1 Ink Skull on 4 Blockchains
Hello there :)
I'm Byron from Canada and I draw Zombies ... all the time. Usually with a black gel pen. I also draw skulls every single day, as well as cats, more zombies, zombie pickles, and anything else that comes to mind.
I've been a working artist now for almost 20 years, starting small and working my way along from being unknown to being less unknown. NFTs have really helped me carve out my own little niche and now, after over a year of being an NFT Crypto artist of sorts, it's time to experiment while also trying to make a few bucks.
In my last article I mentioned creating something called $.U.$.$. (SUSS - Silly Unique Sketchasfuck Smiles) - putting a series of art on 4 different blockchains. Well, like most of my ideas I have, I rush in and try to do it, adjusting things as I go along. This is one of those adjustments. I'm testing the waters and figuring out how to do the SUSS before I do the SUSS. Does that make sense? If not, let's just plow forward anyways.
Welcome to the Ink Skulls Collection
So the first thing I have done is ... I went to OpenSea and started a new collection https://opensea.io/collection/inkskulls
With OpenSea the emphasis is often 1 of 1s - people on OpenSea want to own something unique and original. People on all blockchains want unique and original, but even more so on ETH and OpenSea.
So - here's the 1 of 1 version of the first skull.
On OpenSea I am trying to sell the full unedited image. 3500px X 3500px in size.
I did the things, quickly adding it to the OpenSea marketplace for just 0.019 ETH or about $20
crazy huge link eh?
TBH - adding new artwork to OpenSea is super easy because it's very straight forward. There are some things that I don't understand or use yet, like unlockable content and the levels/stats stuff, and I know a lot of people do their own custom contracts with OpenSea, but I don't know how that stuff works yet. SO . . . I just keep it basic. :)
The only problem with OpenSea and most other ETH blockchain marketplaces is that once you make the NFT, there's not much more you can do. A person buys it, they own it, maybe you can figure out who bought it and give them a present or a free NFT, but even then there's going to be gas fees that someone has to pay for.
Ease of Use - great!!
Functionality after creation - not so great.
Next up is OBJKT and the TEZOS blockchain. Like ETH there is not a lot to do with the NFT after its has been created and bought. Maybe I haven't learned enough about Tezos yet and what can be done, so if I am missing out, please let me know.
I have only just started to use the OBJKT and Tezos chain and have already found some decent success. It does help that I have a decent following on Twitter that already had OBJKT accounts. But even if I didn't, I think the chain could be a decent place to sell NFTs.
OBJKT also likes 1 of 1's but they allow for editions as well, and there is none of that GAS FEE stuff.
To keep the image unique for the Tezos blockchain, I cut the skull out and put it in a circle.
I am going to list these on OBJKT for 1 TZ each, which is about a buck a pop, I think. The big plan is to try to make at least $20 off of each blockchain. Selling 1 item for $20 might be easier than selling 20 items for a buck. Right?
Setting up NFTs on the TEZOS blockchain with the OBJKT interface is pretty easy too. Getting started involved installing a new wallet, having a friend give me some TEZOS to get started, and then once I got the hang of things, it was easy peasy.
There are now 20 editions available
https://objkt.com/asset/KT1G5kazgDdZdHEkhFranNxozK3GZuCH2aLM/10
The biggest mental block for getting started selling NFTs on any blockchain is that it's new tech. Once you get your mind around it and figure it out, it's quite easy and straight forward.
So now I'm going over to EOS - EOS is a lot like the WAX blockchain for setting up an account and minting NFTs. The only thing with EOS though is the buyers market is still growing and marketing to EOS buyers is hard because EOS itself is mired in a bad history of shady developers that stole 4Billion dollars from investors. But it's making a come back and there are a lot of very positive people working behind the scenes to make EOS great again. That said, there isn't a lot you can do with EOS NFTs yet either. Some are stakeable in blockchain games like Wombat Dungeon Master, but for the most part EOS is still developing. A person could currently offer up preminted drops and packs on EOS thanks MikeD and the WAXDAO.io site he built. Eventually there will be blends and stuff to, so creators on EOS can offer up collecting activities for their collectors.
For the EOS NFT I took the highcollar skull and gave it an animated twitch.
I also inverted it for maximum effect :)
EOS collectors like low mints, or 1s of 1s, but they are also getting into the idea of larger mint runs. The nice thing about EOS and WAX is that you can put more images with it. So I always include a back image, to help advertise myself with branding. On top of that, EOS and WAX also let you set up drops. So you can list 1 item for sale, and when it sells the next one automatically lists itself until they're all sold out or, if you set up a time limit, the drop ends when it hits that limit. WAXDAO.io can help set up both EOS and WAX drops. You can find the EOS drop for this twitchy Skull here
https://eos.waxdao.io/drops/26
And NOW ... for WAX!!
WAX is by far my favourite blockchain to create NFTs and give them away, or sell them. The cost to make and send NFTs on the WAX blockchain are super duper low. And the tools that have been created give the NFT creators a tonne of options. You can sell single, you can sell multiples, you can sell entire collections as packs and let your collectors try to get the whole set. Set up rare NFTs, blend common ones to get something new, airdrop something to everyone that has collected your work with just the push of a few buttons.
WAX is the easiest NFT creating blockchain with ALL the utility you could ever want. It was where I started when I first really got into NFTs, and it's where I have the most fun. For the WAX NFT I am taking the High Collar Skull and just making it a simple sticker, which is just a transparent PNG really. But the real fun for the WAX blockchain is that people who buy this Skull can eventually trade it in for a full colour version. More on that later though. First off, lets just simply make a template for this image, get it minted and sell some NFTs
Since WAX is so cheap to buy and making NFTs on the WAX blockchain costs nearly nothing to the creators, I often price my series LOW. Not always, but often. I'm not chasing money, I'm not trying to get rich on just 1 image. I'm trying to make myself affordable at many different price points so that nearly anyone can afford to buy a little piece of my work. Unlike the other blockchains and the limited runs, I am going to try to sell 40 copies of this NFT and then offer up a few colour variants for people to blend into. Little things like that on the WAX blockchain make collecting so much more fun.
But for now, it's just the singular image. When I get the blends ready, I'll update this page or make a new post. But for now, I made the NFT template over at AtomicHub and I'm selling the NFT at waxdao.io
The very last thing I am going to try to do with this image is sell the original artwork. For just $75 you can own the original 4"x6" ink on paper artwork. When I ship out original artwork I also include prints and stuff, to help keep the art safe and as a way of saying thanks!
If you want to own the original, check it out in my ko-fi shop
https://ko-fi.com/s/62cfa61baa
Anyways - that's the GIST of what I'm going to try doing with this image and many more images after this one.
It's a bit of work, but worth it I think. The hardest part of it all is actually typing all this out to explain myself while I'm doing it. The next image should be a lot easier and faster too. When there's an update with the colour version, I'll either update this page or write a new article.
So whatchew think?
Looks great! I love your style :)