Blockchain Platforms for Artists: What To Look For

Art is a strange profession. It could take years of living off of instant ramen until you’re discovered and can finally start making a good living off of your talents. Because of this, finding the correct marketplace to post and sell your art is incredibly important.

While traditional platforms like art galleries are a great place to find buyers that are already interested in art, they do little to get your name out to a wider audience. Similarly, while DeviantArt and similar communities have a lot of people on them, it’s unlikely someone looking to purchase art is going to run into your piece.

That’s why many artists opt for Blockchain and Metaverse platforms. These communities have a wide audience, while still consisting mainly of independent adults that have enough funds to purchase art pieces. Even game artists have this consideration, with NFT-based games like REALM having more users willing to spend money on art.

Today, we’ll be looking at different platforms where you can post and sell your art, as well as some key considerations for you to think about when selecting the right platform for yourself.

What To Look For In A Platform?

The Userbase

The first thing you’ll want to consider before putting your art up on any platform is its userbase. If you’re an artist producing avant-garde pieces with expensive materials, you’re unlikely to find your ideal customer on a website catered towards teens.

Before selecting a platform, look through its userbase statistics if they’re online. If not, look through the pieces posted there, the design, and the user comments to try and determine if your target audience is using it.

Can It Ensure The Security Of Your Art?

Now, one of the biggest differences between traditional online art platforms and ones based on the blockchain is the security provided to your art. When you post your art in a traditional setting, that art can easily be stolen, and it can be incredibly difficult to prove you’re the true owner, especially when it comes to digital art.

On the other hand, when you mint your art as an NFT, it’s incredibly easy to prove you’re the true owner, as each part of the minting process is embedded into the blockchain. Furthermore, many platforms ensure that all artists are verified, and that none of their pieces have already appeared on the internet.

Community Features

Part of the reason DeviantArt got so popular is its groups, comments, and other social features. When an art platform has social features, that lets people interact with each other and bond over the art. This in turn gives the viewer a more emotional connection to the art.

This is even more important for relatively interactable art. For example, being able to showcase your 3D renders moving in an online game makes people not only look at your art but also think about it when put into practice.

This means that platforms that provide a community experience are a much better place to display and sell your art.

Is The Platform Connected To A Place Where You Can Sell It?

If you’re selling your art, you’ll want your customers to be able to buy it as quickly as possible from the moment they see it. Sure, you’re able to put the link to your store page in the piece’s description, but the more clicks and platforms the customer has to click through, the less likely they are to buy.

Because of this, platforms that let you buy art without leaving it are more likely to make you money.

The Metaverse is a term thrown around often, however, what can’t be denied is how much VR and AR contribute to interactivity. If you’re a sculptor, potential buyers will be able to see your sculptures from all angles, if you’re a painter, they’ll be able to see how your painting looks inside a virtual home.

The ability to bring your art closer to people, let alone the sheer potential that lies within creating art in the Metaverse itself is a massive edge. By being able to let prospective buyers know exactly what it is they’re buying, and in a much more interactive way than traditional galleries, you make it much more likely they’ll be willing to pay the price.

The blockchain and NFTs open your art to a wider audience. Quality NFT artists are few and far in between, despite the market grossing over $40 billion in the last year. This lets you tap into a massive, well-populated marketplace. Furthermore, most marketplaces let you look at the art in the same place where it’s bought and sold, and the blockchain guarantees your art will never get stolen.

Finally, some projects like REALM combine the two. On REALM, you can showcase your NFT art in the metaverse, or even wear pieces of it on your character. You have much more freedom on what you do than through traditional platforms, and they’re already investing millions into the artists on the platform.

You have limitless creative freedom in what you can create, ranging from music and characters to entire game worlds. All of them can be sold through a few clicks, and you’re becoming part of a large, invested community who have already shown their willingness to buy high-quality art.

All in all, the blockchain and the Metaverse are extremely promising spaces for budding artists to jumpstart their career, and for existing professionals to expand their horizons.