https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FYdJYarZ480 yup, here it is :)
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FYdJYarZ480 yup, here it is :)
Wow! The detailing on those detachable flukes are amazing!
Ooh, thanks for that video, Nerissa! I've heard so much about Sugru, nice to know it helps fix tails :)
I know right! The flukes are just amazing :) And well, the whole tails too :D But yea, I think I could avoid the ripping by glueing those two parts together, cause I really don't need to use the fluke separately. I'm also trying to figure out a way to hide my heels, I've been thinking some kind of a neoprene "bag" or tube around my ankles and heels, and it's be very thick and straight on the part which goes on top of my heels.. :D :D I know this sounds crazy but I'll still try to do something like that :D I definitely will post how I succeed (or don't succeed!) in here :)
Nerissa that's a great tip about the sugru! I'd never heard of that before but I might like to reinforce mine with it just to be extra safe. Let us know if you end up changing anything up - I'd love to see it!
Yea I will! :) And good to know that you had help from that video, cause I really recommend to strengthen up the flukes part where the string goes cause I understood you like to keep them separate, as you seen from the video that happens for all the tails, or flukes at some point, the ripping thing I mean :)
I reinforced my fluke with sugru tonight! I could tell that mine was very slightly starting to pull/split just a bit in the middle so I hope this will stop it and keep it strong. I'm waiting for it to dry right now but will keep you posted on how the sugru works with the silicone.
Already starting to split?? How on earth? Mine is still totally ok even though I've been swimming with my tail like three whole months now
Just a teeny tiny bit, like a couple of millimeters. I could only see it when I looked very carefully after seeing the video! It really wasn't noticeable at all, but I was worried it could keep going so I reinforced it.
Ok, have to check out mine too again..
This is horridly, immensely late but.... did you happen to go to AWA this year?Quote:
Originally Posted by Donella
Hi guys,
do you remember my selfmade silicone dragon style mermaid tail and top? I know it has been a while and I apologize for let you wait so long for the promised swimming video. I didnīt like the idea of uploading it at YouTube because of the poor video quality, but now I did nevertheless. So, FINALLY you can watch me testing out my tail in public...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bDZY8SsURcs
Oh gosh it's so beautiful o__o
Have you thought about making more and selling them?
I LOVE that tail. It's incredible, especially for your first try at silicone tailmaking!
Thank you very much, I'm so happy you like it since I uploaded this video only today and you are the first ones to see it :-)Melaina: Yes, it would be my dream to become a tailmaker, especially for Europeans to avoid horrible customs and shipping fees. But the hard truth is that I just don't have enough time. I work for a very challenging main job and weekends and holidays I use for mermaid performing shows and stuff. I would only be able to construct one tail in a year and my poor customers would get crazy. But I learned how much work a tail is, and I got a new appreciation and respect for professional tailmakers...Theobromine: Thank you too! It is my first tail, but before starting it I used to create small silicone things to get used to the material. I have some experience in sculpting but never worked with silicone before. I made a lot of mistakes first, but it's the best way to learn :-)
It's a gorgeous tail for sure.
I had no idea you were on the Magictail gathering 2014 (was it the one with the miss contest?), I would have come too if I had known :(
It would be fantastic if you could make more tails, even if it were just one tail every few years!
There's no silicone tailmaker in Germany so far and only a handful in all of Europe.
No, I was guest at the "normal" magictail gathering in march 2014, not at the one with the miss contest which was in september if I remember correctly. They didn't want pro mermaids there who would distract them from measuring model curves ;-)
I will see how this whole tailmaking turns out. Have started a second one in july 2014, hope it to be finished in february. I'm excited :-)
I wish you bonne chance with the second tail; your Draco Chlorinus Nauseous Respiratorus (Green Dragon) tail/costume has always been one of my favourites, and I'm happy to see it encasing such a skilled swimmer! :mermaid kiss:
Can't wait to see it!
What colour will it be?
Echidna, the new tail was supposed to be pink/gold, like the ones of PotC. But then, it is always the same with me: art goes itīs own way, I do the design while Iīm working. So itīs a bit "smoked salmon" colored now, more fishy and not as ethereal as in PotC. I made the fluke smaller and the silicone thinner, to make the travelling with it easier. I would have loved to join the tailmaker contest at NC Merfest, but itīs more likely that I would change everything during work and people wouldnīt recognize my original design anymore....
Michelle, thanks a lot. I love my new latin name! I couldnīt resist: Hereīs a photo for you to see were I got my dragon skin from for my green tail ;-) But no worries: I didnīt kill the dragon, just changed itīs epiphany to the Draco chlorinus....
Attachment 26226
wow!
I totally see the fluke in the wings.
Thank you very much for the picture! :swoon: It is very artfully done and I have saved it! I especially see the fluke in the (dragon's) tail fins.
Draco chlorinus nauseous respiratorus goes all the way back to the beginning of Advanced Dungeons & Dragons. Several years ago I spoke on the subject with creator E. Gary Gygax shortly before he passed away, for every dragon in the original Monster Manual had its own "scientific" name. He said that it "was done with a lot of huffing and puffing." Your guess is as good as mine as to what that meant, but I think it is incredibly cool to have a real-life mermaid bear that moniker, and especially appropriate for one who operates in a chlorinated pool! :cthulhu: :mermaid kiss:
Unnamed tail with dorsal fin. Still looking for my regular camera, can't stand these tiny iphone photos!
Attachment 26317
Attachment 26318
starter tail, I will now have to make a new fabric cover because I got the finis rapid monofin (the finfun was not stiff enough to give good propulsion...the rapid is awesome, I can make it across a 25 yard pool in one breath and 8-9 'strokes!); now I have to figure out if I want to do a fabric cover or if I feel brave to either try to make a neoprene cover (REALLY curious how to go about handling the bulkiness of the straps around the Rapid monofin ankles!!!) or a fabric one. Or buy one somehow....got to do more research!! I have till June (texas pod meetup) if I want to wear my fast monofin..... (feel free to link helpful threads here if you had any that popped into mind as most helpful for the bulky Rapid strap issue!)
My starter tail's just shiny spandex. I quickly figured out that an open-bottom fabric fin is best LOL. My daughter's tail is from finfunmermaid.com.
I haven't the experience in this field to offer advice, so I'll just point out that mermummy and daughter look adorable together! :rollover: :mermaid kiss:
You can make an closed fluke but still have a hole in it to shove in your monofin.
I'm using a Finis Foil for this tail, so the fin hole (HAWHAHAWHA!!!) is pretty small.
I call it the Open Close Fluke, as it has properties of an open fluke and a closed fluke.
Like here. You sew in fin lines, leave a hole in the middle depending on how big your monofin is. Best way to find out is to roll the monofin in two and lay it in the middle of the fluke, and mark the sides. Then you can see how many fin lines to sew close before you need leave them open in the middle.
The lines is a washable crayon I used to mark where to sew.
Attachment 26407
I sew all my flukes this way. This is a better option for me than an open fluke or sewing in snaps, velcro etc. The bottom doesn't flap open when swimming and still allows water and air bubbles to flow through. And more fun to wave it at little kids as the loose fabric is like the flesh of the tail and the fabric remains flowy.
And here is a close up of this tail before I modified it for the Finis Foil...
Attachment 26408
Nice Jaffa! This will come in handy when I make my tail.
Thank you and you're welcome!Quote:
Originally Posted by Vrindavana Starfish
I love the tropical flower pattern, Jaffa!
Thank you. Its my first tail that I'd made, the Aloha Tail. Thought I'd give it some love now that I have my Finis Foil, it fits just right in the old fluke. Old fluke was WaveQuote:
Originally Posted by SeaNymph
shape.
Also, I don't sew lines across anymore as it stopped the water and air from leaving the tail. But it was my first homemade tail ever, so I didn't know any better to stop the monofin from moving around inside the fluke.
Before I sew the fin lines, I make a light tracing of the edge of the monofin, so that when fin lines get sewn in a little bit more on each line, the ends of the lines make a curve, like the edge of the monofin.
Attachment 26574
Here's an absolute horrible video and only photographic evidence of my old mermaid tail. I made it when I was around 14, and when I still had long hair.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B0Gdjb8364E
It was a ghetto-ified tail thanks to low money reserves. A homemade monofin made with 2 scuba fins that were 3 sizes too big for me, duct tape and some on-sale fabric from joanne's.
Still, you had the swimming down pat! :mermaid kiss: Having seen the video, I would say that the tail was fine for the pool in which you used it!
Thank you, Michelle :D I have been a literal fish in water ever since I could remember. I learned how to dolphin kick when I was a kid so mermaiding came (somewhat) naturally to me. I'm a weak swimmer now because it's winter and I have no place to swim :c
The two partial tails I recently made. They're painted neoprene with ge silicone. It worked pretty well :) The first was a commission and the second is what I made for myself with the money. [ATTACH]26601[ATTACH]
Attachment 26602
Attachment 26603
Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk 2
Wow those both look really fine! I can see why you're a Mer Queen! :mermaid kiss:
Very nice tails everyone! I would like to share with you all my first silicone tail from Mernation! Just picked it up Sunday and it's absolutely perfect[emoji7]Attachment 26635Attachment 26636
The gold stands out well in the sun, it's almost godess-like!
Ohhhh thank you so much [emoji1]
I think the beautiful golden tail goes well with a natural beauty such as yourself; you should do performance work, and if you already do performance work, than you should do more! :mermaid kiss:
Oh my starfish Nerissa, the tails you made are gorgeous! I really love the fluke shape of the first one!
You should make more when time/finances/energy allow! (: