Minting digital experiences for your physical NFTs
Physical NFTs. Phygitals. Digi-physical. All names for the same thing. Clearly, everyone is figuring it out as they go but that doesn't mean that it needs to be confusing. This post outlines some of digital experiences that can be paired with physical NFTs so that they live up to their name.
How to read this post
You're probably here because you're looking to mint a physical NFT. So read about each media type to get a feel for what is expected of you. Verilink can handle the minting but you'll need to provide some basic things like images. Please keep in mind that all of the subsections can be mixed-and-matched to customize the digital experience that you're minting.
When you're ready to mint, make sure you read all the bolded parts of this article so you know what media you'll need to prepare for your collection.
Media type 1: Audio-based NFTs
Audio-based physical NFTs are great for projects that want to leverage web3 to be closer with their community. The perfect example of this is On-Chain-Records, a digi-physical record label that distributes physical records linked to NFTs that artists can use to drive their community and web3 vibes. To generate an audio-based NFT, you'll need to prepare an mp3 for the audio-based NFT.
Media type 2: Simple Video or Image
Gif-based physical NFT by the great @TYPFY !
This is the simplest digital experience. It's pretty self-explanatory in that you'll need to provide a video or a picture. It's also highly recommended that you provide a picture of the physical item. In many cases, the image or video isn't the main attraction, instead it's the benefits associated with having an on-chain asset. Benefits like provenance tracking and hidden content only available to holders. We offer tools to leverage these benefits so please reach out if you're curious!
Media type 3: 3D Digital Rendering
3D renderings of the physical look sick.
Digi-physical record by On Chain Records
However, 3d renderings require a 3d model. We offer services to create this model and render it.
For cases where there's a 2d piece of media rendered onto the model like the record above, you'll need this 2d file.
The digital renderings can be combined with audio to create a more immersive experience.
Media type 4: AR Experiences
AR experiences track something on the physical object. The example above tracks the label on the record. You'll need to provide an image of the physical object to track.
Additionally, AR experiences can be broken up into 3d experiences and 2d. The gif above shows a 3d model in AR but it's also possible to overlay a 2d video like in the gif below:
Title & Description
This may seem obvious but an often-overlooked aspect of any physical NFT collection is the title and description! Make sure to put good thought into coming up with a catchy title and informative description. We've found that it's good to include explicit mention that this is a physical NFT somewhere in the title or description.