Well, you wear them at a con, usually for security originally, but now it's sort of a flavor thing or a collectible.

The reason they're usual busts/headshots is, the bigger it is the more unwieldy, if you're wearing this item all day, it's more likely to get bent, destroyed, or so on if it's large. Personally I also think they should be kept fairly "cheap" or easy to make and use because they're only for such an occasion, but that's just me.

I most enjoy seeing a "badge" that incorporates the years' theme for said con, or a theme in general, and are easy to keep, wear, show off, and feel really packed with personality. Especially since that's your "face" within the fandom so to speak. I also like them reasonably sized for aforementioned reasons! I also enjoy traditional badges over digital for most things!

Making them con themed is really difficult as I never even realize when a con is going on, and since I don't go to any I don't have any clues of the themes either! I would of course be up for doing any themes people might be interested in, but I figure less people are likely to come up to you and propose something, than see you offer and come then, if that makes sense?

I hadn't considered that traditional badges might be more interesting, but I see why. I do have several means of creating fancy traditional things and I had wanted to try and sell some in the past.
I just wonder if shipping might be an issue, since I'm from Germany, and I've felt like most con-goers are Americans? (Then again it's something rather flat and light).
Though, I have no means of laminating I think, so I'm unsure what to do there.

I could, however, make keychain-sized shrinky dink badges, perhaps? I should really try that out I think!

Thank you for your input! =)

Yep, you're correct, you'd have to orchestrate it and just familiarize yourself with local cons, or pin point the biggest cons of the year and when they happen so you can grab the themes (usually they announce them in advance for stuff like this) and get more deets! Also most of your fanbase will help walk you through the biggest cons or the most popular! :3

You can go to many places for laminating as well as grabbing your own laminator (though that's a future endeavor to consider), but I'm sure local facilities over lamination services, you'll just have to set up the things in "batches" instead of year round custom orders. As far as I know, you can also buy simple (and still safe) folders with some packing already in them for small things like laminated badges!

For example, here we have places like walmart, Walgreens, Office Depot/Office max, staples etc. offer those services for so many cents per sheet, and if you put mutliple badges within one sheet of lamination then cut them out, you'd be doing yourself a fair service at low costs.

I would also suggest hitting up artists who make badges often to find out their methods, how they do things and so on! Sometimes has helped me out to ask them tips on where to go and what to use!

I return after a power outtage haha :'), I think shrinky dink things would be SUPER and I've not seen many peopel do much with them!
Also worth noting there are print shops like the one recently started by Lapres, that will allow you to make acrylic keychains, plastic badges, and all KINDS of stuff and so on for relatively cheap, but you have to buy them in bulk and find some premade stuff to make for folks in a lot of those cases!

I wish you all the best though and good luck :D

usually badges are laminated and worn to cons to show off your character or maybe to recognize people you know from them :v they usually have the character's name as an identifier too.

So they really should be traditional art, then? I wasn't really aware of that but it really makes sense if I think about it. I don't own a laminating machine but they don't seem too pricey, but I figure I should try out how traditional art turns out to begin with!

they don't have to be!~ some people make a digital badge, size it down, and print it on a nice printer with nice paper. ♥

I think, at least for me, it would actually be easier to make nice traditional art than get a good printer and paper/ink for it :p I don't have easy access to any of these things through anyone unfortunately. But I have a buttload of materials for traditional art chilling at home!

ah okay! you can also get adhesive lamination sheets at Drug Mart and online too, if you don't want to commit to a lamination machine. but they're probably more expensive in the long run. :v

Badge has a picture of the person's character and their name. They are worn in cons and meetups to identify a person (so preferably its a clear image and name), conventions tend to have a theme - sometimes people get new badges to match the theme.

Generally people expect the badge to be delivered as a print, then laminated and a hole punched to it so they can easily attach it to their conbadge thing.

A badge is usually either a headshot, bust, or fullbody with a thematic or not, the name of the character somewhere on it. I see it usually around 5inch tall, if not a bit bigger but not too much (you don't want a poster on you). Used to show your character if you don't have a fursuit/hoodie/other for people to reconize you, or when you suit/etc it to show what it look in drawing like most people see on the internet.

So pretty much used to identify somebody, some use it as collectible like some people said up there. But it can quickly go out of hand when people have tons of them and suddenly transform into a billboard! It also can be made digitaly (to be printed, laminated, and giving the digital version), or in traditionnal to be one of a kind. Its when it get more like a collectible, since its a one of kind.

So people having like 1 to 3 on them its kind of ok, even if in a big bundle to show out their multiple fursona/character. But its my point of view on the thing XD