New neoprene tail in progress!

**ide** · 06-26-2012, 04:39 PM

Hi everyone! Ide here. I just about vanished off of the face of the earth at the beginning of last October when my husband & I separated, and the past 9 months have been completely bonkers, but I'm back with enthusiasm.

Between that, and my circus troupe taking off, mermaiding took a back-seat in the colder weather, and now it's summertime and time to up the antte, more in-water bookings have been lining up, and I'm working on a brand new tail that can better accomodate gigs which are partially on land (lightweight) and partially in water (very comfortable & efficient for swimming), but are more fancy (such as weddings & corporate gigs) than my magictail.de tail. Soooo! Here goes nothing! HUGE thanks to all of the resources that are up here on MerNetwork, I couldn't have done this without you.

I commissioned the sewing for the base (I hired a friend who, fittingly, is currently making costumes for a big production of The Little Mermaid), and I started painting it today. *smile* This is 1.5 hours of painting, so far. Once the paint is finished, I'm going to slowly (over the course of a year, hah) cover the entire thing with shell-shaped sequins. I'm keeping the "underbelly" light & dolphinesque, and am going for a very tropical look.

xoxo

**Mermaid Caidence** · 06-26-2012, 05:42 PM

Great job! Where did you get your neoprene? And woudn't covering it in sequins cover the paint? Unless you used seethrough sequins....

**ide** · 06-26-2012, 06:01 PM

Thank you!! I don't remember, I got it online somewheres... ^ ^; sorry, that's not helpful. There are good resources here, I think I followed the advice of someone else on this forum when looking for Neoprene, and now I can't even remember where it came from, it took about a month to gather all of my materials and get the tail-body sewn. <3

I plan on eventually covering all of the paint, yes, but it's a nice temporary fix so that I can use the tail before it's "finished" because I need it to look good enough for a gig on August 25th.

I think the sequins will probably take me most of a year to really finish, if not longer, but I am not waiting that long to use the tail.

Further paint-progress photo attached.

Name: 9080fc5abfd611e19dc71231380fe523_7.jpg
Views: 1077
Size: 113.8 KB

**Mermaid Caidence** · 06-26-2012, 06:15 PM

That looks like some nice blueberry juice in the corner. xD

**ide** · 06-26-2012, 07:35 PM

Right? You'd think I'd have a better "paint-water" cup than an ornately etched wine-glass... I really am far too careless with my things, it's not like I have many wine-glasses to spare. Always fancy. Always.

MOAR PROGRESS! <3
Name: dc0bf69abfde11e180c9123138016265_7.jpg
Views: 989
Size: 116.7 KB

Name: dc0bf69abfde11e180c9123138016265_7.jpg
Views: 989
Size: 116.7 KB

**Mermaid Caidence** · 06-26-2012, 07:40 PM

lol. Great progress! Love the different colors!

**Ilonka** · 06-26-2012, 08:31 PM

Such a pretty paintjob!

**Cordelia** · 06-26-2012, 08:53 PM

This is so cool! I love the colors you've chosen, and it's neat to see the progression between the different painting stages.

**Winged Mermaid** · 06-26-2012, 08:55 PM

Looking good! Though I would like to point out if you're using acrylic paint is is going to make it harder to sew anything on :/ It's like added melted plastic on top of neoprene. You'll need something protective for sewing. Hello thimbles!

**Mermaid Marissa** · 06-27-2012, 10:41 AM

This is a beautiful paint job I cant wait to see it finished

**Mermaid Marissa** · 06-27-2012, 10:42 AM

What did you use for the side fins? It's so pretty

**Cordelia** · 06-27-2012, 06:29 PM

Ooh, I was wondering that too. I added some ribbon to my dorsal fin, around the waist, and on the flukes. I didn't cut it to fit, because I thought it would end up falling apart in the water. :S It looks fine, but I had to pleat the ribbon to get it to lay with the shape of the fins.

**Mermaid Lorelei** · 06-27-2012, 09:23 PM

Looking lovely Ide! I must admit though, I do kind of miss seeing pictures of you in your purple silicone tail. It just looks so lovely on you! I understand the reasoning behind a neoprene tail, though. It would be a LOT easier to move in. XP

**ide** · 06-27-2012, 10:20 PM

Originally Posted by Wingéd Mermaid

Looking good! Though I would like to point out if you're using acrylic paint is is going to make it harder to sew anything on :/ It's like added melted plastic on top of neoprene. You'll need something protective for sewing. Hello thimbles!

The acrylic is so thin compared to what I've been sewing through so far (velcro, vinyl and neoprene, and acrylic paint - all layered) it's a rather minor difference. It's behaving the same as other fabric paints so far, which is great.

I've already finished one row of sequins along the bottom of the fluke (on one side). When I get a bit further along I'll keep posting photos.

Thank you everyone!! The extra fins are all vinyl shelf-matting, they feel lovely to the touch and are easy to sew through, too. I have leather needles because I thought the neoprene would be trickier to work with, but so far I've only been using a regular needle and it's going great.

**ide** · 06-27-2012, 10:23 PM

The shoe size in the silicone tail is also too-small enough that I can't wear it for more than an hour, even in water, because it hurts. :'( I may end up selling it, tragic as that is... Between it not quite fitting right (owch) and how heavy it is on land (60 lbs - mostly in the fluke), it doesn't really work for the type of bookings I'm getting, which require me to be carried into the event and then set in water and/or spend some of my "in character" time on land.

It's great for photoshoots, but, I need something I can perform at parties in comfortably. Something high-end looking enough to book at corporate events and weddings. Soooo... here goes nothing! ^ ^;

**Mermaid Lorelei** · 06-27-2012, 10:38 PM

What is the foot size?

**malinghi** · 06-27-2012, 11:01 PM

It looks great. Seems like a shame to cover such a nice paint job in sequins.

By the way, that looks like a nice rug. Aren't you afraid of getting paint on it?

**ide** · 06-28-2012, 08:40 PM

Originally Posted by malinghi

It looks great. Seems like a shame to cover such a nice paint job in sequins.

By the way, that looks like a nice rug. Aren't you afraid of getting paint on it?

I kept most of the surface I was painting on a wooden art-board/easel for that reason, but, yeah, I used a lot of fancy things (etched wine glass, nice carpet) while I was working.

So it goes. No accidents so far.

And to Lorelei : Shoe size 7-8, waist should be between 31" and 33", I have 34" hips and it's too snug. It's also ideal for someone between 5'7" an 5'9", I'm 5' 10" and it rides pretty low, which is fine, but risque.