A Tale of Two Tails (take two)

[MermaidRaegan]

So about four years ago I attempted to make two tails over one summer, and needless to say I was in WAY over my head. I ended up scrapping both projects in favor of a fish butt. Unfortunetly, my fish butt has finally given up the ghost after years of constant repairs (that's neoprin and alex plus for ya). And apparently I learned nothing so I'm doing it again! This time around I'm making two painted neoprene tails, one for me and one for my mermate. I ordered two sheets of neoprene that are supposed to be here next week, so for the time being I've been drawing mock-ups and hitting the river as often as possible so that Weasley can get used to swimming in a monofin. Hopefully I will have some pictures to post later. :thumbs-up:

[Mermaid Alea]

Awesome! Good luck on your tailmaking!

[Kait]

Good stuff, looking forward to seeing the pictures :)

[MermaidRaegan]

Okay, so I finally have some progress to post. 37533

This is the tail design for my mermate' tail. Weasley is a big fan of jewel tones and asked me to "make him look fabulous". I was wary of the color scheme he picked for me to work with, but I think the final product is going to be stunning.

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I finished a scrap fabric mock up to check my measurements and will hopefully start working on the neoprene body of his tail tomorrow, and maybe do a couple tests with the paints we picked.


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[MermaidRaegan]

I'm taking a break from sewing Weasley's tailskin to work on my own tail for a bit. I started working on a design during the winter for a tail based on Maleficent from the original Sleeping Beauty. I've always been a huge fan of all things dragon and mermaid and hopefully the two elements will blend into a delightfully gothic merbeast.
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Progress pictures to follow. :)

[MermaidRaegan]

So I finished the fluke design today, and I really love it! 37670

I'm a huge fan of Maleficent's daggered sleeves. 37671 And I also wanted to add a flame effect somewhere on the tail. So I started with a daggered edge and then tattered it a little more till I got the effect that I wanted. Originally I was only going to use purple accents in the tail, but now I'm thinking a little bit of yellow-green around the edges of the fluke to match her flames.

Next I'll be adding the dorsal, pectoral, and shin fins which are modeled after the spines on Maleficent's back and her wings.


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[Mermaid Arabella]

:jawdrop: I NEED TO SEE THIS TAIL!!!!

[Mermaid Alea]

Very wonderful fluke design! :)

[UtahMermaidPearl]

Hey I've done a maleficent tail too!

[UtahMermaidPearl]

http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20160629/f6d49cdc2d0cdd1494bba9c8eabf2967.jpg

[Jonny]

I love the maleficent colour theme, never thought of it before!
& Pearl I really like the spiky dorsal fin design

[MermaidRaegan]

Pearl, I remember seeing the thread for that design a while back. Did you ever finish it?


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[UtahMermaidPearl]

No I was gonna have MerrowFins do it but when I did get a tail from him I decided on something I thought I would like more in the long run

[MermaidRaegan]

I did my paint swatches last night and then left them out to dry till morning. I'm using SoHo acrylic paints, which in my experience are super waterproof once fully cured. Plus they come in tons of colors and the pigments are really rich.
Once I was sure they were fully dry I tossed them all into a pan of water to run some tests. I made three types of swatches: paint that I watered down to form a sort of dye for Weasley's base coat, a swatch with a single solid layer of plain paint, and a swatch using my scale pattern.
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After soaking them for about ten minutes I took them out for scratch and stretch testing and I'm happy to report that they held up perfectly. I even tossed them back in the water for a few hours to be doubly sure with the same results. Which means tonight I can start painting!!
The solid coats reduced stretch and cracked, which is exactly what I expected. I'm only going to use that method for the fluke and side fins, since they won't be stretching much. The watered down method will be used to cover Weasley's tail body, and my neoprene is already black so it won't need a base coat.


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[MermaidRaegan]

Wow, I got a lot done today! After my little science experiment with my paint swatches, I finished sewing the zipper into my own tail, and finished constructing the skin for Weasley's.
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I've gotten way better at sewing invisible Zippers. Weasley was super excited to try on what I've sewn so far. Now that I know the skin fits I can attach the fluke and dorsal fins, then install the zipper.
Lastly, I started painting my own dorsal "fins", which are modeled after the spines along Maleficent's back. *phew* I have another day off tomorrow, so hopefully I can get my dorsal sewn on and attach his fluke and zipper.



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[merwandering]

I love the shape of the fluke!!!

[Hydra1337]

I can't wait to see how these tails turn out.

[MermaidRaegan]

The fluke of Weasley's tail is now attached! I'm almost done with the sewing stage of this project, for which my fingers are super grateful. Before sewing it on I traced the stencil for his fluke pattern and painted a single panel, because I'm very tired of sewing and needed a break. The colors he picked have really grown on me!
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[Meghara July]

Oh my goodness I love these tails!! I can't wait to see the finished product!! I also really love the fluke design on your Maleficent tail!! It reminds me of the Whitecap Bay mers in POTC4 :D Keep up the awesome work! I can't wait to see what you do!

[MermaidRaegan]

Thank you! I actually drew some inspiration for the overall shape from the POTC mermaids.


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[MermaidRaegan]

Alright, so Pokemon go has completely taken over my life and I haven't spent much time on these tails. But then yesterday Weasley reminded me that we have a mer meet up planned this weekend and I have to have them done by then! So I'm going to be working like crazy all this week.
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I finished the dorsal fin and calf fins on my tail and have started painting the scale pattern. I need to take in the waist a little on both of our tails, and then sew in Weasley's dorsal. Luckily that is the only extra fin he wants, so it shouldn't be long before the construction stage is over.


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[Meghara July]

Thank you! I actually drew some inspiration for the overall shape from the POTC mermaids.

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I get a lot of inspiration from them too! :D Your tail looks awesome so far! I hope you get it done in time! :D