beginner
Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) are, without a doubt, one of the most revolutionary inventions in the crypto space. However, they have quite a few problems: for one, NFTs have a hard time staying popular. According to NonFungible.com, daily NFT sales have gone down from around 40K in August 2022 to 3–4K in July 2023.
But crypto teams wouldn’t be in this industry if they weren’t constantly searching for solutions. The Manifold team is no exception—they have created a platform that makes NFTs more accessible than ever.
In this article, I will outline how Manifold provides an intuitive platform for all NFT creators and guide you through it.
If you want to interact with NFTs, you might need to buy some Ethereum first. Also, don’t forget to get a crypto wallet that will support your newly minted assets.
What Is Manifold.xyz (Manifold)?
Manifold.xyz, established by several web3 developers—Eric Diep, Richerd Chan, and Wilkins Chung—is the first platform that enables NFT artists to enjoy true ownership of their work. With $7.9 million in seed funding, which they received in August 2021, Manifold has carved out a distinct space in the NFT market, promising a platform for creators to mint NFTs while retaining the chain provenance of their creations.
Manifold has gained the trust of a diverse range of artists and creators, including prominent figures such as Jay Z and Steve Aoki. They’ve all leveraged the Manifold platform to produce their custom NFTs. The allure of this platform lies not just in Manifold’s seamless user interface but also in the fact that it aims to provide everything NFT creators desire.
What Are No-Code NFTs?
No-code NFTs are a revolutionary step towards democratizing the NFT space. Platforms like Manifold.xyz allow users to create and mint NFTs without any coding skills. This accessibility breaks down the barriers to entry that have traditionally required knowledge of programming languages or blockchain development. No-code NFT platforms offer a simple, intuitive interface that allows anyone to create and mint their unique digital assets on the blockchain.
What Is the Manifold Creator Contract?
The Manifold Creator Contract is a game-changer for artists and creators. Unlike traditional methods of minting NFTs, where a third-party platform’s contract is used, Manifold Creator Contracts allow artists to mint NFTs under their own custom smart contract. This innovative feature ensures that artists are directly associated with their work rather than the marketplace’s third-party minting contract.
The Manifold Creator Contract maintains the chain provenance of NFTs, ensuring that creations are attributed to the artist. This function serves both creators and collectors—artists get the recognition they deserve, and buyers can trust that the NFTs they purchase from their favorite artists are authentic.
What Is the Manifold Studio?
Manifold Studio is a revolutionary tool for artists, offering an easy-to-use, seamless interface for minting NFTs with zero coding required. The studio supports high-resolution video and images (with an unlimited file size), attribute customization, video thumbnail customization, and compatibility with major NFT marketplaces like OpenSea, Rarible, Foundation, Nifty Gateway, SuperRare, and Zora.
The Manifold Studio takes care of all the technical back-end work, allowing artists to focus on creation. Once the contract symbol is deployed on the mainnet, artists have complete control over their smart contract, maintaining creative ownership while being able to mint ERC721 and ERC1155 tokens.
How to Create NFTs on Manifold
Creating NFTs on Manifold isn’t just about minting digital assets; it’s about harnessing smart contract technology to establish your unique digital identity. By allowing creators to deploy their own smart contracts, Manifold’s creator contract feature sets a new standard in creative ownership.
Here’s a step-by-step guide to creating your own NFTs on Manifold.
Step 1. Setting Up Your Manifold Account
If you’re new to Manifold and have never linked your wallet to an account, that’s what you’ll need to do first.
You can start by following these steps:
- Go to the Manifold website.
- Locate and click the STUDIO LOGIN button.
- Click on the Connect Wallet button in the top right corner of the screen.
- Confirm the transaction to log in.
- Next, you will need to identify yourself. Please note that you can fill in your pseudonym if you don’t want to share your name.
- Enter your email address (or don’t)—this is an entirely optional step.
- That’s it! Now, you can try out what Manifold Studio has to offer.
Step 2. Creating Your Own Smart Contract on Manifold Studio
From the Overview section of your Manifold Studio dashboard, you can launch new self-published NFT smart contracts or modify existing ones. Here’s how you can create a new smart contract:
- Click on the “New contract” button.
- Assign a name to your contract and select the NFT type.
- The two options you have are ERC721 (for unique items) and ERC1155 (for multiple items).
- Next, enter the symbol of your future contract.
- Lastly, you will need to add ASCII text. This is needed to brand the custom contracts.
Afterward, press the “Deploy on Goerli” button. Then, you will need to switch to the Goerli testnet in your wallet. You will need some Goerli Test ETH—you can get them via a Goerli faucet site. Simply enter your wallet address to receive 0.2 Goerli ETH.
Once you get them, you will need to return to the Manifold Studio. Click on the “Deploy on Goerli” button again and follow the instructions to start deploying your test smart contract. It should be done in under 10 minutes.
Step 3. Deploying Your Contract
To officially launch your contract on the Ethereum network, press “Deploy on Mainnet.” Upon completion, your NFT contract will be live, and you can start minting your first Manifold NFTs from your dashboard.
Step 4. Minting Your NFTs
In order to mint new tokens on Manifold, go to the Tokens tab on your NFT contract’s dashboard. Follow the platform’s instructions to create your own non-fungible tokens!
Is Manifold Worth Using?
Overall, the Manifold platform not only lets creators deploy their own smart contracts but also provides a user-friendly hub to create, manage, and sell NFTs. Whether you’re minting single tokens or entire batches, each piece created on Manifold is minted on the same contract, reinforcing the association between artists and their work.
Here are some of the additional features it provides.
- Open Editions. Deploy mint pages with the Claims tool for open edition NFTs.
- Manifold Gallery. A zero-fee NFT marketplace.
- Ranked Auctions. Set up a Ranked Auction.
- Burn to Redeem. Allows NFT holders to burn their NFTs for new or updated artwork.
… and many others.
Whether this platform is worth using or not is entirely up to you, but I think it provides a necessary and innovative solution that makes NFTs even more accessible than they have ever been. For me personally, its ease of use already makes it my go-to destination if I ever decide to mint my own NFTs.
FAQ
Is Manifold easy to use?
Yes, Manifold was created to make the NFT creation process a lot easier. The platform offers a seamless user interface that makes the minting process as simple as posting an item for sale on an online marketplace. To mint NFTs, all artists need to do is upload their assets, customize their metadata, and press the Mint button.
The beauty of Manifold lies in its simplicity—it doesn’t require extensive technical know-how. This accessibility allows a broader range of artists and NFT creators to engage with the space, fostering a diverse and inclusive creative community.
How does Manifold make money?
Despite its commitment to providing a platform for creators without charging percentage-based fees, Manifold.xyz still needs to sustain its operations. The solution is a small piece fee charged to the buyers of items collected through Manifold’s apps. This fee functions as a minimal “gas fee,” helping Manifold maintain the platform while ensuring that creators still receive 100% of the revenue from their sales.
By keeping this fee static, regardless of the value of the item being minted, Manifold aligns with the key values of Ethereum and promotes the sustainability of this NFT platform in the long term. It’s part of the Manifold team’s commitment to remain a robust platform for creators, allowing artists to deploy smart contracts, mint NFTs via Manifold Studio, and conduct airdrops for free.
What NFT projects have used Manifold?
Seeing how thanks to the Manifold Creator Contract, all NFT creators can make sure that their projects will be attributed to them and them only, a lot of artists and brands have used this platform. For example, Steve Aoki, Jay-Z, Snoop Dogg & Wiz Khalifa, Tectonics, and the American Heart Association have all chosen to mint Manifold NFTs.