A purse of scales.

[deepblue]

I realize there are only a few of us who have very dark, predatory mersonas, and so there might be things in common. I assure my fellow scary mers that my designs are based only on my own ideas, and nothing has been lifted from anyone else. As inspiring as the others might be. :)

Having had my tail design in my head for years already, I really need to do something, any little part of it. I can't make an entire tail any time soon, I have priorities which must be attended to first. But one must start somewhere, and where time allows. I'm buying supplies here and there, a little at a time, and building slowly. So this thread will be one of those updated slowly over time. I just don't want to wait any longer to get started!

My plan is to learn to work with all the materials by making a smaller item from scales first. So, a purse. I tend to have characters in things I write wear the skin, furs, etc., of their own dead, so this suits me. ;)

Right now, I'm making scale prototypes from Super Sculpey, which is sulfur free, and was on sale. ;) Mine will be a budget project.

In a short while, I'll be making casting molds, and then using a trial size Dragonskin 10, fast cure, to make the first scales.

Here are my three scales so far, which are based on shark dermal denticles. (My phone's cam is not the best, but it's what I've got.) My mersona is a deep sea, apex predator.


25556


Eventually, these will be my tail scales. Large for up toward the waist, the other two sizes for the rest. Colors and all that good stuff to come!

[Seatan]

Very cool looking! I guess my mersona is a little dark, too. Seavanna thinks of humans as big, dumb awkward things who make fun toys when you drag them to the bottom, let em go, then drag em down again. Not malicious, exactly, but a twisted sense of fun.

[Echidna]

ooooooh, nice!!
If only the materials were a bit cheaper eh?
I'd love to see a realistic, scary deepsea tail!

Apart from my snaketails, I have this deeprooted desire for a dark Mosasaur tail, but I never made one because I can't swim like a Mosasaur (they swim like sharks), and there's only so much realism to get outside of silicone. Derp.

[Vrindavana Starfish]

I love the shark scales! First time I've ever seen someone use shark scales!

[PhaylennMurúch]

omg I love it! Those scales are amazing! My mersona is on the darker side as well, good to know that I'm not the only one

[Morticia Mermaid]

That's wicked! I'd love a purse made out of those :yay:

[PearlieMae]

Wow! I love it! Maybe in a deep pewter color?

[deepblue]

Thanks, all. :) And I guess there are more of us dark mers than I realized. My tail design inspired the main character from the novella I've written called Moon at Sea, which I'm trying to put into synopsis so I can submit it to publishers.... which is far more difficult than writing the thing was. And that character in turn inspired more.

Pearlie, I plan to make the scales black with blue low-lights, but that's the plan... the reality might be different as I learn. :) Dark pewter is, however, a shade I've thought of.

I intend it to be a smaller purse, something big enough for my phone and a lipstick, ID and some money, something I can sling across my body and still dance in. I plan to use fabric scraps I have already, and am going to *try* using the Sculpey to make the molds, too... but I think it's distorting too much when the hardened scales are pulled from it. So I'm looking through threads at which casting medium might be best and most economical for me to use, hopefully in trial size.

[Mermaid Jaffa]

Ooo! Love them scales! They look like dragon armor from games

[Ilyena]

I love shark/placoid scales, I started making some out of latex a while back and just mucking around with them :P. Started making thigs with them but uni got in the way until recently, so out the mold will come again lol

Can't wait to see what you do with yours!!

25567
25568

[PearlieMae]

What if you add an extension to your polymer scale masters with more sculpey, ostensibly making a scale stamp, and pressing it into a conditioned slab of sculpey to make your molds? Dust the stamp and the slab with cornstarch so they don't stick. Bake your slab and then you can cast your silicone in it.

[deepblue]

I love shark/placoid scales, I started making some out of latex a while back and just mucking around with them :P. Started making thigs with them but uni got in the way until recently, so out the mold will come again lol
Can't wait to see what you do with yours!!

Oh, those are nice- I like that you're playing around with ways to layer them. :)


What if you add an extension to your polymer scale masters with more sculpey, ostensibly making a scale stamp, and pressing it into a conditioned slab of sculpey to make your molds? Dust the stamp and the slab with cornstarch so they don't stick. Bake your slab and then you can cast your silicone in it.

I was thinking of just that, except I hadn't thought of cornstarch. Thank you for that suggestion!

Funny thing is, I was thinking of going really detailed, scultping denticles that are closer to true form, such as in the picture of a sharpnose sevengill shark denticles here (eta- not my drawing, found here (http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/fish/Sharks/sharks.htm).), and then making several molds to make several of those at once.... but heck, that'd make a great little handle. So I think I will do a few like that.

25569


Of course, that will mean buying sculpting tools. I am currently working with just my hands, an Xacto knife, and tiny little computer screwdrivers. It's not as precise as I'd like.

[Echidna]

It'd be awesome if you manage to keep the placoid ridges visible like in your drawing.
Otherwise, the cool shape would be lost except for the slightly sharper edge.

[Rogue Siren]

I love these! Look alot like what I had in mind for the dorsal scales on my tail. :) This is as far as I've gotten since I'm so busy and don't have the money for Dragonskin. xD Can't wait to see your's!

25573

[deepblue]

It'd be awesome if you manage to keep the placoid ridges visible like in your drawing.
Otherwise, the cool shape would be lost except for the slightly sharper edge.

Certainly, otherwise I might as well go with regular scales.

But it's not my drawing, I should have said. It's from the Florida Museum of Natural History. I edited it to show that.

Incidentally, I think that making each scale a denticle form would make a tail weight a ridonk amount. I want nice, thin scales.

[Mermaid Oceanne]

My dream tail is patterned after a cownose ray. Rays usually eat thin-shelled invertebrates, so nothing special like humans :(

I love the siren aspect of mermaids, but I also love the personable aspect. Part of me wants to lead sailors under, and the other wants to make children smile.

Seems like I am caught, huh?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Echidna]

^^nah, you can do both.
It's a defining feature of fairies they can be of ambivalent nature.

I never understood why humans found that confusing, and try to paint everything plain black or white.
Nothing is 100% "good" or "evil".
You might feel like drowning a rude, offensive jerk, and yet be nice to a friendly, well-behaved kid.
Or vice versa ;)

[Mermaid Wesley]

That's my mersona's MO for sure


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Mermaid Oceanne]

Ah! Well, thank you for that. Black-and-white thinking is not something I consider human in nature; rather, it is instinctual and animalistic.

It often comes with autism ;)

Both? What a concept! I'll get right on that :P


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Kaila Mermaid]

Yay more dark mers!!! Lol my mersona is definitely more along the line of siren.. Luring sailors into the deep...and eating them. But she can be nice, too!

Those scales DeepBlue (pardon my French) are KICK. ASS. I really hope to see the finished product. My mer tender and aspiring merman has been toying around with the idea of a shark like scale pattern as well. I can't imagine how difficult it would be to mould all those [emoji27]

[deepblue]

Thanks!

I'm so busy with life in general. but I got the molds made. Made more masters first, and then used Pearlie's suggestion about cornstarch. It worked great. At least, it looks like it. The silicone will be the real judge.

My favorite denticle was the largest, and it turns out that it is quite uneven. So I made others like it, paying more attention to that.

26021

I am so anxious to keep going, but I can't order the Dragonskin until after Dec 3.

[PhaylennMurúch]

Bracers out of those would be awesome. My mersona is definitely a study in duality, she loves kids and kind people ( and will defend them viciously) but also is perfectly willing (and happy) to bring down ships or sailors.

[deepblue]

Bracers would be cool. :)

My silicone is on the way! Woohoo! ::happy dance:: And my Pearl Ex black is here already. ::happy dance:: For blues, I'm going to use up the mineral powder eyeshadow I bought from Sweet Libertine (http://sweetlibertine.com/). It's owned and run by an old online friend of mine, so I bought lots... but I don't really wear eye shadow. :) So I'm going to experiment with the blues in the black, and see how that goes. (She's on a break atm, but I totally recommend her stuff. When I used it as eyeliner, it had wonderful staying power.)

Hope to be posting pics soon!

[Mermaid Aika]

Can't wait to more see pics!

[PearlieMae]

Thanks!

I'm so busy with life in general. but I got the molds made. Made more masters first, and then used Pearlie's suggestion about cornstarch. It worked great. At least, it looks like it. The silicone will be the real judge.

My favorite denticle was the largest, and it turns out that it is quite uneven. So I made others like it, paying more attention to that.

http://i1123.photobucket.com/albums/l543/MissMoonlight13/5033ae93-9a0e-466f-bc5b-d366fde3ce6a_zps69f73e86.png

I am so anxious to keep going, but I can't order the Dragonskin until after Dec 3.

These are so cool! You could make a Batman themed tail with those ;)

As for the eyeshadow, I wouldn't try mixing it into the black, make some black scales and then dry-brush the high spots with the blue once you've pulled them from the molds, then give them a thin, sealing top coat with more silicone. It really gives a nice depth and brings out the detail. Alternatively, cast black scales, then mix the blue in with the top coat. I do that with interference colors, and it make a nice, subtly color flash.

Just a couple of suggestions. You know me, prototype everything!

[deepblue]

Between writing and taking care of my now de-casted but still unable to walk five yr old daughter, and being the homemaker here, I only finally just got to the silicone today.


As for the eyeshadow, I wouldn't try mixing it into the black, make some black scales and then dry-brush the high spots with the blue once you've pulled them from the molds, then give them a thin, sealing top coat with more silicone. It really gives a nice depth and brings out the detail. Alternatively, cast black scales, then mix the blue in with the top coat. I do that with interference colors, and it make a nice, subtly color flash.

Just a couple of suggestions. You know me, prototype everything!

I totally appreciate your input, Pearlie! Always, always feel free to impart your learned wisdom. I'm taking notes!

Also, sorry all- my that pic was gone because I changed my Photobucket. :/ I totally forgot they were linked here. Bah, and duh. I will work on fixing that. (ETA- fixed.)

First thing I did was use a utility toothbrush to brush out the molds, to make sure all the cornstarch was gone. I'm using some chopsticks I've had forever and never use to mix- they're wood and enamel, so I hope safe for this.

I poured one with no color, I want to see what that looks like. The others are just about 1/16 tsp of black PearlEx powder in about 2 T of mixed Dragonskin. Now I wait.

http://i1123.photobucket.com/albums/l543/MissMoonlight13/Mobile%20Uploads/2014-12-18%2001.04.19%201_zps5ob4rvbb.jpg

As you can see, the color came out more a dark grey. Perhaps more pigment would make it black, or perhaps not? I do actually really like this color, which is a lot like the pewter I imagined, too, but black is what I want.

Also- what can one do about the tiny air bubbles?

[PearlieMae]

I'm sure that your five-year-old will be running with the wolves soon!

Maybe a tiny bit more Pearl Ex, but since it is mica, it's still going to have some sparkly/grey-ness instead of being BLACK black. Pearl Ex has a Lamp Black, but it's hard to find.

You really can't do anything about the tiny bubbles except de-gas the rubber with a pressure vacuum thing, but they don't affect the scales. Chances are you won't see them in the front of the scale.

Also, you don't have to overfill your molds. You're going to end up trimming all that away, and it just uses up your silicone.

PS: Don't get caught up in the tiniest of details!

[deepblue]

Oh yes, the overfill was purely a learning experience. lol I poured and stopped and it kept on going, basically. I don't want to make that same mistake again, so I poured another set after. It was better. But I should make the molds deeper so that I can stop before it reaches the top, if that makes sense... not finding the words with this headache I've got. The bubbles, indeed, didn't show on front. The color is okay, but if this were going to be a tail, yes I'd go for something else to color them.

Other things learned- these scales are way too thick and heavy for a tail. Good thing I'm not making one atm. I can work on all that, though, which is part of why I am doing this. Learning a lot.

Here are the first:

26022

[PearlieMae]

They look awesome! Good job! Yes, it is a learning process, but you're doing great! I hope your headache gets better!

:yay:

[Ilyena]

I like them ^_^

[deepblue]

Another thing I've learned from this is that I don't really like what they look like in actuality. In concept, I loved these denticles/scales. But I'm not thrilled with the actual result. So I will make some more, using different thicknesses, painting on the micas as Pearlie suggested... and probably finish the purse because I've started, but I'm glad to know that this is not for the tail I envision.

[PearlieMae]

Good thing you prototyped it on your bag! Maybe you can refine your design to make it reminiscent of the denticles. Good luck!