My First Sequin/Latex tail! (eventually pic heavy)

[Mermaid Kenzie]

Sooo, I'm finally kick-starting the process of making my first latex/sequin tail! My first tail was a spandex tail sans monofin... so needless to say it's much more fun to sculpt an actual fluke for a tail. I'm thinking of trying to find a large (on sale) wet-suit from a dive shop for the base, but I'm not sure yet. Would it be easier just to buy neoprene? I'm open to any options, so if anyone has a suggestion for a site or place to get neoprene it would be much appreciated. I'm close to done with the fluke sculpt, and have yet to buy the sequins (I'm thinking ccartwright). EEEEK! I can't wait till I get to finally make the mold!
(some sculpting progress so far)

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[Mermaid Kenzie]

The back of my tail design

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I'm also thinking of adding little LED's to the tips of the fins, just a thought...:p

[halesloveswhales]

I went to a local dive shop and asked if they had any old used wetsuits that they wanted to get rid of, and I walked out with five free wetsuits for scrap material. I definitely recommend doing that! The only problem, if you're thinking about doing Latex, is the seams that you'll have from a recycled wetsuit.
And your tail looks like it's going to be awesome! I can't wait to see more progress pictures!

[Mermaid Kenzie]

It's not a full latex tail, it's a sequin/latex tail, only my fluke will be made of latex, so the seams shouldn't show ;D Thanks! That's a great idea!

[Mermaid Dottie]

That is some lovely artwork!

[Mermaid Kenzie]

Awww *blushes* thanks Dottie <3 :hug::mermaid kiss:

[Ashe]

That looks beautiful! The design is stunning :D <3

[jazz2453]

Wow I love your design! Do you have any tips on how to smooth the clay?

[Aino Revontuletar]

Wow epic design! I love it!

[Mermaid Kenzie]

Thanks everyone! @jazz2453 I'm not afraid of blisters on me fingas ;D I did however use Monster Clay from https://www.monstermakers.com (https://www.monstermakers.com/) and you can heat the clay in the microwave (it makes smoothing out the clay a LOT easier) however, if you STILL have trouble after that, I suggest using a wire clay tool like this:
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and gently start evening out the clay. Hope that helped :D

[Mermaid Kenzie]

Finished with the fluke sculpt! :yay:

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[Rain]

I love your design, it's very pretty.

[Mermaid Kenzie]

Just finished the mold. It made quite the mess. I will have some cleaning to do tomorrow -_- , but it's worth it!
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[Spindrift]

This is pretty cool!

[Mermaid Kenzie]

Thanks! I pull the mold later tomorrow, so more pics to come!

[Mermaid Kenzie]

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[Mermaid Tula]

Looks great!

[TheSolitarySiren]

Your mold came out beautifully!~

[Mizuko]

Your design is so cool! :D What did you use to make the fluke mold? :) I cant wait to see it finished!

[Mermaid Kenzie]

I start latex tomorrow... because I have set the impossible date of getting my tail done by the 20th (2 weeks,and it's a sequin tail) so I can swim in it on my trip to the Florida Keys.... I'm officially insane XD
@Mizuko I used Monster Makers Ultra Cal 30 ^.^

[starlite]

I love your tail :-)

You will use silicon for the fluke insn't it ? Will you use a sewing machin for the sequin ? For my part i can't, then it was very long. Now i need a bra.

[Mermaid Kenzie]

Thanks Starlite! I'm actually using latex for my fluke (I cant afford silicone). I'll be hand stitching each scale, and it needs to be done in two weeks...hehe :crazy:

[starlite]

after you will paint it ?

[Mermaid Kenzie]

after you will paint it ?
I'm painting the neoprene first, then sewing on Ccartwright's colored iris scales.

[Mermaid Kenzie]

Just pulled casting number one from the mold and trimmed it. I'm so happy!:yay:. I can't wait to swim in it when it's finished! Now to start casting number 2 ...

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[merline]

wow you made your own merfins! They look great. Is this liquid latex or casting latex? did you use a thickener? I plan to do the same thing but with only a cardboard pattern and brush on the latex to build it up relying only on brush strokes for texture. I am hoping the mold is not really necessary but rather to get something more organic looking and less stiff and contrived looking by brushing on latex over a cardboard pattern instead of making a mold.
What are your thoughts about this technique?

ps what color latex did you use here?

[Mermaid Kenzie]

@merline Actually it's just the fluke, Those yellow foot pockets are the finis foil monofin I will glue inside it when I finish the other half. It's made out of liquid latex, nothing else. I'm sorry to say your idea, although very cool, won't work if you want a swimmable tail. The latex would peel off the cardboard and the tail would fall apart. Not to mention that cardboard is either too flimsy, or too stiff to hold up in water. If you want a latex tail, you'll either have to brush latex on strong fabric(neoprene is the best) or sculpt a fluke out of clay, cast it with casting fx gypsum cement, and then brush in latex until it's thick enough. Brushing on latex for texture is nearly impossible to do, it just gets all goopy looking (like on the Mertailor's latex tails.) The color is just the color regular fx latex has.
Hope this helps!

[merline]

no I didnt mean to leave the cardboard attached, just to use it as a pattern.. Intentionally peel it up after it dried turn it over and paint brush texture on the other side too. Or paint the silicon/latex to your monofin extending it using paper underneath as a pattern of the extension. I actually love how delicate the mertailor's tailfins look! Makes you think of a real fish...almost transparent on the ends instead of something bulky hard, inanimate and plastic.

I heard that Polynesians tied palm fronds to their feet to dive to great depths and catch fish. That was the beginning of the monofin. So if a palm leaf is thick enough to increase speed, surely latex should be able to replicate a palm frond with some sort of structure inside it. Maybe flower sticks (bamboo or pvc splints) embedded in silicone like bones.

[FreshWaterMermaid]

Wow Kenzie! That is great! Awesome sculpting too!

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[Mermaid Kenzie]

@merline Oh I see what you mean. You could actually bend the cardboard into a fin shape quite nicely I would assume, as long as you made the latex thick enough. Latex by itself however is too flimsy in water, trust me, you'd get no propulsion. Unless you make one yourself you'd need to buy a monofin. Mike Van Daal doesn't use a monofin in his tails, but then again, he uses silicone not latex (latex can't hold up to that amount of flopping and stretching to be by itself). I was actually talking about the Mertailors latex tails, not his silicone ones. There is a thread somewhere on here with plenty of people who know what I mean when I say they are "goopy" looking>> http://mernetwork.com/index/showthread.php?1227-Mertailor&highlight=mertailor+goopy if you look at Leloo's comment. True, the Polynesians did use palm fronds, but they were not meant to last for more than one use, and like latex, can't hold up by themselves for any long period of time, without the right support. Does that make sense?
@Freshwater Thanks<3 I can't wait 'till It's finally done! I won't have all the scales done in time for my trip to the Keys, so I'm wondering if I should make scales out of neoprene sew them on, and then brush them with latex, or sew on shell sequins? What do you think?

[FreshWaterMermaid]

Shell sequins take a long time to sew on individually (which is what I'm doing with my current tail). But I know Ilonka has had luck with her spandex (fabric) tail and gluing on the sequins using e6000. So I dunno.
I don't think the neoprene on its own will look bad at all, I think it'd be nice! I love neoprene, and when unaltered at all it reminds me of seal skin ^_^
Up to you whatever you do though lol I kinda just do my own thing and stick with what works. I don't experiment too much lol :)

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[MerMarla]

Just thinking on paper here.... what if you E6000 the shell sequins in place instead of sewing them, then use the latex over top of them securing them to your tail. That would save you from sewing them, would go faster, and the glue sets up faster than you could sew them. A light coat of latex would make them look awesome and still stretch. Just a thought.

Good luck!
Hugz and Bubble https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/e/B0C'z
Mermaid Marla

[Mermaid Kenzie]

@Mermaid Marla That's a great idea Marla! Too bad I don't have clear latex (the stuff I have turns clear yellow in even the thinnest layers.) I think I might sew them all on, and then glue the down for extra support.

I know I won't finish by my deadline, but I will have a painted neoprene tail with a latex fluke all done by my vacation, so I'll have to live with that for now. After the trip I'll buy some sequins and finish the tail :D

[Mermaid Kenzie]

Finished with gluing my fluke together, and will be sewing the neoprene and painting it tomorrow. Lots more pictures to come!

[Mermaid Oshun]

looks great so far. I will be starting my fluke this week too. About how many ounces of latex did you use for the fluke?

[Mermaid Kenzie]

I never really measured :$ Just buy a gallon bucket of fx mask latex and brush it on in thin layers until it's done. 5 gallons (without doing a test casting) should be enough for both sides of a fluke.

[Mermaid Kenzie]

Painted half of my fluke today and started sewing the neoprene. Sadly, I wasn't able to fin-ish my tail by my trip... so I will resume when I get back.

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[Mermaid Oshun]

that is pretty. Reminds me of something from Batman's costume.

[Mermaid Julianne]

This is so awesome! Can't wait to see more pics!

[Mermaid Kenzie]

@Golden Pearl sweeeet! Batman is my favorite superhero lol The fluke is actually a lot less black-looking in person, I took this with my phone camera, so the flash darkened it a bit :p

[Anita Mermaid]

this is amazing

[Mermaid Lorelei]

Very nice. I can't wait to see the final product.

[Little_Orca]

Lovely work, keep at it! :)

[Ariel-Starfish]

Holy cow! :jawdrop: I can't wait to see the finished product! I am in love with the fluke design!

[Nyx]

Omg that looks awesome!

[Mermaid Kenzie]

Thanks so much everyone! I'm finally back from my vacation, so painting and sewing shall resume!

[Mermaid Oshun]

good luck girlie

[Mermaid Caspiana]

I'm excited to see the final product!

[Mermaid Kenzie]

Sorry I haven't updated in a while. I will post more progress pics soon. Not that it matters, but I've been having some mental health problems, well my whole life, and lately they've been spiraling out of control, So recently, I confided in family, and will be getting a therapist soon; please excuse any late updates due to this problem. On a happier note, it's my 16th birthday today! I love you all, and wish you all a pleasant day<3 (and for us Americans, I hope you had a fantastic 4th of July too ;D)

[Azurin Luna]

Happy B-day! I hope things will work out for you and then you get everything straightened out again

[Merrow Erie]

Hang in there. And happy birthday.

[Mermaid Dottie]

I'm excited to see this.

[Neptunie2]

Happy Birthday!!! I really love your tutorial, and i would like to make my own monofin like yours but i am a little confused by the casting process. So if you have any further details or tips i would love to hear them when you get a chance!! You are a very talented lady, hang in there!
Emily

[LoopsyLar]

Your tail is soooo pretty! I love the colors and design! Can't wait to see when it's done!

[Mermaid Kenzie]

If anyone is still around... I'm back! I HAVE MISSED YOU INTERNET!!! I do have a reason for being away for so long (though I will keep my explanation brief because I'm sure no one cares about details): After a suicide attempt, I spent some time as an in-patient in a psychiatric ward for the last three months, in which during that time I was diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder. Anyways, it's really great to be out, and back to tailmaking! I WILL be finishing this, so please hang in there *bats eyelashes* I am SO very sorry for being gone for so long, and I do hope you will all forgive me <3 On another note, here's an update of the current paint-job (Due to previously mentioned life-altering events, the color scheme was changed due to personal meaning):
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[Mermaid Kenzie]

Another little update: I have decided NOT to use sequins, considering I do not have the funds to get them right now. Instead, I plan on sewing the neoprene, using shelf liner for little fins, and then painting latex onto the neoprene to hide seams; finally painting said latex to look like scales, and then DONE! Sound good? I think so...

[jazz2453]

Cool! Nice colors!:)

[XMermaidMarinaX]

Hope you're doing better! Also adore the colors you are using, really pretty and it's nice that it has personal meaning to it ^_^

[Mermaid Danielle]

Beautiful colors!

[Nicoseamus]

That looks great! I can't wait to see the finished product!

[Mermaid Kenzie]

Thanks everybody! I still need to get some neoprene glue and some rubber-to-rubber spray adhesive before I can start on the body of the tail, but I can take a few progress pictures of what it looks like right now. They'll be up shortly ;D

[Mermaid Caspiana]

Glad you're back! Can't wait to see it finished! :)

[Mermaid Kenzie]

Here's the neoprene on the fluke; I'm gluing it down as soon as I get the adhesive tomorrow. Sorry it's such a horrible picture...:$ Anyways... I just finished sewing one of my split dorsal fins on, and four of my little side fins (which are not in the picture. Sewing a tail from old wet-suits is terribly time consuming...but worth it!) After the gluing, it's just latex, paint, then waterproofing! *squeal*:dance:

[Winged Mermaid]

Can't wait to see more progress on this! :)

[Mermaid Sabie]

Love the colours! Also love that you're using old wetsuits, so ecofriendly and can't believe it was free! Such a great idea!

[Mermaid Dottie]

I'm not a pink person,as general rule. Usually pink can go die in a fire (unless it's P!nk). The only time I really like pink is when it's a hot neon shade (or blends darker), next to lots of black. This tail is gonna be like orchids at midnight. Lovely, and mysterious.

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[Pascal21M]

Are this tail already finished?