What Are 3D NFTs and What Sets Them Apart From Regular NFTs?

We’ve all heard about NFTs and how they have recently gained popularity and media attention. Thanks to cryptocurrencies like Ethereum and Solana, and Web3 NFT platforms like Decentraland and The Sandbox, they’ve become mainstream.

But are you aware of 3D non-fungible tokens? Although NFTs can represent anything, the art industry is somewhat limited because of their standard form. This is where 3D NFTs come in. They significantly change the current NFT art market, introducing the broader masses to unique 3D creations.

Non-Fungible Tokens in a Nutshell

To explain their 3D counterparts, we have to cover NFTs briefly. In essence, an NFT is a form of digital asset that’s kept on a specific blockchain. However, their uniqueness sets them apart from other online assets. Due to its non-fungible nature, every NFT is distinctive since it is not interchangeable.

In other words, a person that owns a specific NFT can prove ownership of it, and no one can claim it as their own, copy, use, or duplicate it. 

NFTs are not new, but they gained recognition in 2017 with the Ethereum-based app CryptoKitties. This was the world’s first blockchain game, where you could buy, collect, sell, and even breed virtual cats. As NFTs, the cats were entirely yours. The game is still widely used even now.

Today, NFTs can represent almost anything — in-game collectible items, art, and real estate. Some even theorize that in the future, we could use this technology for any product or service, online or offline.

So, how does it all work? The best way to explain it is with a piece of art. When digital artists create something, they can choose to attach their work to an NFT, gaining complete ownership over that design.

By connecting the art to an NFT, you mark it using a piece of code and add it to the blockchain. This secures the copyright over the NFT, and you ensure that no one can tamper with it, as whatever is entered into the blockchain is unchangeable.

3D NFTs, Their Appeal, and Potential

NFTs can be almost anything, from audio files and images to GIFs and even 3D models. You’ve undoubtedly seen some of these if you’ve used Opensea or another NFT marketplace.

Most artistic NFTs are 2D, so 3D NFTs are a nice change of pace. But that’s not where their biggest appeal lies — they lead to more NFT-based projects and metaverses gaining more traction since 3D art is not overly cartoonish.

For instance, the famous BAYC or Bored Ape Yacht Club, a collection of thousands of unique Bored Ape NFTs, becomes much more attractive to broader masses when the apes turn 3D. The same goes for Gutter Cat Gang, another NFT collection featuring cats, rats, and other animals.

Looking Glass Labs, a Web3 project specializing in NFT architecture and 3D NFTs, has already collaborated with BAYC and Gutter Cat Gang, creating 3D NFTs for these collections. They’ve shown how these two popular series can be even more captivating and why people should buy 3D NFTs. The company does a similar thing with its brand, House of Kibaa, a digital studio that lets 3D NFT art and collectibles exist across different metaverses.

Furthermore, this shows that standard image-based NFTs can be much more compelling in 3D form. When made by excellent 3D artists, NFTs become something larger audiences can appreciate.

3D NFTs can thus make the whole sector more appealing to a broader range of audiences, especially when combined with NFT-based games. Gamers already adore their NFT in-game items, which are even better when they are in the form of 3D models.

Many metaverses are not appealing to gamers because they look a bit simplistic compared to regular video games. But 3D NFTs have the potential to change all of that. They’ve already made many metaverses a lot more appealing than before. Decentraland and The Sandbox have already proven this to be true.

Bottom Line

3D NFTs are simple to understand, and their potential is massive. They are revolutionizing the NFT space and making metaverse projects more appealing and exciting to the broader masses than regular metaverses. 

They are still in their infancy, but we will likely see the concept expand further. We’ll also witness new 3D NFT projects enter the scene, bringing fans closer through entirely new communities centred around this unique concept.