Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) are a hot topic in the world of creators these days.
NFT is a cryptographic record of ownership for a unique item that is encoded into a blockchain.
The interest in the art world is supported by the fact that NFTs are certificates of authenticity, that cannot be hacked. Opposite to a traditional purchase document you get after purchasing an artwork, NFTs come in the form of a unique encryption code powered through blockchain technology. Thus, digital buyers and sellers can be clearly identified, and all transactions securely tracked, fraud is virtually impossible. Buying an Art NFT is buying an ownership document and not the artwork itself, but a digital copy of the artwork, The artist can keep the copyright and reproduction rights, just like with physical artwork. So it is like buying a poster of a famous picture.
NFT artworks are mainly multimedia solutions
Many works are an interesting mix of digital, classical, and video art. As more than one person can buy the limited digital edition, it becomes on one hand more affordable, on the other maybe a good investment as the artwork is limited in copies. The style of those artworks is very broad, so everyone can find a favorite piece, but one has to be careful.
Not all that shines is valuable, but some rare NFTs are worth keeping
For some time, it was a question if NFTs will find the right niche in art sales, but people spent more than $300 million in the first two months of 2021 alone. And then Beeple the number one NFT artist shocked the art world with a $69 million sale in March. A rare Pepe NFT, “Homer Pepe” (a morph between Homer Simpson and Pepe, the Frog), was sold for $320,000.
Trying to navigate fans lists of top NFT players
Many lists have been created so far, based mainly on sales data. Having reliable data about art sales is almost impossible, as not all sales can be tracked. In NFT art marketplaces though supply and demand are very visible, so data is easier to be captured.
Analyzing 6 marketplaces sales increased significantly from July 2020 from 1MUSD to 200MUSD only by March 2021. By year-end, this would become a huge market, where many collectors can participate, as buying one NFT is not so expensive.
Influencer Marketing Hub published in April 2021 the Top 10 Best NFT Selling artist
We have added to that more names, which are on the art market radar. The collection shows an interesting combination of artists with very different backgrounds and experiences. So in fact anyone can make the step and try to move in this direction. Many courses are available online. We will soon follow up on this topic as well.
Mike Winkelmann is a graphic designer from Charleston, SC, USA, who does a variety of digital artwork, including short films, Creative Commons VJ loops, Everydays, and VR / AR work. He has worked on concert visuals for Justin Bieber, One Direction, Katy Perry, Nicki Minaj, Eminem, Zedd, deadmau5, and many more.
With close to 7K followers at IG Trevor Jones explores new technology, including AR, NFC tags, video production, and animation usage to generate a new viewer experience.
HINSA’s favorite is the Picasso Bull, coming on auction these days:
3. FEWOCiOUS
Aka Victoria L, is an 18-year-old crypto pop art, showing that age and gender do not matter in the digital art world. Fewocious is also leading an NFT Renaissance and has more than 50,000 followers across Twitter and Instagram.
4. Pak
No one really knows, who is behind this artistic name. Nevertheless, his/hers/its /theirs Twitter account is having 2 Million followers. Pak recently placed an artwork, The Gift, on marketplace Nifty Gateway for any willing auction house. Finally, Sotheby’s took the chance to auction it. The Gift is part of Pak’s Explore Collection. Each digital artwork in that collection shows an ideal cubic image, but each has a separate title. As a whole, Pak called the collection, The Title.
Pak has sold more than 1,691 artworks for over $16 million. Apparently, Elon Musk bought the Unsold for $1,000,000, but in reality, The Unsold remained unsold. Pak’s most successful sale, however, was of Metarift for $974,982.87 in March 2021.
5. Maddogjones (Michah Dowbak)
The Canadian-born artist, Mad Dog Jones, is known for weaving music and art together. His works are surreal and dynamic, allowing him to sell 1,567 NFT crypto arts that average $9,063 per piece.
6. Hackatao
The duo artists’ pseudonym Hackatao is derived from two terms. First, the term “hack” means the pleasure of crawling under the skin and discovering what’s inside, while the second term “Tao” is for Yin Yang. Hence, Hackatao focuses on exploring issues of environment, humanity, society, and crypto.
7. Xcopy
Xcopy is a London-based digital artist who explored death, dystopia, and apathy in his art pieces. His works feature flashing imagery warnings and distorted visual loops.
Slimesunday is a digital collage artist based out of Salem, MA. He pushes the limits. While often having his work banned from social platforms for violating their terms and conditions, he ironically has amassed a large social following base of over 0,5M people.
Justine Blau is a DJ and fintech fanatic who goes by the name 3LAU and has been releasing EDM since 2011. Besides his music focus, the artist became fascinated by crypto and blockchain early enough to begin releasing NFT music. He has sold over 6,090 works averaging at $1,505 per piece.
SSX3LAU
SSX3LAU is the collaboration name for 3LAU and SlimeSunday’s long-time partnership. The duo produced 5,740 artworks averaging at $1,428 each. Their highest-selling piece is “Gunky’s Uprising.”
10. Grimes
Grimes, who was born Claire Boucher collaborated with her brother Mac Boucher in creating many of her works. Grimes was already a critically-acclaimed alt-pop star before entering the NFT space. She is combining gamer fantasy, anime and manga, science fiction, apocalyptic omens, and anachronistic fashion among other genres. She sold about 1,122 artworks at $7,983 each.
13 further names to follow:
She is an NFT self-proclaimed “3D artist with surreal futuristic aesthetics,” bringing a new twist to crypto art.
He is a virtual reality painter and sculptor focused on integrating 3D sculpting to create digital worlds through repeated layering and depth experimentation. He also doubles as Art and Experience Director for serial projects and has recently exhibited his works in Miami, Shanghai, and Melbourne.
He is an experienced artist helping to draw the first Wonder Woman comic books back in the 1970s and 1980s, as well as being helping hand on the Transformers and Superman/Batman series. Nowadays, the 87-year-old is making his millions selling Wonder Woman-themed NFTs to collectors hoping that digital Marvel-inspired art will soon replace the lucrative value of the old-school paper collectibles.
A 3D artist selling animated characters and figurines as NFTs. With his pieces doubling in value immediately after being sold and re-listed, there’s no doubt that this digital artist is on track to make a name for himself in the NFT world.
Greg Mike was first exposed to the creative potential of recreating public spaces through design and art by childhood trips to New York City back in the mid-80s. Further inspired by his involvement with the skate culture, he has also become known for pieces incorporating vivid explosions of incandescent shades filtered through Surrealist Pop Art perspectives.
Is a creative who’s managed to catch the attention of some major cinema and production studios through his fan art media and comic art-inspired creations. Some of Bosslogic’s earlier series was so successful that he’s frequently commissioned by Marvel and DC Comics to collaborate. In fact, you may have already come across some of the artist’s work as seen in ‘The Mandalorian’, the hugely popular live-action series in the Star Worlds franchisee.
Is an anonymous and street artist. He topped the charts by turning his Vandal Gummy Bear “Exhibit” into NFT. In his 30-second video, a skeleton gummy bear is juxtaposed with a prison mugshot background—earning $250,000. WhIsBe has sold already 1,650 pieces at $4,507 per piece.
RTFKT Studios became a creator of digital artifacts and sneakers (digital skins worn by digital characters in a metaverse). Sneakers are the studios’ primary focus and they’ve sold 916 NFTs at $6,215 each already.
The Germany-based art director and 3D illustrator Tudisco joined the NFT force. He used to work with Puma, Versace, and Apple and his pieces mostly feature fashion design elements. Due to his amazing ideas and wonderful works, Tudisco has sold 1,229 at $3,783 per piece.
The artist’s highest-gross piece “Hairy” is a product of his collaboration with Steve Aoki. He created the visuals for Aoki’s audio and sold it for $888,888 to former T-Mobile CEO John Legere.
A musical artist commenced his NFT engagement through a collaborative work with Antoni Tudisco called the “Dream Catcher.” His bright colors and electro beat collaborations helped him sell 1,216 pieces at $3,695 each.
Another highest-selling work of Aoki is the one he made with Tudisco—” Hairy.” It’s a 36-second video of a blue, pink, and purple hairy face shaking to the beat of electronic sounds.
A famous DJ and producer from Canada who has sold 752 pieces at $5,605. His highest-recorded sale was $138,647 for “In Titan’s Light.” The artwork is a product of his audio-visual collaboration with Sutu. What makes the piece unique and beautiful? It takes place on the Titan moon at a space station.
The basketball player turned into an artist and has sold over 1,534 at $2,376 per piece. His highest recorded sale at $400,762 is “The Vault.” This piece shows a sculpture of Aku (Moon god) locked in a tangible vault at the Art Angels Gallery. He collaborates with others like Mike Czszur or Dansby Swanson.
This is an Ethereum-based virtual art gallery boasting artworks from many different NFT artists, including 70 European creators. How the platform works is quite impressive. Better yet, the platform currently boasts a collection of 16,384 unique digital portraits.