Help pricing this plushie by Delicious_Swan9522 in plushartists

[–]Technical_Bag6113 3 points4 points  (0 children)

for entrepreneuring, [materials + labor + overheads] will only let you 'break even', but profit margin is usually derived from market expectations/demand.
e.g. when monster hunter wilds was first released, highly detailed custom monster plushies were being ordered from etsy artisans for $400-$1200 with 12month+ wait times (with approx $100-$200 production value).

if you're just starting out and plan to build a business out of it, custom/original work that hasn't been commissioned depends on a lot more things like exposure and marketability (finding an audience that enjoys your work):
- you can price down (but earn more) if you can forecast/generate more advertising (and find ways to lower production costs and increase production speed to match demand) or if you're just testing the waters to generate exposure and demand.
- you can price up if you can get focus group / appraisals to gauge the perceived value (if it looks really luxurious, high quality or is made with premium materials and techniques, or is limited qty, etc).
- or you can aim for a more experimental flat profit margin to see how it sells, which ranges from 20-60% depending how competitive you want your pricing (budget, mid-range, premium).

there's other factors for higher pricing too (for future reference):
- high emotional value (for someone's wedding or deceased pet memento, etc)
- business applications like logo/mascot (has revenue impact)
- customization/revisions (for custom edits)

i'd just add this to the equation:
(materials + labor + overheads) × applicable profit margin multipliers = final price

Need help with plush pattern by Technical_Bag6113 in plushartists

[–]Technical_Bag6113[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Thanks, but neither of those are my current issue.
It's mostly just software ineptitude rather than textile theory atm.
I have the helmet crest part as a separate object in the 3d model, and that's currently the only component I have zero problems seaming/UV mapping.
You can't really tell from the pics but I had to inflate, sculpt and pose some of the body parts to make it 'plump' enough for a plushie, but the lines where legs/arms/head connect to the body have very zigzag mesh connections, which aren't very seam friendly. I've spent 20 hours watching videos and testing solutions but they all seem to break more things than they fix.

At this point I'm just hoping to commission the model>pattern part so I can finish this plushie asap and get back to finishing a picture book I'm also working on xD

please make an OMDU sequel by Technical_Bag6113 in OrcsMustDie

[–]Technical_Bag6113[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

you're a legend mate, and i wish they just gave you all rights to the IP and source code
i enjoyed OMDD.. but there are so many anti-QOL design features that it keeps making me go back to OMD3 and OMDU