Swimmable octopus tail

[Mermaid Bella]

So I'm thinking of making a swimmable octopus tail like ursulas.... I have swum in a dress a few times and had no trouble, two of the tentacles will have my legs in them.

thoughts, opinions?

[Toxotes]

My thoughts are: sounds interesting. :)

Swimming would be more conventional, and i think you would be one of the first, what's the correct term? octo-maid?
If not THE first.

Good luck!

[roamingmer]

Check how the octopus geneally swim with a squirting type motion of the legs. To look balanced you would probably need to make 6 other roughly same sized legs braced in a large ring. A few under dress hoops could be used to sunchronise movements but it might look strange.

A hooped Skirt might be a bit easier with the legs hidden inside controlling the fabric arms.

The other way would be to think more squid like- where there are long and short arms; and the elongated body works a bit better

[MerAnthony]

This would be interesting to see. keep us posted please.

[Mermaid Lei Loni]

My thoughts are: sounds interesting. :)

Swimming would be more conventional, and i think you would be one of the first, what's the correct term? octo-maid?
If not THE first.

Good luck!

They are actually called cecaelia and they appear in legends, but probably not as much as mermaids are lol.

Good luck with the octopus tail. Can't wait to see it. I had my silicone tail designed to be like Ursula, if she was a mermaid. The sides of the fin, and the heel fins have a thick boning structure that looks very much like a tentacle. Maybe you could try designing a tail, that way it would be easy to swim in? The other idea I had been playing with is to do octopus accessories (top, headpiece, earrings) and I have a piece commissioned. I have been toying with the idea of doing a belt with the tentacles attached, but I don't know how that would turn out. :)

[Jadestone]

Awesome!! I've thought a lot about how one might make a swimmable costume like this (cephalopods being my great love in the deep), so I'm eager to see what you come up with! :)

[Spindrift]

Ooh maybe you could use bi-fins on the tentacles that your legs are in to make them look way longer? Oh no wait, I'm thinking of squids... Still though, they'll probably help in propulsion.

[Capt Nemo]

I found this skate dress at Goodwill for my sister's halloween costume with the same idea. The tenticles are cut like Mister Twister bait tails. The dress has double skirts over the leotard each with about 5 tenticles. Black tights/fins would finish it.

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So something similar could be done, possibly making the dress ankle/fin length.

[SeaNymph]

Wow, amazing. I have always wondered if it it possible to make real Ursula tentacles since I saw the first octo-bra. Be sure to keep us updated on your progress....

[Mermaid Petronella]

Very awesome idea! Go for it! :)

[roamingmer]

since I saw the first octo-bra.

Is this one (http://thegloss.com/fashion/who-wants-an-octo-bra/)not a bit too real?

[MerAnthony]

That is nasty EEWWwwwwww.

[Ashe]

Hold on... is that bra made of er, real tentacles?? :O

[Mermaid Zaffiro]

Real tentacles...Eeewwwwww!!!

[mermaid Ilythia Finlay]

I think that sounds like an awesome idea. it reminds me of a movie I saw about the fish god Dagon. Can't remember the exact name of the movie gosh darn but I for one would love to see it when complete wicked!!!!

[mermaid Ilythia Finlay]

ps here is a link to a preview of the movie a bit later in it is a girl half octopus half person in a wheel chair (she can't walk on land as a octopus) warning it can be a bit scary http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z7QREJdUyf4&feature=related

[Capt Nemo]

The movie is Dagon, and it's on Youtube.

[Mermaid Harmony]

that's terrifying

[Elle]

so basically you need a rubber umbrella that can be attached to 6 tentacles which all attach to your legs (disguised as tentacles) so that as you complete a stroke (most likely breaststroke kick) propulsion is acquired :)
I'd like to put it out there however that Ursula was half squid not half octopus. Count those legs, she's only got six! :)

Anyway it sounds like a very cool idea :)

[Mermaid Bella]

so i've picked colours and done the designs :D I'll post sketches asap ;)

[Coradion]

so basically you need a rubber umbrella that can be attached to 6 tentacles which all attach to your legs (disguised as tentacles) so that as you complete a stroke (most likely breaststroke kick) propulsion is acquired :)
I'd like to put it out there however that Ursula was half squid not half octopus. Count those legs, she's only got six! :)

Anyway it sounds like a very cool idea :)


Six legs would not make her a squid. Squid are decapods, 8 arms, 2 tentacles. Six legs+2 arms wouldn't be 8 "feet" but it would give her eight limbs. Octo fits better.

[Coradion]

If you wanted a swimmable octo tail an octopus in motion when swimming with its siphon has all its arms together. If you did had a neoprene or fabric tail base, then you added silicone tubes from the waist to the monofin, three in the front, three in the back you could make it look like your body became six arms. You could make the monofin look like the arms tapered out and spread out with a membrane covering the spaces between them.

[Usagi]

7914 this is from Broadway..don't know that this really helps though. it's 4:30 am here so I am tired and confused lol

[Usagi]

7915 wait no it was supposed to be this

[SeaGlass Siren]

so basically you need a rubber umbrella that can be attached to 6 tentacles which all attach to your legs (disguised as tentacles) so that as you complete a stroke (most likely breaststroke kick) propulsion is acquired :)
I'd like to put it out there however that Ursula was half squid not half octopus. Count those legs, she's only got six! :)

Anyway it sounds like a very cool idea :)

...WHAAAAT?? MY LIFE IS A LIE!!!

[Coradion]

Ready my post, your life is not a lie.

[OrcaMatt]

Yeah, wanted to do one of these as a proof of concept platform for a material I wanted to try out.

[Kanti]

Not sure if this is still relevant, but a pretty awesome waterproof octopus cosplay was done once.
It's a TF2 character but made into an octopus.

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Didn't look like there was much swimming involved, though. I imagine the tentacles are stuffed with something and the outside is some sort of waterproof material that won't absorb too much water or I imagine the stuffing inside would be all messed up. Maybe it was stuffed with foam or something that doesnt absort water?

She/he even made some bitchin' finger gloves for webbed hands!

[Kanti]

Making an octopus outfit out of silicone/rubber would probably be wildly expensive and INCREDIBLY heavy. I'd thought of it once but the only way to make it weigh less is to use silicone foam which is SOOO expensive it's ridiculous.

[Mertara]

Definitely LOVE the idea!! I have made octo tentacles a few times, but never for swimming....and I was just talking about how more people should make alternative mermaid "tails"! I'm not sure how you'd fill them out though. Fiberfill get's way too soggy and heavy in the water, and foam floats...you could maybe stuff them with tulle? I'm excited to see what you come up with!

[IllynReaver]

Sorry for resurrecting the dead thread here, but I was wondering if the OP had managed to make a swimmable octopus tail? I'm also interested in making one.

[Merman Lir]

i've thought about this too. It's not my aesthetic, but it's cool to think about how one might do it. I propose this: each human leg is in a silicone tube with a built in fin, shaped to look like two tentacles moving together. the tentacles could separate below the end of the flipper. in addition, two hollow dummy tentacles would be attached to the back waist of the tail and two in the front, preferably with a membrane between them down to around the area of the human knee. this would let them move together(ish) in the water as the human used his/her separate legs to swim. I recommend a frog kick to most closely match the swimming motion of a cephalopod.

[IllynReaver]

This is exactly what I was thinking of doing, the legs disguised as tentacles with the flippers and ends of flippers shaped like tentacles. My only issue would be how to get them to look flowy under water but also heavy enough to wear I could swim somewhat easily without them getting all in my face and everything underwater.

[MerMel]

I'm thinking instead of silicone, which as mentioned would weigh a ton, maybe a neoprene+rubber/latex combo of some sort... and maybe using a pulley system of fishing line to create movement in the tentacles.

[IllynReaver]

Oh, that's a good idea.

[QueenZero]

EXTREMELY interested in this! Very much looking forward to any progress! (I am too inept both creatively and physically (bad hands) to pull this off myself.)
:cthulhu::cthulhu::cthulhu:

[Mia]

I'm actually playing around with the same idea as far as movement! Nice! Though my ideas for the shape are different.