A number of delays set me back from doing this, including internet, weather, injury, new job stuff, and spouse.
It's basically 2 sets of old bike shorts/capri pants/leggings, that I cut up into segments, and reassembled them.
The fins are 2 SCUBA fins/flippers and an old vintage skirt over top.
My sewing machine broke several times, then I had to disassemble, fix, then reassemble multiple times.
The photo shoot outside was delayed several times due to job interviews, leg injury and hospital visit (me). I got so fed up, that I just went late in the mourning, not ideal lighting, and just shot some stuff w/my crutches.
There were also random storms on my free time days, and basically, "shit happens".
Whatevz...
Here's the video footage I shot on my iPhone:
If you want the songs/music you can download them for free from my SoundCloud or NewGrounds. The songs are totally FREE, and are licensed as Creative Commons. So have fun!Donwload 'em, share 'em, use 'em, keep, 'em. Whatever u want.
Here's my gallery on PicsArt so go follow me on the app.
On virtually all of my public social media profiles I'm Always "BlackUniGryphon" unless I say otherwise... No, sluts please. Keep ur junk in ur pants, n keep it to urself. Nobody wants to see that.
This was a makeshift mermaid tail I threw together due to the constant pestering of my daughter, since springtime, about wanting a mermaid tail. there was NO END to the begging, pleading, pestering, blubbering, sniveling, and whining!
She must've begged me to get a tail from "Fin Fun Mermaid" three thousand times! Then, she showed me uptteen-ba-jillian DIY videos, blogs, instagrams, and so on, of all kinds of dumb yuppies making complete fools of themselves & their money on junk, when they probably could've just bought one from "Fin fun mermaid" to support a small business... but, whatever....
Anyways, I'm broke as dirt!
So, what did I do?????
I got 2 old pairs of tights/pants/leggings/bike-shorts or not-quite-capri-pants from Old NAVY that were gonna become rags, or trash anyways.... my kid is also going through a sudden growth spurt, so there's no friggin' way I'm buying a mermaid tail, tailored to her June-sized-body, when she's already outgrow her swimsuit, n had to get a new one on clearance!
I cut up the pants into segments.
Then, I sewed them together w/my sewing machine using honeycomb stitch.
I kept the extra pants' elastic, to tie up the fins part later...
It took forever, because my machine kept falling apart, malfunctioning, or breaking, so I would have to disassemble my machine, and reassemble it multiple times. Also, in the middle of it, we had a major heat wave, humidity finally arrived, then power surges & thunder storms... oh, and I had a job interview.... That, and trying to juggle fixing the situation w/our food stamps, and getting them reinstated... financial conferences, and I sprained my ankle, and had to go to the E.R.
The fins are 2 main components: * Flippers (S.C.U.B.A. Fins) * and an old 2002 Boho scarf skirt overtop of the S.C.U.B.A. Fins. That's it!
I sewed the segments, made sure it looked right, then, she puts on the flippers and the skirt over top, then you tie with the leftover elastic.
A video posted by Kandice Zimblemam-Wang 任思麒 (@blackunigryphon) on
Here's a preview of her getting ready to swim in the pool. I expect to have a lot more photos of my daughter, Heidi, in her mermaid tail.... but, I have to start training at my new job tomorrow....
Yet to be finished Tribal Fusion Bellydancer Sketches
I was actually surprised at how much response I got over these, from the belly dance communities.
Altho', I DO have a gripe about 1/2 of the responses, since number of Bellydancers expect to be paid to dance, and make money doing so. However, those SAME dancers expected to just be able to USE my artwork FREE OF CHARGE or DEMAND me to:
A.) Do more for them FOR FREE, JUST BECAUSE THE LIKED IT.
B.) DO WHOLE ANIMATIONS FOR THEM FOR FREE, JUST BECAUSE THEY LIKED IT.
Drawing is NOT the SAME as dancing, let alone animation, FYI. It takes, practice, skills, and talent, especially if you like mine, that that would refer to MINE of the aforementioned.
Funny how YOU want to be paid, but REFUSE to pay for ME.
Since I was also depressed, I couldn't make myself finish them yet. But, also, because I am afraid of people stealing my artwork, AND MAKING MONEY OFF OF IT!
So, yes, I have mixed feelings, especially when the bellydance communities are usually very Hippy-ish, peace, love, community, helping each other out, looking out for the lil' guy, etc.
So, for this reason, I am forever more STICKING with my watermarks, logos, and GIANT CHINESE NAME STAMPS.
I understand that the whole concept of Chinese name stamps is a hard one to understand, even for me, because it's not based in Western logic, It's Chinese/Taoist stuff. They often use use HUGE stamps, often several, and it might not make any sense to a Westerner, in fact they don;t even need to fit with the layout of the picture. I've asked SOOOOOO many Chinese art Teachers, and Masters in China, and no one can explain it, they just say, it's a Chinese way, or it;s just Chinese stuff.
This was a popular Tribal Fusion costuming style a few years ago:
By 2011 the long hair, like Cabaret belly dance started to become popular, and bled through into the costuming fashion, where as before it was usually up-doos.
