Bryan Brinkman is kind of avant-garde. An Emmy Award-winning digital artist before blockchain and NFTs took off, he has refocused in recent years for the new digital economy. In an exclusive interview, BeInCrypto asked Brinkman about fair pricing and valuation of NFT collections, the future of commercial art, and more.
If there is one technology that can claim to be among the least understood, it is non-fungible tokens (NFTs). Far from expensive monkey pictures, NFTs open up a new digital property paradigm. With verifiable authenticity and rarity, they replicated the feeling that digital objects can be unique, just like their real-world counterparts.
While digital art has arguably lost much of its value when digitized through copy-and-paste, NFTs and blockchains make the original traceable and verifiable. In doing so, they have empowered creators, artists and collectors by fostering a new scarcity-based digital economy. A digital asset or work of art can now truly be one of a kind.
With NFTs, artists have found unprecedented opportunities to present and sell their work directly to a global audience, revolutionizing traditional notions of artistic achievement and opening doors to previously untapped revenue streams.
A shrinking NFT market
Bryan Brinkman is one such artist. An Emmy Award winner who (in his own words) uses “animation and motion graphics to create fun and playful crypto-verse artwork.” Last May, the 37-year-old also signed with Creative Artists Agency for representation, one of the world’s leading talent rosters.
Since then, the NFT market has seen a marked decline, according to data from CoinGecko. After hitting $3.6 billion in trading volume for the month of May 2022, the market suffered a sharp decline due to the Terra/Luna collapse and the subsequent crash across the entire market. digital assets.
Recent numbers haven’t been much better. Trading volume fell further last month, from $826 million in April to $442 million in May, according to figures from DappRadar.
In his interview with BeInCrypto, Brinkman observed that while perceptions of NFTs may be skewed, low barriers to adoption bode well for future growth.
“I’ve seen the understanding of NFTs grow tremendously since I joined the space three years ago, but it’s not always positive,” he said. “Early NFT articles promoted fear and sensationalism, so many came away with skepticism about the technology. perceptions change.
Brinkman described what he considers to be the global powerhouse of blockchain. But barriers to adoption remain, he acknowledged. One of these barriers is wealth, as participants must have money and certain technologies, such as smart phones or computers.
But technologically, the barrier is not insurmountable. According to data from Statistica, in 2022, 68% of the world’s population owned a smartphone. (Although others put it at 86%.) Even in sub-Saharan Africa, where homeownership is at its lowest, it is 64%.
Pricing your NFTs
In the short time that NFTs have existed, their numbers have exploded. OpenSea – only the second largest NFT market but for a long time the most dominant – has over 80 million different NFTs for trading.
With a seemingly limitless supply (there’s no theoretical limit to the number of NFTs you can hit or digital ink you can spill), how does the market decide their value?
Like everything else for sale, art appraisals have to do with demand, Brinkman said.
“It takes a lot of data to be accurate in such a short timeframe, especially in a bear market. Once we have gone through a few up and down cycles, it will probably be easier to use this historical data to give accurate estimates.
Brinkman also offered practical advice for artists navigating the digital asset space. “I recommend starting with unique works, allowing people to decide the price via an auction,” he said.
“Once you are done with these auctions, you can think about editions. If your 1/1 is selling for 1 ETH, then an edition of 10 may be priced at 0.1 ETH. I recommend setting affordable prices early. It allows people to support you, be part of your journey, and help share your work,” Brinkman continued.
One of the buzzwords in web3 is the term “community” to emphasize the decentralized and inclusive nature of platforms and technologies. While the term can have good and bad uses, Brinkman thinks it’s a fair descriptor for the NFT world. But, in what sense is this market more united or communal than the market for, say, sneakers or smartphones?
“Unlike sneakers or smartphones, the art doesn’t degrade with wear,” Brinkman said. “But, overall, I would say NFTs and sneakers are pretty similar in a lot of ways. Collect works with which you can adapt and express yourself. »
One of the most common refrains from NFT skeptics is that they have “no intrinsic value”. Brinkman couldn’t disagree more.
“For me, the future of art is digital, and with more people having access to creative tools like iPads and computers at a young age, the market for digital artists is going to become more validated and valued,” did he declare.
NFT by SMS
One of Brinkman’s latest collaborations is with direct-to-consumer curated art platform Dew Drops. The standout feature? NFT collection by SMS. Collectors receive text with details of the day’s deals, including artist, artwork, utility, rarities, and prices. They then respond with the desired quantity to purchase seamlessly.
Brinkman told BeInCrypto of his excitement for the new platform, which launched this year. He likes to play with innovations that can attract collectors, Brinkman said.
“With SMS, we can market more directly than Twitter or Discord, which allows the onboarding process to be more seamless with credit cards. I also appreciate that Dew Drops introduces followers to many new artists and helps exploring,” he added.
Disclaimer
Following the guidelines of the Project Trust, this feature article presents the opinions and views of experts or individuals in the industry. BeInCrypto is dedicated to transparent reporting, but the opinions expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of BeInCrypto or its staff. Readers should independently verify the information and seek professional advice before making any decisions based on this content.