How to Attach an NFT to Digital Art (7 Easy Steps)

The exciting wave of crypto-collectibles is upon us, and with it comes the task of turning your digital art into an NFT (non-fungible token), also known as minting. This article will walk you through the 7 simple steps to easily mint your artwork into a purchasable NFT.

To turn your digital art into an NFT, follow these steps:

Create Your Piece of Digital Art
Choose an NFT Market Place
Purchase Ethereum or Compatible Crypto on an Exchange
Set Up and Connect a Compatible CryptoWallet to the NFT Marketplace
Fund your Crypto Wallet with Crypto to Pay for Gas Fees (To Mint Your NFT)
Mint and List your NFT For Sale
List Your NFT for sale

This article will go through the steps necessary to turn a digital piece of art into an NFT and sell it on the NFT Marketplace.

1. Create Your Piece of Digital Art

You can create all sorts of different types of Digital Art that can be converted into NFTs. For example, when creating digital art that you want to mint into NFTs, the playing field is open as you can mint 3D images, full-blown digital paintings, animations, and even GIFs.

You can create NFTs by using software like:

Adobe Animate
Adobe Photoshop
Adobe Illustrator
Blender
Cinema 4D
Procreate
Just about any creative software program!

The image size is essential to keep in mind while creating digital art for an NFT. Each NFT marketplace has different requirements but this article lists and explains them in more detail: How Large Can an NFT Be? The Definitive Answer.

The following file types are generally accepted on most of the major NFT Marketplaces:

JPG
PNG
GIF
SVG
MP4
WEBM
MP3, or
WAV

The absolute most important part of designing an NFT is to make sure the art will be clear and legible when it’s on a small scale!

2. Choose an NFT Marketplace

Choosing a marketplace for your NFT is a critical decision. It’ll dictate how your NFT will be accepted and who can buy or sell it.

OpenSea, a popular marketplace, uses Ethereum, Polygon, and Klatyn, but there are multiple marketplaces out there that utilize other blockchain technology. NFT Marketplaces will change and add blockchains over time, and each blockchain has its own set of pros and cons.

Some marketplaces alternatives to OpenSea include:

3. Purchase Ethereum or Compatible Crypto on an Exchange

You will have to open up an account on a crypto exchange so that you can convert your dollars or euros (fiat currency) into crypto like Ethereum. It’s a straightforward process and can all be done online. Each exchange has its own set of pros and cons, like ease of use, transaction fees, type of coins traded, and security.

Here is a shortlist of the most heavily used exchanges that beginners can generally figure out how to use:

I personally use Coinbase the most just because when I first got into NFTs, I didn’t know much, and it was easy to use. I still use it today, but some of the other exchanges have fewer transaction fees.

Like all things online, be sure to use strong passwords and keep those passwords safe!

4. Set Up and Connect a Compatible CryptoWallet to the NFT Marketplace

A Crypto Wallet is where all the fun happens. With your crypto wallet, you can fund t he minting (creation) of your NFTs, store your NFTs, Buy, Sell, and Transfer NFTs, and of course, store crypto.

Each NFT marketplace has there own list of compatible crypto wallets, and each crypto wallet is compatible with certain blockchains.

However, most people using Ethereum will use one called MetaMask, which I’m using for this example.

MetaMask is a free, open-source crypto wallet that is compatible with almost any Ethereum-based platform. This will allow you to store any assets you create or buy, as well as connect to any platform built on top of the Ethereum blockchain.

If you’re choosing a marketplace that utilizes crypto other than Ethereum, you’ll need to choose another wallet.

Some additional Ethereum wallets that are generally accepted on large NFT platforms:

For the sake of simplicity, we’ll look at creating a MetaMask wallet to create an NFT on the Rarible marketplace, utilizing Ethereum

To create your MetaMask wallet with Rarible:

Choose “Get Started”
Click “Create Wallet” and “Agree”
Create a password and backup phrase
Confirm both
Add MetaMask to Chrome
Click the extension
Go to an NFT Marketplace
NFT Marketplace will ask you to connect through your browser

Let’s Talk About Hot vs. Cold Wallets

There are two main types of wallets you’ll encounter when reading about cryptocurrencies.

Hot wallets are connected to the internet, making them vulnerable to hackers. Hot wallets are ideal for desktop or mobile use, but some experts say you should avoid them if storing large amounts of crypto.

Cold wallets are not connected to the internet, which makes them difficult to hack. These wallets are extremely secure, but user access can be limited. Cold wallets are great for the long-term storage of funds.

Exchanges like Coinbase are hot wallets because they are used for exchanging currency into Ether and other coins. These companies generally don’t keep your coins in their own personal wallet but rather on the blockchain itself using a feature called smart contracts.

Cold wallets operate at a much lower risk of being compromised because these digital assets never touch the internet unless absolutely necessary.

This is good news because it means you can use a cold wallet to securely store your collected NFTs!

5. Fund your Crypto Wallet with Crypto

Now all you have to do is send your Ethereum (or other compatible crypto) to your wallet. Log into your crypto exchange, like Coinbase, and go to transfer. From transfer, it will ask for your crypto wallet address. It’s easy to copy and paste your wallet address to the exchange.

Be sure to double-check you are using the correct crypto wallet address as this action can not be undone.

As soon as your Ethereum (more appropriately called ETH) shows up in your wallet, you are now ready to attach your art and mint your NFT!

6. Mint Your Digital Art

The process of minting your NFT is what transforms your digital art into a part of the Ethereum blockchain – an unchangeable and tamper-proof public ledger.

To get started, go to the NFT marketplace’s home page and click the “Create” button in the usually in the upper right corner. You’ll be asked to upload a digital file and give your NFT a name after that.

Optional areas include a description of your work, an outside link to additional information (such as your website), and which blockchain to use (like Ethereum or the Ethereum-based marketplaces, like Rareible or Polygon on OpenSea).

When selling your NFT, you’re able to select your own price and how you want to sell it, like the type of auction, etc. You can also choose the amount of money you’ll get in royalties if your NFT is resold later on. A typical royalty payment is 5% to 10% of the secondary sales price. This article explains everything you need to know about royalties:

Do NFT Creators Get Royalties? 8 Things to Know

Now you can mint your NFT. This is where your NFT is created by miners on the blockchain. It cost money to mint NFTs, and the prices fluctuate on user demand. For instance, the busier the blockchain is, the more it will cost.

Generally speaking, if you are minting an NFT on Ethereum, you can expect to pay $75-200. (Plus, it takes a lot of energy to mint an NFT on Ethereum.) There are ways to mint NFTs for free or less, but that’s a whole other topic that I discuss in these articles:

7. List Your NFT For Sale

Now you get to list your NFT for sale. Each platform has its own set of ways you can sell your NFT with a simple set price, no reserve style auction, decreasing price auction or a general timed auction. These are the more popular time frames for timed auctions:

24 hours
72 hours
5 days
7 days

I go into way more detail with auctions and ways to sell NFTs here. Plus, you really need to know how to market your digital art NFT if you expect to sell it. That’s why I made this NFT specific marketing guide which has since gone viral:

How To Get Your NFT Art Noticed: Complete Guide

Conclusion

Creating NFTs for your digital art is a quick and easy way to jump into the NFT revolution. In just a few minutes, you can put your own unique stamp on an already beautiful piece of artwork that will now have the potential to be shared across thousands of people all over the world.

I myself am an NFT artist and believe NFTs are the future. That’s why I have created this space to help others get their NFT art into the world and potentially turn it into a career. If you are looking to feed your mind with more helpful info, then check out these popular articles:

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