3D-designed-cyberpunk-building-interior
The best NFT artists and coolest NFTs around right now.
The number of artists devoting their time to creating NFTs has skyrocketed in the past few years, with NFT art flooding online galleries and the wider Internet with one-of-a-kind visions.
Those in the know are keen to keep their finger on the pulse and the key to this is keeping an eye on the latest artwork being produced.
With this in mind, we’ve compiled a list of some of the coolest NFTs and best NFT artists working today, so you’ll know who to watch in the coming months.
Who are the top NFT artists?
Most well-known NFT artists come from the art, design and creative industries, though anyone can create their own NFT - and some of the biggest names come from unconventional places.
We’ve listed six of the most popular NFT artists here, in no particular order.
NB: Images shared here are visual examples and not the work of the artists in question.
Beeple.
US-based Beeple, aka Mike Winkelmann, is probably best known for his Everydays project, which has seen him produce a piece of artwork every day since 1 May 2007. However, he only began creating NFTs in 2021.
His artwork exists in the digital space, with the subject matter ranging from political satire to dystopian landscapes. Out of everything he’s produced, his most famous piece is almost certainly Everydays: the First 5000 Days. The piece itself is a collage of the first 5000 works created for the project.
Orange-and-red-abstract-swirls
Tyler Hobbs.
A visual artist from Austin, Texas who specialises in algorithms and plotters, it’s no surprise that Hobbs is one of the coolest NFT artists on the scene. Focusing on aesthetics generated by computer hardware and software, his works are often geometric in design and incorporate elements of randomness. His pieces are as fascinating as they are unique.
Summer Wagner.
Summer Wagner is a photographer who captures ethereal and surreal images through the lens of their camera. Once they’ve captured these otherworldly pictures, they use Adobe Lightroom to paint with light and colour - and bring out fantastical elements through a muted palette and shadows.
Shortly after moving into the NFT space, they quickly became one of the most popular NFT photography artists. Their work is intentionally open to interpretation and public feeling ranges from eeriness to lyrical, making them one of the coolest NFT producers working today.
XCOPY.
London-born XCOPY is known for his distinctive style and hugely popular ‘glitch art’ NFTs. Often producing tongue-in-cheek works, his most famous NFT is Right-click and Save As guy, playing off of a frequently heard comment surrounding digital art.
Dystopian, satirical and VERY self-aware, XCOPY has built up a strong following in the NFT world. He continues to be one of the most popular NFT designers working today.
Mae.
Mae is a 3D landscape artist from the east coast of Australia, creating dreamlike landscapes that blend the recognisable with the alien to make something wholly new.
Using art as a means of escapism, Mae has built a series of otherworldly spaces that invite the viewer to step inside. Mae’s use of colour, light and space creates a world where hills rise like waves and trees bend under a setting sun. Her work has resulted in some of the coolest NFT landscapes you’ll ever see.
Shavonne Wong.
Singapore-based Shavonne Wong began her career in fashion and advertising photography. But when she couldn’t shoot models in person due to the 2020 pandemic, she took to 3D modelling instead.
The resulting process led Wong to produce NFTs, combining fashion photography with digital art. Today, she’s the first person to have an NFT on the front page of Vogue - and has exhibited in the iconic Venice Biennale.
Learn how to create and make NFT art.
Create NFT Art from scratch or turn your artwork into an NFT.
Side-profile-of-3D-fantasy-character
Often, NFT artists release or ‘drop’ a large number of limited-edition digital assets in one go, referred to as an ‘NFT collection’. These collections tend to contain NFTs that follow the same design and style, but feature variations on each token.
Common examples include avatars with randomised expressions, clothes or accessories, resulting in many unique art pieces in one fell swoop.
Here are some of the top NFT collections going.
Bored Ape Yacht Club.
Without doubt one of the most famous NFT collections, Bored Ape Yacht Club (or BAYC) is well known even outside the immediate NFT community. Thanks to celebrity backers and a distinctive collection of simian avatars, BAYC have become something of a masthead for NFTs.
The collection’s tokens have the added benefit of providing access to an online club and in-person events, adding a communal aspect to NFT ownership.
Azuki.
Following a similar model to BAYC, the Azuki collection features 10,000 anime-style avatars that have proven to be some of the most popular NFTs on the market. Like many collections, Azuki’s popularity gained traction through word of mouth, influencer approval and a general hype that formed around the project.
Additionally, part of the appeal doubtless revolved around the creators’ future plans to produce an in-depth metaverse, complete with lore and backstory.
Otherdeed for Otherside.
From the same creative team behind Bored Ape Yacht Club, Otherdeed is focused on a virtual plot of land. Complete with sediment, environments and even artefacts, owning a BAYC granted holders the opportunity to claim a piece of the map. The other pieces were distributed via other means.
Stoked by the popularity of the BAYC, it didn’t take long for Otherdeed to grow to be one of the top NFT collections.
Pudgy Penguins.
As cute as the name might suggest, Pudgy Penguins is a collection of adorable penguin avatars, each donning a mix of increasingly outlandish outfits. With an already strong following among NFT fans, the team behind the penguins are now thinking of taking things off-line.
The visual appeal of this NFT collection is plain to see, but the community around the collection is also a big draw to many.
CryptoPunks.
Composed of 10,000 uniquely generated pixel heads, these were some of the first NFTs to break into the mainstream. However, they are now hugely popular pieces of art in their own right.
With no two the same, these easily identifiable characters have a retro feel and are reminiscent of late 90s and early 00s Internet culture. This, no doubt, adds to their appeal.
Earliest NFT art and how it’s evolved.
Blue-bust-against-bright- background
Like many things that began on the Internet, the exact history of NFTs is hard to pinpoint. However, unlike most artforms, they are an incredibly recent phenomenon, only beginning in 2012.
In fact, the first NFT that we’d recognise today wasn’t made until 2nd May 2014.
From there, the medium has grown from an obscure part of Internet culture to an increasingly common part of everyday digital life, where even popular music artists are releasing albums as NFTs.
Let’s explore some of the earliest NF creations and the impact they made on the art world.
Quantum - 2014.
Generally considered to be the first ever NFT artwork, Quantum was created by Kevin McCoy with the help of coder Anil Dash. Motivated by the lack of recognition artists were getting on social media sites, McCoy devised a way to ensure an artist could track and take ownership of their works. A pixelated image that features neon pulsating circles within an octagon, the piece was a landmark in the world of NFTs.
CryptoPunks - 2017.
Created by Canadian software developers Matte Hall and John Watkinson in June 2017, the inspiration for the popular NFT project came from the London punk scene and cyberpunk visuals as well. Since then, the original collection has gone on to inspire a number of NFT art sensations.
ArtBlocks - 2020.
Something of an outlier on this list, ArtBlocks isn’t a singular NFT - but is instead a platform that provides a means of creating art. Launched by Erick Calderón in 2020, it allows artists to upload code that will then create unique works every time it is run.
With every output “created” by the artist, Calderón wanted to challenge artists to build code that would only generate art they’d be happy to put their name to. This is instead of simply cherry-picking their favourite.
Trends, coolest NFTs and where the creative direction is heading.
Line-drawing-of-mountains-with-moon
Just as the wider art world sees trends come and go, NFT styles are also subject to rising and falling in popularity.
Thanks to new artists constantly emerging and new technologies challenging conventions, it can be hard to keep track of what’s current - and what’s yesterday’s news.
With this in mind, we’ve selected some popular NFT trends to look out for.
Pixel art.
Did pixel art ever really go away? Beginning with the early computers of the 70s and 80s, this fun style has outlived the machines it was originally designed on and now made it to the world of NFTs.
Requiring very little of those looking to get to grips with the art form, but offering excellent depth to those who want to flaunt their talent, NFT pixel art is experiencing something of a renaissance. The video game community in particular loves this throwback to classic characters and experiences.
3D-pixel-image-of-a-cow
Futurism.
For some, the world of NFTs already feels like science-fiction. Unsurprisingly then, futuristic styles are proving to be incredibly popular among fans of the art form. Whether it’s humanoid avatars, chromatic landscapes or abstract shapes that resemble the front page of a sci-fi novel, the future is here to stay.
3D styles.
Today’s artists are using 3D modelling to create things previously unheard of and, as technology develops and software improves, it’ll become much easier to create it. Today, you can observe 3D art and its influences in all corners of the NFT art world.
Adobe’s range of software provides you with everything you need to bring your NFT ideas to life.
Adobe Creative Cloud - Create your very own NFTs and make your mark on the digital art world.
Adobe Photoshop - Design, create and edit with Photoshop. Our software makes creating unique NFTs a breeze.
Adobe Illustrator - Bring your project to life with Illustrator and create distinctive graphics today.
Adobe InDesign - Once you’ve got your content, make it stand out from the rest with InDesign.
Adobe XD - Build a website that reflects you and your NFTs with Adobe XD.
Adobe Animate - Stand out from the crowd and create a moving NFT with Adobe Animate.
Adobe Substance 3D Stager - Flesh out your creations with 3D Stager and create the spaces you need.
Best NFT art: FAQs.
Cartoon-characters-posing
Who is the most famous NFT artist?
The most famous NFT artist today is probably Beeple. Renowned for his Everydays series, where he creates a new artwork every day, this didn’t actually begin as an NFT project - yet quickly made the transition to the digital world.
What is the most popular NFT art?
Many would claim that the most popular NFT artwork is a collage named Everydays: The First 5000 Days by Beeple. When it comes to sought-after styles of artwork, pixel art is especially popular in the NFT landscape.
What is the most successful NFT collection?
CryptoPunks became without doubt one of the first serious, high-profile NFT collections, introducing many thousands of people to the entire art concept. Unsurprisingly, this instrumental role in popularising NFTs has resulted in large amounts of success for the team behind the project.