What are Solana 1-of-1 NFTs?
Written by Alchemy
Reviewed by Brady Werkheiser
NFTs (Non-Fungible Tokens) are a form of digital art that use blockchain technology to verify ownership, authenticity, and rarity of a piece of digital art.
NFTs can either be 1-of-1, have many unique NFTs in a larger collection as is the case with generative NFTs, or be the same NFT with multiple editions.
In this article we will discuss what 1/1 NFTs are, how they work, Solana NFT marketplaces that specialize in helping creators mint and sell 1/1s, and finally we'll look at a few of the most popular 1/1 artists on Solana.
What is a 1-of-1 NFT?
A 1-of-1 NFT (also known as a 1/1 NFT, one-of-one, or OOO), only has one edition of the artwork, and was not generated in bulk. Popular artists that sell one-of-a-kind NFTs that record high sales prices because of their limited quantity, unique artwork, and exclusivity.
How are 1-of-1 NFTs different from generative NFTs?
Generative NFTs are NFTs that are made by combining a set number of design assets as layers into a piece of art, and randomizing the variations of each layer to make a large quantity of unique NFTs. These traits could include assets such as:
Background type
Eye type
Outfit
Accessory type
Facial expression
The artist then specifies the frequency that each trait appears among the NFTs in the collection to create rarity amongst the NFTs in the collection.
The script then randomly selects one variation for each trait and layers the assets on top of one another to compose a unique design. This process is repeated as many times as the artist wants, or until all the possible combinations are exhausted.
What types of media can be used to create 1-of-1 NFTs
1-of-1 NFTs can be most forms of art like a drawing, photograph, music, writing, trading cards, videos, or even podcasts. This is ideal for artists who want to only have 1 copy of their art available for ownership such as a music video, photograph, or drawing.
However, for artists who want their art to be more widely available for purchase, it is better to make many editions of the work of art. This is particularly useful for music NFTs where an artist might want to create multiple editions of their album so multiple people can own it.
In this scenario, NFTs can still be unique based on the edition number or other NFT metadata.
How do 1-of-1 NFTs work?
1-of-1 NFTs are often minted and sold on 1-of-1 NFT marketplaces. You can make a 1-of-1 NFT by following the same process for making an NFT in general. These are the general steps you need to follow:
Create the digital art that will become your NFT
Choose a blockchain to create your NFT on
Choose a marketplace to sell your NFT on
Connect your wallet and create an account
Use the marketplace's minting workflow to upload and mint your art
Once the NFT is minted and in your wallet, list it for sale
To mint a 1-of-1 NFT on Solana, artists can use the 1-of-1 NFT marketplace's guided minting tool to create NFTs such as is the case with Exchange.Art.
What blockchain should I use to make a 1-of-1 NFT?
The Ethereum and Solana blockchains have pros and cons for any kind of transaction. Both blockchains vary in their block times, transactions per second, scalability, gas fees, and more. Let’s look at specifically the pros and cons of each blockchain for minting 1-of-1 NFTs.
Ethereum Pros & Cons
Ethereum is the most commonly used blockchain for NFTs, and therefore has the most marketplaces, buyers, and transaction volumes. If you are looking to gain a larger audience for your NFT, then Ethereum could be the best option.
However, Ethereum can only execute around 13-15 transactions per second while Solana can execute 4,000 transactions per second. This results in a longer transaction time and higher gas fees when using Ethereum.
Because Ethereum uses a Proof-of-Work (PoW) consensus model to verify transactions which requires more time and energy, and because the amount of transactions that can fit into a single block is relatively small compared to the total number of pending transactions, Ethereum is slower and more expensive than Solana.
Solana Pros & Cons
The main advantages of building on Solana are its significantly faster transaction times and lower gas fees compared. Solana uses a Proof-of-Stake consensus mechanism for verifying transactions and uses Sealevel, a method for running parallel transactions to increase throughput.
While Ethereum has more features for developers and a larger number of total users, Solana’s lower transaction times and gas fees have attracted a lot of attention from builders and collectors over the last year. Today, even Ethereum's largest NFT marketplaces like OpenSea and Rarible support Solana NFTs.
What exchanges are used to make 1-of-1 NFTs?
1-of-1 NFTs often sell on marketplaces that are specifically for 1-of-1 artists, whereas marketplaces like Magic Eden primarily list generative NFT collections with 100s, 1000s, or 10s of thousands of pieces.
While the process of creating a 1-of-1 NFT is the same as creating any other NFT, it is best to create the NFT on a platform where you can then list it for sale immediately.
Exchange.Art
Exchange.Art is a platform where you can mint, buy, and sell 1-of-1 NFTs on Solana. To give artists more control over how they interact with potential buyers for their work and how they can profit, Exchange.Art allows you to sell your NFT by either setting a fixed-price or by putting it up for auction.
The founding member of Exchange.Art, @A2KDeFi, was a Co-founder of DigitalEyes, a once prominent NFT marketplace on Solana before starting their project focused on 1-of-1 artists with Co-founder @MilstGuga.
Holaplex
Holaplex is an open-source platform where you can mint, buy, and sell NFTs on Solana. Holaplex provides buyers with a large array of marketplaces where they can buy NFTs, and gives artists the tools to create their own NFT store.
Holaplex is a great option for independent artists who are looking to launch their own store compared to listing their art on public marketplaces or trying to get approved to sell art on an invite-only NFT marketplace.
Formfunction.xyz
Formfunction is a 1-of-1 marketplace where you can mint, buy, and sell NFTs on Solana that was created by the well-known Solana developer @pencilflip. Currently, Formfunction is not open to everyone who wants to sell NFTs. Instead, artists to be invited or apply to be listed.
Formfunction has an easy-to-use interface and is well organized, making the user experience of browsing and buying NFTs positive. While the total number of creators selling NFTs is small, the exclusivity makes it an important destination for 1-of-1 NFT collectors to browse for rising artists.
SolSea
SolSea is another marketplace where you can mint, buy, and sell NFTs on Solana. SolSea provides buyers with a wide range of media types like photography, gaming, literature, and more. SolSea has many unique features like allowing artists to embed licenses and providing a calendar where buyers can track future NFT drops.
Who are some of the best Solana 1-of-1 artists?
One-of-one NFTs enable individual artists to sell digital art without the need for a large team or technical knowledge. Based on the Particles 1-of-1 NFT leaderboard, these are some of the most notable 1-of-1 artists on Solana:
Boogle
Boogle is a Solana NFT artist that created 100 NFTs of ghosts. These ghosts are inspired by the myth of the Bogle man. These NFTs are viewed as highly valuable and often sell at high prices, with many selling for 1000s of U.S. dollars. Each NFT is a unique 1-of-1 NFT and is sold via auctions on Holaplex in batches of 3 Boogles at a time.
Voxel Monkes
Voxel Monkes has a collection of 100 NFTs that feature monkeys with various traits and actions. These NFTs are 3D pixel art with some being static and others animated. New NFTs are constantly being created in order to reference current events and pop culture.
The Observer
The Observer is a 1-of-1 NFT artist with NFTs that feature a dark creature called “The Observer” who observes human behavior to learn from us. The NFTs are works of art with some being static and others animated. Each NFT has a unique story that the artwork depicts. The Observer ranks among the top creators on Holaplex.
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