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A strong appetite for NFT art across Asia means the time is right for creators to capitalize. The Tezos ecosystem boasts some of the most active creative communities, providing both established and emerging artists the opportunity to mint and sell their original NFT artwork in a low-cost, energy-efficient way.
The market for NFT art has grown enormously, and is now approaching parity with traditional art, with US$41 billion of digital art NFTs sold in 2021 compared to US$50 billion spent on traditional works. Asia in particular is eager for digital collectibles, with data showing that Asian countries including Singapore, China and the Philippines make up the top five slots for internet searches for NFTs.
One of the leading NFT marketplaces is Objkt.com, which aims to connect all NFTs created on the Tezos blockchain through one single platform. Here, Objkt.com’s curator Ombeline Rosset shares insider tips on how artists can create innovative and desirable NFT art that will find an audience among the platform’s thousands of NFT collectors.
When asked why creators should consider minting on the Tezos blockchain, Ombeline highlights the ecosystem’s energy-efficiency and strong creative community as its main advantages over other NFT minting options.
“Tezos uses less energy than other blockchains, and it’s important because the difference in energy consumption is huge,” she said.
She’s not exaggerating. The difference becomes stark when comparing the energy required to mint one NFT on Ethereum versus Tezos: Ethereum uses around 332kWh, while Tezos uses just 200mWh, a reduction by a factor of approximately 1.5 million.
Ombeline highlights that the artistic community on the Tezos ecosystem is also unlike any other in the NFT space.
“The arts community is very active. It has been from the beginning, starting with Hic Et Nunc (HEN), which was an underground community of many artists from around the world and a very diverse community who were really focused on the art and not really focused on speculating—just artists getting interested in the new tech and experimenting.”
Another appealing feature for creators is low gas fees due to its proof-of-stake design and significant scaling advantages over a network such as Ethereum.
As the sole curator for Objkt.com, Ombeline spends a lot of her time discovering new NFT artists and artworks to showcase on the platform.
She says there’s room for all kinds of styles of NFT art, but the most popular pieces currently tend to be generative art made with code: “It’s a good moment for generative artists to mint on the platform.”
For instance, Ombeline said she admires the work being produced by Japanese digital artist Kazumasa Teshigawara and also points to the success of generative artist William Mapan’s ‘Dragons’ collection.
She said another sought-after style for NFT art collectors is quirky, illustrated GIFs such as those created by Des Lucréce, a second-generation Asian immigrant living in the US whose ‘Monsters’ project was born out of creating portraits of people expressing Asian xenophobia.
“Traditional artists can still do well, but they may need to work a bit harder to get exposure.”
She commends the NFT art of Bjorn Cajella, a contemporary artist from the Philippines who “does very interesting animated paintings."
Ombeline recommends artists focus on developing their own style, the story behind their art, and connecting with interested collectors rather than trying to follow NFT digital art trends.
“You might be able to sell well at first, but trying to copy a style just to make sales is not a great long-term strategy, and it can be confusing for your collectors.”
Patience is key for artists new to the marketplace who want to make a living from making and selling NFT digital art.
“Some artists come back to me after three days worrying that they didn’t sell out, but I tell them you need to wait. It’s not common to have an immediate sell-out unless you collaborate with an artist who already has a high profile,” Onbeline said.
She said pricing should be influenced by the overall market, the artists’ prominence, and whether they are selling a unique one-off or multiple editions, which are usually offered at a lower cost.
“If a new artist mints an NFT, collectors may wait a bit before spending much money on a 1/1, to see what kind of art they create and how they interact with the community—because 1/1s are more expensive and it’s a bigger decision.”
“I would say artists should take a look at the market and also consider whether they need to sell straight away because they need income, and price a piece based on those factors. Then the most important aspect is getting exposure.”
She said that artists can choose from auctions, offers, and listings on Objkt.com, and each release method has its pros and cons.
“The solution is to keep in touch with collectors and discuss with them the best way to release pieces and what will be best for them,” Ombeline suggests.
“For the artists who become successful, the biggest factor is always the marketing and the community they create—with a solid community on the platform, you have collectors who support the artist drop after drop.”
Ombeline said that while Objkt.com is quite intuitive to use, she recommends learning about minting and experimenting with the process in advance of any release.
She’s personally created numerous guides to help creators get started, including instructions on creating and synching a wallet, collaborating with others, creating collections, and batch minting.
“If an artist plans a big drop, I’d suggest they do a test run beforehand. Don’t announce a drop and leave it to the last minute to try to mint for the first time in case you run into issues. As always, the first time you use something you don’t understand everything yet,” she said.
“The thing is, it’s always possible to burn a piece if there’s any issue, or change the name of your collection, and other changes—which means you can make mistakes at the beginning.”
She said creators should plan ahead to complete details during minting, such as the royalties percentage, what the split of royalties is for a collaborative project, and the licensing rights they want to apply to their artwork.
Ombeline warns new creators to keep in mind that minting duplicates can be against the rules, unless you state it explicitly.
“So if you mint a 1/1 and it’s the exact same image used in editions, you need to make that very clear in the description. Even if the pieces are on a different blockchain, the collector needs to know whether it is or is not actually unique.”
Establishing a presence in the NFT digital art scene requires active involvement, and according to Ombeline, Twitter is the best channel.
“Twitter is a place where artists support each other. They not only post about their art but also interact with other artists they like and recommend works. It’s the easiest way to get exposure and initiate collaborations with established artists on the Tezos ecosystem,” she said.
Artwork is also featured on Objkt.com’s homepage, such as the site’s ‘Hidden gems’ and ‘Hot collections’ sections—but how do you get the platform’s attention?
Spamming Ombeline’s DMs on Twitter or tagging your posts with #Objkt is not the best way to go about it. Instead, for transparency reasons, she encourages artists to post via a dedicated Discord channel for curation requests.
“It doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll be featured because there are more than one million pieces on Objkt.com.”
She also directly seeks out artwork that deserves exposure, especially NFT art made by women and underrepresented groups who are less likely to ask for recognition.
