Ever wondered about the traits that keep popping up in NFTs? Well, I did some searching and put together a list of the most common ones. Now I’ll admit, I didn’t tally every single trait across every single project, but, if you spot an overlooked gem I missed that you think is an absolute must, drop me a line in the comments!
I soon realized that something was missing after I worked on this – I needed to give more than just a lineup of popular traits. So I sprinkled in some thoughts on how these traits express the essence of Web 3.0 culture, in my opinion. May this also be a guide to use for your own community or project.
So let’s experiment and see if we all agree with what makes these traits tick. It’s not just about what’s common – it’s about the stories they tell and the rich culture they bring to this revolutionary digital era.
1.) Sunglasses
Left: SAINTS of L.A. NFT. Right: Moonrunners NFT wolf.
Sunglasses are the essence of cool eyewear. Not only cool, but rebellious at times. They symbolize confidence and style, and it’s typical for characters in NFT collections to be wearing them.
Like sunglasses, Web 3.0 is more than just a tech accessory for us to use. Web 3.0 is also a declaration of individuality and confidence. It’s about the individual’s confidence in their own sovereignty over their wealth. While we pursue rebelling against the status quo to achieve financial freedom, we aim to become worthy of this symbol ourselves – being calm and collected and cool as the movie stars, who don their sunglasses at the ritziest part of the beach, appearing to lack money stress.
Different Types of Sunglasses
There are lots of eyewear traits that are common besides regular sunglasses. The “just deal with it” or “Thug Life” sunglasses have shown up in character NFTs, and perhaps they could be awarded the sunglasses of meme culture. Web 3.0 and memes are intertwined, so it’s not surprising that traits from a meme, or even an entire NFT collection based on a meme, would be created.
Here are other types of eyewear found in NFT projects that deserve a mention:
👓 3D glasses
👓 Eyeglasses
👓 Heart-shaped glasses
👓 Monocle
👓 Party glasses
2.) Red Laser Eyes
Spawning from fungible Bitcoin and now shooting out from the eyes of non-fungible tokens, the red laser eyes in Web 3.0 signify strong conviction, unwavering dedication, and a belief in the transformative power of decentralization.
The origin of the “Red Laser Eyes” can be traced back to a Twitter movement where users changed their profile pictures to include red laser eyes. This was a response to statements made by Michael Saylor, CEO of MicroStrategy, who expressed his belief in Bitcoin’s potential to become a dominant global reserve asset. The red laser eyes symbolized a unified front among Bitcoin supporters and a shared vision for the future of the cryptocurrency.
Glowing White Godlike Eyes
Glowing white godlike eyes is another honorable mention. Many in Web 3.0 are pure degens, so where is this deific trait coming from? Perhaps it’s a combination of enjoying the Marvel superhero-like power theme and seeking a greater life, beyond the limitations of today. Or maybe I’m overthinking and they’re just cool, sort of like the sunglasses of the supernatural.
Honorable Mentions for Eye, Face, and Neck Traits
🙂 Blindfold
🙂 Closed eyes
🙂 Gold chain
🙂 Heart eyes
🙂 Mask
🙂 Pet or stuffed animal is with them
🙂 Pirate’s eye patch
🙂 Scarf
🙂 Third eye
🙂 X’d out eyes
3.) Blowing a Bubblegum Bubble
Hungry Wolves NFT (RWC Hungry Wolves – Founders Collection)
The NFT side of Web 3.0 proves that even as adults, we’re still all kids on the inside. It’s filled with animal characters, games with prizes, online and virtual events to chill with friends, hilarious commentary and banter, playground drama, spontaneity, learning from bad decisions from degens, and more. Even Joshua Lisec, a top ghostwriter and certified hypnotist, has stated that the subconscious mind is only ever five years old. The conscious mind develops after that, but the subconscious stops at that time.
The characters that blow a bubble can represent childhood and a playful, carefree attitude. It could also match with the rebellious or nonconformist side of Web 3.0, since the defiance against societal norms or expectations is another way this can be interpreted.
Other times it may just be a reflection of something seen in pop culture or people needed more ideas for a leisure mouth trait.
Other Mouth Traits
🍭 Barfing a rainbow (popularized from the Doodles NFT collection)
🍭 Kazoo
🍭 Lollipop
🍭 Pipe
🍭 Smoking
🍭 X’d out mouth
4.) Crown
Who does not daydream about being the king or queen? Wealth and fame are craved by many, but the power and freedom over one’s life is sought after by the Web 3.0 community.
Though Web 3.0 is underlined by the decentralized use of the blockchain to facilitate building, communities, collaborations, and transactions, Web 3.0 can open doors you never saw coming. These doors can be financial, career advancements, new communities and friendships, artistic or musical, new fun hobbies, new knowledge, and more fulfillment, depending on your path.
They call Web 3.0 the Wild West, so go claim your uncharted territory to rule and make a name for yourself as you desire!
Featured: Pudgy Pudgies penguin NFT.
5.) Santa Hat
Left: A dragon from Moonrunners‘ Dragonhorde NFT collection (Moonrunners Dragonhorde Official). Right: A Santa ape from the Ape Reunion NFT collection, but I digitally edited it a lot, including adding in the candy cane shirt! Visit this design in my Redbubble store if you’re interested in merch!
Many NFT traits mirror Web 3.0 culture, which mirror the founder’s regular IRL culture. Santa hats have been spotted in NFT collections, as well as many other types of hats people wear for holidays, special occasions, or in day-to-day life.
Other Common Types of Hats Worn by NFT Characters
🎩 Beanie
🎩 Boater’s hat
🎩 Cap
🎩 Chef’s hat
🎩 Cowboy hat
🎩 Party hat
🎩 Police hat
🎩 Propellor hat
6.) Viking Helmet
This is an interesting one I’ve seen in multiple NFT collections. Are Viking helmets simply cool so that’s why they’re on so many creatures’ heads? Perhaps so. Though I think an aspect of Web 3.0 we can identify from this is its gender demographic. It is a more male-dominated space at the moment, and men tend to love historic warriors.
I’ve even been hearing a new alternative to the phrase, “send it to the moon,” meaning send crypto prices to the moon, and that is: “send it to Valhalla”. In Norse mythology, Valhalla is an afterlife for Viking warriors killed in battle. 😆 I wonder if all the people using this phrase are aware of this.
More Common Headwear Traits
🥷 Bandanna
🥷 Fedora
🥷 Fez
🥷 Hood
🥷 Knight gear
🥷 Ninja
🥷 Sushi chef headband
🥷 VR headset
7.) Wizard hat
Web 3.0 must have loads fantasy genre lovers since many collections are either in that genre or have fantasy elements. I’ve seen wizard hats on projects that don’t even have their main genre as fantasy.
Listed below are some other common fantasy traits I have seen in projects.
Other Common NFT Fantasy Headwear Traits
🪄 Devil horns
🪄 Halo
🪄 Witch hat
8.) Bunny Ears Headband
I feel I’m missing the full picture as to why this became a popular trait. Yes, they have the playfulness factor, and Web 3.0 has countless people who love animals, especially cute ones. It’s a whole zoo out there in the NFT world – Pudgy Penguins, Sappy Seals, Ape Reunion apes, Moonrunners wolves, Lazy Lions, Kitaro Kats, etc. There are other types – humans, zombies, robots, music, metaverse land NFTs, and more, but I digress.
I suspect that bunny ears may have gained popularity because they were featured in early successful projects, perhaps the Bored Ape Yacht Club, which lead to other founders adopting the trait to their projects. A bunny ears headband does not seem like a trait that would become popular without a specific reason, so if you have any clue why, please let me know below.
Other Familiar Head Traits
🎧 Earing(s)
🎧 Headphones
🎧 Mohawk (Hair trait)
9.) Weapon
Swords, axes, spears, and more. Web 3.0 has a lot of gamers, and Web 3.0 games even utilize NFTS. So it’s a no brainer that NFTs would have traits associated with gaming, like weapons.
If you like this type of art, feel free to visit my Shop page to see more KPRverse Keepers and merch.
10.) Fire
My guess is that the fireball and fire traits are another result of the gaming presence since it could be used as a weapon in games. Possibly there is some anime influence as well, but in general I’m not certain if there is deeper significance to this trait. We may just think it’s cool.
Anime
Speaking of anime, a portion of Web 3.0 loves it and there are NFT collections in this style. My favorite ones are KPRverse (has an award-winning website too) and I later bought into this new NFT project called Rosentica. Rosentica has a free online novel to read. As a creative writer, the potential live-action storytelling Web 3.0 allows, along with the ability to provide an immersive and interactive experience with a storyline, is intriguing.
⚡Electricity
Similar enough to fire, electricity is another trait that pops up as well:
11.) Tuxedo or Suit
Tuxedos are about sophistication. They can reflect status, tradition, masculinity, and confidence, many of which the men of Web 3.0 strive to embody.
Other Popular Clothes Traits
🦺 Biker jacket
🦺 Cape
🦺 Coat
🦺 Hoodie
🦺 Lumberjack shirt
🦺 Vampire outfit
🦺 Vest
12.) Trippy (Skin or Fur)
The trippy trait is a neat trait which stands out for the NFT art that has it. It tends to be a mix of swirling colors, especially green and purple, but not always. Web 3.0 has artsy people and I can’t hide that there’s also a subgroup of weed lovers. Might as well call them Weed 3.0. Even if you’re not into altering your consciousness, it tends to be a sought after trait to collect because of the unique style.
13.) Robot (Skin or “Fur”)
The fantasy theme is mixed in with many NFTs, so why not sci-fi too? The Web 3.0 community has people who are into gaming, fantasy, sci-fi, and Ai. However, these machine characters may become sci-real instead of sci-fi before you know it.
More Skins and Furs
Some of these below are not only traits, but entire collections can be them:
🤖 Demon
🤖 Gold
🤖 Mutant (Some NFT founders have made a second collection, which are mutant versions of the first one. The most popular one is the Mutant Ape Yacht Club.)
🤖 Naked (shirtless)
🤖 Skeleton
🤖 Zombie
More NFT Traits
The following did not make the list, but they’re still ideas if you ever want to create your own NFT project. I have seen these traits in NFT projects, but perhaps less often. Keep in mind that different types of backgrounds can be considered a trait too.
🟠 Animal hat
🟠 Beard
🟠 Bowtie
🟠 Bucket hat
🟠 Burger
🟠 Donuts
🟠 Flower necklace
🟠 Flowers
🟠 Gas mask
🟠 Gold medal
🟠 Gold teeth
🟠 Hawaiian shirt
🟠 Holding a sign that says something
🟠 Ice cream
🟠 Joker’s hat
🟠 Pirate hat
🟠 Pizza in mouth
🟠 Sombrero
🟠 Tie-dye shirt
🟠 Top hat
All the NFTS displayed above are on the Ethereum chain, but I recently purchased some on the Solana chain as well. There are other chains that sell NFTS, but Ethereum, Bitcoin, and Solana appear to be the top three at the moment.
Fluffys NFTs on Solana. These are SPL-404 tokens, where one can trade the NFTs for the $FLUFF cryptocurrency and also use $FLUFF to buy Fluffys NFTs.
If you want to catch whenever I post about Web 3.0, NFTs, the metaverse, or any exclusive announcements about this amazing realm, then feel free to sign up for my newsletter and click the box next to “Web 3.0 – Metaverse, NFTs” before you click subscribe.
Hey people!!!!!
Good mood and good luck to everyone!!!!!
Hey people!!!!!
Good mood and good luck to everyone!!!!!
You too!