My Surprise Tail made by Sea Serpent Studios!
Its taken me a whole week to find the words to write about my new tail.
Being a mermaid has been a lifelong dream, a tease on reality for the last decade when I found out that people were making tails, a heavily discussed plan for the last 5 years and for the last twelve months (without me having any idea) my dream tail was being created for me.
I began planning my tail about 7 years ago, and had all these goals and dreams. Financially it just wasn’t possible so I watched on the side as others accomplished things I has been talking about for years. Mermaiding became more popular, and still I talked about the tail I never believed I would ever see in the flesh.
My boyfriend (of 9 years) knows about all my mermaiding dreams and always told me to go for it and to stop hesitating… yet I always did. Money just always felt too tight.
My little Merbaby was born and so while up at all hours of the night with him I would discuss tails with my good friend Mermaid Cyanea (Sea Serpent Studios) who I had met volunteering at an aquarium 7 years or so earlier. Without me knowing, I was actually helping her to plot and plan my tail design – my boyfriend had secretly contacted her to help my dream actually happen.
For over a year they plotted and created (on opposite sides of the world) while I had no idea that my lifelong dream was in the making.
And that is how my professional performance tail was created completely in secret! We all know the love and effort which goes into making a tail. Mermaid Cyanea had to create this tail from scratch, without even being able to outright discuss, double check and question me at all for my opinion. The fact that she not only created a structurally magnificent tail but also one which is actually more amazing then anything I could have described is a true testament to her talent.
She researched, and picked the brains of friends, and researched some more about fish anatomy to be able to create a ‘lifelike’ version of my mermaid vision.
The fin sculpts (including caudal fin) were all meticulously modeled after real fish anatomy. She tried to make everything as realistic as she possibly could and she spent hours studying the functional morphology of fish fin rays and the underlying bones and musculature. We wanted this tail to look like something that could really exist, so the fin rays and fin membranes, scale patterns, caudal peduncle and other fin transitions are all as biologically accurate as she could make them. She wanted the entire tail to look like a complete organism.
The entire tail is made from Dragonskin Platinum silicone and a variety of carefully sourced pearlescent/iridescent pigments. The monofin is a custom polycarbonate blade with custom silicone footpockets that she made herself. The caudal fin and all the accent fins are translucent. It has a translucent/skin-toned blended waist. Everything was completely constructed and hand-painted by Mermaid Cyanea.
The colors of this tail are meant to evoke a tropical sunset reflecting off a clear turquoise sea, since I live in the Great Barrier Reef area of Australia. The scale pattern is inspired by the scales of a parrotfish, with the intent that it would look realistic and yet still evoke the feeling of those sunset colors glinting off the crests of gentle wavelets on the ocean. The sunset shades all shift and change color based on the angle and intensity of the light.
I cried and cried and cried when I opened the box and saw her for the first time. (My boyfriend absolutely videoed it so maybe one day Ill post the unboxing =P)
Im surprised at how light the tail is, and yet how strong. The shipping box she came in weighed 9kg all together (including a top) so I’m yet to weigh the tail alone.
I was also very surprised to find how comfortable she is to wear! Snug but not constricting. Trying her on out in the sun with all the dazzling colours was a dream come true, but little did I know that wearing her on dry land was nothing compared to the first swim.
Like a true fish she is built for the water. Agile, strong and fast, swimming becomes pure joy. I’ve swam in monofins and fabric tails before, but nothing as smooth and as comfortable as she is. No slipping, no re-arranging, no bag, lag or drag. Just smooth, elegant power. I cannot describe the sensation of finally being part of the water, and feeling like this tail is a part of my own body. It’s an emotional experience for sure.
She is the perfect combination of science and fantasy, of reality and mythology.
I cannot express enough how thankful I am to have wonderful people in my life to want to go through such effort to make my dreams come true, I’m the luckiest mermaid alive I’m sure. I will wear this tail with so much love and pride, I cant wait to see what adventures lie ahead. And if Mermaid Cyanea (Sea Serpent Studios) decides to take orders for mermaid tails – they come with my highest recommendation.
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Congratulations on your tail. It's absolutely beautiful and you make a beautiful Mermaid
Originally Posted by Princess Aegean
✔️
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