Salmon Inspired Dragonskin Tail

[Taz]

Phew, this has been quite the journey to get to this point. Over last summer I would spend any free moment I had in my very busy and fatiguing schedule out on the water to punching out 3/4" foam circles for the beginnings of my tail. Not exactly the most social summer ever! Hah!
It was a very time consuming process to punch all these things out, as I know many of you can attest too. As summer drew to a close, I ordered my Dragonskin and picked up UltraCal, in great anticipation as I was almost finished my stupid scale sculpt!

….
then ….
the flood happened.
I live in a basement suite so when the washing machine explodes and goes on the fritz, its my living space that suffers. d'oh! Fortunately, most of my belongings were unharmed, with the exception of my scales. They were sitting on the floor in the kitchen (the only space I had for them), and they got ruined by the flood.

17614
Ahhh the carnage!!
All that painstaking work down the drain! By the way, the irony is not lost on me that a mermaid costume got ruined by water ...

I really had no time to even THINK about reattempting this project for months, until now. I have been granted a bit of extra free time and I now feel ready to attempt the tail again.
So, back to the hole punch I go! (yaaay …. )

Here is my new scale pattern, all greased up and ready to be moulded! Phew, remind me to never punch this many scales again.

17615

After taking a shot of whiskey, I timidly applied the UltraCal, giving the scales a longing last look, hoping they would come out of the mould ok so I wouldn't have to redo the scales for a third time.
Here are the scales in their first layer of UltraCal tomb

17616

THANK ZEUS!!! The mould worked!!! I was very worried about undercuts, so took great care in filling in any cracks, and it seemed to do the trick, with a few small exceptions. The scales were undercut a little in some areas, so I had to shave the UltraCal by hand in some areas to fix it up. That was actually quite a long process, just cleaning up the mould.

17618

And thennnn comes the more-or-less exciting part of the scales … pouring the Dragonskin!
I was very pleased with how my first sheet came out. My second sheet is curing in the mould as we speak.

17621

17622

Here is one of my inspiration boards for my tail~
17623


And now, the part I have been looking forward to the most: sculpting the fins and fluke! I love being able to push and pull clay around and just let your inspiration sculpt something into the real world. So much more liberating than the robotic and mundane punching of foam circles for hours and hours.
I've just started to do the smoothing and will be adding in some more detail for the rest of today.

17627

[Mermaid Dottie]

I like it!
Salmon are really pretty fish, all metallic and junk.
Good Luck on your Journey!

[Nicoseamus]

It looks like it's going to turn out great!

[Bellasea]

Yay a salmon tail that is coming into being! haha, I've always dreamed about having a rainbow trout/steelhead tail. It will be wonderful to see a non-tropical inspired tail. Do you plan on having spots/speckles added to the fluke and the back of your tail? Good luck!

[Aino Revontuletar]

Haha, Downing some whiskey before pouring the ultracal, sounds like something I would do xD This is going to look just splendid, I think! Is that just cardboard that you're using for the base of your scales and fluke? I have been confused about what to use for that, because I know some plastics can mess with the curing of silicone

[Taz]

Yay a salmon tail that is coming into being! haha, I've always dreamed about having a rainbow trout/steelhead tail. It will be wonderful to see a non-tropical inspired tail. Do you plan on having spots/speckles added to the fluke and the back of your tail? Good luck!
Thanks hun! Yes, going to have those classic chinook speckles on the fluke, and maybe a few down the sides and back :)


Is that just cardboard that you're using for the base of your scales and fluke? I have been confused about what to use for that, because I know some plastics can mess with the curing of silicone
Indeed it is! Seemed like the most economical way to go, and it worked out A-OK for the scale mould. I used vaseline on the cardboard and the UltraCal came off no problem, and my silicone has cured as well. I was planning on using Shell Shock to mould my fluke, not sure if I can use vaseline as a release agent on the cardboard, but I think so.

[Jessica]

Everything looks great!! I'm so sorry that your first scale mold got ruined! :( I know how long it takes to punch scales!

I love the fluke! It's so perfect for a salmon tail! :)

i cant wait to see more of your progress!!

[Taz]

Thank you!! <3

I should say, my tail is not going to be a colour match of a salmon necessarily, but the salmon and the coastal ecosystem they pass through are a big part of my life, and they inspire me in ways that are hard to explain. I'm taking inspiration from them in a more esoteric sense. The most obvious visual inspiration is the shape of the fluke I suppose, but really I was thinking of cetaceans when I traced it out.

[Aziara]

Glad to see cardboard works for the scale sheet. It's what I'm using too since I had big sheets of cardboard just lying around (yay for free stuff!). I was a little worried about whether it would work.

[Taz]

I seamed up the left side of the tail yesterday and am waiting for the silicone to cure on the right seam. This seaming stuff is quickly becoming the bane of my existence … i'll update with photos once the whole thing is together, but its not the smoothest seam. Oh well, I guess I shouldn't be to hard on myself, seeing as i've never done this before.

17708

[Azurin Luna]

Looks very nice already :)

I hope the rest of the creation goes smooth

[Taz]

Ok mermaids, i've got my scales seamed up with no fluke attached, so basically I have a giant scale condom sitting in my living room. I tried it on and am finding that there is some bagging behind the knees. I'm very apprehensive to re-size the scales … i'm just nervous that i'll mess it up beyond the point of return and ruin these expensive dragonskin slabs of fishy scales!

Does anyone have any experience with re-sizing that would like to give me a tip or two? Or is it simply a matter of just going for it? Cutting her open, pulling it tight, and securing with more silicone?
It fits rather snug everywhere else, its just behind the knees and lower hamstring that its a bit "airy" (only in the back, not in the front).
Thank you in advance if anyone has any input on this.

Here are a few pictures to show you the folds when my knees are bent. (sorry for the panty line haha)
17723
17724

[PearlieMae]

I wish I could help! Maybe Jessica can give you some insight? It looks great, though!

[Jessica]

I've had to resize tails before....don't stress it's not too bad!

The knee area needs to much smaller than your measurements. Take a ruler and measure the stretch of your silicone....measure about two inches at the waist of the tail or using a scrap. Then stretch those two inches all the way out and measure it again. Silicone will typically stretch about 3-5 inches. If your silicone stretches 4 inches, then you can safely take your tail in that much behind the knees :)

Start with the tail front side down.
to take the tail in, get a sharp pair of scissors or an exacto knife and carefully cut open the seam and trim away any bulky excess silicone. You will need to start about the middle of the thigh and go to a few inches below the knee. You need to create a gentle curve when you take the knees in or you will get really weird wrinkles. Starting at the knee, roll the back side sheet of scales under half the number of inches you need to take it in and then wrap the front sheet over. If you need to take your tail in 4 inches, roll the back side scale sheet under 2-3" and the front sheet over 1-2" ....you will need to play with this a little to get the seam to line up right :)

After you get the knee measurement right, continue working up the tail body and wrapping the top/front scale sheet over the back scale sheet. Decrease the amount that you wrap the scales under gradually as you go up towards the hip so you create a gentle curve. Then you do the same for the area below the knee.

After you roll and wrap your scales and have them where they need to be, you can just take a little bit of silicone to "glue" them together. I do this by painting a line of silicone on the edge of where the back side scale sheet tucks under and meets the front scale sheet. I then wrap the front scale sheet around and pin with straight pins until it cures.

^ if this is confusing, let me know! I had to take my second tail in twice and this method does work well....it's just hard to put into words!

By the way....your progress is really exciting and I can't wait to see more!!

[Mermaid Oshun]

very nice. you could leave it as is & fill w/bubble wrap in case you grow in the future

[PearlieMae]

:doh:

[Jessica]

very nice. you could leave it as is & fill w/bubble wrap in case you grow in the future

I don't think bubble wrap is a good idea. It doesn't stretch and would definitely restrict movement....that could be very dangerous in the water!!

Also...people don't tend to gain weight in their knees when they grow, so resizing is probably the best option since it's several inches too big.

[Taz]

You are the greatest Jessica, thanks for the great input. That subtle curve is hard to achieve! I remember reading in one of your threads that you have experience quilting was it? Or seamstress work of some sort? Thats so awesome!

I'm sort of bummed, because when I originally poured my silicone into the scale mould, I "feathered" it, making it thinner at the edges to make my seam more, well, seamless. Now that I have to resize, I am cutting into the thicker parts of the scales. Wahh! Next challenge, try and blend that seam.

[Mermaid Oshun]

where did you buy your foam circles? Ive been using some company that I think is highly overpriced.

[Jessica]

You are the greatest Jessica, thanks for the great input. That subtle curve is hard to achieve! I remember reading in one of your threads that you have experience quilting was it? Or seamstress work of some sort? Thats so awesome!

I'm sort of bummed, because when I originally poured my silicone into the scale mould, I "feathered" it, making it thinner at the edges to make my seam more, well, seamless. Now that I have to resize, I am cutting into the thicker parts of the scales. Wahh! Next challenge, try and blend that seam.

yes i I have a lot of quilting experience! I LOVE to quilt and was teaching a free class out of my house last year....before silicone took over my house! I also do a lot of sewing too :)

it was a GREAT idea to make the scales thinner towards the edges! It really helps a lot!

To help blend in the new seam, you can easily take a pair of scissors and cut the scales that are underneath down really low.....you can also carefully trim the scale on top at an angle on the back edge so the edge of the scale will be flatter. I've used both of these methods before and they work well

I have also cast single scales paper thin and lined them up next to a scale in the seam that sticks up too much. It helps a lot and after a layer of paint you would never guess that it didn't belong! :)

[Taz]

yes i I have a lot of quilting experience! I LOVE to quilt and was teaching a free class out of my house last year....before silicone took over my house! I also do a lot of sewing too :)

it was a GREAT idea to make the scales thinner towards the edges! It really helps a lot!

To help blend in the new seam, you can easily take a pair of scissors and cut the scales that are underneath down really low.....you can also carefully trim the scale on top at an angle on the back edge so the edge of the scale will be flatter. I've used both of these methods before and they work well

I have also cast single scales paper thin and lined them up next to a scale in the seam that sticks up too much. It helps a lot and after a layer of paint you would never guess that it didn't belong! :)

I've got a row of "thin" scales curing as we speak :) And I also shaved down the current scales as best I could, but I kept accidentally chopping them off, haha. Not very delicate! ;)
Have you ever made a mermaid inspired quilt?? :)


where did you buy your foam circles? Ive been using some company that I think is highly overpriced.
I punched them all myself. Helllloooooo carpal tunnel!

[Mermaid Caspiana]

Salmon look so cool, are you going to the pink underbelly like the males in breeding season? That would be cool.
Very excited to see this journey end in something amazing. :)

[Taz]

Phew, so I resized it, and its wayyyy tighter now, which sure makes it hard to wiggle into, but I guess thats what having a second skin should feel like ;)
The wrinkles behind the knees are greatly reduced now.

Oh, and just because text posts are so boring ( ;) ) here is a photo of my new headdress that I commissioned from Caught in the Net (https://www.facebook.com/CaughtintheNetTreasures)! I really wanted to support other mermaid artists so jumped at the chance to get something from Mermaid Melusinah. She did a beautiful job with my abalone and seafan head piece.
17783

[Ariel-Starfish]

Ooooh this looks so promising! :D
I love to follow treads where people make their own silicone tail! Makes me want to start my own, but i'm not that handy on that stuff :p

[Taz]

17805

A tiny bit of fluke process. I'm wondering how deep I need to make my "cuts" into the clay for it to transfer adequately once its been moulded and cast and then painted. I'm thinking the thinness of my lines will be filled in very easily. If anyone has experience with moulding with Shell Shock, does it pick up detail really well?

[Kae]

Taz,

It's always so exciting to follow someone making a silicone tail.

My blistered fingers and I feel very sorry that you lost your first scale mould. That sucks sooo much. I'm glad to see you were able to redo everything and now it's looking amazing.

I have some shell shock outside curing right now. So tomorrow I will have the answer to you question, or possibly, I will just be in the same boat as you and have to redo everything!!

[Aino Revontuletar]

When you resized it, did you take it in on both sides or did you just take it in on one side (I'm assuming here that you have a double-seamed tail?)

[Aziara]

The picture of the fluke progress doesn't work...

[Taz]

Thank you Kae!!! We seem to be on the journey together :)


When you resized it, did you take it in on both sides or did you just take it in on one side (I'm assuming here that you have a double-seamed tail?)
Just on one side, which I know is sort of a faux pas in the sewing world, but I tried it on after and it fit just fine. Tight, but fine haha. Yes is is a double seamed tail.


The picture of the fluke progress doesn't work...
I think its working now …

[Jessica]

Shell shock picks up detail really well :) it even picks up fingerprints in your clay! Just make sure that when you are making your molds you brush your first few layers. You need to run the brush carefully over all the detail to get rid of any bubbles....sometimes shell shock thickens so fast that it won't settle around little details unless you brush it :)

the fluke looks great!

[Taz]

Poured my Shell Shock into my pelvic and heel fin moulds (pictured are the hip fins coated in Ease Release)

17816

While I wait for the Shell Shock to work its magic, I am sorting through my shells and starting my top :)
Each one is so beautiful, the world around us is such an amazing place. I am enjoying just looking at each one of these beautiful and unique shells~
17817

[Sephina]

I can't wait to see this done! Seeing all these mers making their own tail makes me want to take a crack at it!

[Taz]

17858

Pelvic and ankle fin moulds ready for Dragonskin and started painting!

[Aino Revontuletar]

I love your fins! Your tail is going to look incredible. Good to know that taking it in on just one side can work

[SeaGlass Siren]

oh my gosh this is so pretty!!

[Taz]

17882

Before continuing on with painting, I am attempting to flatten out my side seam. Just waiting for that to cure then it will be back to painting.

17884

Here is one pelvic fin freshly pulled from the mould, not yet tidied up or painted.

[MerGrrl]

SO inspiring... can't wait to see more!

[Kishiko]

Love your progress so far! Nice job! Maybe I'll try it one day...

[Mermaid Melanie]

wow looking lovely those little pelvic fins turned out gorgeous ! x

[Bellasea]

This looks beautiful! I can't wait to see more :D

[Taz]

Thank you so much for the comments everyone!! I really appreciate it :) :)


But oh no! Trouble in paradise!
My giant Shell Shock fluke mould cracked in 4 places when I de-moulded it. Wahhh! I have managed to patch it back together on the back side with glue, so its back to one piece. However … there are small cracks showing on the front which will be picked up by the Dragon Skin when I cast the fluke.
My question: to smooth out and fill in the cracks, could I use Monster Makers clay for that? And then be able to cast Dragonskin on top of that with out issue? I know the old mantra is "silicone will only stick to silicone", so it seems like it would work, but i'm just wondering if anyone has cast Dragon Skin right ontop of Monster Clay or other clay.

Thanks mermaids <3

[Jessica]

Hi taz!

I'm so sorry about your mold! yes you can use monster makers to fill in cracks! I pour silicone right in clay all the time and it works great! When you fill in cracks sometimes it will pull the clay out too when you pull the silicone out....it comes right off the silicone, but you will have to add more clay to the mold before pouring silicone in again :)

you might want to try and see if duct tape will stick to the back of the mold well. It might help make the mold stronger around the cracks. I haven't tested it...just an idea! :)

its so exciting watching your progress!! :)

[Kae]

I had the exact same problem with my shell shock! I ended up reinforcing the back with resin and fiberglass cloth and it worked so well I questioned why I used shell shock in the first place! I'm trying to figure out the same thing with the cracking. on one crack the resin filled it in so it is smooth, but there are lots of air bubbles that I would love to fill too. I was thinking about taking a tiny amount of silicone and seeing if it would cure in a tiny mould of just clay. if it did, and came off well, then I could be sure that it wouldn't bother it if I filled in a few holes.

[Kae]

Jessica beat me too it with more experience! Now we both have our answer!

[Jessica]

Jessica beat me too it with more experience! Now we both have our answer!

Glad I could help! I like to use clay as a mold :) it works great and is reuseable too! I have a few tiny places I have to fill in on my second fluke mold and the clay fills in areas really well :)

[Taz]

Hi taz!

I'm so sorry about your mold! yes you can use monster makers to fill in cracks! I pour silicone right in clay all the time and it works great! When you fill in cracks sometimes it will pull the clay out too when you pull the silicone out....it comes right off the silicone, but you will have to add more clay to the mold before pouring silicone in again :)

you might want to try and see if duct tape will stick to the back of the mold well. It might help make the mold stronger around the cracks. I haven't tested it...just an idea! :)

its so exciting watching your progress!! :)

Thank you again Jessica, thats wonderful. Much appreciated!


I had the exact same problem with my shell shock! I ended up reinforcing the back with resin and fiberglass cloth and it worked so well I questioned why I used shell shock in the first place! I'm trying to figure out the same thing with the cracking. on one crack the resin filled it in so it is smooth, but there are lots of air bubbles that I would love to fill too. I was thinking about taking a tiny amount of silicone and seeing if it would cure in a tiny mould of just clay. if it did, and came off well, then I could be sure that it wouldn't bother it if I filled in a few holes.

I agree about the need for Shell Shock as well Kae! I really enjoyed the simplicity of UltraCal30. I suppose it comes down to personal preference, but for the cost of Shell Shock and its comparably tricky mix ratio and prevalence for something to go wrong, UltraCal has been far kinder to me during this process. I see the allure of how light the Shell Shock is once its cured and the detail it picks up is pretty amazing, but ya.

I have been away for the weekend but am back to tail time! I have filled in some of the cracks and will be pouring my first fluke half soon!

[Taz]

Detail layer of DragonSkin in the fluke mould.

18153
You can see where the cracks are filled in with clay. And also the dark blue spot where I applied a little extra pigmented silicone (that was being used to paint the scales) to fill in a patch I missed.

Also in the adventures of this behemoth, I dropped my iPhone in wet Shell Shock. lol.
Amazingly, I got it all off before it cured. My Otter Box case is now sporting some new blobs of plastic, but everything still works. Now I have a nearly constant reminder of this project haha.

[Aino Revontuletar]

Oooh lovely! I'm glad you could get the problem with your mold sorted!

[Taz]

Painting painting ….

18253

With luck, I will be putting my fluke together tomorrow and attaching it to the body!

You might have noticed a distant lack of salmon-ish colour scheme so far. That is because after my paint tests, I decided to go a different direction. I am still taking inspiration for the shape of the fins and patterning of the spots from a salmon however.

Here is a little guide … shout out to Merbellas, this is their template that I jacked for my own purposes. Thanks Raven!

18254

[ShyMer]

I'm glad to see you could repair your fluke mold! I love the colors. The small fins are really cute, too!

[Taz]

Well, this is going on hold for two months.

My goal was to have this done for my journey to Hawaii where I will be living until April, but I had to leave town last weekend which made it impossible to finish the tail on time! I am leaving for Hawaii tomorrow, so i'm a disappointed little guppy right now. I am very close to finishing this project, all thats left to do it attach the fluke to the body and do a few paint touches.
Wahhhh!

I have close to a full gallon (each of part A and B) of Dragonskin left, and am wondering if putting it in the freezer will extend the life of it? Or is that even necessary?

[Mermaid Adriel]

I'm so jelous >.< I love it!

[PearlieMae]

I don't think it's necessary, but contact Smooth On customer service/technical assistance. toll free at (800) 381-1733 or at (484) 546-0466

[Jessica]

:jawdrop: Your tail looks beautiful!!! Amazing job!!

I'm not sure about the dragonskin.....maybe call smoothon? If all you have to do is attach the fluke to the body, have you considered just taking it with you and ordering a tube of silpoxy (silicone glue) or a trial size tub of silicone once you're in Hawaii? You could always assemble it when you get there! :)

[Mermaid Riia]

Jessica has a point.
I've been using Silpoxy for my tail repairs and so far it works great, for the side seams at least. The only bad thing is that it is not cheap. Working time is 8 mins and cure 12 so you'll have to work in small sections. I ordered test tube and ran some tests gluing parts together and trying to tear them apart without (luckily) succeeding. The bond seems to be very durable n elastic. After opening one tube it lasted for week without curing in the tube.
Though the real test is when start using the tail. Will it last or fall apart, we'll see... :D

[Mermaid_Dominique]

Oh I am so excited to see your finished tail, it looks really great so far! I'm making my own silicone tail at the moment and yours is really inspiring :).

[Mermaid Isabel(:]

Wow this is looking amazing! Can't wait to see when it's all done :)

[mermaidCrae]

pretty how much to make one