Before the internet, artists had limited channels to get their work in front of other people.

Who they reached would depend entirely on the gallery owners or auction houses they partnered up with.

Social media platforms changed this. Artists can grow their following organically by showcasing their work to anyone with access to the internet.

Their social media profiles are their online, digital portfolios. They can be used to work with different brands, accept paid commissions, or collaborate with other artists.

Web 2.0 showed that there is room for new technologies in traditional art and web3 is changing the game yet again as many artists have made money through NFTs but also found outlets and venues for wider exposure and creativity.

While awareness and further reach were also made possible by Web 2.0, the biggest change for artists is their relationship with their own work.

What does that mean?

Here are the biggest changes.

With web3, you no longer have to depend on brands, auction houses, dealers, or galleries to get your art sold or processed.

Decentralized ways to display art mean that any artist, anywhere in the world, can publish and sell their work.

By using the blockchain as a means of verification, their digital art can be verified and authenticated by buyers and sellers.

Now purchases can be made on the underlying authenticity of the art and not just on the fact if a piece looks similar to the original or not.

Long story short, people can tell if your digital art is real or not.

Furthermore, artists no longer have to give up full control of their work when they try to sell their work: galleries, intermediaries, or individuals cannot intervene in transactions.

This is because everything done in web3 is executed via smart contracts.

Additionally, smart contracts also allow artists to code their own terms into each art piece.

For the first time in history, artists can collect royalties from secondary sales: when the initial buyer sells it to someone else, the artist can collect a certain percentage of that sale to keep for themselves.

This royalty was often charged by intermediaries for their services but now artists can take back their control over their own work.

One point to note is that on some platforms royalties are changing.

However, with technologies that enable you to own your own smart contracts, the opportunity to have control over your own work persists.

This means that through blockchain technology, you can make a living by going to the market directly, regardless of where you live and your background.

So how can you get started as an artist wanting to navigate the web3 space?

You can always get started by selling your art directly on NFT marketplaces like OpenSea, Rarible, or SuperRare.

Or you can collect art, be a buyer, and even be a digital artist. There are many careers that exist in the space while others are still being shaped. It's important to be open to change.

We’ll teach you more about this soon and you’ll hear from a variety of artists in our University courses. But for now, let’s show you what you can do as an artist in web3…