Sculpting a mermaid tail with polymer clay

This tutorial shows how to sculpt a mermaid tail from polymer clay.
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.

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.

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.

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

Gotta scale all the way around and down.
After I finish all the scales, I bake my piece.Once cooled, I paint the tail in the color of my choice.

The end!

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