Expanding Your Collector Base
In the traditional art world, an artist might create a beautiful original painting and then sell limited edition prints to reach a wider audience. Similarly, selling editions of digital artwork as ordinals allows artists to broaden their reach exponentially. The world of digital art has no geographical boundaries, enabling artists to connect with potential collectors from all corners of the globe. This expanded reach increases the likelihood of finding individuals who appreciate and value their art. Among these new collectors might be someone who is interested in purchasing the artist’s more scarce and exclusive pieces. In essence, editions can act as a gateway, introducing an artist’s work to a diverse and extensive collector base. As Gamma Partner Artist Resaang notes, “editions are a more cost-friendly way of distributing art to different individuals, which can then let the artist create a piece that can connect with different collectors in their own ways.”
The Flexibility of Timed Open Editions
Timed open editions (OE) in the ordinal space allow an artist the space to not have the pressure of selling out a predetermined number of pieces, timed OEs allow artists to set a specific window during which their work can be purchased. Collectors can purchase the work at their convenience within the given timeframe, and therefore the market essentially decides the collection size through minting, this removes the “mint out” mentality, and proliferates a much more buy art for the sake of buying art mentality in the collector.
Accessibility for All Collectors
Art can be an expensive pursuit, often limiting access to those with significant financial means. In the same way that affordable prints of an original painting make art accessible to a broader audience, ordinal editions allow more people to own a piece of an artist’s creativity. Those who may not have the resources to buy an artist’s more scarce and high-value pieces can still enjoy and support their work through more affordable editions. This democratization of art ownership not only broadens the artist’s fan base but also fosters a sense of community and inclusivity among collectors.
Artist Coldie stated, “For my Michael Saylor Decentral Eyes edition, I wanted to commemorate the Bitcoin halvening in a way that was accessible to everyone and also on the BTC blockchain. Prints on Gamma was the perfect solution and was an easy process to onboard many of my Ethereum collectors. A lot of people wrote me excited that this release was their first ordinal. Mission accomplished.”
Financial Benefits for Artists
Just as selling prints can provide a steady income stream for artists alongside the sale of original works, selling ordinal editions can generate substantial revenue. A set drop of digital editions can be particularly lucrative, especially when the artist has built a strong reputation and following. Artists should be fairly compensated for their work, and editions offer a viable and often lucrative means to achieve this. By selling multiple editions, artists can accumulate earnings that may surpass the sale of a single, scarce piece. This financial boost enables artists to continue creating and investing in their craft. Artists may also choose to gamify such a sale, with benefits down the line for holders of more than one piece too.
A Modern Take on Traditional Prints
When inscribing an artwork on Bitcoin, it is much like creating an original artwork and prints in the physical world.
On BTC: the original artwork inscribed onto Bitcoin is the 1/1, through provenance including its file size, timestamp, and inscription number to verify it as the original on-chain.
Using recursive technology such as delegates, artists can generate on-chain editions or prints, each with its own unique on-chain ID in the metadata that provides an edition number. These editions have a very small file size given they are derived in code, and render exactly like the original (which keeps file size low, and hence a negligible inscription fee too for the collector and a better use of btc block space) — almost like an on-chain photocopy — allowing the creator the ability to sell not only on-chain editions/prints, but the original 1/1 too, making their investment of getting their art on-chain even more worthwhile. TheArtist summarizes, “The importance of editions within the realm of Web 3 cannot be overstated. It serves as an unparalleled vehicle for audience building and profile growth. Quality accessible art allows people to find and fall in love with your other offerings.”
