NFTs can make the art industry more inclusive and less reliant on the gallery system. In Web3 there are no middlemen between artist and collector, so most of the money from selling artworks goes to the creator not to the art dealer or gallery. Also only NFTs allow creators to get royalties from secondary sales.
Glam Beckett - an artist behind Sad Girls Bar NFT project shares her experience of incorporating NFTs into her art. Before NFTs, as many other digital artists, Glam had to build a large following on social media, sell art prints and merchandise, take art commissions and freelance work. But she couldn’t monetize her digital art directly. And NFTs give this opportunity, as well as financial and creative freedom. So artists can receive all the power to work and create as they wish, and define the future for themselves.
How have NFTs shifted your creative process as an artist?
- My creative process is still the same. It’s actually quite chaotic, I don’t make any plans, special preparations or rough sketches. Sometimes I use mood boards and search for references. But overall I just create everything kinda spontaneously, especially when I feel inspired. And the most important thing for me is to express my feelings and my own artistic vision.
For the Sad Girls Bar my usual creative process was a little different compared to making illustrations. SGB collection – is a generative art involving some coding. All the traits need to be drawn on separate layers – body, eyes, lips, hair, clothing, accessories, etc. Then program code randomly combines all the layers together. So I had to draw every detail separately and then make sure all the traits would look perfect together. Also there were some exclusions – for example balaclavas can’t combine with face masks or glasses. And we had to add these exclusions to the program code. After the final collection was generated we checked all the 10k NFTs several times to see if the traits combined correctly or something didn’t look right.
Why do you think initially there was a fair amount of resistance against NFTs? Was it just a case of people misunderstanding the possibilities that NFTs offered?
- I think these people don’t fully understand what NFT really is. Though it’s ok to be suspicious about something completely new, it’s also important to do your own research and check all the biases. Some people just make assumptions about NFTs out of nowhere. For many of them it’s enough to right click & save the image to feel that you own it. But in reality owning NFT is so much more than that. It’s an investment, a unique artwork, a digital identity, a pass to community and many digital and IRL rewards. Also people in Web3 are actively using NFTs for good causes. After Sad Girls Bar sold out we donated 10 ETH to charity fund ’Women Side by Side’ to help women and girls at risk. And after our Sad Cats sold out we donated 5ETH to ‘Forgotten Animals’.
How have NFTs changed the overall experience of art with additional ‘perks’ that are attached to NFT purchases?
- Collecting has always been an involvement in art. NFTs became a whole new experience for art collectors as they are getting more interested in being part of the creators journey in Web3. It’s really rewarding for collectors to hold their NFTs for a long time, to be active and help build the community, to promote the project / creator. They actually get a chance to connect closely with the creators, to text or to talk to them, to see who are these people behind the art, who are they supporting. Buying into art and into a community that you believe in – always worth it.
The artist and community define the value of any NFT – whatever it’s a generative pfp collection, 1/1 art, photography, music, memes or anything else. Anything can be NFT, anything can be art. Collectors buy art that they love or when they feel an emotional connection with it, or when they want to support a certain creator, or when they see that price may rise in the future and want to make an investment.
Generally speaking, is the future bright for artists creating NFTs?
- I really hope so, now it’s the digital Renaissance after all. NFTs can authenticate and preserve art, give artists financial and creative freedom, provide them with royalties, make the art industry more inclusive and rewarding for creators. Besides financial profits, artists can also build a strong and supportive community around their art, create their own outstanding brand, get a chance to collaborate with other great artists and find new ways to express themselves.
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