Butterfly Koi Tail

[Nyx]

I'm finally getting started on my first tail.
And I'm going to go with my very first Idea of making a koi tail :D

This is the pattern I made for the koi (so sorry for the rushed drawing):
3193
It's a Ginrin Hi Utsuri Butterfly Koi.

And this is how it's going to sort of look as a tail (again, my deep apologies for such a rushed and cruddy sketch ; u; ) :
3194

As you can see I made little red markings on the drawings to the right. Those are going to be Ziplock or some type of plastic stick type thing to keep the fins up.
I added some on the tail too because I don't like how fabric sort of falls when it's wet and out of the water and you can see the monofin, It doesn't look realistic enough for me :/.
The Fabric I'm going to use for the tail is this one:
3195
It's a Wet Look Red Spandex. I hope this will give it a more sleek, fish-like look to it.
Then for the fins I'm going to use some type of translucent white fabric which I'm still trying to figure out WHAT to use.
For the black markings I'm trying to find a shiny black paint (any suggestions?)
Also to give it a more shimmery and scale look I'm going to use small red/transparent sequins.
I'm debating on whether I should use glittery looking sequins (if there is any) or normal once to give the tail the Ginrin look.

Sooo this is where I ask.
Do you guys have any comments/ questions/ suggestions?
I'm brand new at this so I want to make sure I'm doing it right XD.

[Mermaid Saphira]

rushed? what in the ocean are you talking about!? This is a lovely drawing and I am looking forward to see it come to life! Good luck ;)

[Kanti]

Gorgeous :')
Love the sketches and the design.
Koi have such flowy tails~

[Nyx]

Awww thank you Aqua and Kanti! >///u///<
I will be sure to do so :D.

And yes, this is why I love Koi so much.

[Mermaid Lorelei]

Wow. Your rushed drawings are beautiful dear. And I'm loving your color scheme.

[ShyMer]

I like your sketches, your color pattern is very nice. I've been rather confused as to what fabric to use myself, maybe organza or something? Mermaasai used some sort of sheer fabric on her first tail and it looked pretty nice underwater. Maybe she could give you some tips.

[Nyx]

@Lorelei Thank you so much :>

@ShyMer thank you!
Yeah I have seen a few mers use Organza, also tulle but I feel like that looks too much like a net. I'm also considering Chiffon, but I have no idea what it's like. I'll probably ask Mermasaai soon XD. Thank you :>

[LittleTreasure]

Don't be embarrassed by your drawings...they look beautiful! This is going to look really nice, I think.

Maybe you could use an organza or chiffon for your sheer fabric?

I have no idea where to find shiny black paint but maybe if you found something with a little shimmer,
it could work just as well.
Or maybe, and this is going out on a limb, but maybe you could dye parts of the spandex black
to give an even more organic look.

As for the sequins I'd personally go for something transparent or even translucent, rather than glittery.

[Mermaid Saphira]

Maybe you could use this... http://lotsofbeads.com/images/lumiere%20neopaque%20588%20black.jpg ?
If it is not shimmery enough you could always use some of that glittery fabric spray ;)

[Nyx]

@littletreasure Thank you! >u<
yeah if I can't find any black paint I will attempt dying it, but I'm going to stay far from that option for now, seeing as how I'm terribly clumsy and it could end with explosions <XD
Yeah, clear sequins might look better.

@Aqua Thank you for the link! :>
I'm also thinking of using a few sequins in the black to give it some shine.

[Mermaid Saphira]

^ No problem! And sequins sound like the perfect touch :D