Waves of Progress: Iridescent Koi Inspired Fabric Tail

[Waves of Ash]

Hey everyone! After losing sleep from the excitement, I'm proud to announce that I have officially drawn out and budgeted a new tail design for myself! It's been a very long time since I made a tail and I'm SUPER excited to be trying out all sorts of new techniques and materials for this project such as extending my finis rapid, using zip ties in the additional fins, using neoprene/ scuba knit fabric, airbrushing the paint onto the tail, heat setting the fabric paint, and attaching a zipper to the tail.

I saw a freshwater finfolk tail not too long ago

(42035 <<This one to be precise)
and I felt a serious connection to its shape and composition! So, my design will feature the same types of side fins and ankle fins but I'll be making them out of scuba fabric/ neoprene (not sure which one to use then) and iridescent organza.

Here are some of my sketches:

4203842039

With the help of my super sweet and patient boyfriend, I've decided to go with white, mint, and purple hues. I've only had darker/ richer colored tails thus far and I think that having a fresh, bright tail would be very refreshing! I was debating between sewing scale "strips" (like ribbons of cut out fabric scales) and painting and I think it will probably just be better to paint them on. Also, I will be following the design on the far left of the 2nd page for the fluke and additional fins.

Since I don't see this very often in threads, I'm also going to post my current budget for this tail:

42041

Due to me being a full time engineering student, I may have some delays between posts. With that being said, I will post progress updates whenever I find the time to work on it!

[moomer]

This is such a good break down! Kudos!!
I'm looking really forward to seeing your progress!

I'm using a scuba knit as a base for my own current tail, and it has a great weight to it. I haven't sewn on it at all yet though.

Great colour scheme too. I love pale tails. [emoji7]

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[QueenKira]

I can't wait to see it brought to life!

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[Waves of Ash]

Oh my! 2.5 years later, undergrad finished, and more time than ever to work on this project! I have been working on extending the fluke the past two days using polywall vinyl, will post here once done. I need everyone's help though. How shall I paint my tail body if my tail body color pallet is mint, white, baby pink, and possibly berry?

Here are my current ideas:
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1rv6BbzpSjZbU1T_sVb-lZykMEl4_Lf3s

I'm drawn to the bottom left, but I can't seem to commit.

[MerLindy]

Will you mostly be swimming in pools? If so, I think you may be right about the bottom left one, just because the dark tips will show up better in a pool. I think that the ends of the top left would visually "disappear." I also really like how colorful the right photo is; the bottom left has a lot of white.

[Waves of Ash]

Hi MerLindy! I will probably be mostly swimming in pools. Though, lakes are also a fun past time for me ☺️ I agree about disappearing into the background, so maybe the bottom left would be best since it has high contrast? Also debating if I want more pinks or purples.. so indecisive 😖

[MerLindy]

In my opinion, the mint and the pink make a great pair, and purple would change the synergy. Is there any chance the white fabric would be see-through? If so, do you think the mint base of the right tail would be more opaque? I think the black tips of the bottom left tail are super unique and eye-catching; I like them a lot.

[Waves of Ash]

I have yet to wet the white scuba knit, but I was planning on making a pair if white swim leggings just in case the white is see-through.

Something about the mint base makes me think of Easter eggs. Maybe it’s just the time of year, but I think the more neutral base may make the accent colors pop a bit better than the colored base.

Also, can you elaborate on the synergy change and how you would perceive it?

[MerLindy]

I have yet to wet the white scuba knit, but I was planning on making a pair if white swim leggings just in case the white is see-through.

Something about the mint base makes me think of Easter eggs. Maybe it’s just the time of year, but I think the more neutral base may make the accent colors pop a bit better than the colored base.

Also, can you elaborate on the synergy change and how you would perceive it?

Ooo! I think the leggings (if needed) idea is smart! I see what you mean about the more neutral background making the colors pop. I think the tail would still look plenty colorful as long as there’s not too much white.

Hmm let me try to figure out what I mean by the color synergy haha! I think what I’m feeling is the green representing blue and yellow and the pink representing magenta/red, which are all three of the primary colors. Adding purple cools down the balance because it represents blue and magenta/red but no yellow. So the tail would end up cooler in tone. That said, purple could still be really beautiful added in. But since you asked, there’s my elaboration haha! Do what makes you feel the most like a mermaid 😄

[Waves of Ash]

I have been pretty productive recently and decided on my tail design (https://drive.google.com/file/d/1IwIrTR2KBx2zyun1muVyXeTsVkckfuOd/view?usp=drivesdk) and finished extending my fluke (https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ltz65IkHRohx_BBt2YmgJDYzTlSImVgY/view?usp=drivesdk).

Super in love with the color design! Well, in love with everything besides the pink patch at the belly. There is something about it that doesn’t feel right. I’ve been thinking about just making it a pink patch at the lower back (think orca’s grey patch) instead. Any thoughts?

Since I love versatility and getting the most bang for my buck, I made my fluke extension removable! It is made out of wall vinyl and neoprene and is reinforced with silicone. This way, I can mix and match fluke designs and tail bodies in the future! I haven’t been able to test out how well the fluke works underwater, so I’m not completely certain how well it works but I’m optimistic!!

I also got my fin fabric from JoAnn’s: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1seSf6zlBKY5RQuTiGfMwqEUKPmD1DQjz/view?usp=drivesdk
it was pricey ($30 in material) but hopefully it is worth it. I’m planning on making a white fluke “sleeve” to go over the fluke extension and making the colored fluke design separate. I’ll tack them together near the ankles and possibly at the very end of the fluke so that the iridescent fabric can flow freely. Admittedly, I’m a bit nervous to work with this fabric since I had such a hard time with fraying from my previous golden tail. I’m thinking that french seams will be my best friend.