Scale Making

[MermaidAliyah]

Im making a regular fabric tail but i want it to have scales. Does anyone have advice?

[malinghi]

magictail.de uses some form of screen printing to make an image of scales in fabric tails, but I don't know anything about how that works.

[LittleTreasure]

You could always paint it by hand. Just get the fabric stretched out beforehand - I think what you would do is sew the tail up, fill it up with something to simulate your body being in it (stretched to where it needs to be) such as fabric, newspaper, cotton, etc, and just paint it in thin layers. You might need to set the paint with a little heat, like by using an iron on the fabric covered with a towel, depending on the paint. You could also try experimenting with screenprinting ink as it might be more permanent - just try everything on a swatch of fabric before you try it for real.

[MermaidAliyah]

i tried to tell my mom but she thinks that we could possibly sew and or make the scales by hand. will that take long?

[Mermaid Jewel]

Painted scales can actually look extremely realistic. For example, if you look at Taylor's tail, it looks really nice

[Mermaid Saphira]

I hand painted scales onto my tail using a stencil I cut out from an old plastic placemat. Took me 2 and a haft days to complete, but I was going nonstop!

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[Mermaid Photine]

I'm painting scales on my fabric tail by hand. I made one for a friend before I made mine. I stretched the pre-sewn tail on a piece of cardboard cut to her measurements to try to keep it from cracking. This worked pretty well. I am thinking that the little cracking there was is from motion or accidentally mishandling the fabric and stretching it too far. For mine I am testing out a new idea: I made a duct tape dummy of my legs and put the tail on it. I can paint the sides to line up far more accurately now. All that's left to do is to finish the darn thing!

[MermaidAliyah]

thats an amazing idea but i want mine to have that effect that mermaid raven and mermaid raina hav. like it looks faded at the fluke but still has some color. what kind of paint should i use?

[Raayvhen]

You could still use the steel grate or fishing net method. And as for paint I'm having the best success with this stuff. http://www.spraypaint4fabric.com/products.html
If you want that faded gradient look then spray one coat over the entire area and then work in layers until you get the effect you want. Its kind of pricey though, you probably want about 5 cans of your main color and then 2-3 of the secondary. If you want a third color I suggest just one or two cans.

[Mermaid Saphira]

LindseyLu is great at painting scales, maybe you could get a hold of her and get a few tips? :)

[MermaidAliyah]

is lindseylu on mernetwork?

[LindseyLu]

Hi MermaidAliyah - I emailed you back this morning. Let me know what specific questions you have and I would be happy to answer them for you! You can either keep it private and email me back or ask me here :)

Aqua I hadn't seen your tail yet, it looks sooo awesome!!! You did a great job girl, love it!!!!! <3 I'm really happy for you!!!

[Mermaid Jewel]

Oh I can't believe I forgot about you, Linds O.e Yes, she's a great source for painted scales! :D :D

[LindseyLu]

;) No worries Jewel! I've been kinda MIA as of late... trolling when I have time but not much else unfortunately, planning my wedding is consuming me! LOL! :)

[Firemaid]

I spray painted mine, and it worked great. Lasted for 3 years before they started to fade, and really that was because someone mistreated it when I left it with them.

[MermaidAliyah]

dobyou have a picture of the tail?