“I wanted to become a millionaire in 1 year, but the market quickly brought me back to reality”: how to become a full-time NFT artist

Metastract is a French NFT artist who has nearly 30k followers on Twitter and still doesn’t consider himself a blogger.

In his interview for buidlbee, he explains why it is so, discusses the difference between traditional and crypto art, and gives sensible advice to NFT beginners.

Q: If you are not a blogger, who are you?

A: I’m a full community member: I share my art and ideas and help other artists evolve.

Q: Why NFTs?

A: The art world can be a very closed sector, and the arrival of NFTs has opened doors to new artists and collectors. But like many artists today, I started because I got interested in crypto, and NFTs were the logical next step.

Q: When did you enter the industry?

A: A little over a year ago.

Q: Was it hard?

A: It wasn’t easy🙂 I had to spend time learning about trading and infrastructure, discovering new projects, etc. After that, I started creating, finding my first followers and collectors. I sold my first work, the first piece of my first collection Volume Color, very quickly — a few days after I created it. But it followed a great calm.

Q: Are you a full-time NFT artist now?

A: Yes, I am. Some months can be more difficult than others, especially because the NFT market is closely linked to the crypto market: when one goes down, the other follows.

Still, I earn enough to live and work, and I hope that with the evolution of NFTs, things will become more stable.

Q: You do believe in the industry, but don’t you have some fears and see some problems in it?

A: Well, the two current problems in this industry for me are (1) accessibility and (2) visibility.

It’s not always easy for someone who doesn’t have a background in crypto to buy an NFT, and it’s not always easy for a new artist to make a place for himself in the middle of big projects.

Q: How would you solve these problems?

A: Despite the arrival of NFTs on the current social networks, it would be wise to create a new dedicated platform. We would have a place to connect and buy items simply, allowing even novices to take advantage of this market.

Q: It’s good that you’ve mentioned novices; what pieces of advice could you give them?

A: The main piece of advice is to be realistic. It’s good to have dreams, but reality can be confusing.

Unless you come up with a really big project, the first thing you should do is build your community. Join the conversations on social media, meet artists who are just starting like you, and create your future together. It’s a lot of work and patience; you must be observant, attentive, and responsive.

As for learning, you can start discovering crypto and NFTs basics on big sites like CoinMarketCap or CoinGecko, but the most interesting is to find someone well-integrated in the field and observe his way of doing things.

Q: Is “to be realistic” a lesson you’ve learned from your personal experience? 🙂

A: Yeah, I think it is 🙂 My primary goal was to become a millionaire in 1 year. We start with dreams, hear about collections that sell for thousands of dollars, and quickly come back to reality.

Q: So, what goals do you have now?

A: It is challenging to set goals in such a new environment. I’m happy with what I’ve accomplished so far and what I’m still creating.

Q: Let’s talk about this, then. Please tell us about your projects.

A: I have created 10+ projects. I prefer to call them collections.

My first collection, Volume Color, is my favorite. It consists of 600 handmade abstract works. For the moment, it is one of the least successful collections, and I hope it will change.

I also created 3D collections. The one that has worked best and continues to endure is My Crypto Bracelet — a collection with different bracelets and charms I hope to integrate into a metaverse in time.

I then created a photo collection, but it was a failure. The community around the photos is very different from my current community. I think, what was for me an advantage with the collection of bracelets, is to have created something new, collectible, having an infinite possibility, while keeping the bases of what is done at the moment.

Q: What do you think will be with the NFT market? Say, in five years.

A: I think traditional art and NFT should merge. Even now, we see more and more painters selling their work in NFT and sending the original to the first collector, and more and more musicians selling their tracks in NFT to avoid the tariffs of record companies, etc.

Q: In what ways is NFT art superior to traditional art?

A: Traditional art and NFT art are closely related. But the emphasis even on digital art is now in museums, and behind NFT, there is the utility. Work is not only dedicated to being exhibited but can open doors to events and the metaverse. The resale becomes easier than in a traditional environment, too.

Q: Okay, last question. Do you invest in NFT art or just create?

A: I invest. As a collector, I prefer to help small artists to get started, just as I was helped in the beginning. That’s the way to keep the scene going.

For my choice, I first have to like the work; then I look to see if it has not been copied — unfortunately, there are many fake collections. Then I look at the potential over time: the number of possible copies, usefulness behind the project, motivation of the artist, etc.