Sandra the Siren and her silicone tail

[Sandra Siren]

Hey all! I finally figured out my mermaid name! Now I'm making a realistic tail just for her! Here is my initial sketch, and the scale pattern I made out of craft foam. Currently I'm waiting on my mold to harden and when that is finally finished, I'll get to work on my dragon skin silicone! I want to thank everyone for posting such helpful insights, and such in depth how-to's. If it weren't for this wonderful community, I would not even think of being able to make it this far in the process. I'll keep posting about my progress, and thanks again :) :) :)

[Miyu]

Ooh, that's going to be neat! I love that fluke design!

[Sandra Siren]

Thanks! I actually haven't officially decided on the fins and flukes yet, but I just got some pretty shimmery fabric, and I'm going to experiment a bit to see what I like best :)

[Mermaid Momo]

Wouldn't the cardboard get soggy and loose it's shape when you make the cast of your scale sheet? (if that's cardboard)

[Sandra Siren]

Yes it is cardboard, and I actually decided to make my scale sheet and then cast it in plaster. I went to our local art supply store downtown and told them about my tail project. They gave me a few mediums to try out, so I made some small scale samples and used them to make molds. The plaster was by far the easiest to make, and it kept the shape of the scales quite nicely. :)

[Sandra Siren]

Hoping to purchase this monofin in November!!24767

[Sandra Siren]

Almost done with my plaster mold:24770

Next up will be molding my hip, dorsal, and heel fins. Yay!

[Sandra Siren]

Like I said, molds!!! Well, mold, anyway... I've finally gotten a paycheck that I can turn into supplies. I've molded my heel fin mold out of clay, and couldn't stop myself from playing with silicone, fabric, and pigment. This whole week will hopefully be dedicated to just learning how to get just the right look for small pieces so that by the time I get some bigger paychecks I can get into the actual making of the tail body and flukes!!

[Sandra Siren]

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This is my clay mold

[Sandra Siren]

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And this is my little experiment that should be fully cured by tomorrow!

[Merlia]

Looking good, Sandra.
You inspired me with using plaster as cast mold, great idea! :)

Good luck.

[Sandra Siren]

Thank you! It's so much cheaper than a lot of the other mediums, and if you get some shellack it removes the porous problem.

[MermanOliver]

Does plaster and platinum cure silicone work? For as far as I know plaster is calcium sulfide, and as silicone and sulfur don't go well together, I always thought there could be issues and didn't even consider that option.

If it works, it would definitely be an alternative to more expensive stuff. ;)
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