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Becoming a Mercreature: Sea Creature Parts Gills, Ears, Teeth and More

 This will mostly be about little details you can add here and there to add that extra bit of creature-ness to your merfolk costume. Most parts may involve latex parts so if you have a latex allergy, you may need to look into a silicone alternative or bodypaint. 

Gills

There are several options for gills from simple make-up lines to full latex/silicone attachments. 

Gills are commonly placed on the cheeks, neck, or lower rib cage. 

Fin Ears

Ear design can be taken in a few different directions. Again, prosthetic ears will be a common solution. However, you can also craft ears with a more "jewelry" ear cuff. 

If you are not doing a fish-related mercreature, you may just use elf ears. As you may have noticed from my links, my favorite brand is Aradani Studios. You can find other sellers of prosthetic ears on other sites or Etsy. 

Teeth

For the most part, teeth are pretty normal for most mercreatures but if you're doing a shark or spooky mermaid, you may look into making some jagged teeth. 
Oddly enough with the right material, these can help you swim. You can do searches for "frog hands" on scuba sites and find legit silicone webbing for your fingers. 

Another common tactic is to use nylon leggings and paint. 
You can also add latex between your fingers like this tutorial here: https://www.instructables.com/webbed-fingers/.

Extra Scales or Markings

Do you want extra scales? You can do it!

Make-up is a common way to add them to your face but you must use waterproof body paint or make-up. Pull a net wig cap or other netting pattern fabric thing over the spot you want to paint scales on. If you're using other markings then body paint as normal. 

You can also buy or make individual latex or silicone scales to adhere to your body. 

I think my favorite thing might be "tattoo leggings". Or at least the concept of it. It may not work for your face but nearly anywhere else you can.  This can work for scales, markings, or adding tattoos. 

Dorsal Fins

I've had to do a lot of thinking on this one. You can buy "shark fins" that strap on or attach to a life preserver. You could make a prothetic or a foam fin but attaching it is the thing. You could design it into your costume if you're making an armored top or something. 

However, your back will bend a lot during swimming so simply using spirit gum to attach it really doesn't work. Belt straps or sewing it onto a nylon bandeau or attaching it to your top is the way to go. 




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