Seavanna's Silicone Octopus Tail

[Fifi Tigg]

I had the same problem with my message box and it was due to my sent box being full

[Mermaid Leira]

Powdered or Cake eye shadows crushed work awesome in dragon skin too the pearl color comes out great

[Kacina Odonley]

Love it !!! Super nice work on your sculpt

[Mermaid Melanie]

love your scales chick they look amazing ! Im trying to get a vibrant pink/red colour for the bottom of my fluke, i wonder if crushed body paint would work, cuz I know theres some pretty fab neon colours that come in dry cakes , ill find out the brand when I chat to my mum later!

[Seatan]

I would like to share a note of advice from a first time silicone tailmaker to others (especially those who have never seen a "professional" silicone tail in person) that may SEEM obvious but has really comforted me throughout this process, perfectionist that I am, and this is it: Despite what the pictures and reviews may make it seem like, NO silicone tail is perfect.

I know they look flawlessly realistic and shockingly beautiful in the pictures posted to the tailmakers' sites, but in reality even the very best tails have some flaws. I was privileged enough to have a FinFolk tail for a few months, and I am SO glad I did, otherwise I would have REALLY unrealistic expectations for myself. It was an AMAZING tail, but it wasn't perfect. There were plenty of teeny tiny things that said "Hi, I'm made of rubber!" up close, which you would never see from far away.

The fact is, silicone is a messy substance that does not lend itself to absolute perfection. There will be tiny bubbles, there will be some rough edges, there will be a few seams... It's not organic flesh; it's liquid rubber, and it can't heal itself. Also, those breathtaking paint jobs, while absolutely the work of awesome talent, will NOT always look as wonderful as they do in the photos in the florescent light of an indoor pool or in a poorly lit area of your living room. Fins that look super real from a few feet away look less so when they are held inches from your face, and the same sort of stuff that increases realism from a distance (example: scale tipping), can make it look less realistic when you are super close up, close enough to tell that it is paint.

Now, obviously, a person would have to make many a tail before they were on the same level of craftsmanship as Raven or Abby and Bryn (if that person is even artistic enough to ever get on that level). However, even Merbella and FinFolk tails have their flaws. Sometimes it seems like the community sort of encourages a "get a tail from one of THEM and you will pretty much BE a mermaid" idea, which can make you feel really bad when you start making your own tail and realize that it doesn't look like God dropped it from the sky into your lap. What has made me feel better along this road, however, is that the pro's tails don't look like that, either, because they AREN'T dropped from the sky and there is a limit to what a certain material can do to promote realism. So please, if you are making a silicone tail for the first time but have never actually SEEN a silicone tail, don't be discouraged when it is not absolute perfection. Strive to better what you are able to, but recognize that it will NEVER be perfect--no one else's tails are perfect either!

Hope this helps anyone who might be feeling a little down about their project.

[Lily]

Thanks for this post, Seavanna! I'm going to be starting my first silicone tail in a couple months (once I make a serious dent in the current workload for my small business) and I'm half terrified because I've never seen on in person. Seeing others' tail making posts makes me feel a little better about the whole thing. And hey, at least I won't have too many biases then, right? Right??

[Mermaid Wesley]

That's very important stuff!


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[Mermaid Galene]

Thanks for the perspective, Seavanna!

[Merman Arion]

I agree with you. While my tail seems perfect, it actually has his flaws but I'm learning to love them instead of hating them. My tail was the first tail to get the dragon scales so I already wasn't expecting the perfect seamless tails everybody is getting with the diamond scales. My tail looks good from a distance but with a close up look, you can manage to see some flaws but they aren't big, nor obvious, or else that's being nit-picky in a crazier level. At this moment, the biggest flaw is that the top of my tail is too long, I only found out two days ago while doing my first photoshoot so when I will get back to Paris after this vacation in the south of France, a friend who know his ways around silicone is gonna help me making an Ariel V-shape for the waist line.
Point is, perfection does not exist, even with Raven and Finfolk. Nevertheless, the tails can still be incredible. So learn to love the way they are and don't get discouraged


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[Lostariel Telrunya]

I like to think of all of the nicks in the silicone as... battle scars. Just like every human has little scratches, cuts, and marks, so should mermaid tails! I mean, swimming around in the ocean, you're bound to scrape against some sharp coral or graze a sharp broken shell sooner or later!

[Seatan]

I am having a crisis of ego here. A friend of mine from the cosplay community made some alterations to my fluke design that I think are really cool and would like to implement. The only thing is, I am not sure I want to "lose" my baby. See, right after my friend made the changes he jokingly put a little (TM) trademark sign next to it and started joking that if it got really popular I better split the rights with him, blah blah blah. All jokes, of course, but I get the feeling that if I design my fluke in that way it will always be a matter of "Oh yeah, and I redesigned the fluke like that!" every time someone we know sees it. I really like the design, but I don't want all the hard work and craftsmanship I am putting into it to be downplayed because he changed the position of the octopus tentacles, ya know? I don't WANT anyone else to be able to claim my hard work--especially since saying that he "designed" the fluke makes it seem like he did a hell of a lot more than what he did (aka do a quick sketch) while *I* am the one putting hundreds of hours of work into this thing! I really like the design, but I don't know what to do. Also, it's not all that very different from mine, so I feel like if I do anything even close to similar, he is going to act like I am copying him, when in reality there are only so many ways to position a damn octopus on your fluke! *sigh* I'm just not sure now what I want to do.

[Kishiko]

Can you put a photo of the redesigned fluke for comparison?

[Lostariel Telrunya]

Yeah. I would say, if you want full credit, take the full credit. If he wants to help you, just tell him how much this project really means to you. This is a really unique thing you've got going, and to have someone take your creative work and put their name on it is not fair at all. It kind of reminds me of people who get a patent for something, and then someone else comes along, change something really miniscule, sells it at a lower price, and runs the other person out of business. Although creative input should almost always be welcome, it should come out of generosity, not as a trade. That is just my opinion though.

[MermaidBrandie]

Did you end up selling your FinFolk tail, Seavanna? Is that why you're making your own?

[Seatan]

Okay, I am about to start sculpting this final fluke design and need opinions!!! Should I make the dark areas next to the tentacles on this fluke part of the fluke or should I try and make it look like the octopus is inking?



I am sculpting the fluke of this baby this week and next week (Thanksgiving) my mom is gonna help me finish making the scales, along with my loverly suckerfish. This baby gonna be ready for MerFest!!!!

[Seatan]

Yes, I sold it back to Finfolk. I believe they resold it or plan to resell it.

[PearlieMae]

Part of the fluke...the skin on an octopus where the mantle joins the tentacles has that lovely webbing. IMO.

[Fifi Tigg]

I think it would look great to have it inking ��

[Seatan]

I think the webbing would look good, too, if people get that it's webbing.. I am thinking of something like this pic. I plan to make the suckers for the tentacles separate and attach them so that they can go around the tentacles in a natural looking way....

[Mermaid Wesley]

I like the webbing idea. i think ink wouldnt look quite right or would be quite difficult to pull off.