With cryptocurrency becoming mainstream and even browsers getting crypto wallets, the world of Crypto is here to stay. A major part of this world is the NFTs. Almost all popular artists, good or bad alike are creating their own NFT artworks. So, there’s no reason for you to stay behind. We’ll cover how to create NFT for free and easily. Our methods include ways to avoid minting gas charges and using a new blockchain to mint NFTs. We’ll also cover all the terminology in detail so that even beginners can create their first NFT easily. Do keep in mind that this is an educational tutorial only. If you are from countries like India that are trying to regulate cryptocurrencies, you might need to check the legalities of NFTs. With that out, brace yourself, and let’s learn how to create NFT art for free.
How to Create NFT for Free (2022)
Before we jump into the process, we’ll do some preparations like creating your crypto wallet. You don’t have to get overwhelmed by any of it as we’re covering everything in detail. But even before we can start preparing for our NFTs, let’s first understand them a bit. If you already know the basics, please feel free to use the table below and skip ahead.
What is an NFT
Non-fungible tokens or NFTs are individual data units that are stored on blockchains. Blockchains are a collection of digital records or blocks that are locked in with each other using cryptology. You can dive into the depths of what NFTs are using our linked article. But in general terms, it is a permanent data unit that can’t be changed once locked. Committing to the non-fungible in its name, NFTs can’t have an exchange involving equal substitution, unlike cryptocurrencies.
You can’t exchange an NFT with a copy of that NFT. But you can exchange a bitcoin for another bitcoin. These properties make an NFT so powerful and valuable. It follows the very basic economics of supply and demand. If you mint an NFT that is popular or attractive to users and it also has a limited supply, it’ll automatically increase in its value. This technology gives power to digital artworks to someday become as valuable as the traditional art.
What Can Be an NFT
You can use almost any type of unique media file to make an NFT. It can be music, art, memes, videos, photos, 3D objects, GIFs, or even tweets. For this tutorial, we will be using PNG images to create our NFT. If you want to use your NFT as a Twitter profile pic, you should do the same.
What Is a Crypto Wallet
Irrespective of their names, crypto wallets cannot be used to store your NFTs or cryptocurrency. Both of these assests always live on the blockchains. But crypto wallets act as an identity card that is used to claim ownership over blockchain data units and to login into various blockchain-based websites. These wallets can be web apps, extensions, mobile apps, and even physical devices.
A crypto wallet is mostly used to store the encrypted keys that allow you to access cryptocurrencies and decentralized financial apps. You can also send and receive your cryptocurrency and NFT-like-assets using these wallets. For our current situation, we will need a crypto wallet to create and register an NFT too.
How to Create a Crypto Wallet
There are dozens of wallet providers but we’ll focus on MetaMask which is the most widely accepted crypto wallet.
1. To begin, go to the official Chrome Web Store page of MetaMask (visit) and click on the “Add to Chrome” button in the top right corner. Then you will have to choose the “Add extension” option if your browser asks for the confirmation. Make sure you are using Google Chrome or another one of the chromium-based browsers.
2. Once the extension installs, it will open up a new webpage to get you started. Click on the “Get Started” button on this new page.
3. Then, MetaMask will ask you to log in or sign up for its wallet. Here, choose the option on the right and click on the “Create a Wallet” button.
4. The first step of creating a wallet is setting a password. On the new page, enter a password in each column before clicking on the “Create” button. Also, don’t forget to check the terms of use box if you agree to them.
5. Once you have created your password, it’s time to make a recovery phrase. It’s a 12-word phrase that works like a username for your wallet. MetaMask will explain it in detail before you click on the “next” button.
6. Now, the app will show you your secret recovery phrase. Do not share it with anyone unless you want to risk losing access to your wallet. And make sure to either remember it or download it for safekeeping using the option given. Then click on the Next button. MetaMask will make you enter the security phrase before your wallet is ready.
7. Finally, MetaMask will take you to the wallet dashboard where you can find all the information regarding the cryptocurrency on it. Now, our wallet is ready to mint its first NFT.
What is Minting
Minting is the process of recording your NFT on the blockchain. It covers your regular media file’s location into a permanent uneditable data unit recorded on the blockchain. Just like real coins, after minting NFTs gain their value and identity. You can then sell or store them. Do keep in mind that the media file doesn’t get stored on the blockchain. It only stores the point or location to where your media file is stored on the internet.
Each minted NFT has its token id, token standard, contract address, and metadata. But these elements are not something you need to worry about. What worries most people is the cost of Gas on the blockchain. It’s the transactional fees that you have to pay while registering any data on blockchains including NFTs. So, in a way creating NFT is free but minting it costs money, at least for most platforms.
Is It Possible to Mint an NFT for Free?
As you might have figured out from our previous description, free NFTs are possible in only two ways. The first involves transferring the gas fees. It means that either the buyer of your NFT or someone else pays for the gas fee that goes into minting. So, technically, the gas fee won’t be removed here but rather transferred to the customer trying to buy your NFT. You will remain the original creator of that NFT but you don’t have to pay for getting it registered on the blockchain.
The other option is using non-traditional blockchains. Usually, most NFTs are registered on Ethereum which has a very high gas fee. But, you can mint your NFT for free by using other newer blockchains. Your NFT will still have all the unique features as an Ethereum NFT though there will be no gas fees for you or the buyer of that NFT. We’ll go over both of these methods individually and in detail. You can make the final call about which one to use.
Create NFT for Free Using Lazy Minting
The popular crypto marketplace Rarible offers a feature called Lazy Minting. It allows users to mint NFT without paying an upfront fee. The gas costs related to the minting are transferred to the customer that buys your NFT from Rarible. It’s a pretty straightforward process. Here’s how to do it.
Create a Rarible Account
1. Open the Rarible homepage and click on the “Create” button in the top right corner.
2. Then Rarible will ask you to choose a crypto wallet to login into their website. Click on the MetaMask option and it will prompt MetaMask to ask for your password. When prompted, enter your password and click on the “Unlock” button.
3. Then the MetaMask pop-up will ask you to confirm your login. Here, you first need to select your account and click on “next“. Then you need to click on the “connect” button to finally login into the website.
Turn Your Art into NFT
1. After logging in, the website will ask you if you want to create a single NFT or a collection of them. Click on the single option for your first NFT.
2. Now is the moment to create your NFT for free. Start by clicking on the “choose file” option and uploading the media file you want to make an NFT out of. Then you can either turn off the feature to list it on the marketplace or put the price at which you want to sell your NFT. There are even options to hold an auction and to change the cryptocurrency in which you want to sell.
4. After entering the marketplace information, scroll down and make sure to turn on the “Free Minting” option by clicking on the toggle next to it. Here you can also enter additional information about your NFT including name, description, royalties you want, and more. Finally, click on the “create item” button to create your NFT.
5. Finally, to register your NFT, the Rarible marketplace will sign a contract with your wallet. During the time NFT is getting created, a MetaMask pop-up is going to appear twice. Each time the contract pops up, click on the “sign” button on MetaMask to complete the transaction.
6. Once your NFT is created, Rarible will show you options to create more NFTs, view your NFT, and share it on your social media.
Create NFT for Free Using Polygon Blockchain
While transferring your minting cost to the buyer does seem viable, it doesn’t make your NFT entirely free. To make our NFT completely free and to completely wave off the minting charges we need to use Polygon-Matic blockchain. It’s a comparatively new blockchain that functions similarly to Ethereum blockchain but its users don’t have to pay a transaction fee while registering NFTs on it.
The NFT created on the Polygon blockchain is as fast and reliable as one on the Ethereum blockchain. You can sell it, transfer it and share it online without paying anything to the blockchain or any NFT marketplace. But before we create it, we will have to make some modifications to our MetaMask wallet.
Add Polygon-Matic Network to MetaMask Wallet
By default, our MetaMask wallet works on an Ethereum network. But to mint an NFT on the Polygon blockchain, we need a wallet on that blockchain. Don’t worry about your security key and password as none of that is going to change. Let’s get started.
1. To begin, click on the MetaMask extension icon in your browser. It might be located next to your menu button in the top right corner or under the extensions menu in it.
2. Then enter your password to open the wallet. Here, you can notice the “Ethereum Mainnet” option on the top right corner of MetaMask. Click on it and then select the “Add Network” option from the menu.
3. Clicking on the “add network” button will take you to a new tab with the MetaMask dashboard. Here, the extension will ask you to enter the details about your custom network. In each column, carefully enter the following details:
- Network Name: Polygon
- New RPC URL: https://polygon-rpc.com
- Chain ID: 137
- Currency Symbol: MATIC
- Block Explorer URL: https://polygonscan.com/
Click on the “Save” button to register the Polygon network.
Your MetaMask wallet is now registered on the Polygon blockchain network. All we need to do now is find an NFT marketplace that supports Polygon and create NFT for free.
Create an OpenSea Account
OpenSea is the world’s first and largest NFT marketplace where you can find almost every popular NFT. Fortunately, it is also one of the first marketplaces that are accepting Polygon-based NFTs. And the account creation here is as simple as it is on Rarible. Let’s see how.
1. Open the OpenSea homepage in the browser that has MetaMask installed. Here, click on the “create” button in the top right section or in the hero (main) section of the website.
2. Now OpenSea will ask you to choose a wallet to sign up with. Click on the MetaMask option. It will prompt the extension to ask for your approval. Click on the “next” button and then the “sign” option to create your account. Do make sure it’s displaying your Matic/Polygon account while logging in instead of the Ethereum account.
3. If your MetaMask extension is still on the Ethereum on the previous step, you can switch to Polygon easily. To do so, click on the MetaMask extension and then on the “Ethereum Mainnet” option at its top. Here, you will see your newly created custom Polygon network. Click on its name to connect to that network.
Create Free Polygon NFT
1. Once your account is ready, OpenSea will ask you to upload your media file. Unlike Rarible, you can also upload 3D models here. Click on the empty box under the upload option to upload your media file.
2. After filling in these details scroll down to the end of the page. Here, under the blockchain section, select Polygon instead of Ethereum by clicking on the drop-down menu. Then click on the “create” button to save your NFT.
3. Once the NFT is ready, click on the “sell” button in the top right corner to list it in the marketplace. Do keep in mind that you will no longer be able to edit it once it goes on sale.
4. On the listing dashboard, you can enter the product’s price in Ethereum currency. Due to its massive audience OpenSea, at the moment, only allows you to list it for up to 6 months. You can also set custom quantities if you want to sell multiple copies from your NFT supply. Click on the “Complete Listing” option after completing the rest of the entries.
5. Finally, OpenSea will ask you to approve a transaction and sign a contract to list the NFT. Both of these will not cost you anything. First, click on the “unlock” button and then on the “approve” button when the MetaMask pop-up comes. Secondly, click on the “sign” button on OpenSea and then on the “sign” button in the MetaMask pop-up window.
Now your NFT will be available for sale on OpenSea for the duration and price you have selected.
FAQ
What Software can I use to Make NFT Art?
Depending upon your skills, you can use any media editing software to make your NFT. As mentioned earlier, an NFT can be an image, audio, or video. You can even try to keep up with trends and try making an NFT using 3D models. The latest Procreate 5.2 update with 3D objects will definitely be useful in that context.
What is the Supply and Quantity of NFT?
Supply is the number of copies of a specific NFT that exist on the blockchain. Meanwhile, quantity is the amount that is available for sale of that same NFT. You can set supply while minting the NFT and quantity while listing it on the market.
Can People Download My NFT Art Without Paying for It?
Yes and no. Your NFT artwork can be saved like any media file visible on the browser but that doesn’t give anyone that ownership of that NFT. For example, there can be multiple people with photos of the Mona Lisa painting but there can be only one true owner of that original painting. Similarly, your NFT token provides you with the ownership of that specific art.
Is Bitcoin an NFT?
NFT stands for Non-Fungible Token. It means that cannot be copies of any particular NFT. Each NFT is one-of-a-kind with its specific owner. Meanwhile, Bitcoin or any other cryptocurrencies have multiple copies that are regularly traded on the market.
What to Do When OpenSea or Rarible isn’t Opening?
First of all, don’t panic. All NFT marketplace have a monthly scheduled maintenance period. You just need to wait out their maintenance process which doesn’t last for more than 1 hour at a time. If the problem persists, you can try switching your blockchain network on the crypto wallet.
Mint Your NFT for Free in 2022
Whether you are an artist or a businessperson, NFTs have the potential to benefit people from all sections. With the power to create NFt for free, you can potentially unlock a variety of opportunities in the future of cryptocurrencies. It seens safe to assume that crypto is here to stay with the ever growing demand of currencies like Shiba Inu. Do keep in mind that even though the blockchain technology is new, it still revolves around finance. So, keep practicing caution to avoid any unwanted loss. As for the artistic part of the NFTs, you can use Procreate or its alternatives to get the job done. If you face any trouble while creating your own NFT for free, you can drop your queires in the comments below. Our team will be there to help you out.
