Does anybody knows any apparition of one person cheap?

Victory carton illusions use two large cardboard boxes. Can't get any cheaper than that. You could also do the "Passing Panels" effect (sorry, I din't know the "magic" name of that one.) That also can be done with two pieces of cardboard. The "Ghost House" (which may also have been from the "Victory Cartons" book) is a sneak-on illusion that uses a house that can be made from cardboard. If you have an old four-legged table around, white paint and black velvet, you can make yourself a "black art" table. Paul Osborne had a design where the girl was hidden in (or behind) the magician's table; a hoop with cloth (like a Sub Trunk cloth with a slit of hole in the back) was lifted and she sneeks into it. Upon dropping the cloth, she's appeared.

Those are just a few, but you can see they all follow a common method. Be creative and more ideas will come to you.

Your most affordable option for this will be some of starrpowers recomendations or a flash appearance by Jim Sommers and you can find this in Poor Man's: Build Your Own Illusions to name one. Andrew Mayne also has a low budget appearance from a frame curtain. There are as well alternative routes of course and your creativity and interests/ guidelines are key in what you need to search for. Appearances can be modified to almost any performing situation if the right thought is put in.

There is a flash appearance on magic auction made by owen magic supreme, and this will be a good build for what you are looking for: http://www.magicauction.com/Mag_auc/illusion_pg4.htm
just scroll down a bit.

Now if you want to take a more serious and most likely going to be more costly route to this, you have endless options ahead of you. This extends to just using utility bases which can run parallel or upwards in price to that of a new flash appearance. All the way to something more like a lightening Chamber appearance or Shadow Chamber. These can cost you an arm and a leg depending of course on what and where which determines your quality.

Taking a more outside look at the appearance if you have any interest at all, and I only bring it up because I read these sorts of questions a while back and they helped guide me.

But are you wishing to make your assistant appear of your self? Do you want it to be functional in all performing situations or do you mainly work in a full stage? Is it to make a guest, star, or CEO appear? And finally do you want to be smashed into it 5 minutes before curtain wondering if the smoke machine is full, or the flash pot is set, or wether or not your prop for the next trick is ready?

It has been talked about before in previous threads, but its all a matter of a opinion so don't let someone steer you away if this is your intent. Is your audience going to be expecting or anticipating your miraculous appearance? Will they really remember it at intermission after your sub trunk? I was fortunate enough to find an Illusion that works both as an appearance and as a translocation with a bit of re-aranging there for making it possible for me with my crew to use it twice in my show. But personally I don't beleive I would have invested in a seperate illusion just for an apparition. But I am not David Copperfield, where every crowd that comes to my show wants to see me appear on the motor bike. You may be though and this could possibly be your best investment

Hope this helps a bit. Its all perspective, and could be the talk of the show or could be forgotten in your opening monolouge.

Jared

If you want a magical appearance of yourself, with no boxes or tubes involved, The Fabled Cloak of Invisibility from The Wizards' Journal #6 is easy, portable, and up-to-date, thanks to the Harry Potter movies. A little more work with PVC pipes, and the Appearing Archway Illusion can be used to make you OR an assistant appear (PVC Pipe Illusions book #1).

The "passing panels" mentioned above requires at least two assistants to move the panels across the stage.
These two folks are often in addition to your actual assistant.

I'm not sure every working magician has three assistants on tap.

Having said that, it's a quick, inexpensive reveal, although not all that magical..even when done properly.

I disagree (to the effectiveness, not the requisite two assistants, one more than your assistant ... after all, YOU can be one of them!) David Copperfield actually opened his "Vanishing Airplane" television special with this and it looked great. In fact, I think it's more puzzling than the aforementioned "Victory Carton" illusions (and it's other versions, like the expensive "Victory Cubes") when done properly.

Remember, "inexpensive" is what was asked for. Sometimes, the trade-off is the requirement for multiple assistants or special stage requirements. If there are also limitations based on the number of people in the troupe, that should be posted, as well.

What is the "Wizard's Journal"?

Thank you very much for everything.

I´ve got the same question, What is the Wizard Journal and how can I obtain it?

Thanks again

The cheapest appearance (and disappearance) of the magi is to use smoke and your cape (sometime bright lights in the eyes of audience also could help).

Paolo Venturini

You'll find the Wizards' Journal at The Magic Nook. Clue number one is within my signature.

If you buy the Rand Woodbury tapes you can learn how to make your own utility bases and it will only cost you the price of materials (about $300). If you're willing to throw a few more hundred in there you could make a nice chamber to go around it and only be limited by your imagination for presentation ideas.

Not to be disagreeable, BenRoss, but I don't believe it's possible to build a Rand Woodbury base CORRECTLY for $300. A decent set of big casters is going to cost you AT LEAST $80 alone. The aluminum trim is not cheap, and that's going through a metal supply house, not Home Depot. The hardware (screws, staples, tee nuts, etc.) really adds up. Then you've got spandex by the yard, vinyl by the yard (if you build it the way Rand demonstrates), felt by the yard, and so on. This is not even mentioning any of the plywood, various sizes of lumber, or the metal for the bottom. I would allow a minimum budget of around $500-$600 to start with, and realize that it could cost more depending on how you customize it. Sure, there are cheaper ways to go, but constucting a base is one area where you want to do it right. As Rand correctly states in Illusionworks 1, "Just because your base has a chrome strip on it doesn't mean it's deceptive. You might consider painting it neon orange and adding a big flashing sign that says 'She's in here!'".

All that said, BenRoss is right in pointing out Rand's tapes as a great source for building a base. Rand walks you through it step by step. I've built several and Rand's design is incredibly deceptive. Good luck!