How I made $3000 in 3 weeks selling AI-generated art? π°
Last week I showed you how you can use VQGAN+CLIP to generate interesting images based on text prompts.
Now, I'll tell you how I sold some of these as NFTs for more than $3000 in less than 3 weeks.
Let's go π
Last week I showed you how you can use VQGAN+CLIP to generate interesting images based on text prompts.
Now, I'll tell you how I sold some of these as NFTs for more than $3000 in less than 3 weeks.
Let's go π
Background
I've been interested in NFTs for 2 months now and one collection I find interesting is @cryptoadzNFT. What's special about it is that the creator @supergremplin published all of the art in the public domain. This spurred the creation of many derivative projects.
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I've been interested in NFTs for 2 months now and one collection I find interesting is @cryptoadzNFT. What's special about it is that the creator @supergremplin published all of the art in the public domain. This spurred the creation of many derivative projects.
π
The Idea π‘
My idea was to use VQGAN+CLIP to create interesting versions of the CrypToadz. So, I started experimenting with my own toad #6741.
I took the original NFT image as a start and experimented a lot with different text prompts. The results were very promising!
π
My idea was to use VQGAN+CLIP to create interesting versions of the CrypToadz. So, I started experimenting with my own toad #6741.
I took the original NFT image as a start and experimented a lot with different text prompts. The results were very promising!
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Monetizing π°
But how to sell these? I got inspired by the GelToadz project by @DannyZareto. People that own a CrypToad would be able to commission an AI Toad from me.
I also wanted people to be able to add some personal touch to the AI Toad by specifying some custom theme
π
But how to sell these? I got inspired by the GelToadz project by @DannyZareto. People that own a CrypToad would be able to commission an AI Toad from me.
I also wanted people to be able to add some personal touch to the AI Toad by specifying some custom theme
π
Website π
I hacked a minimal single-page website with @tailwindcss and launched it on @Netlify in a day. For orders, I used a free Airtable form where people could enter their CrypToad ID, wallet address, and their custom theme. Keep it simple!
aitoadz.xyz
π
I hacked a minimal single-page website with @tailwindcss and launched it on @Netlify in a day. For orders, I used a free Airtable form where people could enter their CrypToad ID, wallet address, and their custom theme. Keep it simple!
aitoadz.xyz
π
Price π·οΈ
I decided to go with an incremental price:
βͺοΈ First 10 Ai Toadz cost 0.05 ETH ($230)
βͺοΈ The next 10 Ai Toadz cost 0.1 ETH ($460)
βͺοΈ After that each Ai Toadz cost 0.2 ETH ($920)
The update of the price on the website is manual by me changing the HTML π€·ββοΈ
π
I decided to go with an incremental price:
βͺοΈ First 10 Ai Toadz cost 0.05 ETH ($230)
βͺοΈ The next 10 Ai Toadz cost 0.1 ETH ($460)
βͺοΈ After that each Ai Toadz cost 0.2 ETH ($920)
The update of the price on the website is manual by me changing the HTML π€·ββοΈ
π
Launch π
I launched it on Twitter and a couple of Discord servers and started getting 1-2 orders per day.
An important step was to also get my project listed on toadztoolz.com - a website acting as a directory of all CrypToadz related projects.
π
I launched it on Twitter and a couple of Discord servers and started getting 1-2 orders per day.
An important step was to also get my project listed on toadztoolz.com - a website acting as a directory of all CrypToadz related projects.
π
Creating NFTs π¨
I use a popular Colab notebook modified so I can easily run multiple experiments. For each order, I try different prompts and styles until I have 2-3 variants I like and that fit the theme provided by the client.
Experiments for #6067 "War never changes"
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I use a popular Colab notebook modified so I can easily run multiple experiments. For each order, I try different prompts and styles until I have 2-3 variants I like and that fit the theme provided by the client.
Experiments for #6067 "War never changes"
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After that, I contact the client and show them the variants I have. In some cases, I make some additional experiments based on the feedback. Some people want specific features to be visible, while others like particular styles more.
This is the artistic part of the process!
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This is the artistic part of the process!
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In some rare cases getting the desired results wasn't easy, so I had to do some tricks. I either modified one of the intermediate images to enforce a particular look or created two separate versions. In the video, I had to blend both versions using DaVinci Resolve.
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Compute π»
Some toadz are easy, but some require a lot of experimentation with the prompt. To be efficient, I define multiple experiments and let them run for hours in the background. I subscribed to Google Colab Pro+ so I can run 2 notebooks in parallel on a P100.
π
Some toadz are easy, but some require a lot of experimentation with the prompt. To be efficient, I define multiple experiments and let them run for hours in the background. I subscribed to Google Colab Pro+ so I can run 2 notebooks in parallel on a P100.
π
NFT βοΈ
After an AI Toad is ready I create a video NFT using OpenSea. It is really easy and free! You need to provide:
βͺοΈ The video
βͺοΈ A thumbnail
βͺοΈ Name
βͺοΈ Description
βͺοΈ Optional properties (I didn't specify any)
βͺοΈ Collection
π
After an AI Toad is ready I create a video NFT using OpenSea. It is really easy and free! You need to provide:
βͺοΈ The video
βͺοΈ A thumbnail
βͺοΈ Name
βͺοΈ Description
βͺοΈ Optional properties (I didn't specify any)
βͺοΈ Collection
π
Collection ποΈ
Creating a collection for the AI Toadz NFTs is also easy - you need a description and some images for banner, logo, and social media previews.
Check out the AI Toadz collection on OpenSea here:
opensea.io/collection/ai-β¦
π
Creating a collection for the AI Toadz NFTs is also easy - you need a description and some images for banner, logo, and social media previews.
Check out the AI Toadz collection on OpenSea here:
opensea.io/collection/ai-β¦
π
Sale π€
I then list the NFT for the agreed price as a private sale - only for the wallet address holding the original CrypToad.
OpenSea uses a process called lazy minting, so there are no gas fees for the creator! The NFT is minted on the blockchain with the first sale.
π
I then list the NFT for the agreed price as a private sale - only for the wallet address holding the original CrypToad.
OpenSea uses a process called lazy minting, so there are no gas fees for the creator! The NFT is minted on the blockchain with the first sale.
π
Orders π
Now some statistics on the current state of the orders:
βͺοΈ 15 valid orders for a total of 1 ETH ($4600)
βͺοΈ 11 AI Toadz actually sold for a total of 0.7 ETH ($3300)
βͺοΈ 4 AI Toadz in progress
βͺοΈ Current price 0.1 ETH ($460)
π
Now some statistics on the current state of the orders:
βͺοΈ 15 valid orders for a total of 1 ETH ($4600)
βͺοΈ 11 AI Toadz actually sold for a total of 0.7 ETH ($3300)
βͺοΈ 4 AI Toadz in progress
βͺοΈ Current price 0.1 ETH ($460)
π
Summary π
To summarize my process:
βͺοΈ Create a simple website and AIrtable form to collect orders
βͺοΈ Experiment with different prompts for VQGAN+CLIP
βͺοΈ Iterate with the client if needed
βͺοΈ Create NFT on OpenSea and sell it
π
To summarize my process:
βͺοΈ Create a simple website and AIrtable form to collect orders
βͺοΈ Experiment with different prompts for VQGAN+CLIP
βͺοΈ Iterate with the client if needed
βͺοΈ Create NFT on OpenSea and sell it
π
Next βΆοΈ
I don't plan any big marketing effort. If orders stop coming I may post more about them on Twitter/Discord and also create some free ones for members of the community to boost the visibility. This is supposed to stay a small side-project.
No roadmap - only !vibes π
I don't plan any big marketing effort. If orders stop coming I may post more about them on Twitter/Discord and also create some free ones for members of the community to boost the visibility. This is supposed to stay a small side-project.
No roadmap - only !vibes π
The AI Toadz πΈ
I shared some examples across the thread, but if you want to browse all of them check out the collection on OpenSea:
opensea.io/collection/ai-β¦
I shared some examples across the thread, but if you want to browse all of them check out the collection on OpenSea:
opensea.io/collection/ai-β¦
Ressources π
If you are interested in how you can use VQGAN+CLIP to generate your own images, check out my thread here
If you are interested in how you can use VQGAN+CLIP to generate your own images, check out my thread here
https://twitter.com/haltakov/status/1455982555610636291
I regularly post threads on machine learning, but now I'm increasingly looking at the intersection of machine learning with wen3, NFTs, and crypto.
Follow me @haltakov for more!
Follow me @haltakov for more!
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