Non-Fungible Tokens, or NFT, are a hot topic these days that’s riding on the trend of blockchains and finding itself in several digital mediums like apps, games, and even dinosaur fossils. But what is it, why is it making waves, and is there an app for making one? We found out about “Draw Your NFT” and want to share the tool with you today. But first things first.
What are NFTs?
As an attempt to explain what they are, NFTs are non-tradable digital content that’s part of a blockchain which also acts as something like a digital certificate of authenticity. Much like how certification is issued for valued items such as antiques, these digital tokens provide the same result wherein a creator can put in their names to their work and sell it for a price.
NFTs are used to store technically any digital item, such as video clips or articles, and are certified as one-of-a-kind files. Digital files can now be “owned” in a way that was before impossible and people can build up an NFT collection. While people can definitely own these things, they aren’t tangible things; however, these can be bought, collected, sold, and destroyed. They have a clear transaction and pricing history that can be seen by anybody with an internet connection, thanks to the blockchain.
Insider NFT Trading Is a Thing Now https://t.co/Cfs5lYDrwe pic.twitter.com/lSa5CNejHc
— Gizmodo (@Gizmodo) September 15, 2021
Creating NFTs
To have a digital item “certified,” the NFT artwork will need to be “minted.” Minting is the act of generating a new token on the blockchain that is permanently linked to a piece of content that you’ve created. Every time a new NFT is created by an artist, they include a commission (typically 10% to 30%) that they will receive whenever that work is resold.
The main reason why NFTs are on the rise is that it opens up an avenue for digital creators to gain ownership and protect their content. It also enables them to sell or rent their artwork.
So we have a lot of digital art that can be sold as NFT art. But do we “own” these digital objects? You own something if you own it digitally and no one else does. But if digital ownership is more like physical ownership (the freedom to own and transfer indefinitely), this isn’t necessarily the case. You own these assets in specific situations, which makes shifting them around difficult. Try selling a Fortnite skin on eBay, and you’ll see how tough it is to transfer digital assets.
How to create an NFT — and why you may not want to https://t.co/eZgw0dyFsm pic.twitter.com/kdIS0B8sdR
— The Verge (@verge) December 8, 2021
Apart from that, minting NFTs don’t come in cheap, which can cost up to $1,000. The process itself isn’t also environmentally friendly. You may think that digital work means fewer resources are used, but in fact, a lot of energy is being used up for creating NFTs. It’s also no surprise that some are not happy with it, too.
Making your own
With all that information in mind, hopefully, that explains why a lot of people are riding that NFT train to make their own digital content. One platform that allows you to do that is Draw Your NFT, created by the co-founder of Basch.io, Viraj Chhajed.
All you need to do is draw on the canvas on the website and, once you’re done with it, press “Mint Your NFT.” It’s all pretty straightforward, but don’t expect to be able to draw a masterpiece with it since you can’t change the color or the size of the brush, so don’t take it too seriously.
At the moment, the NFTs are being minted on $MATIC; there are also a total of 24 drawings so far. It seems like it can take up to 999 drawings, so there’s still more time to draw whatever you want and mint it.
YouTube: Draw Your NFT – Demo (Ando Woods)
Photo credit: The feature image is symbolic and has been taken by Svitlana.
