MinxFox here saying Hello!

[Mermaid Alea]

Well today has been an interesting day for me. Before I went to college today I wanted to start a new drawing in my sketchbook. I wanted to draw a mermaid so when I was looking up reference photos I soon got curious and searched for people who make mermaid tails. At first it was just out of curiosity but previously I have been captivated by mermaid Hannah's photos and of course as a little girl I was amazed with the Wiki Wachee mermaids when I got to go see them. Being an artist, I would love to make my own mermaid tail and I already have an interesting design idea but the task seems a bit daunting and I am still not sure if I want to get into this or not. I have been swimming since I was taught how to swim as a baby so I love the water and I have access to a pool, a pond, a creek, a river, the ocean, and a bay. Part of the reason I am not sure about making a tail is because I already have a hobby that I like to spend my money on. I am a peacock (peafowl) breeder and I own 9 peafowl. I have been saving up my money for this hobby so that I can someday buy green peafowl, which interestingly enough have green scale looking feathers on their neck. Sometimes they are called "Dragon Birds". Anyways green peafowl are endangered so I really want to help breed them someday but I also like playing around with the idea of making a mermaid tail. Since I raise peafowl I am really into lots of color and shine, so if I were to make a tail I would want it to be really colorful. The more I think about this the more my mind wanders with cool ideas. There is a local place that you can go kayaking, canoeing, and tubing down a river and I bet being a mermaid in a river would be really awesome! I love rivers a lot...Well if I do make a tail I want a realistic looking one made out of silicone with the monofin insert in the tail. Okay okay I am starting to feel like I have to do this...Especially after watching Face Off and wanting to learn how to work with silicone and molds... Well and another thing I could do is put dichroic glass on the tail because my mom and I make glass jewelry sometimes.

[Echinacea]

Hi, Minxfox, and welcome to MerNetwork! That sounds like a pretty neat hobby, I'd love to see pictures of your pea-kids! One less expensive alternative to silicone for a tail is either fabric (spandex) or neoprene. Not sure if it would work, but could you make dichroic glass 'scales'? Some of those might be really cool on a tail or a top! I love dichroic glass, it is sooo neat and shiny!

[Sammi Ray]

hello and welcome :)

[Mermaid Alea]

Maybe I should do what you said and go with a fabric tail first then if I really like having a mermaid tail and use it enough then I should consider making a silicone one. I have some photos of my peafowl on my website www.bamboopeacock.com (http://www.bamboopeacock.com) I will try and post a few photos of them here too. My favorite bird is Peep. Peep is almost three years old (at 3 peacocks grow their first real train with all the pretty eye feathers). Peep was the first peachick I hatched. I hatched him out in a little incubator on the last day of school and I had to help him out of the egg because he was stuck. By the time I got him out his feet were curled from being in the egg so long so I had to mess with his toes and feet for several hours until without assistance he could keep them straight and he could walk. Peep imprinted to me so he follows me around, lets me pet him (actually begs to be pet), and sometimes if I have dirt on my arm or something he walks over and picks it off for me. Here is my peahen Ice being a good mom. http://i400.photobucket.com/albums/pp83/MinxFox/Peafowl/IMG_0213.jpg (http://s400.photobucket.com/user/MinxFox/media/Peafowl/IMG_0213.jpg.html) Closeup of a peacock wing: http://i400.photobucket.com/albums/pp83/MinxFox/Peafowl/IMG_0276.jpg (http://s400.photobucket.com/user/MinxFox/media/Peafowl/IMG_0276.jpg.html) Here is Peep being pet. http://i400.photobucket.com/albums/pp83/MinxFox/Peafowl/IMG_2872.jpg (http://s400.photobucket.com/user/MinxFox/media/Peafowl/IMG_2872.jpg.html) Alto displaying:http://i400.photobucket.com/albums/pp83/MinxFox/Peafowl/IMG_0601.jpg (http://s400.photobucket.com/user/MinxFox/media/Peafowl/IMG_0601.jpg.html)

[Mermaid Alea]

Oops a few days ago I replied but I guess it didn't work. You can see photos of my peafowl on my website : www.bamboopeacock.com (http://www.bamboopeacock.com) I am still trying to get used to adding photos on this site. This site is a bit different from other forums I am on. I would start with just a fabric tail but something in me really wants to take on the challenge of making a silicone tail. I don't know I really want to work with that kind of material. I drew some concept art in my sketchbook. I noticed that making a Mandrin fish tail and a Lion fish tail seem to be something several people have talked about. Originally I was thinking a Mandrin fish would be cool too. When you have a lot of fins does it make it harder to swim? I have a few designs that would have side fins or back fins. Will Kanti Kane's silicone tail tutorial cover everything I need to know? After drawing out 12 different tail designs yesterday I got really excited!

[AniaR]

gotta love how mermaids pull you in. Welcome to the world :D you're hooked!

[Mermaid Adriel]

Welcome! >w<

[PearlieMae]

Welcome to the MerNetwork! I like the dichroic glass idea, just don't add too much! That stuff gets heavy!

[Mermaid Alea]

I figured the glass would get too heavy. Maybe I could just have some glass on the tail and I could wear a dichroic necklace and earrings. Here is a photo of the glass...The photo is blurry but the top 3 necklaces are ones I made and the bottom 3 are ones my boyfriend made.http://i400.photobucket.com/albums/pp83/MinxFox/IMG_3694.jpg (http://s400.photobucket.com/user/MinxFox/media/IMG_3694.jpg.html)

[Mermaid Alea]

Aww dang I tried to show a photo of my dichroic glass but every time I try to reply with a photo my reply never shows up! Anyways I thought about how heavy a lot of glass would be so I would probably have a few circles of dichroic glass on just the tail. I could have just tiny drops of glass on each scale maybe. Tiny little pieces wouldn't be as heavy.

[PearlieMae]

I've been experimenting on putting small rhinestones inlaid into silicone...looks nice, but with some picking and wear, they tear out. I've seen faux dichroic using iridescent chunky glitter over a dark background and under a clear, thick coating...I'll post photos soon and maybe it will be an option. I think using the real thing could be amazing, though!

[Echinacea]

Maybe use it as accent pieces for necklaces/belts/tops? Match the glass colors to the tail?

[PearlieMae]

I like that!

Weird...just last night I made some sea glass necklaces...:thinks:

[Mermaid Oshun]

Minxfox, I raised peafowl a few years back. I had India blue and white. They bred and had mixed kids. When they got loose it was a heavenly sight to see those huge wings going in slow motion, gliding over head. Their calls were haunting. They always seemed to call around 3 or 4 o'clock in the morning when you're deeply asleep though :lol: I had to go deep into the woods and herd them back home on several occasions though. That was a sight, me in the woods in a night gown and a stick in hand with 7 peafowl walking in front of me according to my directions with the stick.

Around the same time I had dwarf Nigerian goats. They were adorable and I never even used a leash on them. I would just walk outside and they would skip behind me following me. We would go for walks in the field with the horse or deep in the woods too. I would have like 5 dwarf goats skipping along with me in the woods with no leashes. Absolutely adorable.