Transparent Fluke?

[KaetiIngram]

26007So, I was thinking...has anybody ever made a totally transparent fluke? It is possible? If you Google Image search "Mermaid clip art" or "Mermaid cartoon" almost all of them have translucent flukes. Not to mention the ever so famous Ariel. So I was thinking about ways to make this possible and did this shitty drawing in Paint. What if you slightly cut a Foil monofin and made it part of the divider triangle area thing (what the hell is this called?) INSTEAD of the actual fluke. Or even didn't cut it and made your divider triangle thing and divider curved area thing? You'd still have power to swim in the water and your fluke would just be basically for show. It'd be SUPER flow-y though, depending on what you made it out of. Ideas?:confused:

[CowgirlMermaid]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=saGgt6xILVE

Two mermaids I knew from my monofin club, made their fluke's transparent, using their transparent Waterway Model2 and cutting the fabric in a way the monofin is still visible.

[BayouMermaid]

One of the mermaids in my pod made a clear fluke. Skip to 1:18 to see it in action.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ahpC2Gwn2po

[OceanWhisper]

:D I've always thought that a silicone tail with transparent fluke-tips would be awesome

[KaetiIngram]

I like the ideas of those ^^^ but not exactly what I'm talking about, lol. I'm thinking like a free form you-have-no-control-over-them flukes. Like literally just flaps of latex/silicone. If you look at Ariel's tail or how she swims, all the power is really just in the body. Her flukes kind of just...go with the flow.

[Miyu]

Mine's kind of clear-ish... Though I did put multiple layers of translucent fabric on it, so it's not as see-though as it could be, though I'll be working on making various kinds of translucent flukes in my fabric tails.

I use the So Dive "Hydra" monofin in clear, and lemme tell ya, that thing turns clear as glass in the water - I'm afraid of hitting some random kid with it if they sneak up on me like last time! I didn't cut my monofin, but instead styled the fabric to have the "Disney/Ariel"-style point with long flowy fins.

[Echidna]

I like the ideas of those ^^^ but not exactly what I'm talking about, lol. I'm thinking like a free form you-have-no-control-over-them flukes. Like literally just flaps of latex/silicone. If you look at Ariel's tail or how she swims, all the power is really just in the body. Her flukes kind of just...go with the flow.

...like, you mean a sheet of fluke-shaped material rather than a monofin?

That can look nice, but it's not much fun to swim with.
People usually just use it for photoshoots and slow underwater effects in videos and such.
You can have a similar looking effect with better propulsion from a floppy monofin.

BayouMermaid, that transparent fluke looks awesome!

[Miyu]

Hmm, see, I ended up using my whole monofin, and extending the fabric past it for the "tips" of the two fluke fins... I definitely went Disney-style on my fluke shape (it's my favorite style). I also happened to choose a monofin that is decently flexible, and it looks pretty organic in the water. Then my tips can "go with the flow", though the whole thing is translucent.

[KaetiIngram]

Miyu, post a pic!

[Miyu]

I don't have any photos that show off the translucency very well, but like I said, there's a total of 4 layers of translucent fabric on each part of the fluke fins... Perhaps it will be more see-through in water?

26013

26014

More photos in my DeviantArt gallery :) I apparently don't have a good photo of my fluke laid out straight to show the shape of the fins, but I based the tail on PotC mermaids', so it's that "Atlantica" shape.

I like to say that the monofin is my fluke "bone" (of course it would actually be cartilage, but most kids don't know the difference).

[Aziara]

Yay, my fluke is getting some love, haha. It always surprises me for some reason when folks say how much they like it. I thought my tail was rather simplistic, lol

[Miyu]

I love your tail, Aziara! Translucent/transparent flukes are about the greatest thing ever, so delicate and ethereal! :swoon:

[Aziara]

:blush: Thank you, Miyu.
I just thought of something for the original poster. I would probably advise against making a super clear silicone fluke, as I understand that clear (unpigmented) silicone will eventually turn yellow/brown. Something to keep in mind. Maybe if it were pigmented just a little, it could still be translucent and you could avoid color changing?

[PearlieMae]

I think the color will still change, even with some pigment. But I'm not sure how Dragonskin will age, as it's a relatively new formulation.

[PearlieMae]

I like the ideas of those ^^^ but not exactly what I'm talking about, lol. I'm thinking like a free form you-have-no-control-over-them flukes. Like literally just flaps of latex/silicone. If you look at Ariel's tail or how she swims, all the power is really just in the body. Her flukes kind of just...go with the flow.

Well, she IS a cartoon. :D

[KaetiIngram]

Hahah true, it is a little hard to replicate Ariel's tail EXACTLY. I dunno, this thread was just a thought I had. I think the tail (that I first mentioned) would be awesome for show maybe, but not very practical for swimming.

[KaetiIngram]

And Aziara I know what you mean. If I ever did attempt to make a replica of Ariel's tails the silicone/latex would be tinted that light green her flukes are.

[Yulia]

Wasn't there someone who made a green fabric tail with a clear fluke and green veins? I remember asking about it before, but now I can't find a picture of it.

[Mermaid Wesley]

Yes! It was a lexan fin with some sort of green tubing on it.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Aziara]

*waves* That was me. I glued clear tubing down onto the lexan and used some special paint made for car tires to color them. The paint wears off after a couple swims, but the paint is only a dollar a tube on ebay, so I don't mind repainting now and then. Here's the link to the album. http://mernetwork.com/index/album.php?albumid=1068 http://mernetwork.com/index/attachment.php?attachmentid=21415&d=1401833524 (http://mernetwork.com/index/album.php?albumid=1068&attachmentid=21414)

[KaetiIngram]

Holy nuts that's so awesome. :jawdrop:

[OceanWhisper]

Holy nuts that's so awesome. :jawdrop:

Uh huh! das puurty! :D I love the whole idea of transparent flukes, they make it look so much more 'fishlike'

[PearlieMae]

Very cool!