know a single line of coding to get started!
First, you’ll need to decide which platform to sell your artwork on. Some platforms are more popular than others and generate more traffic. This is important to take into account because it increases the chances of your artwork being sold. At the time of writing, OpenSea is the most popular NFT platform, recording over $3.3bn volume of sales in the month of August 2021.
Snapshot of Top 10 NFT marketplaces via influencermarketinghub.com
Snapshot of Top 10 NFT marketplaces via influencermarketinghub.com
OpenSea, Rarible, and Mintable are examples of NFT marketplaces that allow any artist to sell their artwork on their platform, while others like SuperRare only work with selected artists and have a selection process.
It’s important to know that the platforms are just marketplaces to sell your artwork, they don’t store your artwork; your artwork is instead stored on the blockchain (see ‣) through the process of minting. Currently, most NFTs are on the Ethereum blockchain. Minting your artwork as NFT does not require knowing a single line of code, and most marketplaces have a step-by-step guide on how to do so.
Since your artwork is stored on the blockchain, you are responsible for paying for the validation of that transaction. This payment is referred to as ‘gas fees’ and gas fees are paid in the blockchain’s native tokens (see What is gas?). For example, OpenSea uses the Ethereum Blockchain, which means you will need Ether (ETH) to pay for the gas fees. To pay for the gas fees, you will need a decentralized crypto wallet (see How to set up a Metamask wallet).
Decentralized crypto wallets are noncustodial, and are designed to hold crypto tokens in a secure and private space while serving as a single login for all decentralized applications (dApps). In simple terms, a centralized exchange (e.g. Coinbase, Binance, Blockfi) wallet is not a decentralized crypto wallet; if you have ever purchased cryptocurrencies before on a centralized exchange, you will not be able to use this wallet to pay for gas fees. Examples of decentralized wallets are MetaMask, Rainbow, Argent.
Your decentralized wallet must be able to support the token standards of the blockchain where you are minting your NFT. The easiest way to check the wallet supported is to click on the wallet icon usually located at the top right of the NFT platform page, the list of accepted wallets will appear.
Screenshot taken from OpenSea
The MetaMask wallet is arguably one of the most commonly accepted ones, so don't hesitate to refer to the article on How to set up a Metamask wallet for more details.
Once the wallet is set up, ensure that you have enough of the native tokens (e.g. ETH) to pay for the gas fees. If you’ve purchased the native tokens before from a centralized exchange (e.g. Coinbase, Binance, Blockfi) you can simply send the tokens over to your new decentralized wallet.
Guide: How to deposit tokens to your Metamask Wallet.
Otherwise, you can also buy these native tokens directly from your digital wallet with a credit card. However, note that this action will incur high fees.