What are the technical specs for minting an NFT on Foundation?

Foundation supports the tokenization of a wide range of file types to help you bring your artwork to web3. We’ve provided some helpful insights and guides below to help you navigate your file type options. 

Supported file types and Maximum Sizes

File Type

File Formats Maximum File Size Smart Contracts

Image

JPG, JPEG, PNG, SVG

300 MB 1/1, Drops, Editions
Image GIF 75 MB 1/1, Drops, Editions
Video MOV*, MP4 300 MB 1/1, Drops, Editions
3D Asset GLTF, GLB 300 MB 1/1s


*MOV videos won't render on OpenSea. 

Images

A width of 3000px is ideal for still images.

 

Videos

For resolution, 1080p to 4K will yield the best results. Videos that are larger than 2700px on either side may cause viewing issues on mobile devices.

 

Understanding your video file size

Here’s an overview of the major factors that determine your video’s file size and a few helpful insights on keeping your video files under 300 MB.

 

Resolution

Resolution is the number of pixels used to create a frame of video, e.g., 720p, 1080p, 2K, or 4K. Resolution impacts the visual clarity of your video.

 

Frame rate

Frame rate refers to the number of frames used per second of video, e.g., 30fps or 60fps. A higher frame rate results in smoother motion during playback.

 

Bitrate

Bitrate is the amount of video data processed per second of video—a higher bitrate means a higher level of visible detail. Adjustments to bitrate are a common source of blocking and tearing issues in a finished video.

We recommend a maximum bitrate of 36mbps - higher bitrates can significantly increase your video file size by adding relatively imperceptible video data.

 

Codec

Codec is the format that encodes your video data and optimizes it for video playback across different devices. Codecs can be classified as having lossy and lossless compression - the most popular being lossy. Lossy codecs use an algorithm to remove video data that is generally unnecessary or unnoticeable to the viewer. Lossless codecs retain full video data.

If you’d like your original video asset to be viewable natively across modern browsers, we recommend using a widely supported codec and container format, such as these:

  • WebM container with a VP8 video codec
  • Opus codec for audio
  • MP4 container with a H.264 video codec, and an AAC audio codec

Consider using these components of your video file size to achieve the desired video quality while also maintaining a file size under 300 MB.

 

Uploading your video file to Foundation

We use a transcoder to create guaranteed, web-playable assets from the source video to ensure successful video playback on Foundation. These assets are H264-encoded MP4 videos with AAC audio at a maximum bitrate of 36mbps.

Your original asset isn’t affected by this—it is still stored on IPFS. The transcoder simply creates copies of the assets, specifically for use on Foundation.

Hopefully this information provided a bit of clarity around the factors that determine your video file size. If you’d like to read up on Web video codecs, check out MDN’s Web video codec guide.

Feel free to reach out to us if you need any help minting your video NFTs on Foundation.

 

3D Artwork

Foundation currently supports two different file types for 3D artworks: GLTF and GLB. The max upload limit for files is currently 300 MB.

Separately, this file will be lightly compressed when it’s displayed on Foundation so that it loads quickly across the homepage and elsewhere. Preview your NFT before minting it, and make sure that it looks all set.

How do I preview my 3D file?

After you upload your file you should check the final version using the preview feature on Foundation, you can also preview it on Model Viewer

For desktop previews:

For mobile previews:

  • Before you mint, we recommend copying and pasting the preview link from Foundation and testing it out on your mobile device. This preview will show you exactly how your file is going to behave on your mobile device once it is minted.

Why is my file taking forever to load?

The load time and performance of the 3D model depend on a lot of factors like the number of polygons in the mesh and the size of textures.

Do I need to upload an AR file?

Foundation automatically generates the USDZ / REALITY files for the Mobile AR Viewer when you upload a GLB file.

What could cause AR not to work on mobile?

  • Unsupported shaders and complex animations inside the glb/gltf can cause problems for the AR feature when converting to USDZ
  • AR does not work on Chrome for iOS mobile

For more information on GLTF and USDZ limitations visit: https://help.sketchfab.com/hc/en-us/articles/360046421631-glTF-and-USDZ#gltf-limitations

 

Exporting 3D files in Blender

Blender

  • Blender is free and open source, and a community favorite in the 3D world.
    Go ahead and download any version of Blender 2.80 or newer, it will have automatic GLTF/GLB import and export support.
  • Feel free to create your piece in the 3D program you feel most comfortable with, and then exporting the final as an FBX or OBJ into Blender
  • Once you have your file in Blender you can do your last pass of optimizations for export.
  • We recommend using our preview feature to test your files before tokenizing the piece. It will probably take a few passes on export and testing to get it right.

 

Additional links for 3D support

https://help.sketchfab.com/hc/en-us/articles/360046421631-glTF-and-USDZ

Still have questions?

The easiest way to get support from our team is to get in touch with us.

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