Renee's first silicone tail

[wooedwithpearls]

So after months and months of stalking this site, and being inspired by all the lovely creative ladies on here. I finally decided to post my very own tail making process. Back last year I attempted to make my first tail, which ended in complete and utter failure and lots of tears and wasted money; about 500 or so buying and re-buying clay, plaster of paris and sheets of foam. I attempted 3 times with 3 different fluke and scale molds but something always ending up cracking/crumbling :cry:, after the last time I very reluctantly gave up. but I just couldn't stay away from this site and very recently I told myself "ok, just one more time." so this time I'm buying a little bit better supplies. I'm taking it slow. and testing and experimenting before I go full scale. but enough with this chit-chat on to the progress :)

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if the pic worked (still learning how post things :$ ) your looking at my sculpted scales. I love the look of sculpted scales. and here's my monofin (in the works)

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I'll be poly-zap-ing on some zoomers I have, I'm just waiting for the polyzap to come in the mail. my fluke is gonna have a nice split like the POTC4 mermaids.
Im not gonna bother trying to tell you what colors I'm using because I'm sure I'll change my mind within the next hour. but I can show you the ideas I love, and maybe you can help me decide.

:help:


20764Muse number un: the rose gold mermaid from mermaid world. she got to be one of my favourite mermaids in the game. I love the idea of a nude to pink to coral tail. it seems very realistic and feminine, but then again it seems really bland.


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how Beautiful is this tail! seriously:swoon:
soft sea foamy green with purple accents has got to be the dream tail for me! right? well maybe. but its like the polar opposite of the first idea. where that one has too little this might be too much.... but its so gorgeous.

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oh how I love the realism of the mermaids from on stranger tides. my fluke is inspired by them already. should I go all the way and delicate my first tail as a replica of these mers?

oh the decisions! surely this is the most difficult part of tail making. every time I think I have come to a decision I second guess and change my mind.

well I'll post some more progress soon.

[Mermaid Wesley]

Congrats! Combine colors! Multicolored tails are my personal favorite :)


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[Kishiko]

With youre monofin, remember to round the top corners in towards your feet!

[wooedwithpearls]

@ merhopefully with as many ideas that flow through my head I would end up with a rainbow tail like Ravens! wouldnt it be cool if we had mood changing pigments. like "I feel like having a pink tail today" then bam pink tail.

@ kishiko thanks for pointing that out and reminding me. I was so focused on the other corners I totally forgot about the ones at the top!

[Mermaid Jessica Pearl]

@ merhopefully with as many ideas that flow through my head I would end up with a rainbow tail like Ravens! wouldnt it be cool if we had mood changing pigments. like "I feel like having a pink tail today" then bam pink tail.


Oh my goodness that would be awesome.

[wooedwithpearls]

Guess What came in the mail today!

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yay!!!! I wasn't expecting this for a few more days.
so i have my monofin drying right now. and after its done drying. I'll round the corners and sand the edges and then it will be ready for a test swim!!!

I also got some pigments I wanna test out. the seafoam looks kinda washed out and the bluegill looks nothing how it does in real life. this car is painted with the same pigment and portrays the color(s) better.

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i though a color shifting pigment would be so cool so i figured i would try it out. i got all of these a dipyourcar.com if your intrested.

and here is my fluke sculpt. as of right now i like the shape and size lot but im not crazy about the texture. so i may smooth it over and try again.

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last but not least is my progress on my scales.

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[Nicoseamus]

Looks super great! I love your color scheme, and your fluke. :)

[Mermaid Wesley]

Oh wow color shifting pigment sounds awesome!!! I gotta see how that turns out


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[Jeblily]

I have to admit I LOVE the texture of your fluke, it reminds me so much of the POTC mermaids!!! It looks real and fishy but if you want to change it of course you can!!!

[wooedwithpearls]

so after testing the pigments with silicone i found out the color shifting pigment that i got doesnt really look like the car. :( it would probably work if i had a paint gun but alas i do not, so i cant test that theory. it ended up looking like a bronze-y redish color, oh well.
i did however receive more pigments that i had ordered. which i really like so I'll show those tomorrow morning. that way i can get a better photo.

[wooedwithpearls]

ok lesson of the day test your pigments before you get exited about them. The two colors i loved the most not only changed tone but also didnt cure at all. :( so back to etsy i go. however i finally decided on a color scheme (finally) so i'm planning the seafoam and purple tail.

[wooedwithpearls]

I tested my mono-fin today, and unfortunately the zoomers were too big. My feet kept slipping out of the foot pockets. So I tried to pry the zoomers off the lexan with a screw driver and I cracked the lexan. So I have to go get another sheet of lexan and start over.


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[Mermaid Jessica Pearl]

Gorgeous. Looks like a finfolk tail!

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[Mermaid Jessica Pearl]

And sorry you are having so many setbacks but you will make it I'm sure!

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[Aziara]

I know there are several mers on here who wear neoprene socks with their monofins because they're too big. I tend to go the opposite way and shove my size 9 feet into a size 7-8 flipper to make sure it doesn't slip off.

[wooedwithpearls]

Yea I didn't think of neoprene socks. And I cracked my lexan so it has to be replaced anyway. I was gonna do what you were doing and get smaller burners. But that's a great idea if these burners are still too big. Thanks.


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[MermaidIsis]

The fluke looks amazing. I hope it turns out great :)

[wooedwithpearls]

Thanks for all the complements! Unfortunately my computer decided to tap out and I nor my computer geek bf knows how to fix it so I won't be able to share any more pix for a while until I figure out how to resize and post them with my iPad. As I don't see myself spending the money on a new computer right now. But I figured a verbal updated with out pix is better then none. So I finished my scale sheet then I realized I wasn't that into it. I felt that the scales were too big. I find myself always favoring the tiny pumpkin seed size/shaped scales so that's what I when for. Also I saw a sculpture of a mermaid recently with the scales receding in size as they got higher an I thought that would be really interesting to try so now I have about 5 or 6 inches left of my scale sheet and I'm done. Then after that I have to fill in a few gaps from changing the size. I got more lexan too and I cut it out already. This time a touch smaller hoping it won't pull too much on my burners. I'm just waiting for more poly-zap to come in the mail. I ordered more pigments from a shop on etsy just waiting for those to come in the mail. My fluke lay almost forgotten in the corner as I work on everything else, which I need to work on soon. As soon as I get the money saved up I'll be ordering some shell shock and more silicone so I can test the new pigments. Does any one have any idea how much shell shock I'll need? I've been looking around and no one ever says how much they used. Well I think that's all for updates I'll post pix soon as I figure out how. Bye


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[wooedwithpearls]

Well the set backs seem to be piling up. My roommates daughter got ahold of my scale sheet before I got the chance to buy the shell shock, and well let's just say it now has to be done over.....again....for the forth time now. Sigh*


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[wooedwithpearls]

:'( well I tested out my new monofin with the burners and I don't know if it was just my pair but they completely fell apart. And one ripped right off not from the poly zap but the actual flippers. Idk if I want to keep trying. Everything is going wrong maybe I should just stop and order from a pro. http://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/06/11/sy9esa2u.jpg


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[wooedwithpearls]

http://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/06/11/ahyjymaz.jpg


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[JessieMermaid]

Keep trying. Even the pros had set backs before they learned..... with the design you did you could be one of the great ones

[wooedwithpearls]

Thanks Jessie, thankfully I have enough leftover lexan to make another monofin I just got to go get more flippers and poly zap.


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[Kishiko]

I would contact the makers of the Burners you got since the fin itself ripped, see if they will refund. personally, I used zoomers and haven't had a single problem with them!

[wooedwithpearls]

Yea I made my first monofin with zoomers and I much prefer the quality. They are a lot thicker. Only reason I got the burners was because sports Authority didn't have any more zoomers in my size. I also didn't like the floating effect of the burners my monofin kept coming out of the water and I was really just splashing around and not really going any where. I would contact the company but I'm sure they would just say something to the tune of "glueing it to a sheet of lexan is not its intended use so we cant refund you" so I'll just take it on the chin.


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[Kishiko]

Well it never hurts to try, you never know. You could link them to the clear monofin posts where people have used burners to show that it does work

[wooedwithpearls]

Good idea



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[Kishiko]

Like this post here: http://mernetwork.com/index/showthread.php?6429-Clear-Monofin&p=113648#post113648

[wooedwithpearls]

Thank you!


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[Kishiko]

Of course!(:

[wooedwithpearls]

Should I contact the company or go to sports authority where I got them?


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[Kishiko]

I would do both. Start with the store, bring in your broken fin/pictures and show them he damage and the fact that the burners failed, not the fin. Sometimes it's better to talk face to face with a real person rather than over the computer, if they won't do anything then you can Ty emailing the company!

[wooedwithpearls]

Thanks for the advice. I've never returned anything before so this is complete gray area.


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[JessieMermaid]

Your welcome! I always love encouraging creative minds. In this day and age not many people even have an imagination, hence my cheering on those that do! If you ever need a pick me up I'm your Mer!

[wooedwithpearls]

Well my attempted return at sports authority didn't go well. They basically laughed me outta there. I kinda figured that would happen. It's cool though I'll just email the company. In the mean time I figured I would show you some progress.
http://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/06/14/7y2usu7y.jpg
here are my new scales. And here are some pigments I'm thinking about.
http://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/06/14/hyja9ysy.jpg
I'm trying to Decide between "kraken" with is a darker blueish green and "olive leaf" which is a more yellow green. Some of you may have noticed...yes I changed my color scheme again. I saw a picture and I fell in love.... Which I can't find at the moment....


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[wooedwithpearls]

http://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/06/14/peta6u9a.jpg here it is. The purple and green tail is amazing and what I defiantly want. I haven't changed my mind since I seen it.

[Aziara]

It's too bad the store wouldn't give you your money back. Hopefully your email gets better results!
For picking the colors, what effect do you want? Do you want the colors to be close and blend together more? If so, use the more bluish green, as that would be closer to the purple, giving a gentler effect. If you want it to stand out more and have a brighter effect, go with the yellow green, as yellow is opposite purple on the color wheel. I'm personally seeing a more olive/yellow green tone on your inspiration picture.

[wooedwithpearls]

I like how you put that in perspective for me. The yellow green would pop more against the purple and vice versa. I think I'm leaning more to the olive now. I think when I got the pigments I just got caught up with how pretty the blue green looks and kinda forgot about my inspiration picture. :)

[MerEmma]

Did you quit this project? :(