While researching this post, I read and watched countless articles, how-to guides and videos explaining what a non-fungible token (NFT) is and how it works. For those not in the know, The Verge describes an NFT this way:

“Non-fungible” more or less means that it’s unique and can’t be replaced with something else. For example, a bitcoin is fungible—trade one for another bitcoin, and you’ll have exactly the same thing. A one-of-a-kind trading card, however, is non-fungible. If you traded it for a different card, you’d have something completely different…NFTs can really be anything digital (such as drawings, music, your brain downloaded and turned into an AI), but a lot of the current excitement is around using the tech to sell digital art.

Bottom line, NFTs are unique digital items with blockchain-managed ownership. Examples include collectibles, game items, digital art, event tickets, domain names and even ownership records for physical assets.

As I dug deeper and continued to discover new information and nuances, I came to the conclusion that there is no way that I could do the topic justice. Instead, this is the story of my personally confusing, sometimes frustrating, ultimately rewarding trip on the blockchain art train. (And I’ll give you some interesting and informative links below.)

Having seen the news of an NFT selling at Christie’s for $69 million I had to look further. But reading wasn’t making it clear enough. I had to experience the process.

Step one: Try to open an account on opensea.io. Step one is also Hurdle one. You can’t register an account without a digital wallet and some Ethereum cryptocurrency. I knew what these were, but I had neither.

Having seen the news of an NFT selling at Christie’s for $69 million I had to look further. But reading wasn’t making it clear enough. I had to experience the process.

Step two: Choose a digital wallet. This required some research but I ultimately chose a wallet in which to stash my Ether (aka ETH, the Ethereum currency). The wallet I chose allows me to purchase ETH with a bank card, meaning that the cost of writing this article immediately went up quite a bit. Finally. Ready to get going.

Step three: Actually open an account on opensea.io. Did it!

Step four: Mint my first NFT. Fortunately, I have a ton of digital art, so this wasn’t a problem. I uploaded a piece of work, created a collection in which it would be housed, and then “minted” it by adding it to the blockchain, a specific type of database that holds transactional and other data. In the simplest terms, records (known as blocks) are held together in chains, so each new transaction becomes part of the chain.

Step five: Let’s sell this thing. Opensea has three ways to sell your work. You can set at a fixed or declining price, auction to the highest bidder, or bundle items together. I chose the Highest Bid option annnnnnd…nothing. Turns out, this isn’t a “Field of Dreams” moment. I built it but no one came.

Step six: Learn how to promote myself. I started researching best practices for marketing and selling NFTs and several articles later I knew what I needed to do. Experts say the NFT community is the best way to get your name out there, so I joined several discord channels and opened Twitter, Instagram and Medium accounts with my Opensea handle.

Step seven: Create a website. The next recommendation I took to heart was to create a dedicated website that tells the larger story about my projects and work. Of course, being a web developer, I already have several websites going—but this had to be entirely about my NFT project. So I purchased a domain, chose a host and started building my NFT showcase website.

Step eight: Add a virtual spin. Being a VR enthusiast and developer, I thought I would add a virtual gallery for viewing my NFT art. As I continued building, I kept researching the NFT world and its possibilities. Turns out, there are some virtual marketplaces for selling art. Cryptovoxels and Decentraland, for example, allow you to view art in 3D through your browser, and Somnium Space can be accessed using a VR headset. Not only can you display and sell your NFTs in these virtual worlds, you actually purchase land and design your own environments. Everything, including your art, your land and any objects you use to populate your space, can be sold or traded as NFTs.

Step nine: Buy land on Somnium Space. In order to start building or displaying NFTs, I needed to purchase some land. As of this writing, I’m still waiting for one of my bids to win at auction. I’m hopeful that only one will go through, or this project is going to get even more expensive.

Step ten: Keep learning. I will continue exploring, designing and building the various components associated with taking my art into the NFT space. I didn’t share links to my NFTs or my website yet because I am far from finished. However, if you want to start on your own journey, please enjoy the selection of articles below that I found especially helpful.

An interesting read about the early formation of what eventually lays the groundwork for today’s NFTs: NFTs Weren’t Supposed to End Like This, via The Atlantic.

Opensea is the largest marketplace for NFTs, so of course they have written The Non-Fungible Token Bible: Everything You Need to Know About NFTs.

In case you are interested in taking the journey yourself: Top NFT Marketplaces for Creators to Sell Non-Fungible Tokens.

Finally, an interesting read on the effect NFTs and blockchains have had on the climate: NFTs Are Hot. So Is Their Effect on the Earth’s Climate.