NFTs have given artists and digital creators a platform to thrive. For the past centuries, artists such as Picasso and Leonardo Da Vinci have enjoyed everybody’s respect for some of their iconic paintings, such as the Mona Lisa. Even though they are still valued today, people have also started talking about and respecting digital artists such as Beeple.
This article will look at some of the artists you should look out for this year. We will also mention a few of their projects that did well in the past years to help you understand their potential. We hope to increase your digital art appreciation after this. Here are some of the artists worth your time and money:
1. Beeple
Beeple is one of the most successful NFT artists at the moment. He holds the record for the most expensive NFT collage sold at Christie’s. Known officially as Mike Winkelmann, Beeple managed to sell Everyday: the First 5000 Days for a record-breaking $69 million. He is considered the third most valuable living artist, after Jeff Koons and David Hockney, of course.
The artwork consisted of 5000 digital images that he created for his Everyday series. Beeple put lots of work into it, creating new pieces every day and building a gallery. He definitely got what he deserved for the price. If you wonder what he does now, he is still making digital art and sharing it on platforms. He has also taken an interest in real and metaverse concerts and has worked with different artists such as Justin Bieber, Childish Gambino, and Nicki Minaj.
Beople also holds a record of the shortest time to sell a digital artwork, securing $582,000 in under five minutes for one of his pieces. To several creators in the digital world, he is considered a living legend, a name he truly deserves based on these achievements. He has also gained a massive following on social media, where he posts daily animations and illustrations. This Charleston native is a force worth watching and has inspired many artists to try digital art by showing everyone that they can do it.
2. Fewocious
Second on our list is Victor Langois, popularly known as Ferocious. Just like Beeple, this digital artist has achieved a lot in a short duration, which shows just how digital art can be lucrative if approached right. He became famous in early 2021 after a partnership with the renowned musician Two Feet, making more than $1 million selling NFT art in Nifty Gateway, one of the best performing NFT platforms at the moment.
Langlois has a dark past and doesn’t shy away from telling people that he turned to art to escape his abusive family. He has done pretty well, affirming that every cloud has a silver lining indeed. His story with NFT started after an art collector encouraged him to keep on making and selling art as NFT, shortly after buying his project ‘Moment I Fell in Love’. Ferocious took up the advice and has done something good with his art.
The artist joined SuperRare, an NFT marketplace that offers unique and exquisite art collections, where he managed to earn thousands of dollars in a few months. It is reported that Mr. Langlois has managed to sell over 3000 pieces of digital art, each going for an average of $5812.16, which should be an answer if you were still doubting how lucrative NFT is. Victor’s success may be the sign you have been waiting for.
Fewocious’s art can be described as personal, evident from the dreamy tones and monochrome slides. Most of his artworks also have splashes of paint and opens up art lovers to a world of nostalgia. He definitely deserves to be on this list.
3. Trevor Jones
Trevor Jones’ work is quite different from the two digital artists we have reviewed. His art doesn’t come from personal experiences but rather focuses more on tech and its impact on viewers. He decided to try his luck in the NFT world after these tokens became increasingly popular and has fortunately garnered a massive following from different fronts.
Trevor mostly explores how technology engages viewers and actively impacts their viewing experience. His work reflects his interest in crypto, just like his audience. He combines traditional and digital tech to create art, bringing fresh ideas into a world that will be crowded soon as more digital artists join the ever-growing network day in day out.
Trevor is mostly known for The Bitcoin Bull, an NFT that went for over $20000 in Nifty Gateway. He holds the highest average sales on platforms such as SuperRare, amounting to roughly $5326. His first NFT on the platform went for $10000, which should tell you just how good this artist is.
We can’t also fail to mention ‘Genesis’, a maiden project by Trevor and Jose Delbo. This beautiful pencil drawing featured a Batman image, going for 302 ETH at Makers Place. Like the other two artists, he has had a good run, meaning that you should watch out for him in this new year.
4. Snowfro
Snowfro is an interesting name for an artist. You are definitely wondering what it means and why Erick Calderon decided to take it up. Well, this NFT artist names himself after a snow cone stand he owned back in the day. He is a digital artist and entrepreneur known for his platform Art Blocks.
Just like Trevor Jones, Snowfro is also interested in tech. Art Blocks is the first-ever platform that allows creators to develop on-demand computer-generated artworks, evidence that the NFT world is fast growing. It is highly receptive to technology and will be a different scene soon, especially when Facebook’s Metaverse comes up.
Snowfro started coding at a young age, later settling for project mapping installations at different music events before entering the NFT world in 2017. He’s been there for a while, judging from some of the artists we are about to review.
A while later, he thought of an idea that saw him create a platform allowing artists to write generative scripts on the Blockchain, which are unique. That’s how Art Blocks, Snowfro’s platform, was created, an invention that has been successful over the years. He is also known for Chromie Squiggle, a computer-generative art NFT project supporting several interaction methods. For example, it changes when hovered over.
Snowfro is worth following in 2022 since he has shown how rewarding the NFT scene is when one is passionate enough.
5. Pak
If you’ve been reading a lot about NFT projects, the chances are that you must have come across Pak, one of the most successful NFT artists who has managed to stay anonymous. Their art, therefore, comes with a level of mystery. You can compare Pak to Bitcoin’s founder Satoshi Nakamoto, who has managed to remind anonymous despite his Bitcoin ownership massively growing over the years.
One can argue that Pak’s mystery has been impactful. You will not find anything meaningful about the artist’s identity, despite growing popularity on Twitter and Instagram. Pak has attracted several followers, including the world’s richest man, Elon Musk.
When it comes to some of the artist’s projects, we must mention The Gift, a piece of art posted on Nifty Gateway. Pak announced that the art was for any auction house that requested it but as a donation. He/She( nobody can tell the gender) has made over $16,000 000 selling over 1600 artworks. The Metarift is one of the most expensive products in the catalog, making over $900,000 in March 2021.
It would be best to look out for Pak this year. The artist exudes a level of mystery, continues making high-quality art, is also quite popular, and has gained a massive following recently. To earn such respect and admiration while staying anonymous is the work of a genius. It is also worth noting that this is Pak’s third decade in the world of digital art. They(auction houses have reported that the artist prefers to be referred to this way) deserve a place in the digital art world. Other professional abilities include design and programming.
6. Mad Dog Jones
You can tell that a person is great just from their nickname. Well, Mad Dog is one of the best NFT artists of our time. He hails from Canada and has managed to record an impressive performance in the past, showing just how lucrative digital art is. The artist had managed to mark his territory, blending music and art, allowing him to attract both art and music lovers alike.
Most people define Mad Dog’s work as surreal and dynamic, which may explain how he has managed to sell more than 15000 NFT coding art, making close to $10,000 per piece. I hope that by now, you can see the possibility of becoming a multimillionaire just from NFT alone. Do not, therefore, shy away from putting your work out there for the world to see.
It is also worth noting that Jones is one of the most expensive and sought-after Canadian artists, a position he earned after selling his very first crypto art at Phillips. He has created other iconic projects such as Replicator, a digital art reproducer that produces a new NFT every month. It, therefore, functions more or less like a copier, meaning that you will have several NFTs as a buyer, which you can resell afterward. The replicator is definitely worth considering.
Michah Dohback, his real name, identifies as a purely digital artist. Thanks to his limitless ambition and artistic possibilities, he has enjoyed a lucrative career over the years. Mad Dog is a true definition of an artistic genius by combining music and art.
7. Hackatao
Our seven recommendation is Hackatao, who has enjoyed a lucrative career just like Mad Dog Jones. Note that this is a group of two people, Nadia Squarci and Sergio Scarlet. You definitely agree that Hackatao sounds like a cool name and must therefore have a history. Well, it consists of two terms, hack and tao.
Tao refers to Yin and Yang, an Ancient Chinese philosophy that describes how complementary forces can be interconnected. On the other hand, Hack means ‘pleasures under the skin’ and may also involve finding what is inside. Hackathon, therefore, looks deep into digital currencies, society, humanity, and environmental issues.
These two artists have managed to make crazy profits, enjoying an average of over $7000 for their art pieces. They have sold more than 1500 pieces and therefore have a position on the NFT creators’ chart. They once came up with a flesh and blood digital animation of the North Korean president Kim Jong Un, known the world over for different reasons. They christened it ‘Kim King Un-Dead and Alive’, making over $250,000. This is an industry worth joining.
The duo joined the digital art space in 2018, and judging from their achievements; we can accurately say that they have had a good run. You should expect more this coming year as NFT enjoys more popularity and embraces technology.
8. XCOPY
XCOPY is a London-based NFT artist with a total artwork value of over $45,000,000. He has created a name in the NFT artwork industry owing to his passion and commitment to crypto. This artist has sold over 2000 NFT artworks, exploring different themes, mostly sad.
Therefore, if you are a collector looking for an artist who creates art focusing on death and apathy, XCOPY is your go-to digital creator. Note that he has been part of the NFT family from the start, which explains the artwork value he has managed to create over time. His presence was felt on SuperRare, where he sold over 100 NFTs before moving to Nifty Gateway, where he has made a fortune. You can learn a few things from him if you enjoy exploring dark themes.
You will mostly notice distorted visual loops and flashing imagery earning in most of his pieces. He has created a name for himself as an artist with a deep appreciation for flashing lights, a pattern all over his art. XCOPY is one of the few artists who have managed to sell artwork for over a million dollars after a buyer purchased a piece for $5,119 491. This was a scribbled portrait of a title character with a suit, tie, and sporting eyes right from a nightmare while clawed at the sockets. You can feel the dystopia right from the description.
9. SlimeSunday
Our list cannot be complete without mentioning SlimeSunday, an artist who has created art worth over $13 million. Known official as Mike Parisella, this digital creator hails from Boston. Slime has created a niche for himself through his art, focusing on topics that are not acceptable in the mainstream media. He is constantly pushing his limits and has since earned a following of over 500 000 on Instagram alone. A glance at his page will tell you just how daring this NFT creator is.
Slime mostly explores bizarre and erotic topics, serving several people’s fantasies, judging from his lucrative career. He has sold over 6500 pieces of artwork and still keeps on producing more. Unlike the other artists on our list, his average is quite low, with his pieces of art averaging roughly $3300 apiece. He has also worked with renowned electronic producer 3lau, who has benefitted from the NFT scene through virtual concerts.
Together with 3lau, SlimeSunday creates the ssx3lau duo. He boasts of ‘Gunky’s Rising’, a top-selling piece of art he developed alongside 3lau, offering the much-needed visuals. Slime has also made huge profits from solo pieces such as ‘The Process’ where he reveals his digital collage-making process with 3lau’s music in the background. You will definitely love his pieces.
10. Videodrome
Our last artist is Videodrome, who, just like SlimeSunday, has managed to create art worth over 13.5 million dollars. Officially known as Robbie Barrat, Videodrome is on the list of top best-selling NFT artists of all time. However, due to his love for the environment, the artist announced that he would not participate in the NFT market until the environmental aspect of NFT mining was corrected.
However, at the time of the announcement, he didn’t know that the value of his artwork would increase sporadically. Therefore, the value of his art comes from only 41 pieces that have been sold under his name. He created an AI-generated painting that went for $1 336 187.70, earning him a place in the small list of NFT artists who have managed to sell a piece for a million dollars.
We can expect the return of this artist as more platforms and crypto enthusiasts call for environmentally friendly minting. Firms such as Edmonton have doubled their efforts in controlling the impact of NFTs on the environment, which is a good sign.
Conclusion
Digital artists are making a killing in the NFT scene. Artists such as Videodrome made over $13 million just from 41 art pieces, showing just how lucrative this industry is. This, therefore, should be a wake-up call in case you have been eyeing the NFT industry.
