NFTS 4 DUMMYS

*** UPDATE SOON – I MINTED MORE PLACES AND MADE MISTAKES SO YOU WONT HAVE TOO ***

** ALL NFT POSTS (there have been more) are in the decentralized d category **

JOIN THE DIXCORD – this is a new link – doing q&as there + all guides and resources posted in one channel there for ease – getting hard to get to all the dms!!!

Okay – so my NFT for dummies guide. Maybe I am the only dummy. But since it has officially been a month since I first heard the term NFT. And what sounded like a miracle solution isn’t quite as easy, simple or miraculous as it was first pitched to me. 

I am not at all talking shit about NFTS. I have been very unproductive for the past month bc I am obsessed with the solutions that the blockchain can provide, and truly trying to understand this… so as promised … here is my (semi complete) notes, my thoughts and experiences, so hopefully you can find a solution that works best for you..

I don’t believe this space is 100% there for everyone. Also, my conversations have taken place almost exclusively on clubhouse, discord groups, and twitter. Many of these people have been around blockchain and bitcoin for a long time. I am new, and have not coded anything since my myspace days… (and spark AR but very basic shit). I wish I had learned about this 10 years ago.. but alsas…. here are the things that I think there needs to be more emphasis on, or at least that I did not understand right away. That being said, while this conversation is dominating in certain circles, it is still far from being a standard understood norm. I don’t think it is 100 percent accessible —> that is changing and there is SOOO much I am excited about!! I am trying to learn basic coding so that maybe one day I can even help (and no I don’t ever plan on being a developer but code is an integral part of the blockchain ecosystem)

Amazing Rescource: NFT bible by opensea

Okay so if you want to start, want to try, etc, first steps:

1. Download coinbase.  This isnt 1000% safe (also you can look @ coinbase pro for better rates if you want to trade) but if you are just starting its sufficient. It will take a week or so for you to be able to transfer funds. There are other ways but once again, this is my “for dummies” guide. Disclaimer…. when something gives you free money (robin hood situation) you are the product so don’t keep all your $ in it. I am not knowledgeable enough on cold storage – but you will want to have your own wallet if you are getting deep into the crypto space… coinbase is a starter point. I am not 100% endorsing the product it was just the easiest way for me and since i am not holding large amounts of crypto, sufficient for now… The hyper link gives you $10.00 in BTC and me as well for anyone who signs up. Feel free to just google coinbase lol – not a sponsored post and I am 1000% not saying its the best option, just the easiest for me (I dont use cashapp).

1. Download metamask. It is a chrome extension. Write DOWN YOUR KEY. Write it. On paper. Put it in a safe. Memorize it. And don’t tell anyone where it is hidden but if you are me and if putting something in a special place means you will def not find it be very intentional about this. You will need metamask. You may be able to buy ETH directly on metamask –> there is an apple pay option avail for some states but not for everyone. SO get some ETH on coinbase to prepare. As I mentioned in my first post, someone transferred me ETH to start. I still am down to do that for people if you need to do it tonight, but with gas fees being what they are ATM it does not make much sense.

So back to an NFT. A non fungible token. The most valuable part about this to me is the smart contract, and the ability to always make commissions. As an artist, esp an independent one, to be able to make a commission on resales is important. My background is in the music industry and I see this as being sooo valuable to the way all artists can forever monetize off of their art. I have seen so many artists who have sold the rights to their tracks back in the day, for them to now not have any financial benefit on some of the most popular songs. So this may seem contradictory to everything I say when I hate that so many of these convos revolve around monetary value…. but fair ownership is also important to me. Give credit where credit was due. ALSO – some of these sites you are actually minting semi-fungible tokens… the NFT bible and open sea guides best explains the difference….

My initial plan was to mint on every site so that you dont have too. But at the end of the day, not every platform provides the characteristics that I am looking for. (My IG got deleted, I lost a history, and I don’t want to have to do this 10000 more times, integrity is everything to me and I want to be fair to anyone supporting me in the value that my art has. for me its more than a sale its a line of communication, a message, and a community). I’m sure you have seen the big sales on super rare, NIFTY gateway, etc. Those sites you have to apply. I actually just applied to my first site – async art as there are ways to program the art… and I plan on exploring some of the others… my use for this space is – anti – censorship- community, and being able to continuously communicate over time. I am sure in one year, the way we all will look at NFTs is different. My grasp on the technology could alleviate some of the issues I see in the below platforms. Even if I am accepted to some of the larger ones, this is still so relevant as more and more people enter the space

Also – gas has been extremely high the past few weeks. You will hear layer two solutions (what is this? basically an upgrade but once again –> not really relevant or helpful to someone entering now, also noone has an actual date when this will be happening) being mentioned, this place is dynamic and changing. If I had minted a ton of my art the day I heard about this, the gas problem wouldn’t have been an issue. Also as I mentioned in my last post I didnt even know what gas was (fuel + energy to make the transaction happen – similar to gas in a car or a tax but I hate comparing block chain to the real world.

ethgasstation.info is a site where you can monitor gas prices. Currently it looks like the below… A rule of thumb was when slow is around 40 or 50, things are more affordable… (remember this is the for dummies guide and I def empower you to do your own research – but if you don’t understand it and try to get into advanced controls… your transaction could get stuck and you also have to pay to cancel. below is a screenshot from eth gas station… so at 113 being standard how does this translate to $? it has to do with energy and smart contracts are expensive bc of complexity…. so this does turn out to be more $. )

below is a screenshot of my metamask, right now this is to ACCEPT a bid on rarible. SO to accept the bid, it will cost me more than I want to charge. ** Also more on this in the rarible section… ( and yes, I am aware that I wanted to price my stuff much lower than what it costs to make or what people pay for IRL art because I see this as a way to introduce people into crypto – or at least I did on Jan 2nd… as I am deeper into this…It isnt feasable at this point in time….and yes I acknowledge that I am seeing the world from a very idealistic standpoint… but be the change am I right?) Hopefully the “layer 2 solutions” will “be here soon” and that will solve the gas problem. That is great. But this is a current barrier to entry that I need to highlight. For me, I def had to mint something to even begin to understand and re-direct my questions…

OPENSEA –

• open for everyone
• Lowest % of any site
• unlockables and collections
• multiple collections
• approval process after first mint!
• Gasless minting **

gassless minting is awesome! That being said, to start it off, you need to authorize you account – which involves gas. You can set your commission for further sales, when you create a collection — Opensea has a discord, and they are truly open to communicating and implementing in ideas from the community. Something important to me is the DL link – and opensea does not have that ability with gasless minting (though they said soon– their discord is super active with ideas and people implementing) So for ME, Minting on opensea didn’t make sense. As much as I wanted to do it for the cause, at the cost of setting up my account, it just was not in the cards right now. That being said, I do think going through the process to understand and ask more questions is important.

THEY NOW HAVE UNLOCKABLE LINKS (updated but I know people are still coming here)

ALSO TO BE VERIFIED IS ONLY 20E+ accounts – this is bc of people imitating the highest ones. APPROVED IS SAFE FOR BUYERS/SELLERS. and if you are unapproved don’t stress too much – your friends know it is you. ONCE YOU LIST YOUR FIRST PEICE YOU CAN REQUEST APPROVAL. DEF TWEET YOUR ART FROM THE TWITTER U CONNECT TO UR OPENSEA. YES U SHOULD GET A TWITTER

https://opensea.io/collection/adultartsandcrafts/

they integrate in with other platforms as well, for someone with a bit more technological knowledge this could be super beneficial to building your own space

ALSO I DID MINT ON OPEN SEA & HONESTLY – THE EXPERIENCE WAS 10/10 ….24 hour room so I will do this soon <3

** this was for the first transaction — I don’t know the cost of the second **

** ALSO YOU STILL DO NEED some eth for gasless minting. IE – it is not completely free, but its fixed costs and much more affordable –

Rarible –

• open to everyone
• no gasless minting
• standard contract or create your own
• 1/1 or collections

this is where I minted. In their smart contract, you can set commissions and have a DL link. This is super important to me. And I am soooo inspired by this space, I know that what I will be able to do a year from now as tech evolves and as I learn, will be exponentially cooler than what I can do now, and I want to be able to add continuous value (besides in the form of money) to those who have supported me from the beginning. So my DL links are box links (similar to dropbox or google drive). This means that they are stored off chain. Essentially – if box stopped working, people could lose access. I don’t love this – IPFS & ENS pages are on chain solutions to this. I am not there yet bc once again costs, and for me if I cant age restrict my stuff I am worried about what the implications could be — and this is me personally, and why i did not start to mint everything at once….I am pro SW, and in no way shaming it. BUT art SW, and sexeducation being categorized together is not fair to ANYone and legislation at the current moment worries me…. for all creatives and what any mishaps for potential regulation could mean…. Like any situation bad people are going to take advantage and do bad things… but this coming into the mainstream… and not being FULLY decentralized scares me for SW, other marginalized communities who need this as a solution immediately. I hope that this does not become super regulated…. and ofc this is coming from my personalized needs for the space. this may not apply to everyone… but I think its important that when people talk about this they consider all people who may be listening, and where they may be, and then think about other demographics of people and how to cater to them as well

** ALSO – with sales you are not charged gas – with bids you are – I wanted the market to be able to set the value for my art- with gas prices right now that is not sustainable… so my best recommendation would be to set a price esp with gas prices right now… I fucked it up so you dont have too!!! – im going to go with .069 bc duh for some and .69 for others… as someone who oftentimes gives their work away at cost (pre pandemic) and hates capitalism + charging people money during a pandemic my best advice on pricing is not to think of it in dollar amounts as that is forever changing what the value is. The blockchain is a new world so think in terms of ETH + your costs to put a piece on the blockchain … NOT DOLLARS

MINTABLE –

• gassless minting **
• ability to set up your own store
• open to everyone
• can transfer to other stores (this involves gas)

so once again I was going to mint here, but the gasless minting does not make sense because – I want the smart contract ability that provides commissions (on principal). With mineable, you can open your own store for $100.00 and then you can design your own smart contract. One day, that will make sense for me, but I have had multiple people ask me if they can pay extra to use CC and not use crypto. I am grateful for the people who want to support me, and I do get that as both and artist and a consumer – to do extra work and $ goes to just gas…

I think for me, the disconnect is between things being over simplified and too confusing. So gasless minting in the discord was described as “complicated but it works like magic”. This is kind of true but also not fair to creators…. if the whole point is to mitigate the middleman, give power to the artists than they should be empowered to understand the process…. that being said… the platforms themselves ARE trying their best… I would like to understand code and getting to that point…this answer is completely valid- but how can we understand without knowing code? or in the onboarding process, for those that want to be intentional about they are doing – a basic intro to code to understand this. once again I am not trying to hate on any of the platforms, this is just my experience… By asking a few questions I was able to get to the root that right now mintable doesn’t provide the full protection I am looking for. For other artists, it could be a great platform. ALSO – this sentiment applies as a whole … and also the mintable discord is one of the most responsive I have been in, I also have friends who have had great experiences there… I totally may look to doing a store on mintable…

WAX –

• not on ETH
• low fees
• open to everyone
• 2MB limit but you can get around this

so this is a really cool solution. Is not on ETH, so it is a different token. And the wallet sign up you can connect to socials – or just enter your email. being super easy worries me, but I did it anyways – it also works with metamask and is somehow related to etherium…. aka why I was comfortable trying this…

I actually did intend to MINT a peice on wax, but its kind of confusing and for the sake of doing something just to do it, I decided to hold off. and I did that for two reasons, one if you look at what is popular in the space, my stuff is very niche. While I def could reformat to fit this space, and very much may I wanted to get this out.

Their guide is very self explanatory, but i still found it confusing. Maybe some people will understand in an hour…. but the upload limit is 2MB. Because I am rebuilding a community and the majority of people I know are not into crypto, I want people to be able to DL high res assets, not something I can do just yet on wax. There is totally a variety on the site tho.

MINTBASE

• same issue as others where if you make your own there there is still ETH – alot of cool things on discord that seem to be coming up…

Ghostchain.io –

• not on eth
• they do help artists get started by sending you the currency
• low fees
• I overthink everything and am just paranoid about wallets which is why ultimately I have not tried this but def plan on it this week

There are def alot of people who have found sucess here, and they do offer artists some of their currency to get started. telegram and discord seem to have active communities, and I want to make sure once again that I feel my art is appropriate for those.

https://kalamint.io/

• not on ETh but has been mentioned to me

When I first started my art project, my two goals were for everyone to have a dick on their desk (and not literally, consent is everything! But for it to be normalized.  The second, is to create “the house that dick built.” A magical, place where anyone can express themselves creatively and comfortably.  This is possible in the metaverse, to a degree even more inclusive than what I first imagined.

ZORA aND FOUNDATION COMING SOON

Platforms like decentraland and cryptovoxels make this super possible… and I think add in a layer of potential for the community vibe – to be later detailed soon….bc this is alot of info….

so back to super rare, nifty gate way, makers place, known origin, async art etc. These places all posess alot of what is missing from the “open” sites. At the end of the day these platforms are beneficial but bc I cannot speak from experience I will let you do your own research. maybe one day I will be able to update you :).

There is alot of emphasis to get into this space right now, to get influencer clients involved. the general narrative is also how decentralization levels the playing field, puts power into the creator’s hands, gets rid of the traditional art model blah blah blah, but in all honestly I dont see this happening. I know the sites that provide the most benefits for artists are working quickly to expand… there is also alot of talk about “increasing curation on these sites” – I find this counterintuitive to the ethos behind bitcoin and using this technology, but the best part about decentralization is everyone can create their own world. However, there are clear advantages to being on those sites – (NIFTY gateway people can pay with cc…) I would love to see those for everyone. Additionally, collectors know the quality on those sites, where the search function on the open sites is hard. Even with a following, it is hard to convert people not yet interested in crypto to start (and its not immediate) I have had multiple people offer me to pay extra to not use crypto.

• IF ANYONE WANTS TO CREATE A PLATFORM THAT ADDRESSES BARRIERS TO ENTRY WHILE STILL MAINTAINING INTEGRITY TO ARTISTS COLLECTORS AND CAN IMPLEMENT TECH POTENTIAL FOR THOSE WHO ARE NEW / LEARNING HOLLA! ESP A PLACE FOR S3X POSITIVE WORK!!! I AM DEF LOOKING TO BUILDING ONE IN DECENTRALAND OR CRYPTOVOXELS

I see all of that being possible, but I also see these “free minting sites” as semi predatory to those who dont get it… (and maybe other people will understand further… or maybe I am completely wrong and please call me out)” I guess this isnt as much of a dummys guide as my takeaways, but I hope this helps someone else who feels overwhelmed… there is alot so I guess there will be a few parts and if anyone has questions feel free to ask…. every word on here can be broken down even further 10000 times AND YES I TALK TOO MUCH SO I WILL END THIS

DISCORD FOR THOSE NEW TO NFTS to discuss – im so bad at discord but gonna get better

This is something i just found – and while you need to be able to draw on the computer i am excited to try – it def seems to encapsulate what I am looking for in the blockchain, and is free to participate…. im am sure there are so many projects I dont know and I would love to hear more of….. – https://dada.art/artgld lallery

Also someone just told me to charge for this. never my intention. but if you want to support me and like my art I am happy to mint a peice for you… or ofc give you art in the traditional sent… but simply engaging and helping me rebuild my socials is huge …. i’m not in a rush to get my work out there, I am looking to do it right so I don’t have to repost everything ever again… but comments and shares & saves on IG do help immensely (apparently that still matters)- all my links are in my bio and on this site as well 🙂

decentralizedick.eth in case we lose each other forever — or you want to send me ETH so I can put more time into making these guides 🙂

SQUARE ONE COLLECTION THE WAY TO ENTER THE c*ckchain forever 🙂

ALSO SHOWTIME IM ON THE LEADERBOARD SO FOLLOW/ LIKE/COMMENT EVERYTHING SO I CAN FOLLOW YOU BAK! IG for NFTS!!!!!
https://tryshowtime.com/adultartsandcrafts (or not just use it)

My twitter DMS are open for questions & any corrections – BUT DISCORD IS 100000% best way right now – I tweet the link often if the new one is not working?? someone good with these things slide into my DMS

** increased traffic today bc of vice so two things. 1) I have minted on foundation and will do an extended post this weekend + descriptions of some of my work. for now everything is on my opensea!!! It is still MY fave. that being said, please make the decision that makes the most sense for you. I don’t collect emails but all my NFT posts are under the decentralized d category and that is prob the best way to get updates***

my clubhouse club is NFTS for dummys, my name there is @jenergizerr. trying not to promote myself but also to make my dms less chaotic

PS yes we are all just dicks in the cockchain xx

pps sorry for shitty grammer and ugly cover art this was supposed to be my week of decompression but I am LOCKED IN THE COCKCHAIN