Star's First Tailmaking Experience

[Mermaid Star]

Tell me about it... I just hope I can get it back to what it was. Otherwise there will be a longer setback
Fins crossed

[Mermaid Photine]

Perhaps you could sculpt any remaining parts in a non-drying clay? Then all you need to do is keep in in a nice sturdy box to prevent squishing. Make sure the clay can work with whatever you are using to cast it.

Best of luck with those repairs!

[ShyMer]

Did it become warped when you allowed it to dry and that's why it broke? So sad

[Mermaid Star]

Yes, it became warped in drying. This is a wed clay and isn't supposed to dry out that fast. But it did. I should have molded it right after the sculpt, but didn't have the time. Now I know. This is all very much a learning experience for me.

[happyguava]

Ohh Star, that sucks!! It was looking so beautiful! It looks like you've done a great job patching it up though. You're right - as annoying and heartbreaking as setbacks like this can be, at least you've learned something and can go into your next project armed with more knowledge than before!! For the record, I can't make a tail to save myself, so I'm amazed at people who can do stuff like this!

[neonmermaid]

This is really amazing! Thanks for being so detailed with your photos, it's so fun to read through and see!

[RêveD'eau]

Did it dry out in the saran wrap?? I sculpted a lot in high school and we wet paper towels and covered our clay pieces in them, then placed them in a black garbage bag and tied it! It will be a slow process but it allows it to dry slowly and completely do it doesn't break. I hope that helps. It looks fantastic!!

[ShyMer]

I hope that when you use it for your mold that the finished fluke turns out okay- I guess I'd be concerned that you'd be able to tell where it was repaired because of texture or something. Also I haven't worked with wed clay in particular but i know from throwing that drier clay doesn't like wet clay very much. Has it been doing any flaking where you fixed it? Also how much is it shrinking when it dries?

For those who have used clay for their tail making process, have you allowed it to dry before making the mold or do you keep it moist? I feel more inclined to keep it soft but it may not make much of a difference I suppose.
Just curious

[Mermaid Star]

Neonmermaid, Thank you! I am glad you like viewing the process.

RêveD'eau

Thank you for the advise! I am not a sculptor and didn't work with it previously so it really helps. I will try and use the wet paper towels thing. I can't ut it in a garbage bag as the board wont fit but I will try and seal it better.

Shymer, Most of it is holding ok but some parts are falling away.



I am not sure what I am going to do right now. I ordered more WED Clay Today. I doubled my order so I have 50 lbs on it's way to me from within FL. I hope it gets here soon. If it does, I will just re-sculpt it and mold it. I am just worried about the shrinkage and whether it is the same size as I had originally planned for.

I think it is smarter to mold while it is still wet. It would keep it from sticking to the mold and there would be minimal/no shrinkage. I think that is what I will do, just re do the whole thing. I think it would be smarter than try to save this one and possibly end up with something that I can't use or that I am not 100% proud of.

[Mermaid Sirena]

What if you made the mold of one side then made two copies of it stuck them together and did a little work so they fit together well and then make a mold of that?

[Mermaid Star]

I originally was going to do a full fluke mold and do an injection mold to make the fluke one solid piece. If I were to use silicone, the injection mold would work and be stronger,but I can't afford the materials for it. But because I am making my fluke from latex, I have to do a slush mold instead to ensure that the layers will dry. The more surface area that is open to the air the better.

[Marinus Mortimer]

I love it but am verry sad that it broke hope you can fix it, cant wait to see it finished ill be here even doh i just got here lol love the idea doh

[ShyMer]

It's sad that it's not holding together I loved the texture you had on it.
I'm betting your next one will be better for it though. How wet/squishy is it when you take it out of the bag?

When I asked about the shrinking thing maybe I made it sound a little scarier than it is- you could probably see if the size is okay easily enough by holding your mono up to it. Because the underside is probably still wet, I'm guessing it hasn't shrunk much as a whole. Maybe that's why it's cracking? Top is trying to shrink and dry while the underside stubbornly stays wet?

Also maybe something like Glad's press and seal would help. That stuff is magic. Perhaps you could stick a couple sheets together to seal it better? I don't know, just a wild untested idea. Weird that saran wrap isn't helping already though :/

If you don't feel to bad about breaking it up, you should be able to save your current clay for future use (assuming wed clay mostly behaves like regular clay). If you put it in a bag with some water eventually the water will re distribute itself and make the dry parts softer. You'll have to help it along some but it's kinda like making bread- you knead it some but most of the time you leave it alone to rest. If it's too soupy you can leave it open for a little while to let some water evaporate, just don't let the surface get too dried out.

[Mermaid Star]

I could probably get it to hold together as I only tried to put it together once. I am just worried because there were ridges in some places and now they have moved and making it awkward. Also I am not sure if it is the same symmetrically anymore since I had to add some to one side to get it to fit together again.

The whole thing is pretty dry, the underside is a little more moist than the top, but not by much. I just think that I didn't reinforce it enough when I tried to fix it.

You have a lot of good ideas Shymer. I will try to emplement some of them. It is good to know that I can rewet and reuse the clay. I might just do that.

[lynsea]

As a person who has experience with sculpting, wet paper towels are the way to go. Soak them, wring them out, then wrap your whole piece and cover it with a garbage bag or something similar. You'll have to change the towels every time as they can get moldy but this is honestly the BEST way to keep your piece moist.

[Mermaid Star]

Thank you all for the advise! It is really great! I love this community!!! I am still waiting on my new clay to come in, but my second wave monofin made it. Yay!!! I wanted to be able to have a practice tail and a realistic for events, so I knew I needed a second fin. It is exactly the same as the first, only the color is yellow rather than blue. It still fits nice, even though it is a "youth monofin" and I wear a shoe size 11 in women.

Hope things will move along nicely. The only thing left to purchase (I think) is more latex (about 2 gallons or so) and a latex paint base. So close!!! Eeee!

[Azurin Luna]

I hope it will stay in one piece for you now! Good luck!
Looking forward to see how your tail is going to look at the end.

[Mermaid Star]

So my clay came in during the week and I didn't even know it! LOL On Saturday, I was able to get a little sculpting done while the sun was still up. But before I could sculpt anything, I took a few pictures of my old fluke sculpt...



There was minimal shrinkage resulting from drying, shown by laying the pattern over the sculpt... but it wasn't minimal enough for me and felt that I would not be happy with it unless I started over. So I did, but first.... I sad faced a little.


(Sorry, no makeup)

So after I finished trashing my first fluke sculpt, I cleared off my board and traced out my fluke pattern onto the board as well as the monofin placement.



Then I started my sculpt, beginning with the raised portions. I know there is probably an easier way, but this is where my brain took me.



After a long while of building and smoothing... and smoothing... and smoothing (lol) I came to a stopping point with the foot pocket and side ridges built. Since I was stopping for the evening, I did as was suggested to me by Lysea and ReveD'eau. I covered the clay with moist paper towels.



And then bagged it in trash bags as Lynsea and ReveD'eau suggested to keep the moisture in. Hopefully this will keep it from drying out.



I am hoping to get some sculpting done tomorrow after my doctors appointment.

[AniaR]

awwwwwww

[Mermaid Star]

While I was working on the fluke, my boyfriend (Merpirate) picked up the camera and started asking me questions about my tail and how I was making it. Kinda Q&A style. It is kinda basic, especially since I am not a sculptor. But in the case that it will help someone, I will post it. Sorry about the sound, as I am uploading it with out editing. I also wasn't planning on my face being in any pictures or video so I didn't put any makeup on. LOL

I will post it at soon as it is done uploading... it is taking FOREVER!