My husband and I are both filmmakers and videographers. There is camera equipment everywhere. Sadly, no drones yet. :(Quote:
Originally Posted by Kalani
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My husband and I are both filmmakers and videographers. There is camera equipment everywhere. Sadly, no drones yet. :(Quote:
Originally Posted by Kalani
Alright! Guess who's back? ... After over a year :$
I got so close to finishing this thing but I had some really huge setbacks. But I've been working on this lovely thing for about a week now and There are only a few things I need to do. First, I'm modifying my Competitor monofin. I'm not cutting it because I still want it intact for when this tail gets old, but I'm adding on to it. I cut off the ends of a Magictail monofin and I'll be super gluing the pieces onto the end of my fin. The fabric will extend even past that a good bit but now when my tail is out of the water, the tips of the fluke won't just fold over into a straight line like the tail which I rush made (like a week) for Hawaii.
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Next, scales! Because of the nature of this tail as it isn't completely silicone, I opted out of the usual fish scales. I took a look at the Hawaii tail and it looked nice, but it just wasn't my style. Plus since the way the tail curves around my knees and hips, you get some really wonky liking scales towards the seams even while using a stencil. So Saelyyia helped me decide on doing some pretty cool freehand dragon scales. That way I can also have different sized scales like larger ones on the back and smaller ones towards the fluke.
Here was my little test sheet
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And here is my layout before I paint over them. You'll see a few painted scales by tonight :)
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And lastly, fins. I'll have a good few on this tail including a secondary dorsal, pelvic fins, lower calf fins and and heel fins (possibly). I'm in the process of creating them, but here are a couple of the templates.
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So there you are. Proof that I am the world's best procrastinator and was void of any motivation for the past year, yet I've prevailed. I think with the progress I'm making I have this done fairly soon *crosses fins* and in time for my lake trip and some meetups :)
Alright, here's a little sneak peak of the scales. I want them a little more raised so I think I'll go over them again with another coat. Gah, I don't want to think about how much paint I've bought for this project :p
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Its looking amazing!
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LOVE the scale pattern.
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I have conquered the scales!!! Almost. After what felt like 45 years I finally scaled the front side of the tail and I LOVE how they look. The organic dragon-type scales were perfect. So my next step is to blend everything together once again so there isn't this huge divide between green scales and gold scales.
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I'll need to take a couple of pictures in natural light because all you guys have been seeing is the garage lamp. Oh well, it's lovely in person and I'm excited :)
I also used the fantastic toxic fume filled E-6000 to glue the plastic pieces to my monofin and set some sandbags on top of it for the night. Now, that's not going to be the shape of the fluke. The plastic pieces are just to give the fluke a bit more structure so it doesn't just flop right over. It will be extended and have a nicer shape ;)
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So my To Do List:
1. Scale the back of my tail
2. Blend the paint once again
3. Finish the fins
4. Apply the fins
5. Paint the fluke
Woop woop :D
I am loving those dragon scales, they really read beautifully on your tail and the colors are so pretty. I can't wait to see it at the summer Pod swims.
I'm hoping to get it done by the 26th, it looks like I'll be at a fun lake for the day. Even if it isn't completely finished it will still be good to take it for a test swim :)
I'm jealous. Haven't made it out to a lake in years. Just lots of beach swims so SAND EVERYWHERE lol
woo! Scaley fun!
See I haven't swam in any Californian seas yet! Just once in Hawaii with that recycled Frankenstein tail :p I'm really excited for this summer when I'll be flipping around as much as I please with this new beauty.Quote:
Originally Posted by Saelyyia
What is DAP silicone? Why is it different to average fox silicone?
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*fx silicone :)
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DAP is a brand of silicone that is not meant for prosthetics like DragonSkin, but instead is a caulk. I'm on mobile and can't give you a picture but if you hit page 3 of this thread and scroll down to post #55, I gave someone a brief explanation.Quote:
Originally Posted by Mermaidrey
Just remember guys if you haven't read through the entire thread, I am no longer using silicone. I'm experimenting with something new that I hope to share with you all :)
Here are those sunlight pictures! Look at that SHINE. On the second picture it was so bright that my phone couldn't capture the light correctly. Scaling the back of the tail today and then I'll get to blending the colors together tomorrow or tonight after work.
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Alright, some of the bigger scales on the back. Had fun playing around with the sizes (and I pretty much definitely did not try to make my fish butt look bigger probably.)
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Its super shiny! Excited to see the fins go on this :)
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Neat! I love this look!
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Finished all the scales! I'd say that's just about seamless, what about you? I'm really digging how this is turning out.
I'm starting to work on a new top (I trashed the older one, just wasn't up to par). I think my accents will be browns and a touch of gold. Netting as well.
This is just becoming way more better than expected. I know it off topic but your signature fits you very well.
Thank you! To both :) I forgot where I heard the quote, but it's always just been in my head. I find that whenever I change my avatar I change the color of the quote to match, so expect it to be gold or green next ;)Quote:
Originally Posted by Slim
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Those colors and that shine :swoon:Yess! First coat of paint to blend the green and gold scales, and I think I'll only need a light coat for the second.
I need to get my carp together and get those fins done. That's the last thing I need to do before I finish up the fluke and I'll be done.
It looks already done with that shine :cool: I can't wait to hear how well it swims.
wow this is a fun tail! I love the different shape of the scales! Great colors! Can't wait to see more progress! :)
For anyone wondering, the paint is very stretchy, and returns to it's original shape very well if in thick layers. The green paint is super thick (I changed the color like 46 different times) but the gold is much thinner. On the inside of the tail beneath the gold I think I will use a thick, less stretchy fabric layer to thicken that up a bit so everything stretches and bends in unity.
I'm sure I'll only have a couple of years with this tail at most because I've been losing weight and it will inevitably stretch out like a latex tail at some point (it is a latex-based paint). Next time I make a tail like this, I will use neoprene to prolong it's life.
Side note; the next tail I make might be a silicone tail. Going back and forth on that one... I have a toolmaker in mind whom I'd love to commission but I think I might be able to give it a go :thinks:
Also, I may or may not have turned my tail into a glitter bomb. Hm. :lol:
Finally got some time to work on my tail just a bit! I reinforced the inside of the knee area with a couple of thick coats of the paint, so it won't stretch as much when I swim.
And finally working on those fins! Here's a little sneak peak. The pelvic and ventral fins will be made with a non-stretch fabric because I know kiddos might be tugging on them a bit, but the dorsals will be made with spandex so it will stretch with my movements.
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Wow. You definitely have more determination to get this done than I think I would. Knowing me, I probably would have been super pumped to start it, then after coming across a problem I'd be like "Oh, well maybe I should take a break from it until I can figure that out," and then I would forget about it and find it somewhere in the next decade. :p
Haha! Believe me Aurora, this tail has been a wacky adventure of ups and downs.
However... my sewing machine broke :( Not sure exactly what and how, but something to do with the bobbin track. Gah, well I'll continue working on my fins and see if I can run over to my friend's tomorrow and mooch off of her sewing machine.
Hey Kalani, let me know if you need to run this through a machine still come the weekend. My machine is always open to you.
Hey thanks! But it looks like I'll be good. My goal is to be adding the finishing touches by the time the weekend is over.
Well I went for two dorsals because heck it. As I said in my post about seams, I love fish anatomy and I draw most mermaids will all of the proper fins. So I have pectorals, ventrals, a primary fluke and secondary fluke. Leaving out that anal fin cause ehhhhh it just wouldn't look right wth a fluke instead of a caudal fin. But here are my two dorsals in progress and then up top you can see the progress on one of my pectorals. That one should only need a couple of more coats of paint and then I can detail it.
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Edit: Phew, that's a funky looking angle. The two dorsals are much more proportionate in real life.
Have some fin progress pics! Going to get these done tonight, and see if I can start sewing them in if I get off of work early.
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I love the gradient on the fins! Super pretty
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Just going to leave this one here and call it a night ;)
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OMG! So SHINY!!!! :DD
I love your tail!!
Isn't it fun?? :D
Realistically, I think the only problem with this tail will be stretching after a season or two. It is a latex based paint after all and is on a spandex base. But who knows, maybe there won't be an issue at all! So close to finishing this up, and just in time for spring break :)
Shout out to my friend Julia and her magical sewing machine! We are just about there, boys.
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So I tried on my unfinished tail the other day and I LOVE IT. Definitely tough to get on because of the thickness and all of the fins, but with a little bit of coconut oil and determination, I was able to do it. I was on a call so I sat in my tail (getting glitter everywhere) for a good half hour or so. When I took it off again, there was no issue with the paint stretching. It just shrunk right back to normal!
So tonight I started the final coats of paint on the fluke. I put simple veining on it just like the fins and slathering it in gold paint. Unless zombies take over, I should have this done by tomorrow! (Heck, even if zombies took over I would still finish this baby up).
I'll have to wait three days before I can immerse the paint in water, so I'm planning a little beach photo shoot on Wednesday or Thursday :D
Guess who finished their tail??? It's me! :dance:
I had a great time making this and I love how it turned out. Now I'm just waiting for everything to completely cure so I can take it to the beach in a couple of days! I made a little video giving you a quick look at the finished product. It was getting cold and windy so I bailed haha. Enjoy!
https://youtu.be/ECqaRJEZPvo