My First NFT Failed Miserably
Turns Out This Bandwagon Was Not My Thing
How I Minted My First and Last Non-Fungible Token
For a brief moment, our feeds were endlessly abuzz with chatter of all things blockchain.
Beeple had just sold his record-breaking digital artwork, the Meta-verse was gaining steam and the art world seemed infatuated with this new medium for digital collectibles. I figured, “Why not mint an NFT? I’ll give it a shot.”
To me it seemed at worst like buying a really expensive gas station lotto ticket.
And so I repurposed an old illustration, opened a CoinBase wallet, paid the “gas” fees for minting the NFT (Around $80 worth of Etherium), and got a fancy email informing me that my NFT had been “minted”. And then... nothing happened. No flurry of bids. No sudden infusion of digital currency in my crypto wallet. Crickets.
"The Dreamer" Available on Rarible
To this day, I have no idea what it means to have a piece of digital artwork irrevocably woven into the fabric of a digital blockchain, but I have learned that randomly casting an NFT out there into the digital universe is not necessarily a fast money-maker (maybe I should lower the price?).
Sketch for "The Dreamer"
In fact, minting NFTs is probably not a very worthwhile exercise for me at all.
It's really cool to see other artists succeed in this space. But unless it makes sense for the brand, the following, and the personality of the artist, this tool seems far less ubiquitous than other digital paraphernalia. It was fun to try it, and I may mint more NFTs in the future, but right now, I think I’ll stick to paper and pencil (err iPad and Apple pencil).
Sneak Peek of Next Month's Print Release
Sneak Peek of Next Month's Print Release
You might recognize this detail from one of my illustrations. I had the great pleasure of illustrating an iconic Idaho location for some very special clients in my home state. In honor of the upcoming summer season, I'll be releasing this unique piece of art in a limited edition print in May! Stay tuned for all the details in next month's newsletter.
Monthly Vibe
I have an unhealthy obsession with risographic texture in digital illustration. People pull it off in so many ways, but recently I've been enjoying the quiet subtleties and gentle animation of Daniel Stolle's work.
FURRY ASSISTANT
Roast Beef, the cat in jail (it's a long story that includes an unexpected trip to the pound, and nervous caretakers who almost had to sedate her). Never has a photo so accurately captured Roast Beef's personality.