Key Takeaways
- Creating an NFT requires a Web3 wallet, cryptocurrency for fees, and digital content to mint
- OpenSea offers free "lazy minting" where you don't pay gas until the NFT sells
- Choosing the right blockchain affects fees, audience, and environmental impact
- Royalties let you earn 0-10% on every secondary sale of your NFT
Last updated: February 4, 2026 - Fact-checked by our editorial team
What You Need Before Starting
Before you can create an NFT, you'll need to gather a few things:
Prerequisites Checklist
- Digital content: The image, video, audio, or 3D file you want to turn into an NFT
- Web3 wallet: MetaMask (for Ethereum/Polygon) or Phantom (for Solana)
- Cryptocurrency: ETH, MATIC, or SOL for transaction fees (varies by blockchain)
- Rights to the content: You must own or have rights to what you're minting
Choosing Your Blockchain
The blockchain you choose affects fees, speed, audience reach, and environmental impact. Here's how the main options compare:
Ethereum (ETH)
- Pros: Largest NFT ecosystem, highest liquidity, most prestigious for art
- Cons: Highest gas fees (can be $5-50+ during busy periods)
- Best for: Serious artists, high-value pieces, established collectors
Polygon (MATIC)
- Pros: Near-zero gas fees, Ethereum-compatible, OpenSea support
- Cons: Lower perceived prestige, less liquidity than Ethereum mainnet
- Best for: Beginners, testing, high-volume collections, gaming NFTs
Solana (SOL)
- Pros: Very low fees (fractions of a cent), fast transactions
- Cons: Separate ecosystem from Ethereum, requires different wallet
- Best for: Solana community, gaming, PFP collections
Pro Tip
"Start with Polygon if you're new to NFTs. The near-zero fees let you experiment without financial pressure. Once you understand the process, you can always mint on Ethereum for your premium pieces." - Blocklr Research Team
Step-by-Step: Creating an NFT on OpenSea
OpenSea is the largest NFT marketplace and offers the easiest minting experience. We'll walk through creating your first NFT on Polygon (free) and Ethereum.
Step 1: Set Up Your Wallet
If you don't have a Web3 wallet yet, install MetaMask:
- Go to metamask.io and download the browser extension
- Create a new wallet and set a strong password
- Write down your 12-word recovery phrase on paper - never store it digitally
- Verify your recovery phrase as prompted
See our wallet security guide for best practices on protecting your wallet.
Step 2: Fund Your Wallet (If Using Ethereum)
For Polygon minting, you can skip this step initially. For Ethereum:
- Buy ETH on an exchange like Coinbase or Kraken
- Copy your MetaMask wallet address (click on your address to copy)
- Withdraw ETH from the exchange to your MetaMask address
- Wait for the transaction to confirm (usually 5-15 minutes)
Budget at least 0.02-0.05 ETH for gas fees when minting on Ethereum mainnet.
Step 3: Connect to OpenSea
- Go to opensea.io (verify it's the official site)
- Click the wallet icon in the top right corner
- Select MetaMask from the wallet options
- Approve the connection in your MetaMask popup
- Sign the message to verify your wallet (this is free)
Step 4: Create a Collection
Before minting individual NFTs, you'll create a collection to house them:
- Click your profile icon, then "My Collections"
- Click "Create a collection"
- Upload a logo image (350x350 recommended)
- Add a featured image (600x400) and banner (1400x400)
- Enter collection name and description
- Select your blockchain (Ethereum or Polygon)
- Set your creator earnings (royalties) - typically 5-10%
- Add social links if desired
- Click "Create"
Step 5: Create Your NFT
- Click "Create" in the top navigation
- Upload your file (image, video, audio, or 3D model)
- Enter a name for your NFT
- Add an external link if you have a website or portfolio
- Write a description (this is important for discovery)
- Select your collection
- Add properties, levels, or stats if relevant
- Choose supply (1 for unique, or multiple for editions)
- Select the blockchain
- Click "Create"
Lazy Minting Explained
OpenSea uses "lazy minting" by default. This means your NFT isn't actually minted to the blockchain until someone buys it. You don't pay gas fees upfront - the buyer pays the gas when purchasing. This makes it free to create NFTs on OpenSea until they sell.
Step 6: List Your NFT for Sale
- Go to your newly created NFT's page
- Click "Sell"
- Choose a listing type:
- Fixed price: Set a buy-now price
- Timed auction: Buyers bid, highest wins
- Set your price in ETH (or MATIC for Polygon)
- Set listing duration (1 day to 6 months)
- Review fees (OpenSea 2.5% + your royalties)
- Click "Complete listing"
- Sign the transaction in MetaMask (free for first listing on a collection)
Understanding NFT Metadata
NFT metadata is the information attached to your token. Good metadata improves discoverability and adds value.
Essential Metadata Fields
- Name: Clear, memorable title for your NFT
- Description: Story behind the piece, medium, edition info
- Image/Media: The actual content file (stored on IPFS)
- External URL: Link to your portfolio or website
Optional Properties
- Traits/Properties: Attributes like "Background: Blue" or "Rarity: Legendary"
- Levels: Numeric traits with a max value (e.g., Power: 75/100)
- Stats: Numeric traits without a max (e.g., Generation: 1)
- Unlockable content: Hidden content only the owner can access
Pro Tip
"Well-organized traits are essential for collection NFTs. They enable rarity rankings, filtering on marketplaces, and help collectors find specific pieces. Plan your trait structure before minting your collection." - Blocklr Research Team
Setting Up Royalties
Creator royalties are one of the most powerful features of NFTs - you earn a percentage every time your NFT is resold.
How Royalties Work
- You set a royalty percentage when creating your collection (typically 5-10%)
- When someone resells your NFT, you automatically receive that percentage
- Royalties are paid from the sale price, not in addition to it
- Different marketplaces have different royalty enforcement policies
Royalty Considerations
- 0-2.5%: Collector-friendly, may increase trading volume
- 5%: Industry standard, balanced approach
- 7.5-10%: Higher creator earnings, may reduce trading activity
- 10%+: Generally discouraged, can hurt liquidity
Royalty Enforcement Warning
- Not all marketplaces enforce creator royalties
- Blur allows sellers to skip royalties entirely
- OpenSea enforces royalties for most collections
- On-chain royalty enforcement (EIP-2981) exists but isn't universally supported
- Consider this when setting expectations for secondary income
File Formats and Specifications
Supported File Types
- Images: JPG, PNG, GIF, SVG, WEBP
- Video: MP4, WEBM (with H.264 codec recommended)
- Audio: MP3, WAV, OGG
- 3D Models: GLB, GLTF
Recommended Specifications
- Maximum file size: 100MB (OpenSea), smaller is faster to load
- Image resolution: 2000x2000 to 4000x4000 pixels for quality
- Video length: Under 30 seconds loads best
- Aspect ratio: 1:1 (square) displays best on most marketplaces
Content Storage: IPFS vs Centralized
Where your NFT's actual content is stored matters for long-term permanence.
IPFS (InterPlanetary File System)
- Decentralized storage network
- Content is addressed by its hash (content-addressed)
- If the content changes, the hash changes
- OpenSea uses IPFS by default
- Requires pinning services to ensure persistence
Arweave
- Permanent, decentralized storage
- One-time payment for permanent storage
- Used by some premium platforms
- More expensive but truly permanent
Storage Best Practices
For important pieces, consider pinning your IPFS content through multiple services (Pinata, Infura, NFT.Storage) to ensure it remains accessible. Some creators also store backup copies on Arweave for permanent redundancy.
Minting Costs Breakdown
| Action | Ethereum | Polygon | Solana |
|---|---|---|---|
| Create collection | Free | Free | ~0.01 SOL |
| Mint NFT (lazy) | Free* | Free | N/A |
| Mint NFT (on-chain) | $5-50+ | ~$0.01 | ~$0.01 |
| First listing | One-time gas | Free | ~0.00001 SOL |
*With lazy minting, gas is paid by buyer when NFT sells
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Critical Mistakes
- Minting copyrighted content: Only mint what you have rights to create
- Wrong blockchain: You can't move NFTs between chains easily
- Typos in metadata: Check spelling - you can't edit after minting on most platforms
- Wrong supply number: Setting supply to 100 when you meant 1 is irreversible
- No promotion plan: Just minting doesn't mean anyone will see it
- Ignoring gas prices: Mint during low-traffic times to save on Ethereum
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to create an NFT?
On OpenSea with lazy minting, it's free to create - you only pay gas when someone buys. On Polygon, costs are negligible (under $0.01). On Ethereum mainnet, expect $5-50+ in gas fees depending on network congestion. Solana costs about $0.01.
Do I need to be an artist to create NFTs?
No. While digital art is the most common NFT use case, you can mint music, videos, photography, writing, 3D models, domain names, or any digital content you have rights to. Some successful NFT creators are photographers, musicians, or even meme makers.
Can I edit my NFT after minting?
On OpenSea with lazy minting, you can edit metadata until the NFT sells. Once it's on-chain (sold or manually minted), the token data is permanent. You may be able to update the image if it's hosted on regular servers, but IPFS-hosted content is immutable.
How do I promote my NFT?
Build a presence on Twitter/X and Discord where NFT communities gather. Share your creative process, engage with other artists, join NFT-focused communities, and consider collaborations. Quality content and genuine community engagement matter more than follower count.
What happens if my NFT doesn't sell?
With lazy minting, there's no loss - you haven't paid gas fees. You can lower the price, run a promotion, or remove the listing entirely. Many successful artists had pieces sit unsold for months before finding the right collector.
Can I mint the same image as multiple NFTs?
Technically yes, but it's generally frowned upon if you're selling them as unique pieces. If you want to sell multiple copies, use the "supply" feature to create editions (e.g., "1 of 10"). Minting the same image multiple times as "1 of 1" pieces is considered deceptive.