The Top 8 Most Innovative NFT Artists
Despite the fact that NFTs have been around for the last couple of years, they have really exploded in the last few months. Believers in NFTs, which is short for non-fungible tokens are of the belief that they have the power to benefit artists. This is because an NFT is a log of data stored on a blockchain, which can be turned into verification of ownership over a digital asset. The nature of NFTs has allowed many artists to increase their income by allowing them to create readily reproducible pieces of digital artwork. The fact that these NFTs are sold online also makes things a lot easier.
Because of the explosion in popularity of NFTs, we are seeing some really great and innovative NFT artists come to the forefront. This is, after all, a space whereby the CEO of Twitter managed to sell his first-ever tweet for more than $2 Million. This shows the scale for growth in the NFT market and we’ll be going over the top eight most innovative NFT artists that are on the scene as well. There may be some names that you’ve heard of and more than likely there will be a few that you haven’t heard of as well.
Kevin McCoy
We couldn’t create a list of the most innovative NFT artists without talking about the creator of the first-ever NFT. When was this first done, you ask? This wasn’t as recent as you think, with the concept for the NFT first being realized in 2014 by Kevin McCoy. This digital artwork was named Quantum and was initially created as a result of McCoy and Anil Dash collaborating on a blockchain system that would allow artists to make money from selling NFTs. This was created with the intention of giving artists control of their work again. This article probably wouldn’t exist without Kevin McCoy.
If you think the story of Quantum (pictured above) couldn’t get any better, then you should think again. In fact, it was announced in March 2021 that Quantum has been put on sale by McCoy and could fetch a price of around $7 Million. It may be a long time to wait for the reward, but Kevin has laid the ground for NFTs and will get a great financial reward for it. It’s not currently completely clear how the sale will be completed, but multiple avenues are currently being considered. You might want to keep an eye out for this one in the future.
SOLOR
SOLOR is the first and one of the most interesting inclusions on this list. SOLOR has been an artist for more than twenty years and creates dynamic images with repetitive colors that shift in and out of each other. The best way to describe this interesting style would be abstract and surreal. Even more interesting is the fact that SOLOR claims that their artworks are inspired by colors and events seen in their dreams. The technical achievement of SOLOR’s work involves the use of both painting and photo manipulation, which creates unique and otherworldly pieces of art.
If you like what you just saw and you’re interested in buying NFTs, then you’re in luck because SOLOR has announced a new drop coming on the 28th of April, 2021. This drop is titled LUCYDE and consists of eight pieces of exquisite, exclusive artwork. Unfortunately, you will only receive one copy of each piece, but the overall quality and wonder of these images make them worth it. The drop itself will be taking place at 02:00 GMT + 2 and you will be able to follow its progress on Rarible. You should definitely check it out if you’re interested because you’re not the only one that will be.
Trevor Jones
Trevor Jones is an NFT artist hailing from Scotland and has been quickly gaining a reputation as one of the most exciting and innovative NFT artists out there at the moment. He is currently doing incredibly well on the SuperRare platform where he averages $5,326 sales and sold his first NFT for more than $10,000. His mind-bending yet beautiful portrayals of Picasso’s Bull, which comes in various editions, Bronze, Silver, Gold, and ‘Picasso’s Bull’ are only matched in beauty by their prices. It’s a testament to the skill and quality of Jone’s work when you consider the fact that his Picasso’s Bull collection is completely sold out.
Jones is also known for collaborating on an exquisite and Jose Delbo who has worked with DC Comics. Together they worked on a rendition of Batman in NFT form that was titled Genesis and wowed the world. This piece of work was so well acclaimed that it sold for $111,377 and was awarded the ‘Best NFT Art Award’ at the similarly named NFT Awards. This was sold in 2020 and it should have served as an early indicator as to the coming growth in the NFT market. Keep your eyes out for more work by Trevor Jones and get your hands on it if you can.
Beeple
I don’t think this list would have been right without including one of the biggest names in NFTs at the moment. Beeple, real name Mike Winkelmann, is an American digital artist that recently took the world by storm when he sold his piece titled ‘Everdays- The First 500 Days. Now, selling a piece of artwork isn’t groundbreaking, but the piece sold at the well-known British auction house, Christie’s for $63.9 Million in March 2021. This was a groundbreaking moment as it marked the first time that there was a digital-only auction within an auction house and it will be exciting to see what he does next.
It should also be noted that the auction for Everydays was the third-highest that was ever paid for from a living artist. Beeple created the piece by creating one piece of digital artwork every day since 2007, for 5000 days, hence the title. The sheer dedication and the amount of time it must have taken clearly justifies the price tag and the groundbreaking history. If you want to think about it on an individual artwork basis, then the piece actually ended up selling for $13,860 a pop. That’s not too bad when you create something every day, although I’d suggest leaving it to the professionals.
Krista Kim
Krista Kim is someone that has rapidly broken new ground in the NFT market by pioneering the concept of digital real estate. If you’re currently scratching your head about this, I’ll go into a bit more detail for you. She sold her ‘Mars House’ NFT for $500,000 and has been called the world’s first digital house as a light sculpture on SuperRare. The construction is made of a 3D glass house overlooking the mountains on Mars. You would be able to use VR to sunbathe, or even just explore the house a little bit. This just looks truly amazing.
Another amazing thing about the Mars House is that it comes with its own relaxing soundtrack and it was created by Jeff Shroeder from Smashing Pumpkins. This project was promoted with wellbeing at the center of it, as Kim stated that she wanted to use meditative design principles in its construction. She wanted to bring positivity and relaxation to the rapidly developing digital world. So, knowing this and seeing the design of the Mars House, it isn’t hard to see why Krista Kim is considered as one of the most innovative NFT artists out there right now.
Pak
Pak is someone that is becoming increasingly well-known in the world of digital art. He has been responsible for a great number of rare and widely spoken about NFTs that have come up for sale. Despite this, nobody really knows anything about Pak at all. Their identity is a mystery and despite nobody knowing who they are, their popularity has been rapidly increasing. It should even be noted that the mercurial tech magnate Elon Musk considers himself a fan of Pak’s work. One of the most well-known pieces of work created by Pak is an NFT named Finite and it’s just as mysterious as you think.
If you want to go in more about what Finite actually is, it’s hard to explain but I will try. It’s an incredibly captivating and enthralling 3D rendering and shares similarities with other works created by Pak. The mood itself is incredibly dark and moving and I personally find it incredibly difficult to stop looking at it, even if I’ve already been looking at it for a long time. If you’re wondering about the worth of this piece, then you might want to hold onto your hat. This piece ended up selling for $809,789.40 in March 2021, which is an incredible price.
Giant Swan
Giant Swan, who goes by the real name Travis Van Zanen is a 33-year old Australian digital asset from Melbourne. He specializes in creating his artwork through his virtual reality headset and the results of this are absolutely gorgeous and enthralling dreamscapes. He ended up having to kickstart his own art career due to the fact that he was struggling with getting exposure. This lack of exposure is mostly due to the fact that most art galleries don’t have VR facilities to display this kind of art. Despite this, he persevered and continued creating masterpieces.
Giant Swan has gone on to enjoy considerable success, selling some of his artworks for thousands of dollars and he managed to convince a prominent art gallery in Rome to begin collaborating with him. His amazing VR creations have positioned him as a trailblazer and pioneer in the world of NFTs. He has stated that a lot of his success has been down to his relationships with art collectors that have taken an interest in him. This smacks of the art relationships of old, where collectors and artists had deep bonds. If you’re a fan of VR, then you should definitely look at getting some of his NFTs.
John Orian Young
John Orian Young is a 35-year old digital artist that hails from Portland, Oregon that has been making a name for himself in the world of NFTs. He has been making that name for himself through his creation of JOYs. What are JOYs? That depends on who you ask. They are really garish virtual figurines that can either make you joyful with their goofy appearance or unnerve you with the exact same thing. He began working on VR art in 2017 and this eventually led to him creating NFTs to earn money, which ultimately led to JOYs as they are today.
Interestingly, once you purchase a JOY, they are then resold on the blockchain for double the original price. Considering this interesting mechanic and the nature of the JOYs themselves, it is obvious that John Orian Young is one of the primary innovators in the NFT space. It will be interesting to see how these figurines perform in the future. The largest sale that has been completed for JOYs was the value of 32 Ethereum. At the time of writing, this means that the sale would be worth $68,433. Then, you consider the resale value and you can see that there is serious money to be made by artists from selling NFTs.
