Awesome! Ur almost there!
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Awesome! Ur almost there!
you tail making people blow my mind. I am way too lazy for that. (well honestly, just busy and not very good with fine-motor control lol)
[sup]Haha, silly Raina. But thank you both.
(Weird post above...)Haha, silly Raina. But thank you both. Today Orion and I poured the first layers of mold on the fluke. We almost had enough to finish it, but not quite. I have ordered more, but I'll have to wait a few days. Poo. Anyways, after the mold is done, I get to pour my silicone! Woot! And after that comes the scale mold and the silicone scale sheets! I almost can't believe everything's moving so fast finally.
/*Spindrift sets up a tent on this thread to wait in anticipation and starts twiddling thumbs*/
You make me so happy Spindrift. <3
And just for you, here are some fun progress photos.
http://i48.tinypic.com/25p1d1k.jpg
It's so freaking hot here (above 100 F) that we just went ahead and moved inside. :P
http://i47.tinypic.com/303efew.jpg
You can get a feel for just how big this thing is. It's not acurate to the exact shape, because there is space for re-enforcement of the mold, but the fluke really does reach to every edge of this board.
http://i50.tinypic.com/33z5quh.jpg
Yes, that is a full foot ruler. I think I posted the full measurements somewhere on mernetwork, but it was something like 3ft by 3ft with a huge cut out of space in the center. (modeled by the cut on the monofin.)
So yup. Progress!
Wow I can't wait to see your tail. It's seriously going to be amazing.
I already like what I see, the fluke reminds me of a wrasse or a parrot fish~
I'm really glad you're keeping everything updated, it's awesome to see tails unfold.
It's partially based off of wrasses and cichlids, so good guess. :>
I'm trying my best to update frequently. Most of the time I just forget to take pictures. :'P
Looks good! I can't wait to see it finished!
You go girl! The same thing happened to me, progress went flying! Ul be done in no time!
what are those scale looking circles? i've seen them before but never knew what they were.
Those are foam cut-outs that were glued into place.
Were you able to find a suitable glue to anchor the foam circles that worked ok witht the silicone? Progress looks AWESOME!!!!!
I actually found foam that came with an adhesive already on the back. And thank you! Also, I'm almost finished with my dorsal fin! It's huge, colorful, and I can't wait to see it in the water! Woo!
It sounds beautiful Lorelei! I have to tell you...I REALLY admire how you jumped fin first into this whole silicone sculpt without ever doing one before! I have wanted to try one for years having made tails from everything from sequins to shower curtains. Now that I actually have a lot of time off for the summer, the thought of doing it without all the necessary steps is daunting. I don't relish the thought of a huge silicone disaster on my hands.:D What has been the most daunting thing so far for you?
So far, the amount of time you have to invest is the most daunting thing I've run into. As long as you do all of your research, the rest of the process should go very smoothly. :>
where did you buy the foam cut outs?
I had to hand punch all of the scales. They came in sheets of raw foam.Quote:
where did you buy the foam cut outs?
NEWS! Alright, so, my dorsal fin is nearly done. I'm waiting for the last colors to settle before I add some orange spots. At that point, it'll be done. :>
Also, I ordered some more shell shock the other day and HOPEFULLY it will be in tomorrow so I can get to work on my fluke again.
Little confusion fixer: I think I might have mentioned that the orange fin I showed pictures of earlier was my dorsal fin, but it's actually a hip fin. :'P My bad. In any case, I'm going to try and pour the second one later tonight.
Let's see... I've also started looking into making my own fiberglass monofins. At the moment, it's just a thought, but hopefully I'll be able to make my own monofins instead of having to rely on buying them.
Is it hard to cover those annoying ridges on the bought monofins?
It can be very difficult, yes. I have a monofin that has no ridges in order to get around the problem. I have heard of people sanding them off though.
yea...i def want to attend some sort of one on one seminar on tailmaking. not that i'm going to do it. if anything, i wold only make them for myself so i could have one in every color i wanted. :) but i would love to hands on eyes on see what goes into the process. i have so much respect for your patience, talent, and creativity.
Thank you Lyna. :>Quote:
i have so much respect for your patience, talent, and creativity.
IT'S OUT! The mold is finished for the fluke and I've gotten all of the clay out. After a little cleaning to get the release agent off, I'll pour silicone! Tonight is going to be fun! (Minus the seriously sore arms and tens of papercuts I acquired while getting the dang thing out.)
http://i46.tinypic.com/2e1xd0h.jpg
Progress...
http://i47.tinypic.com/2rfaque.jpg
Complete!
http://i46.tinypic.com/1inzf7.jpg
We've also started the molding for all of the scales. Some of my mold material got stuck in the mail, so I'm waiting for that to finally get here so we can finish the scales too.
wooowhoo. i feel like throwing you a party!
Yay :yay:
That's got to feel GREAT! So I'm a little confused, Lorelei. Do you have to cast your legs to get the tight fit or do you cut your scale sheets to skim the outside of your lower body kinda like a tailor? Kanti had mentioned in her tutorial about stuff to do leg molds and I'm wondering if that can be skipped?
I'm going to skip the leg mold. If it doesn't work, then I will make a leg mold for myself, but I am very nearly positive that you don't have to have a leg mold.
Leg molds can be skipped. You dont have to have them. In order for you to have to have a leg mold you would need to be doing a full injection mold of the entire tail at once. Which is a huge undertaking. It would be perfectly fit to you, but you do not need it. You can do sheets of silicone the same way you do sheets of latex. Just cuttypo them down to size and adhere. :) It takes more measuring but it is less of a head ache and takes up less space.
Yep, that's the method that I've been planning on using.
Progress Update: I'm still waiting for the rest of my mold material to come in the mail, so no progress on the scales, but I have finished pouring another heel fin and the first half of my fluke. :> They're drying as I type.
Congrats!
Between this, the tutorial on silicone tails and a little sfx knowledge from a buddy;I think I finally have all the resources I need to undertake my first project. Thanks so much!
looking great.
I am inspired by your work. My last tail took ten months to complete, but I am considering making a silicone tail in the near future. I will wait to see how yours turns out first :)
Lorelei, what kind of release have you been using with the silicone? I thought vaseline might not be compatable. Are you goigt to line yours with neoprene?
1. The mold material that I am using does not require a mold release. Silicone doesn't really like to stick to much anyways. Other than more silicone.
2. I'm not going to use neoprene. I think silicone tails adhere to the body shape better without it and I don't want to deal with the hassle of sewing it and getting the silicone to stick.
Alrighty, so today I decided that my monofin isn't going to fit like I had hoped inside of my fluke, so I'm trimming it once again. Hopefully I'll like how it looks this time. :P
Also, I'm halfway done with the second side of my fluke. :> Just a little bit more to go and I can start attaching them to my monofin!
And lastly, I took my finished portion of my fluke to the pool with me today and it looks AMAZING in the water! The colors are so much better looking underwater than I had even dared to hope!
Unfortunately, my mold material is being a bugger and still hasn't arrived...
there's nothing worse than being in the middle of a creative project going like gangbusters and then get held up by not having something you need to finish it! Tanks for all the great updates! Will the silicone stick to the monofin?
Thanks! And yeah, that is seriously annoying. :P
I think your fluke mold looks amazing so far. I can't wait to see how this turns out!
Wow the fluke looks awesome!
Ommggg hurry up you're such a tease! xD
I seriously cant wait to see how everything comes ouuuttt
I'm not trying to tease! (Well, maybe a little. X3 )
If anyone is curious, I'm currently sitting on the floor working on my scale mold. The last batch of mold material came in the mail today, so I poured what was left for the scales and now I'm in the process of releasing the mold! Yay for flathead screw drivers. XD