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[Tarah-Rex]

Hi all!

My most recent cosplay is Daenerys Targaryen, and I've made these dragon eggs to go with it. I'm contemplating making more and selling them by contract or maybe on Etsy, but I'm not sure it's worth trying. I've never done anything by contract so I'm not sure where to even start. Does anyone have any opinions or advice?? Let me know what you think of the eggs I designed them based off of the description in the book, rather than replicating the ones from the TV Show.

P.S. I will be posting photos from the Daenerys shoot in the near future, I just need to wait for the weather to cooperate.

[2DLogic]

I know Blind Squirrel sells resin cast copies of his dragon egg for $75 shipped to those in the US. This may seem high, but you have to keep in mind that he has also established a name for himself in the prop making community which translates to him being able to get away with charging a bit more than someone just starting out...

The only logical way to determine a price and the eventual worth as an endeavor is to take your total material costs combined with how much you feel your labor is worth per hour.

Commission work is definitely the way to go if you're interested in selling replica props and costumes lest you potentially have unsold product should they not be as popular as you had planned and produced for. The best advice I can give you is to approach the situation as any legitimate business would. Be honest and open with your customers and make sure to deliver on any promises made.

Set up a clear and detailed ad with pictures of the product to be sold. Make a standard contract for anyone who wishes to purchase from you establishing all the important details. Some things to keep in mind are: Price, deadline for when the customer needs the product, shipping arrangements, how and when payment will be made, how issues of non-payment or late payment will be handled, any/lack of guarantee or return policy in the event of an unsatisfied customer, materials used in construction, and how any "custom orders" would effect price and completion time. There's lots more that could be included, but I'm tired and not thinking clearly right now. Take a look at some other commissioner's contracts for some additional input as to what you should include to protect yourself and your customer. To go with this, make sure to keep records of all contact you have with the customer should some issue arise. Email is probably the easiest way to do this, which is probably how you'd be communicating in the first place.

Your take on the dragon eggs look quite nice, though I'm unfamiliar with the versions from the novels. If this is something that you're interested in doing, then go for it. Don't get discouraged if you don't get several orders immediately, there are lots of horror stories about prop/costume makers taking customer's money and disappearing. Usually the customer has little recourse in that situation aside from Paypal complaints, which are a crap-shoot, or small claims court, which is often more trouble than it's worth.

Just make sure to take commission work seriously and approach it honestly. Your reputation and your customer's money is on the line.

[Tarah-Rex]

Originally Posted by 2DLogic

I know Blind Squirrel sells resin cast copies of his dragon egg for $75 shipped to those in the US. This may seem high, but you have to keep in mind that he has also established a name for himself in the prop making community which translates to him being able to get away with charging a bit more than someone just starting out...

The only logical way to determine a price and the eventual worth as an endeavor is to take your total material costs combined with how much you feel your labor is worth per hour.

Commission work is definitely the way to go if you're interested in selling replica props and costumes lest you potentially have unsold product should they not be as popular as you had planned and produced for. The best advice I can give you is to approach the situation as any legitimate business would. Be honest and open with your customers and make sure to deliver on any promises made.

Set up a clear and detailed ad with pictures of the product to be sold. Make a standard contract for anyone who wishes to purchase from you establishing all the important details. Some things to keep in mind are: Price, deadline for when the customer needs the product, shipping arrangements, how and when payment will be made, how issues of non-payment or late payment will be handled, any/lack of guarantee or return policy in the event of an unsatisfied customer, materials used in construction, and how any "custom orders" would effect price and completion time. There's lots more that could be included, but I'm tired and not thinking clearly right now. Take a look at some other commissioner's contracts for some additional input as to what you should include to protect yourself and your customer. To go with this, make sure to keep records of all contact you have with the customer should some issue arise. Email is probably the easiest way to do this, which is probably how you'd be communicating in the first place.

Your take on the dragon eggs look quite nice, though I'm unfamiliar with the versions from the novels. If this is something that you're interested in doing, then go for it. Don't get discouraged if you don't get several orders immediately, there are lots of horror stories about prop/costume makers taking customer's money and disappearing. Usually the customer has little recourse in that situation aside from Paypal complaints, which are a crap-shoot, or small claims court, which is often more trouble than it's worth.

Just make sure to take commission work seriously and approach it honestly. Your reputation and your customer's money is on the line.

Thank you so much! this is extremely helpful! The books describe the eggs as one light cream with gold streaks, another black as night with scarlet swirls and the last a deep green with bronze flecks. I'll look more into this and make a decision soon. I'll probably try and sell them, I need some way to fund my Cosplaying hobby

[Penlowe]

Setting yourself up on Etsy, ebay, or other similar sites for selling (even if you only do commission work), offers a layer of protection for both you and your customers, a set of standards so to speak.

[Tarah-Rex]

Originally Posted by Penlowe

Setting yourself up on Etsy, ebay, or other similar sites for selling (even if you only do commission work), offers a layer of protection for both you and your customers, a set of standards so to speak.

Awesome! That's exactly what I was thinking of doing, that way I can layout all the terms and conditions, etc. and it seems like the safest way to go about doing things. I'll probably be setting up a shop on Etsy, although it seems odd to have a shop with only one product, hahaha!

[Penlowe]

Not at all, there are quite a few that do primarily commission work, which is why you don't see their stuff come up in searches all that much.

I've had my Etsy shop (albeit empty from time to time) for a couple years. I've always been happy with the level of support they offer to their sellers, and the sellers community forums are a great resource for helping you set yourself up in 'real business'.

[FyreHeart]

The only thing I can critique is shading on the eggs. As a fellow Game of Thrones fans, I applaud you of doing the book versions instead of the HBO ones! With that said, they look a bit "flat" from the photo, although that could be due to the somewhat blurryness of the image. You may want to do a bit more shadowing on the eggs, with varying colors for each as well as greys and black.

Good luck to you, and I wish you luck in conquering Westeros!

[Tarah-Rex]

Originally Posted by FyreHeart

The only thing I can critique is shading on the eggs. As a fellow Game of Thrones fans, I applaud you of doing the book versions instead of the HBO ones! With that said, they look a bit "flat" from the photo, although that could be due to the somewhat blurryness of the image. You may want to do a bit more shadowing on the eggs, with varying colors for each as well as greys and black.

Good luck to you, and I wish you luck in conquering Westeros!

Thank you so much for the input. I would say that it is partially the photos, as they definitely look very "non-flat" in person, but I really like your idea. Once I perfect a technique for making them I will give that a shot. I'm actually looking into making them from clay or resin or something, so I'm looking into different techniques to see what might work best for me. The method I used to make these ones was extremely time consuming. If I make them of some kind of clay or resin, I'll probably airbrush the paint on to get a better flow and layering technique to add dimension and depth to the colours. for the Green one I was actually thinking of going the extra mile and adding bronze leafing flakes into it, but that's just me getting ahead of myself, hahaha! Once I've improved on the technique I'll post new pictures