new propmaker seeking business advice

[fyras]

Hello everyone! i've been into cosplaying for almost 4 years now and im pretty confident with my skills, and soon ill be starting a new local prop making studio/business/whathever, im not really into overexpanding it, just a way to do something i love and get some money out of it so that i just keep doing it, also there's no actual prop makers in my country yet so im into innovation
to showoff our skills, my partner and i, we've decided to first start out by making 3/4 props without commissions and to expo with them in our biggest national con
so i've been wondering, what are the most classical props one should do to show what he's capable of doing, without spending too much (no more than 100$ per/u) and that do not involve any casting whatsoever, any difficulty of foamsmithing is okay,
at first i thought of katarina's blades from league of legends and widowmaker's rifle
but every proposition is welcome and thanks

 

[zorg]

Which country are you in?

 

[fyras]

Tunisia

 

[TazMan2000]

I would say to start out with something you are interested in yourself. This way you will, more than likely, spend more time and effort in the prop replica being more accurate. Once you have a following and customers, you can then expand to other genres. Be honest and don't bite more off than you can chew. If you read the forums here, there are a lot of stories about propmakers/modelmakers that have had problems. Some involve cheating customers, but some involve just getting in over their head and other issues. If you are honest, deliver what you advertise and stand behind your projects, you will have a long term following here, and on other sites, but cheat customers and provide poor quality, and your business will suffer, as will your reputation. Good Luck.

TazMan2000

 

[brandomack]

I would say to start out with something you are interested in yourself. This way you will, more than likely, spend more time and effort in the prop replica being more accurate. Once you have a following and customers, you can then expand to other genres. Be honest and don't bite more off than you can chew. If you read the forums here, there are a lot of stories about propmakers/modelmakers that have had problems. Some involve cheating customers, but some involve just getting in over their head and other issues. If you are honest, deliver what you advertise and stand behind your projects, you will have a long term following here, and on other sites, but cheat customers and provide poor quality, and your business will suffer, as will your reputation. Good Luck.

TazMan2000

What he said. Start with something small that you are interested in, do NOT go for anything complicated or large, as you will most likely get overwhelmed.

 

[Rogviler]

Yeah, the advice that nobody in the garage kit/prop business ever seems to follow: Don't sell it if you don't have it, and if you're doing it on commission, COMMUNICATE.

We don't need any more of those threads.

-Rog