Sculpting A Mermaid Tail
By Blue Mermaid Designs

This is a rough guide of how I make a mermaid tail.

I start with an already baked head and torso.
I then add clay to the bottom half of the armature where the tail will be.

The clay is then pulled, smoothed, and shaped.

Next I add a cone shaped piece for the bottom part of the tail,
and smooth it into the top.

Here it is all smoothed, shaped, and positioned.

Now for the tail fin, I make a flat triangle.

I cut a small triangle out of the end.

I then shape and smooth with my fingers.

Next, I use my knife to score lines. Starting with the middle,
and then scoring each side.

Here is half of the scoring done.

After I finish scoring the tail fin, I cut a slit in the bottom of the tail.

It looks kinda like a dolphin mouth!

Next the tail fin is inserted into the "dolphin mouth".
The mouth is then pressed down to hold the tail fin.

Next the mermaid is posed on her base.

Now this is where you really need patience! Using my tool, I cut
tiny scales all the way down the tail. Each scale is done individually
and this part of the process takes alot of time.

Gotta scale all the way around and down.


*whew* Almost done!

After I finish all the scales, I bake my piece.
Once cooled, I paint the tail in the color of my choice.