Theobromine's sea serpent silicone tail!

[Mermaid Lorelei]

Bahahaha, sure, what the hell. Go ahead!

[Theobromine]

:D :D :D :D :D :D :D <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3

35384

:rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::jester:

[Mermaid Neri Elvina]

Hahahahahaha Lorelei your face [emoji23]

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[Theobromine]

^^ Sexiest wedgie EVAR

[Mermaid Lorelei]

Trust me, I know I'm gorgeous. :cool:

[Keiris]

That is GOLD!

[Theobromine]

You ARE gorgeous! And awesome :D And at least I didn't post the one where all three of us look like we're farting...

[Triton-Mahtlinnie]

the best thing about a mer photoshoot is the outtakes.

[Theobromine]

Haha yup!!

[Mermaid Neri Elvina]

You ARE gorgeous! And awesome :D And at least I didn't post the one where all three of us look like we're farting...
Ok now I wanna see that!! [emoji13]

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[Theobromine]

I'm not sure I'm allowed to post that one :P Someone should start a MerFails thread...I thought about doing it myself but I think it would just end up being the Theo Fails thread :P

[Ashton]

^^ if there WAS a mer-fail thread I am sure there would be some photos of me last summer stuck on some rocks yelling in a really dumb voice "no no... I am ok.... I am a
"graceful mermaid""

[Theobromine]

XD Wellll, if someone wants to start one, I MIGHT be convinced to contribute...

[Luna Dreamtide]

XD Wellll, if someone wants to start one, I MIGHT be convinced to contribute...
Ooh someone totally should. I have some really funny ones from my little sisters first swim!

[Luna Dreamtide]

^^ if there WAS a mer-fail thread I am sure there would be some photos of me last summer stuck on some rocks yelling in a really dumb voice "no no... I am ok.... I am a
"graceful mermaid""
Lol Ashton - also my signature explains that quite well :D

[Theobromine]

So, one interesting thing I noticed...you know how whenever you put on/wear your tail in public, you tend to get swarmed by people who are like ERMAGERRD MERMERD..?
Well, when I went to the beach on Sunday to do that mini-photoshoot in THIS tail, no one even came near me. I guess a mermaid is one thing, but a sea dragon mermaid is something that people just don't know what to do with.

Also...I love my tail.

[Mermaid Jaffa]

So, one interesting thing I noticed...you know how whenever you put on/wear your tail in public, you tend to get swarmed by people who are like ERMAGERRD MERMERD..?
Well, when I went to the beach on Sunday to do that mini-photoshoot in THIS tail, no one even came near me. I guess a mermaid is one thing, but a sea dragon mermaid is something that people just don't know what to do with.

Also...I love my tail.

Do you prefer the crowds to go wild over you? Or a quiet day with your crew?

[Theobromine]

Oh, I DEFINITELY prefer a quiet day. I am a rather antisocial sea monster. I am not very good with kids, especially. I'm bad at hiding my awkwardness. Certain fishies on here can attest to that :P

[Merman Arion]

Trust me, I know I'm gorgeous. :cool:

Yes you are! You were glowing at MerMania. I was so happy to have finally met you [emoji173]️
Breakfast with you and your (smoking hot) husband is one of my favorite moments from the weekend. [emoji4]

[Merman Arion]

Oh, I DEFINITELY prefer a quiet day. I am a rather antisocial sea monster. I am not very good with kids, especially. I'm bad at hiding my awkwardness. Certain fishies on here can attest to that :P

Antisocial sea monster??

I still get to hug you when I will meet you someday? I'm awkward too. Let's get awkward together :hug:

[Sherielle]

XD Wellll, if someone wants to start one, I MIGHT be convinced to contribute...I would post a pic. it would be fun to see the silly and goofy side of mers.

[Mermaid Lorelei]

Yes you are! You were glowing at MerMania. I was so happy to have finally met you http://s3.amazonaws.com/tapatalk-emoji/emoji173.png️
Breakfast with you and your (smoking hot) husband is one of my favorite moments from the weekend. http://s3.amazonaws.com/tapatalk-emoji/emoji4.png
Dawwwww! -hugs- I'm so glad we were able to make that happen! It's one of my favorite moments, too! <3



Oh, I DEFINITELY prefer a quiet day. I am a rather antisocial sea monster. I am not very good with kids, especially. I'm bad at hiding my awkwardness. Certain fishies on here can attest to that :P
Remember our first swim together? I could hardly swim I was so swarmed by children. XD I much prefer to have a quiet photoshoot day. If I'm going to be mauled by children, I better be getting paid for it. :P

[Theobromine]

Arion, of course we can hug! I'm fine with friends, and small groups, I'm just bad with large crowds (and children, unless I can science at them).

Lorelei, of course I remember our first swim together :) Speaking of awkward...."do you want to be, uhh...on top, or on the bottom?"

[Mermaid Lorelei]

XDDDD I remember that!! -flails-

Oh, and for those of you wanting a Merfails thread, I found the old Mermaid Outtakes thread.
http://mernetwork.com/index/showthread.php?12255-Mermaid-Outtakes!-Share-your-hilarious-mermaid-experiences!

[Theobromine]

....oh, apparently I've even seen that thread before XD haha thanks :)

[Vrindavana Starfish]

Ok, the dorsal wedgie photo was priceless! :D More of those!

[Theobromine]

Haha okay...I guess can post a few things in that other thread...if Lorelei or Iona hate the ones I post, they know where I live :P

[Ashton]

So, one interesting thing I noticed...you know how whenever you put on/wear your tail in public, you tend to get swarmed by people who are like ERMAGERRD MERMERD..?
Well, when I went to the beach on Sunday to do that mini-photoshoot in THIS tail, no one even came near me. I guess a mermaid is one thing, but a sea dragon mermaid is something that people just don't know what to do with.

Also...I love my tail.

Dragon= fire
*cave man voice* Fire bad

[LouLouBelle]

Lorelei, of course I remember our first swim together :) Speaking of awkward...."do you want to be, uhh...on top, or on the bottom?"

Lol! You guys make me laugh! And that photo is brilliant!! [emoji23]



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[Theobromine]

OH HEY YOU GUYS REMEMBER THAT TAIL I MADE? I FINALLY TOOK IT SWIMMING LAST NIGHT.
Luckily I have friends who know how to do video thingies. <3 Quick clip for now...it was a late night.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BBZd1ciCpcP/?taken-by=lovely_lorelei

[Theobromine]

Aaahhhh, I'm so happy with how it flows! It swam really well! You can see that the tip of it does cause a bit of drag, as expected, but it wasn't significantly noticeable. I made the surface area small enough that I didn't think it would be a huge issue. I still need to fix those fugly sticky-outy heels, but now that I've worn and swam in the thing I have plenty of ideas how to do that, and to avoid the issue in the future. I'm so excited, I have so many new ideas!

[swimmingsammi95]

Omigod it's BEAUTIFUL that's BADASS!!!

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[Calizaire]

Very flowy! Glad we got to see it in action!

[Seraphina Suds]

Gorgeous!!

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[PearlieMae]

I CAN'T SEE IT!!!!

I keep getting a broken page error

:mad:

[Ashton]

I cant see it either! :C

[Theobromine]

Oh no! I dunno why, but if you go to my mer page (link in sig) I put a link up there as well. You can also find @lovely_lorelei on Instagram, since she put it up on her account. I'm making soup for my sick husband right now so I can only look at this from my phone :p

[Sabrina the Selkie]

Gorgeous. Wow.

[PearlieMae]

YOU LOOK AMAZING!!!!

[Theobromine]

Thanks everyone :3 :3 :3

[LouLouBelle]

Just... WOW!!! That looks amazing!! LOVE!!!


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[Dancing Fish]

Just gorgeous! :)

[Aysun_the_Mermaid]

I can almost imagine the sound effect *fwipfwipfwip* as you swim by.

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[Theobromine]

I'm a happy fishie :)

There are a few more clips I'm just downloading off dropbox now. I'll see if I can put them together into a thing.

[Keiris]

IT JUST LOOKS SO INCREDIBLE THEOBROMINE!!! You should be so proud!!!!!

[Mermaid Alea]

Beautiful work and your attention to detail certainly paid off!

[Luna Dreamtide]

It looks amazing!!! All that flowy prettiness in the water...

[Theobromine]

LOOKLOOKLOOKLOOKLOOKLOOKLOOKLOOKLOOKLOOKLOOKLOOKLO OKLOOKLOOKLOOKLOOKLOOKLOOKLOOKLOOKLOOKLOOKLOOKLOOK LOOKLOOKLOOKLOOKLOOKLOOK LOOK WHAT I MADE!!!!!


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kKwXWp2KItE&amp;feature=youtu.be

[Coradion]

Lovely work! :)

[Mermaid Clarity]

OHMIGODOHMIGODOHMIGODOHMIGOD IT'S AMAZING. I WANT A SERPENT TAIL NOW OH MY GOD IT'S BEAUTIUFUL

[Mermaid Julianne]

LOOKLOOKLOOKLOOKLOOKLOOKLOOKLOOKLOOKLOOKLOOKLOOKLO OKLOOKLOOKLOOKLOOKLOOKLOOKLOOKLOOKLOOKLOOKLOOKLOOK LOOKLOOKLOOKLOOKLOOKLOOK LOOK WHAT I MADE!!!!!


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kKwXWp2KItE&amp;feature=youtu.be
ITS SO FLOWY IM GONNA DIE!!! :lol:

[Theobromine]

:D :D :D Thanks, all! :)

[Kait]

So graceful I love it [emoji7]


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[JustCOS]

Ohhhh my yay gooooooddddddd!!!!! Your tail is amazing. I cannot handle and put into words how jaw droppingly stunning it is!

[Sabrina the Selkie]

Like, right, JustCOS????

*faints*

[Luna Dreamtide]

Ohmygosh....

:jawdrop:

That is insanely gorgeous!! The way it flows is amazing!

[Mer-Crazy]

It moves so organically. Brava :clap: A lot of tails with extensions at the back tend to look a little too floppy to me. But your's is perfect :)

[HamptonsMermaid]

Love the little dangely on the end! You really nailed the serpentine movement, looks like such a natural flow that the end bit seems to have muscles of it's own! Oh and it perfectly matches your long braid too! This was your first tail?! You must have done a ton of research. Please share tips w first time tail makers for how to go from 0 to 100 in one tail!

[Hydra1337]

Your tail turned out beyond anything I could ever imagine. I'm extremely envious of your artistic gift.

[Ashton]

looks amazing!

[MermaidBrandie]

Beautiful. Honestly I cantnreally notice your heels. :)

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[PearlieMae]

:fallover:

[Theobromine]

Thank you so much, all of you! :group hug:

Hamptons Mermaid, I DID do a ton of research! That's really my biggest tip, honestly. Research and test everything, and don't rush. A good solid understanding of aquatic animal biology and functional morphology doesn't hurt, either.

[Mermaid Kate Silverfin]

So amazing! It looks incredible!

[Mermaid Aika]

:O_o: so...pretty...and..flowy..

[swimmingsammi95]

LOOKLOOKLOOKLOOKLOOKLOOKLOOKLOOKLOOKLOOKLOOKLOOKLO OKLOOKLOOKLOOKLOOKLOOKLOOKLOOKLOOKLOOKLOOKLOOKLOOK LOOKLOOKLOOKLOOKLOOKLOOK LOOK WHAT I MADE!!!!!


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kKwXWp2KItE&amp;feature=youtu.be
I was screaming through this video and I scared my bf.. lol I kept going AAAAAAAAAAH IT'S SO BEAUTIFUL AAAAAAAAAAH LOOK IT! LOOK AT THE RIPPLES! THE COLORS! THE SCALE DETAILS!!! AAAAAAAAAAH IT'S EVEN AWESOME FROM THE SIDE!!! SHE'S A FREAKING FANCY MERMAID SERPENT!!!

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[Theobromine]

Aw, thank you! :3 I did spend ages smoothing out all the joins around the edges of all the little tendrils so they'd look like nicely rounded body parts...

[Ophelia Finn]

Oh my goodness *Has a heart attack* Work has been super busy so I've not been on here for a couple of weeks and I can't believe I missed this beautiful masterpiece being finished! Congratulations it is simply stunning.

[HamptonsMermaid]

Hamptons Mermaid, I DID do a ton of research! That's really my biggest tip, honestly. Research and test everything, and don't rush. A good solid understanding of aquatic animal biology and functional morphology doesn't hurt, either.

Yay research! That's all my Anthropology degree is good for these days! Mermaids are some form of hominids, they totally fit into the field of anthropology. So cool to think how tails work from an anatomical perspective (btw I was loving that Animal Planet Mermaid documentary and how they were analyzing the skeletons!). I can't start my tail until I get back from some travels in March so for now I'll be reading every bit of your thread and all the other good info on here. So great to have this resource to build off of knowledge and experience instead of going it totally alone!

[Azurin Luna]

Holy seadragon! I love that tail! It looks so real underwater and the colors are to die for! :D

[Mermaid Coralia]

AH. much pretty. So flowy. Very grace. WOW

[Theobromine]

:lol:

[MerChemi]

OH MY GOD THEO
your tail is flawless!! it flows so naturally and everything looks so real!!
i especially love the little dangly tip of the fluke and the little side fins too. actually i just love everything about your tail
about the heels, i literally did not notice at all. i had to go back and rewatch the video until i got over the brilliance of everything haha
and the way you move in your tail is amazing, so fluid and graceful

im still in awe that this is your first tail, you have some serious talent! i cant wait to see what you do in the future!!
also, im not sure if you've already mentioned this, but does the fluke have a monofin in it? and if so what type? it just flows so nicely!

[Theobromine]

Thank you! It does have a monofin in it. It's a lexan fin I made myself because I wanted it to be in that particular shape and also be translucent/not have color that would show through. And though I feel I could have hidden the edge a bit better in a few spots, I made very sure to make the "body" scaled part of it very thick where it comes off the edge of the monofin, so it would look natural and not just flop off at an angle. I'm glad it worked!!

[moniee]

OMG! This is beyond amazeballs! I always loved this fin shape, but I always imagined it for a classic mermaid, this is such a good twist to make a sea dragon style tail! *throws respect bags*

[PaolaMF]

a magic sea creature !!

[Mermaid Lyra]

I'm in love with your tail!!! It is so beautiful!!! Well done seadragon [emoji236]


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[Theobromine]

Thank you both!

Wait until you see what I'm cooking up next ;)

[Luna Dreamtide]

Thank you both!

Wait until you see what I'm cooking up next ;)
Another tail in the works? hmmm...

[Mermaid Alea]

Taking at-cost tail orders? :thinks:

[Theobromine]

Oh jeez, why do I never get notification emails when there are new comments in this thread?! Grrr, sorry guys -_-

Well, as you all know, I am a sneaky sneaker, so you may just have to wait and see ;)

[Mermaid_Sarina]

I cant wait!!!! I have no patience!!! Also I'm super proud of what you've achieved!!! Its been so awesome to watch this all unfold!

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[Theobromine]

Tee hee thanks :) Also, I have no patience either, trust me. If I could do everything instantaneously, I would.

[Alexander Buratti]

Best Tail ever


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[Theobromine]

Aw, thank you! I just swam in this tail again yesterday and it was wonderful! I....tried to take tons of video on my GoPro but....turns out I don't know how to camera :( I have plans to swim again really soon (this week and next week, yay!) So yeah, hopefully I learned my lesson :p

[AnnaAbyss]

You should totally put your GoPro camera on a selfie stick and swim along with it in front of you. Hahaha. :lol:

[Elodea the Mermaid]

Just watch out for feet ^.^

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[Theobromine]

I see I'm gaining a reputation around here :P

[Merman Arion]

I see I'm gaining a reputation around here :P

Well duh :hail:

[Elodea the Mermaid]

I see I'm gaining a reputation around here :P
-hugs-

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

[HamptonsMermaid]

GoPros are super fun and you can get awesome footage with them but like any camera there's definitely a learning curve. Esp since most GoPros don't have view screens. Tails are so long it's even tricky getting them in frame with selfie sticks. Easiest if you're self-filming in a pool would be to strap it to the swim ladder, suction it to the side of the pool or simply place it on the bottom of the pool and swim back and forth over it. Keeping the camera stationary helps a lot since even with a good hand behind the camera, the water jostles the tiny camera a lot and the footage looks very shakes (to fix this film at 60 fps and edit for slow mo, though your footage will be slightly lower quality.)

[Theobromine]

Oh, it wasn't THAT, I'm just an idiot and forgot to press the friggin' RECORD BUTTON :doh::doh::doh::doh::doh::doh::doh::doh:

I just turned the camera on and was all like "herpiderp derp derp I'm makin' a pretty video, hurrrrrrr I'm so smrt"

I mean, we've only had the thing for three years, you'd think I'd know how to....oh, never mind. *sigh*

[HamptonsMermaid]

Aww we've all been there! To minimize this I always start my GoPro while looking at the front so I can see the little red light flashing. The thumbnails always look hilarious though... fish eye close ups of my serious "is this thing on?" face! I also do a lot of stops and start since I've had a few files completely bug out before (can happen if filming a lot and battery overheats the camera). Also keeps file size down which helps with importing/editing.

[Winged Mermaid]

Haha, I do that too! I too have learned the hard way. Like oh crap I just missed like 30 minutes of this trip, an hour of this one.. dangit!! I get so mad at myself! But then I realize whelp, can't fix it now :P Better luck next time!

[Shyren Shey]

I just have to pop in because I went through the whole thread since yesterday and wanted to add my congratulations on making something so lovely ~

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[Mermaid_Sarina]

I see I'm gaining a reputation around here :P
Of course you are[emoji14]Watch out for those damn feet[emoji14]

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[Theobromine]

36335

I managed to not fail this time. Imagine that!

If any of you kids are in the Seattle area/planning to come to Emerald City Comicon next week, I'm presenting a panel on Saturday the 9th about working with silicone to make prosthetics and costume pieces and I'll have this tail with me as a visual aid ;) Passes are all sold out unfortunately, but if you happen to have scored one already, please stop by and don't throw tomatoes at me! (Instead, hand them to me neatly so I can eat them).

[LouLouBelle]

Wow... That photo is stunning. It shows the details and colours of the tail beautifully. It really does look incredible in the water!


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[Sabrina the Selkie]

Gorgeous.

[PearlieMae]

I would so be there if I could! We could share tomato sammiches!

[Seraphina Suds]

I love the flow in that shot!

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[Theobromine]

Thanks everyone! :D

Pearlie, tomato sammiches is the bestest!

[Vrindavana Starfish]

Amazing. That tail is surreal.

[Moongazer]

What time is your panel?

[Theobromine]

It's 2:45-3:45 PM on Saturday. It's in the ECCC schedule app ;D

[Moongazer]

Ok! I will try to be there for that. Might get caught up in pictures though since we are cosplaying that day.

[Theobromine]

I hope you can make it but if you can't, I'll still have color samples for you!

[kaikannibal]

This is legit one of the most unique tails I've ever seen! I love dragons and serpents and the like. I just blew through this whole thread and I normally don't comment but I had to on this ! :0

[Theobromine]

Thank you! :)

[Mermatron Athena]

I just binge read this whole thread!
Brilliant work.

Do you have a post about your diy monofin? I really need to learn how to do that.

Your tail is such a thing of beauty and marval.

Out of curiosity, how much would you bill your tail at if you count up all your hours of labor, and pay yourself an honest wage? If I were you, I would document that total in case the unforeseen happens and you need it covered under homeowners or rental insurance. Just reading through all this, it seems like it would cost upwards of $6,000 because of your expertise and degrees that also figure into the design and "value".

[Mermatron Athena]

I'm super cross eyed after reading through this all, so maybe I missed it... How do the webbed gloves work for you? Before I read yours I was thinking of doing them myself, like the ones I have also seen on Amazon :)
nothing as fancy as yours, yours are incredible!

Also, how do you like your transparent high waist? I have had 3 kids, the youngest were twins, plus I have Ehlers -Danlos syndrome and am self conscious for how baggy my tummy skin can be.

[Coral Corey]

This tail BLOWS MY MIND! It's so beautiful!

[Theobromine]

Thank you both so much! Mermatron Athena, I don't have a separate post about my monofin, I think I just mentioned in here that I used polycarbonate for the blade and Finis Zoomers for the footpockets, which I attached with a flexible marine epoxy. However, the epoxy ended up not being as strong or durable as I had hoped (had to fix it a couple times) so I'm currently trying something new. I probably won't post about my new method though, honestly, because I've been putting countless hours into engineering research and design ideas for my new fins, trying to do something very different from what's been done in tails before, so if it works out I'll be using them in tails that I eventually sell (and may even be able to patent one of my ideas). So, uhh, yeah :)

I love my webbed gloves, they're super comfortable! I haven't tried swimming with them yet, though. I still need to fix a couple small holes that happened when I wore them to a costume party :P And I should probably actually finish painting them one of these days, too. I might make another pair to test out too.

I'm really pleased with my high waist! It's not 100% perfect yet, but I'm still quite happy with how it came out. It feels extremely comfortable, due to the extra soft and stretchy silicone I used, and it LOOKS great. However, when I swam in it the first time I realized that it might be a little too soft, because it tends to roll down/fold over a little bit when I swim forward. I made it high enough to tuck under the bottom edge of my top, but when swimming, the water and the motion makes it come untucked so it slides down a bit. So, not perfect, but hey, now I have even more ideas to try for the next one. And I too am rather self-conscious about my middle (no kids for me, but I'm a bit plush) and the coverage helps a lot with smoothing things out ;) I might go back and try normal dragonskin for my next tail, just to test how that compares to super soft silicone. Anyway, I'm pretty sure I already posted this picture several pages back in this thread, but again, you can see how well the waist blends with my skin:
36683
This is with the edge tucked into the top. You can see the edge when it's untucked but it's still not super obvious. I mean, I think it looks ok.

Untucked:
36684

Your point about the value of the tail based on the labor, time etc. that went into it...is a very good one. Honestly, I really didn't keep track of the actual number of hours I spent on it, and I wish I had, but what with all the fiddling, testing, experimenting on other smaller things and then applying those techniques to the tail, researching, and everything else I did peripherally....I don't even know where to start deciding what to count as hours spent. On JUST the tail construction itself....wow, I still have no real idea but I would guess at LEAST $6,000 and possibly closer to $10,000. Even though I know have the process for it down and know more what to expect, I would never sell another tail like this one for less than $6,000 at least. Even once I'd gotten into the groove and was working much faster, it was still very very time consuming and labor-intensive to put together and paint. Luckily, subsequent tails won't be this complicated, and now that I've put in all the hard yards on the sea serpent I'm very confident in my abilities, so I'll be able to sell tails at a more reasonable price.

I might look into an hour-tracking app, though. I think I saw HamptonsMermaid mention that in another thread and it seems like a really smart idea. I am really not good at keeping track of things like that on my own; I need all the help I can get :P

[Saelyyia]

Cosplaning I think is the name of one that helps track cost, hours spent, deadlines, ect for people too if you are looking at apps.

[Coral Corey]

I would LOVE to have a tail made by you some day!

[Mermaid Arabella]

Cosplaning I think is the name of one that helps track cost, hours spent, deadlines, ect for people too if you are looking at apps.

Cosplanner
36690

I (and most cosplayers) HIGHLY recommend it as a planning/tracking tool. But be aware that some of their features are limited (ie, allows only up to 5 pictures) if you use the free version.

[PearlieMae]

I'm definitely looking that up. Of course, it will make me cry when I see how much I'm actually (not) making.

[Saelyyia]

Cosplanner
36690

I (and most cosplayers) HIGHLY recommend it as a planning/tracking tool. But be aware that some of their features are limited (ie, allows only up to 5 pictures) if you use the free version.

Thanks Arabella! I couldn't remember it off the top of my head and I left my phone at home in my sewing room this smorning.

[Mermaid Arabella]

Thanks Arabella! I couldn't remember it off the top of my head and I left my phone at home in my sewing room this smorning.

No problem! It's con season, so I am living in this app right now :p

[Saelyyia]

I use it for fae costume commission to kinda keep me focused and for all my fantasy costumes. I'm working on like 6 of them right now all for different events plus the new princesses for my parties. That app is seriously a life saver.

[Theobromine]

Hmm, I actually had that app on my phone a while back, but had to delete it to make space for something else before I had the chance to try it out. I didn't realize it could be so useful for mermaid stuff too! Thanks for the idea, guys!


I'm definitely looking that up. Of course, it will make me cry when I see how much I'm actually (not) making.

The struggle is real.

[Mermaid Mia]

I love that app :3 the only issue i have is that it has no way to connect to an outside account (like an email or Facebook) so when i had to get a new phone i lost all my tracking.


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[Mermaid Arabella]

I love that app :3 the only issue i have is that it has no way to connect to an outside account (like an email or Facebook) so when i had to get a new phone i lost all my tracking.


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In the future, use a "migrate" tool. I just switched phones recently and used Motorola Migrate, and it kept all my Cosplanner stuff (which was the main thing I was concerned about, LOL!)

[Mermaid Mia]

In the future, use a "migrate" tool. I just switched phones recently and used Motorola Migrate, and it kept all my Cosplanner stuff (which was the main thing I was concerned about, LOL!)

That is so helpful! Thank you :3

[Mermatron Athena]

Thank you both so much! Mermatron Athena, I don't have a separate post about my monofin, I think I just mentioned in here that I used polycarbonate for the blade and Finis Zoomers for the footpockets, which I attached with a flexible marine epoxy. However, the epoxy ended up not being as strong or durable as I had hoped (had to fix it a couple times) so I'm currently trying something new. I probably won't post about my new method though, honestly, because I've been putting countless hours into engineering research and design ideas for my new fins, trying to do something very different from what's been done in tails before, so if it works out I'll be using them in tails that I eventually sell (and may even be able to patent one of my ideas). So, uhh, yeah :)

I love my webbed gloves, they're super comfortable! I haven't tried swimming with them yet, though. I still need to fix a couple small holes that happened when I wore them to a costume party :P And I should probably actually finish painting them one of these days, too. I might make another pair to test out too.

I'm really pleased with my high waist! It's not 100% perfect yet, but I'm still quite happy with how it came out. It feels extremely comfortable, due to the extra soft and stretchy silicone I used, and it LOOKS great. However, when I swam in it the first time I realized that it might be a little too soft, because it tends to roll down/fold over a little bit when I swim forward. I made it high enough to tuck under the bottom edge of my top, but when swimming, the water and the motion makes it come untucked so it slides down a bit. So, not perfect, but hey, now I have even more ideas to try for the next one. And I too am rather self-conscious about my middle (no kids for me, but I'm a bit plush) and the coverage helps a lot with smoothing things out ;) I might go back and try normal dragonskin for my next tail, just to test how that compares to super soft silicone. Anyway, I'm pretty sure I already posted this picture several pages back in this thread, but again, you can see how well the waist blends with my skin:
36683
This is with the edge tucked into the top. You can see the edge when it's untucked but it's still not super obvious. I mean, I think it looks ok.

Untucked:
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Your point about the value of the tail based on the labor, time etc. that went into it...is a very good one. Honestly, I really didn't keep track of the actual number of hours I spent on it, and I wish I had, but what with all the fiddling, testing, experimenting on other smaller things and then applying those techniques to the tail, researching, and everything else I did peripherally....I don't even know where to start deciding what to count as hours spent. On JUST the tail construction itself....wow, I still have no real idea but I would guess at LEAST $6,000 and possibly closer to $10,000. Even though I know have the process for it down and know more what to expect, I would never sell another tail like this one for less than $6,000 at least. Even once I'd gotten into the groove and was working much faster, it was still very very time consuming and labor-intensive to put together and paint. Luckily, subsequent tails won't be this complicated, and now that I've put in all the hard yards on the sea serpent I'm very confident in my abilities, so I'll be able to sell tails at a more reasonable price.

I might look into an hour-tracking app, though. I think I saw HamptonsMermaid mention that in another thread and it seems like a really smart idea. I am really not good at keeping track of things like that on my own; I need all the help I can get :P


If there is a way to connect that side green stripe to the area under the pectoral fins, it might help it stop rolling? Is it super tight?

[Theobromine]

Oh yeah, quite possibly, I've been thinking some things over but just haven't gotten around to it yet. It is pretty snug but doesn't feel tight because of how stretchy the silicone is. I found that I had to take it in a LOT from where I first started with it, to get rid of gaps and weird baggy areas (like in the small of my back).

[Great Lakes Mermaid]

Do you still make these gloves? Your links were broken so did not think you do but, thought i would ask if you still sell them? These are very cool.

[KatieScottArt]

Do you still make these gloves? Your links were broken so did not think you do but, thought i would ask if you still sell them? These are very cool.

Theobromine is actually no longer on the Mernetwork, sorry! She's also not selling anything right now either (She's a close friend of mine IRL).