How to create an NFT for free

Put simply, non-fungible tokens (NFTs) are crypto asset chits that confer “ownership” of a piece of digital art or music on the buyer. NFTs come with unique identification codes, which get recorded on a blockchain. You must have heard that you need to pay a gas fee to create an NFT on an NFT marketplace. What if I tell you that you can create NFTs for free, with no gas fee or other costs? Yes, it is possible, and this blog will help you learn how to create an NFT for free. Let’s dig in.

Understanding the NFT market

Before you take the plunge, you should know about the NFT ecosystem and how it works.

Not all NFTs in the market are bought and sold at a sky-high price. It all depends on the community following, the accompanying benefits, and the uniqueness of the NFT.

For instance, a holder of BAYC NFT—the most popular NFT series in the market—gets to enjoy the social status associated with the project and exclusive BAYC merchandise and also joins the ranks of famous celebrities.

And while creating an NFT, you need to ensure that it is unique and doesn’t violate the intellectual property rights, copyright, or trademark of another person/party.

Creating an NFT

In the traditional way of creating an NFT, the artist needs to mint it on the blockchain first by paying a gas fee or transaction fee and then listing it on an NFT marketplace like OpenSea and Rarible to sell it.

The whole process can cost a few bucks (depending on the gas fee), and you need to price the NFT higher than the gas fee paid to recover the cost and profit from it. In the next segment, we will discuss how to create NFTs for free.

Steps Involved in Creating An NFT For Free

The entire process of creating an NFT for free is similar to minting an NFT the traditional way. Here’s a list of the steps involved.

• Setting up a crypto wallet account

You need to have a crypto wallet account to mint an NFT. You can either create a crypto wallet account on Metamask or any other crypto wallet that supports Ethereum and other smart contracts platforms.

If you have doubts about the safety of the Metamask crypto wallet, read our blog post on the Metamask Wallet topic.

While minting the NFT, you need to link your crypto wallet with the NFT marketplace. Note that the wallet can be completely empty, which means you need not own any crypto assets to set up a wallet.

• Create an account on an NFT marketplace

The next step entails creating an account on an NFT marketplace where you want to mint, list, and sell your NFT.

Once you have created the account, you need to link your crypto wallet with the NFT marketplace by following the instructions. Linking is important as it enables NFTs to appear in your wallet and facilitates the transaction.

To increase the chances of selling your NFT, you need to personalize your NFT marketplace account, connect your account with socials to improve credibility, showcase your previous artworks, and add more details to your account.

• Design or record something

After you complete the steps detailed above, you need to design, paint, or create any artwork in the digital format, or you can even record your musical compositions or voice recordings. Ensure that it should be in a commonly used digital format and can be opened on any device.

Did you know Amitabh Bachchan’s Madhushala NFT, which is an exclusive rendition of Harivansh Rai Bachchan’s refined poetry in Amitabh’s own voice, sold for a cool $756,000?

• Upload your artwork

Once you have saved your artwork, you need to upload it to the NFT marketplace and create an NFT for free. Refer to the user guide on the NFT marketplace to mint and upload an NFT for free.

While minting, you need to choose the blockchain where you want to store your NFT. Select the blockchain carefully, as each blockchain has a different gas fee. For instance, OpenSea supports Ethereum, Polygon, Solana, Arbitrum, and Avalanche.

The next step is to decide the value and type of the NFT you want to create. For example, choose the single option to create a unique NFT or multiple option to create a series of NFTs as a collection. Then add the name and description, and set the NFT price. Choose the free minting option and proceed.

For instance, to mint free NFTs on OpenSea, choose Polygon blockchain. If you’re going for Rarible, select the “lazing minting” feature.

In Rarible, you can create NFTs for free, and the NFT marketplace will store the data securely in a decentralized manner. Once the purchase happens, the marketplace will mint the NFT and then transfer the NFT to the new owner. The funds, minus the gas fee, will be credited to your wallet. If you want to burn the free NFT, you need to pay the gas fee as with the regular NFT.

What are The Challenges in Creating NFTs for free?

The key challenge to creating NFTs for free is to ensure that the NFT artwork doesn’t violate intellectual property rights, copyrights, or trademarks.

The next hurdle is to sell your NFT. Buyers usually look for NFTs that are unique, preferably from a well-known creator in the field of art. A premium NFT will always grab attention compared to an NFT from lesser-known artists.

Last of all, NFT artists tend to fall for fraud. NFTs are one of the most ethical ways to sell your artwork without risking being copied. Yet, instances of third-party intermediaries offering to sell NFTs and not pay back the artists are commonplace. Therefore, you should be careful when someone offers to sell your NFTs and share the profits.

Conclusion

Minting or creating an NFT for free is a hassle-free process. You need to ensure that you pick the right NFT marketplace and blockchain. Follow the user guide and adhere to safety guidelines like not sharing the crypto wallet’s seed phrase or private keys while uploading the NFT or adding the product description. Finally, study the market to understand how popular NFTs have fared to maximize the chances of selling the NFT.

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