The previous tips for artists was early on and many things have changed since then. Recent boom in popularity of NFTs has brought so many artists into the sphere it’s really hard for them to navigate these murky waters, hoping that these tips can function as a basic compass for them.
As cryptoart is global the artists attracted to it are from all parts of the world, a very interesting dynamic. Different social structures, standard of life, currency value, political systems etc etc
It is ideal and it creates success stories, more often than not, when the artist uses these dynamics to their favor.
For an artist it's easy to develop a survivor bias within this space, we only focus on high value sales and crypto artists making tons of ETH on their pieces. This in turn, makes one price their works at ranges which is detrimental to their own sales. When you are a new artist without an already developed social following pricing your artwork too high can be an immediate turn off for collectors. Start with nominal pricing and let early collectors benefit from their bet on you as your social following and thereafter prices increase. Play the market, don't let the market play you!
More art does not mean more sales, art as much as you can, but be selective in your mints. Let the market demand-dictate how many you mint not how much art you churn. Take your time and release with prudence. The NFT space is here to stay, don't rush and let patience be your virtue.
It is easy and understandable for an artist to come across the medium of cryptoart and have an immediate opportunistic approach towards it. By no means this is a shot at artists, but that seems to be the main initial approach(and quite understandably so tbf, magic internet monies for jpg or gif). In the process some fall in love with it and understand it better, some keep doing what they are doing.
So when artists first come in contact with cryptoart the advice is to treat it like you would with any other new artform. Got to take time to study some fundamentals and understand basic concepts. Once the basics are learned then can move onto more complex stuff, but once the foundations are solid then there is no more this feeling of confusion, instead there is a certain confidence in actions that draw their power from the strong knowledge and future goals.
Take time to understand Ethereum. Your art is not simply the image that a token points to, it's much more. In order to fully realise your artistic potential in this space it is paramount to understand the medium you're using. If you are an artist that is technically inclined and understands code , learn. If you combine code and art you become an unstoppable force. If you are not then understand conceptually about the token standards and how you can make your NFT robust. Every step forward is a giant leap for your clout. USE IT!
There is an extreme plethora in the type of artists. As we are transitioning (slowly) to a task based economy from a job based economy, where each person is their own brand and big brands are DAOs, we come across highly skilled artists who have been corporate all their life and have no body of work to show for their personal art. Or another type are artists that have been creating art all their life but non digital.
The approach to cryptoart must be methodical and try to learn and relearn maybe some ideas and previous knowledge.
That being said, the importance of concepts and narratives in art is paramount. This is such a complex and deep topic that a separate in depth article about it is coming. A good way to start understanding concepts in art is of course looking at the extreme application of concept in arts, the ‘’ Conceptual Art’’ genre. By looking at some great conceptual art pieces an artist's mind can begin fine tuning towards understanding concepts deeper and deeper, even in their own work, and can lead to better concepts as long as it is being actively trained upon. The concept in your art can be from a collection, up to the whole identity of who you are and what your art represents. Then we have the narrative part, which if mastered and done elegantly leads to the most extreme results.
Art is very similar to sports, in a sense that hard work always pays off, and also hard work beats talent 100% of the time. The artist of today has to train like an athlete and perform well on matchdays (drops), applying these schedules and routines on your craft can boost the results significantly. So it is a competitive sport, it just depends on what level of competition you are comfortable with.
Consistency is also an important element that shouldn't be overlooked. But that is easily understandable why and how it affects everything. An inconsistent artist will be twice as hard to establish themselves just by that flaw in their game.
Marketing and promotional efforts must have an elegance and present value, try to avoid giving out your art for free, or soliciting people on DMs to buy it, it has the opposite result. Instead try to use everything in your disposal that mentioned above, so when the potential buyer spends 5s to look at your stuff, they are drawn into and this way you are capturing attention the right way.
On the art platform subject, choose the platforms that serve your concept and narrative. So it all comes back to fundamentals, as mentioned above the choices are easier the more developed your art idea is. If all platforms are suitable, use them all. It is all about the artist's benefit and what they can make from it. Art platform do not necessarily add value to your art or deserve any loyalty, they have their business model which is working well for them.
So to summarize my chaotic thoughts as i am drinking my coffee and writing this article:
->Â Education and Solid Fundamentals
->Â Concept and Narrative
->Â Strong Tokenomics
->Â Marketing and Price Tactics
->Â Use Everything to Your Benefit
->Â Enjoy the Fucking Ride
Artists same as all of us are on a constant journey to find ourselves.