Where to start.

edited October 2023 in General

Hello, I started taking these classes to learn some stuff from professionals and pickup correct terminology and process.
Started making resin castings because I wanted weird pottery for my plants - so I used slosh casing.
I was recently commissioned and asked to make a prop for a performer that looks like a xenomorph like weapon. I drew up a few different options and combined a couple to meet there vision. I'm not nearly as expierenced on making props that can be worn with light up effects - I already had some ideas on where to start with that but wanted to ask here for some opinions.
I plan on using monster clay to build the piece, and use dragonskin 10 for the mold (since I only need the outside pieces.) and utilize smoothcast 65D with clear UV resin for some areas while using a fabrication foam on the inside so the material doesnt chaffe them. I looked to latex foam and a few others but not having worked with that I was not sure - the factor is mostly I'm a small time maker for seasonal markets dont have a budget to outright buy stuff to experiment with.
I will leave a screenshot of the piece I will be fabricating and wanted to know how you would go about it.



Another question I had is, how do you charge for your items you make. I want my stuff to be affordable so I charge myself minimum wage and cost for the materials. the examples are goblin trophy mount is 100, the ghoul is 150, the plant pots I do 30 -50 depending on the size. I often hear how I undervalue my art -a lot. If that is the case what would be considerate for the work,


Comments

  • Depending on the mold size, you may want a firmer silicone than Dragonskin 10.

    As for what to charge, one way to come up with a figure is to add up the cost of all your materials, expendables, etc. (overhead) for the project, and then come up with an hourly rate for your time.  Then you can estimate how many hours the project will take and add that all together.  Picking an hourly rate is a challenge, as you don't want to undervalue your own time, but you also don't want to scare away customers.

    Our course "The Business of Monster Making" with Shannon Shea covers this topic 
    https://www.stanwinstonschool.com/tutorials/the-business-of-making-monsters-part-1

    /Chris
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