What Are Generative Art NFTs?
Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) experienced a market boom in 2020 and are still loved by many. But now, artists focus on creating art that is more in likeness to the digital world, such as complex VR art experiences and other artworks that blockchain metadata could computationally describe.
A revolutionary sub-sector has emerged from this, known as generative art, from which has stemmed generative art NFTs.
Generative art generally refers to art created using software. The artist creates a set of instructions for the computer to follow. These instructions include simple and complex mathematical algorithms, random processes, data-driven inputs, or text. As such, a machine produces colors, shapes, and patterns and organizes them into aesthetically pleasing digital art, creating what we know as generative art.
More recently, AI-powered art, generated fromdifferent AI art prompts, has started grabbing the attention of NFT collectors and art enthusiasts, which could boost the generative art market as well.
Generative art can take many forms, including images, music, and physical pieces. Some artists work exclusively with code and software, while others blend traditional art techniques into the mix.
Another novel aspect of generative art is its ability to create original pieces, each individually unique and non-replicable. Even if two artists start with the same instructions, their final output will differ. This means there are infinite possible outcomes per instruction, making generative art such a dynamic and constantly evolving field.
Generative Art NFTs are created with a smart contract and stored on-chain as an NFT. With NFT sales skyrocketing and reaching $25 billion in 2021, asreported by Tokenized.com, the blockchain’s adoption of alternative art forms, such as generative art, is bound to increase.
Artists can mint generative art NFTs by adding code to the art, including gas price, wallet ID, or transaction ID. However, the downside is that it becomes more work to prove ownership and authenticity of the work. That’s where NFTs come in handy, as they can provide a solution by verifying ownership and authenticity.
Most NFTs created so far have been original creations by people, and the developing AI-generative NFTs could highlight the potential for artists to collaborate more with machines to generate unique pieces of art.
How Are Generative Art NFTs Made?
It’s one thing to knowhow to make an NFTand another to understand the process of making generative art NFTs. NFT art generators create these pieces, and they are digital platforms designed to get your creative juices flowing. They allow users to create artwork that can be sold and used as NFTs. As such, users can now leverage their creativity and own digital assets to trade cryptocurrency.
AI has recently proven essential to the generative art NFT market, especially with its super-easy method of generating art on command. Users can easily input text commands to generate and edit art and NFTs, making the entire generative process considerably faster and allowing users to generate more NFTs in less time.
You can create generative art NFTs through two methods—using codes written with various programming languages and, more recently, using AI text prompts. The most common programming languages for creating generative art are JavaScript, Python, and C++. To make generative art NFTs, you can find an AI tool and blockchain to help you create your piece.
After creating the piece of art, establish a series of traits that make up the NFT and then design variations for each trait. Next, add smart contracts into the NFT design to create new variations of the NFTs. You can also determine the amount of NFTs you wish to generate at this stage.
There are several tools to help in the generative art process, and these include:
1.NightCafe Generator
This AI art generator can transform text prompts into visual artwork using two machine learning algorithms: VQGAN and CLIP. The generator can also allow you to upload your images and uses the AI’s “neural-style transfer” to create AI-generated art masterpieces. This will give your pictures that extra artistic flair. Moreover, NightCafe users can make the rendering process lightning-fast with high-powered GPUs.
DALL.E is an AI system that can create realistic art using a text description. Developed by Open AI, a renowned research lab co-founded by Elon Musk and Sam Altman, this software stands out from most other NFT generators because of its ability to generate detailed and breathtaking images based just on text. However, the accuracy of the pictures depends on the exact phrasing of the input.
3.Async Art
Async Art is a popular software for artists, musicians, and bands who want to create generative art without using code on the Ethereum blockchain. Artists can use this software to upload their NFTs, create a collection, and set their rarity percentages without writing a single line of code.
4.Canvas-sketch
Canvas-sketch is a loose collection of modules, resources, and tools on GitHub, made for creating generative art on a browser and in JavaScript. Seasoned developers and NFT newbies can use Canvas-sketch’s intuitive resources to support their artistic journey.
Famous Generative Art NFT Collections
Some of the most renowned generative art NFT projects include…
1.Autoglyphs
Autoglyphs is the first generative NFT art project created on-chain in 2019 by Larva Labs, the creators of CryptoPunks' NFT collection. The developers behind Autoglyphs described it as “an experiment in generative art, each unique and created by code” running on the Ethereum blockchain.
Larva Labs also allowed users to create a glyph by paying a “creation fee of 2 ETH (about $35 at the time) to a chosen charity—350.org.According to Larva Labs, the entire collection numbered up to 512 glyphs which have all sold out. The total sales volume for Autoglyphs was around $41 million, and the most expensive Autoglyph NFT cost about $941,428.
2.Lost Poets
Lost Poets is a generative art collection and strategy game created in September 2021. Pak founded the company in 2021 and is renowned for making the most expensive NFT artwork, The Merge (sold for $91.8 million in 2021).
The collection currently contains 65,536 available NFTs and 1,024 Origin NFTs. However, its unique approach to NFT creation sets this project apart. According to the project’s website, each NFT was created by an AI specifically designed for the project instead of being made up of modular pieces.Masterworks notedLost Poets as Pak’s most in-depth project yet, having racked up a sales volume of $70 million.
3.Art Blocks
Art Blocks is currently the most successful generative art NFT project, raising over $994 million in sales. Launched in 2020 by Erick Calderon and run on the Ethereum blockchain, Art Blocks can be used to create abstract pieces, like the Chromie Squiggles, Ringers, and Fidenza series.
Chromie Squiggles was Calderon’s first generative art NFT minted on Art Blocks, and Chromie Squiggles #4697 is one of the most expensive NFTs on Art Blocks. Some other highest-priced NFTs on Art Blocks include Ringers #109 and #879 and Fidenza #313 and #77.
4.Solvency
Ezra Miller created Solvency, a high-profile generative NFT collection that incorporates dynamic WebGL simulations. These simulations create textured feedback loops drawn from a GAN trained on 35mm photographs and layered colors to create the sharpest images.
There are 500 editions of Solvency artworks, and the hash of the token used in the project influences the final piece of art the user receives, with some being rarer than others. Solvency is an ongoing project, but it has the support of top collectors like 888, Seedphrase, and Pranksy, indicating that the project has a bright future.
Where Can You Buy Generative Art NFTs?
Art Blocksis one of thebest NFT marketplaces for minting, selling, and buying unique generative NFT artworks. Others include:
As an artist looking to sell, NFT marketplaces like Nifty Gateway, Rarible, VIV3, and BakerySwap, may be good options.
Are Generative Art NFTs a Good Investment?
Generative art has existed for decades, but incorporating these artworks into the NFT space is still relatively new. And similar to any new technology, it may take work to properly estimate how successful it will be in the coming years.
Despite all this, it’s best to be careful when investing in generative art NFTs. It helps to consider market trends, research assets, and platforms, or consult qualified personnel before delving into the world of NFTs.
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