Selkish's Ratchet Workshop

[Mermaid Clarity]

You're welcome! I was hoping that would be helpful. I'm a zoologist and an aquarist and I always think of fish biology in very technical terms and sometimes I forget that not everyone does so I thought I'd try to articulate it a little better. (I'm the kind of nerd who uses terms like teleost and caudal peduncle on a daily basis but has no idea why the Kardashians are famous. I had soooo many friends in high school...)

(Edit: also, when I first started hearing about Kardashians I though everyone was talking about Cardassians)

#lifegoals right there. I considered going into marine science but then someone pulled me aside and was like "there are no jobs, go do something else." So I switched to graphic design. I *would* love to be as technical as possible when building this tail, except for the fact that my art-eye was like "That looks weird" when I did the original shield scales. This is possibly because the thickness of the scale made it look fakey and round. It's nice to know at least I kinda followed one real kind of scale... even if it's shark.


And no one knows why the Kardashians are famous, it's why they're famous.

[Theobromine]

#lifegoals right there. I considered going into marine science but then someone pulled me aside and was like "there are no jobs, go do something else."

Speaking as someone with a master's degree and no job....can confirm.

[Vrindavana Starfish]

#lifegoals right there. I considered going into marine science but then someone pulled me aside and was like "there are no jobs, go do something else." So I switched to graphic design.

Speaking as someone with a master's degree and no job....can confirm.

Yes to both. I started off as a marine biologist. Then ended up with an MA in Irish mythology with every intention of being a professor, and then realized I hated teaching. Now I'm a video editor and day trader.

Those scales are looking really cool. Can't wait to see how this turns out!

[Theobromine]

Yes to both. I started off as a marine biologist. Then ended up with an MA in Irish mythology with every intention of being a professor, and then realized I hated teaching. Now I'm a video editor and day trader.

The struggle is real. I loved both my degrees, but I still haven't found a single job that I've actually needed my master's degree for :P I spent a few years doing zookeeping/aquarist work, which is great, but in my case I also had bad luck with a string of sh!tty bosses and/or jobs in areas where I just wasn't happy living, then had some health issues blah blah after leaving those ended up just applying for an animal manager position at a local Petco just for the paycheck, had to leave my master's degree off my bloody resume even to get that. -_- But retail is not my bag so I ended up ragequitting and now I'm an artist :P The ironyyyyyy

Sorry to hijack your thread Selkish....um....if you need any advice on fish biology/anatomy/scientific accuracy and/or sculpting techniques feel free to ask.

[Mermaid Clarity]

Yes to both. I started off as a marine biologist. Then ended up with an MA in Irish mythology with every intention of being a professor, and then realized I hated teaching. Now I'm a video editor and day trader.

Those scales are looking really cool. Can't wait to see how this turns out!

Thanks <3 I feel like I'm wandering around kinda blindly but I'm obviously not because I have everyone here to help point me in the right direction.

And not hijacking. I feel like a lot of Mers wanted to do the marine science thing and were turned off in the end. It's just sort of nice to hear that I made a good choice by not going 100% into that particular profession... Not too sure about the choice to move into art from there (for me.)

[Mermaid Clarity]

So back to tail sculpting, here's a comparison of the two scale sizes and thicknesses. The smaller ones are significantly thicker.





Also because I keep posting pics of her, here's my kitty again




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[Theobromine]

Kitty!

Well, personally, I'd recommend not making your scales very thick. I'd try to thin them out a little and also keep all the sizes at an even thickness. If you make them too thick you run the risk of having your tail end up way too heavy and cumbersome. You can always add more silicone on the back of the sheet/inside of the tail, but if you cast them too thick to begin with you can't really slice them in half with a cheese knife if you know what I mean. Also, thinner scales are more realistic.

[Mermaid Clarity]

Welp, I've done 20 small scales and 20 big ones..... Now I'm not too sure what to do next.



I don't know if I have the balls to try casting a mold next.


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[Mermaid Clarity]

Kitty!

Well, personally, I'd recommend not making your scales very thick. I'd try to thin them out a little and also keep all the sizes at an even thickness. If you make them too thick you run the risk of having your tail end up way too heavy and cumbersome. You can always add more silicone on the back of the sheet/inside of the tail, but if you cast them too thick to begin with you can't really slice them in half with a cheese knife if you know what I mean. Also, thinner scales are more realistic.

I thinned down the small scales. You were right, I can always paint more silicone on.


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[Mermaid Clarity]

Confronting the smooth-on. Halp


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[Theobromine]

Ahahaha that was probably the same expression I had when I was first about to experiment with this stuff.

The absolute best advice I can give you is start small, test, PRACTICE before starting your main project. It definitely feels intimidating but if you make just a few small molds and do some little test castings first. It will give you a lot more confidence and you'll be able to figure out what works and what doesn't, which will ultimately make your tail project better. Plus if you mess up at first you won't have to worry about wasting a lot of material. Make a small mold with just a couple scales in it, cast a handful of them, and try fitting them together to see how they look and feel. I mean, if you've looked at my thread, you can see the improvement from where *I* started :P We all improve with practice, just don't be afraid to get started.

[Mermaid Clarity]

Doing a test mold. It's cold and late so I'm not sure if it'll cure well at all...



But holy shit! I'm doing science.


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[Theobromine]

Is that a clear resin you're using? Apologies if you said it before and I missed it, I'm kinda sleep deprived. Anyhoo, it looks good!

[Theobromine]

[Mermaid Clarity]

You guys. Science is kinda boring. Stupid 30 minute cure time




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[Mermaid Clarity]

I'm using smooth on 305 with a can of ease release 200


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[Mermaid Clarity]

Dangit, Matt Damon, you're so right. And hot. So right and hot.

As for waiting to cure...

[Mermaid Clarity]

Ooooooooooookay. So the mold seemed to work out without a hitch except:



The EFFFFFF IS THIS TEXTURE? WILL LIBERAL APPLICATIONS OF SILICONE GET RID OF THIS? IT'S FROM THE DAMN BUBBLES I SAW AS THE MOLD WAS CURING GRRRRRRRRRRRR


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[Theobromine]

Actually, to me it looks like you may have just used too much mold release. How much did you spray on? Did you smooth it with a brush? The pattern of the indentations doesn't look like bubbles to me, but too much mold release (aka many tiny globs of grease) can definitely do that.

I haven't used that particular resin but if you look up the technical specs, it might give you some better ideas as well (i.e. moisture can cause bubbles in some resins). Anyway, at least you learned something! Aren't you glad you didn't come across that problem while molding a whole fluke?! SCIENCE IS AWESOME!!!

[Mermaid Clarity]

Lol, you're probably super right. I went a little heavy on the release. I popped some silicone into the molds to find out if it makes much of a difference in the end.



I had some copper pigment and some pearly white I got while getting the mold materials. I figured it was a safe pigment to get considering all the colors I've been drawn to.