Lesson 3: What types of NFT Art are there?

Types of NFT art

Not all NFT art is the same - there are several distinct fields which each have their own quirks and communities who are interested in them. Here they are:

Generative Art

Generative art (GA) is artwork that has been created by an artist-built system that is given autonomy to create. They usually involve an element of chance. There are two main types of generative art:

• Layer based: this is where the artist creates a series of traits that are randomly combined to create pieces of art.
• Algorithmic: this is where the artist creates a rule-based computer programme that produces the artwork.

PFPs/ Avatars

This is the art that most people think of when they think about NFT art. It’s essentially any NFt art that you can imagine using as a Twitter profile picture. Usually these pieces are characters in a layer-based generative collection, where each character has a unique combination of pre-programmed traits (for example background colour, eye colour, what hat they are wearing).

These avatars often act as a passkey to a community, where the artwork you own represents you within the community. Many communities are based around a backstory which develops over time, or are constructed around a shared identity.

One-of-one (1/1)

These pieces are most similar to real world art pieces - where each piece is unique and produced directly by the artist, not algorithmically generated. 

NFT photography

It is possible to sell photographs as NFTs. Often photographs are sold as one-of-ones, so the owner of the NFT has exclusive ownership of the work.

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