DeviantArt is perhaps the largest online art gallery and community with over 350 million pieces of art in its database and over 30 million registered members. Founded in 2000, the platform gives artists complete control over how to promote, sell, and distribute their work.
In theory, it’s a great platform, giving artists exposure and direct access to art lovers. But with a simple right-click it’s easy to steal the art and use it for nefarious purposes. With one simple click, the problem of digital art is exposed. The platform relies on buyers to be honest and not steal the digital art.
Back in 2000, at the beginning of the tech revolution (for context the ipod was still a year away from being released) DeviantArt was a great way for artists to utilize social media and leverage the internet to make some money and to market themselves.
But fast forward twenty years later and Artists need a better way to keep control over their creative work, one that isn’t so easily copied, and the answers come in the form of blockchain technology and NFTs as a way to track and control purchases.
What Do NFTs Have to Do with Art?
There is no doubt that NFTs will be part of a digital revolution that will democratize art and give artists complete freedom to make money without relying on physical platforms (like art galleries) or digital ones (like DeviantArt). As NFTs grow in popularity, it opens up a whole new market for previously struggling arts to make a living.
However, to most people, the NFT scene may seem a little strange and is leaving a lot of artists skeptical. As a whole, many people in the traditional art market remain doubtful about the value of crypto art and simply see it as a fad that will fade away like many others. They point to the fact only about 1% of art is sold through NFTs. The rest? Through the old-fashioned way of auctions and art galleries.
But artists are taking a closer look at blockchain technology now that massive amounts of money are exchanging hands using NFTs and they are seeing a huge opportunity that didn’t exist 5 years ago.
How Much are NFTs Worth?
This is an incredibly complex question to answer.
How much is any artwork worth? How do you tell the value of a Jackosn Pollak or an Andy Warhol? The simple answer is however much a person is willing to pay it. One man’s treasure is another’s trash and that’s what makes the space so exciting.
Scarcity certainly plays a factor in determining how much NFTs are worth. The unique code each NFT has makes them desirable and rae which obviously drives the price upward, but again it’s oversimplifying the NFT space and what they are all about.
There are those who say that NFTs aren’t real – that they are just ‘1’s and ‘0’s – but those people are missing the point entirely. The world is becoming more digital, moving into a space where more of what we do– play, work, and shop is online. This trend is going to continue and NFTs are going to be a major component of this world so NFTS as a whole will continue to be extremely important and valuable.
At the moment NFTs are the modern equivalent of a gold rush with everybody trying to snatch up any projects they can at astronomical prices. Will some of these projects crash? Most likely but also some of them will continue to increase in value.
How To Make Money With NFTs
Everyone can tokenize their work and sell it online. However, the basic principles to determine whether your artwork is worth anything hasn’t changed for thousands of years and isn’t about to just because of NFTs. You still need two things: talent and popularity.
The usual path to success in the art world typically involves years of studying at art school, getting an undergrad or a master's degree, or studying under a skilled artist. Then the artist signs up with an art gallery that helps nurture their career and draws the eyes of collectors.
Of course, the NFT approach shakes up this model, cutting out the middlemen. The backlash against NFTs stems from a lack of understanding of the technology and art critics and galleries not having a place in the new world order. The powers-that-be in the art world get upset when an unknown artist seemingly comes from nowhere and is paid millions of dollars for their art, as in the case of Mike Winelmann.
Final Thoughts
In 2007, just in time for Christmas, the first Kindle e-reader was released. It was sold for what now seems like an astronomical price of $400, but back then, it was revolutionary. The first Kindle sold out within 5 hours of it going on sale. The Kindle sold digital copies of books directly to consumers, cutting out the publishers. Now it seems so self-evident that we can buy a digital copy of a book for around $15, but back then (not that long ago) it seemed crazy to think that a digital copy would be worth anything.
Now with NFTs, we are going through a similar revolution with the art world. Kindle has already proven that digital copies are worth money. Now NFTs are taking it to the next evolutionary stage.
NFTs have already impacted the art world. With the historic sale of “Everyday”, it is just the beginning of how NFTS can radically change how we see all types of creative digital products – from videos, illustrations, music, and photographs.
