![_117548721_nfts2.jpg](https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmW5LE7pzepKwBy2mLNxQP55U2BNEP4FXhStipSXfifU2g/_117548721_nfts2.jpg) (image by BBC ) Recently, an online friend of mine, @wumeepope - torum.com, minted an image I'd gifted him into his first NFT. His achievement prompted me to tell him what I've been up to lately. Here's my reply to @wumeepope: Thought you would like to know about the NFT related stuff I've been doing the last couple days: - I taught myself how to use ZilPay (Zilliqa's version of MetaMask). ![maxresdefault.jpg](https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmTASXqaKWUeBR5r3ZHCwtT67JEXsu8YwhYuvpMDUWksCy/maxresdefault.jpg) (image by YouTube) - I traded some of my Stable Coins on Huobi for about 30 USD worth of ZIL and deposited it into my new ZilPay wallet. [My research told me that this amount was more than sufficient for the network fees on the Zilliqa blockchain to at least do a little experimenting in the marketplace.]. - I created an account on zilliqa.mintable.app and connected my ZilPay wallet to the platform. ![download.jpeg](https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmSC2c6rk4EBaWaMHAjqQnN2WReKm5iRjZP3xxzZDAf4UC/download.jpeg) (image by medium ) - I created a store named "(IJCH) Inside JaiChai's Head" for my future NFTs. - I minted over 32 NFTs and 27 are currently still listed on the Mintable NFT marketplace. My costs (in USD worth of ZIL): Storefront was 6.50 USD, NFTs were 86 cents each - that's not a typo, really, it was only 0.86 USD per NFT! - and about a total of 4.5 hours of my time. If you did the math, it's plain to see that, compared to ethereum, setting up shop and minting on the Zilliqa blockchain is easy, fast and really DIRT CHEAP! Now that I know the ins and outs of minting on zilliqa.mintable.app, I can leisurely choose one or two pieces per day of digital art from my vast treasure trove of past creations, mint them, store them and list them on the Mintable marketplace. Tips and Tricks - You can save a lot of time by having the following items ready BEFORE minting your NFT: - The cover image... I watermark my cover images. Why? Because unless someone is tech savvy, the watermark discourages most people from simply right clicking on the cover image and passing it off as the authentic NFT token image. ![E BB S WM.gif](https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmWXGC4xAuk8fz163CraGs7DmtoNtZUZ4eHsvtRa6aCXUn/E%20BB%20S%20WM.gif) - The NFT token image... As a personal touch and to bolster authenticity and rarity, I sign these images. How do I do this? Easy-peasy. I created a series of stickers with my Thai signature and an "#X of X" statement. Then, I simply add it to the NFT token image before minting. ![Signature Example.jpg](https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmdTjcWW9ScmeQadMU66C1YhTcbgsf39vxGAjYsBQnDt7r/Signature%20Example.jpg) - Image Details... An interesting story (aka provenance, historicity, etc.) will catch the eyes of more customers; quickly leading them to the NFT's sales page. What does the image depict? What was your inspiration or muse that prompted you to create it? [Begin: Example of my "Image Details" input.] Ernest "BB" Surbringer - "Hyperion Cantos" Fan Art collection #1 of 3 Based on Dan Simmons' "Hyperion Cantos". About Ernest "BB" Surbringer - Ernest "BB" Surbringer was Brawne Lamia's AI expert. He was a public employee, working for the government, in the Hegemony Flow Control Records and Statistics department. He spent most of his life in the virtual reality of the Datumplane while reclined on a couch with several "microleads" connected directly to his skull, through which he communed with other bureaucrats in the Datumplane. BB lived in a windowless worker block on Tau Ceti Center. BB helped Johnny and Brawne Lamia enter the TechnoCore. Sadly, he tragically died during their excursion into the Core. Thankfully, however, he was able to retrieve for Johnny a great amount of data regarding the TechnoCore, including the goals of each faction of the Core and the reason why Hyperion is the object of the obsession of the Core as an uncertainty in its predictions. More importantly, BB allowed Johnny to completely retrieve his cybrid retrieval persona and invest all his consciousness within himself. (Source: https://hyperioncantos.fandom.com/wiki/Ernest_%22BB%22_Surbringer) [End: Example of "Image Details" input] - File Size... Make sure you know what the maximum file size is for uploading and adjust accordingly. For example, if your original image is a .gif and it's too large for uploading, you can make it up to 75% smaller WITHOUT LOSING ANY QUALITY by converting it to the .webp format. Got'ta bounce now. Hope you and yours are well and loving life today. In Lak'ech, JaiChai P.S. Remembering my puppy "Dee-Oh-Gee" (D.O.G.)... To My Beautiful Friend: "Thanks for every minute of love and joy. Rest In Peace, buddy." ![DOGE playing.gif](https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmRvwtiDXTnbnZxtcn8Kx1D9SZvetuPWpjsXWEqh9E2PxZ/DOGE%20playing.gif) (JaiChai 29 NOV 2021. Simultaneous multi-site submissions posted. All rights reserved.)