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So, for quite a while I have wanted to have a giant fish mount like I'd seen at those chintzy tourist seafood restaurants, but there was no way I am EVERY going to be able to afford a real taxidermy-quality fish or warrant spending that type of money. So, I decided to create my own on a stupidly cheap budget. While this project is relatively cheap, it is very time consuming.
WHAT YOU WILL NEED:
A picture of your fish
Maybe 10 sheets of 8 1/2X11 paper
Writing stuff (pencils, ball point pens)
Measuring stuff (ruler, tape measure, yardstick is helpful too)
Cutting stuff (box cutter/utility knife, scissors)
Taping stuff (2+ rolls of 1 1/2" masking tape, a roll of duct tape helpful)
Stapler (not a sissy one, you need a big silver Arrow construction one and a lot of staples)
Needle nose pliers
A LOT of cardboard and newspaper (I got all of mine from recycling dumpsters)
Paper mache (a package of flour, tap water, and a casserole dish will work)
Paint and brushes for finishing (latex house paint here)
PATIENCE (and a drop cloth is nice too)
WHAT YOU WILL NEED:
A picture of your fish
Maybe 10 sheets of 8 1/2X11 paper
Writing stuff (pencils, ball point pens)
Measuring stuff (ruler, tape measure, yardstick is helpful too)
Cutting stuff (box cutter/utility knife, scissors)
Taping stuff (2+ rolls of 1 1/2" masking tape, a roll of duct tape helpful)
Stapler (not a sissy one, you need a big silver Arrow construction one and a lot of staples)
Needle nose pliers
A LOT of cardboard and newspaper (I got all of mine from recycling dumpsters)
Paper mache (a package of flour, tap water, and a casserole dish will work)
Paint and brushes for finishing (latex house paint here)
PATIENCE (and a drop cloth is nice too)
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Signing UpStep 1Getting Your Fish from Picture to Pattern
This step is probably the most difficult. Simply put, you need a picture of a fish that you can make your full-size patterns from. I found a good image on Google, and then opened it in Paint on my laptop. I used Paint because it made making a grid over the image for scale VERY EASY. You could print the image out and make a grid of squares by hand with pencil and ruler, but I am lazy. ANYWAYS, what size squares to use? I turned on the grid option on Paint and divided the length of the fish into fourteen equal sections (I put in the horizontal lines with paint so I could see 'um better). I added vertical paint lines too so that the grid appears over the fish. Some will find it easier to do all of this with pencil and ruler on paper; whatever works for you. Anyways, I wanted a 12 foot fish, so if each square on my fish equaled 10" I'd have a 140" fish (14 squaresX10" each).
After you have your 'grid fish', find a center line down the length of the body. I chose a line that followed at about the center of the tail cuz that made sense for me.
Once your grid is drawn on, label your different vertical sections (in my picture I used alphabet letters, a through o). For simplicity, we will assume your grids will end up equaling 10" square, so the fish stretches slightly over a scaled 140" (in the photo you'll see the bill reaches over my last line a little bit.)
Get yourself a sheet of paper, and write down the section letters down the left side of the paper. For each section, you need to figure out how tall the fish (just the body not fins)) is at this point, and where the center line is. Keep in mind in the example, 1 square equals 10". Here is an example of two sections:
C section (front of tail) : Height 4", Center 2" from top 2" from bottom
G section (near center): Height 17", Center 6" from top 11" from bottom
Repeat this for all of your sections. Try to get close on your measurements, but fudging a little is OK. Remember that these dimensions are BODY ONLY, not the big top fin, lower fins, or even the tail. The exterior parts will be taken care of later; you are making essentially the fuselage of the fish, without anything else. For the mouth and bill section, you can estimate the dimensions with closed mouth if you want it closed. For an open mouth, I would read ahead and look at pictures before pattern making.
SO..... You have a sheet describing the dimensions of each body section now. How thick is your fish? I estimated width of the fish is about 2/3 of height through most of the fish. Around the head area it approaches 1 to 1 (just as wide as tall). I just guessed what would look good, and went with it. Take your section sheet and plug in the width #'s you want next to each one. Here are the two from above with what I picked:
C section (front of tail) : Height 4", Center 2" from top 2" from bottom Width 2.75"
G section (near center): Height 17", Center 6" from top 11" from bottom Width 11.5"
Time to transfer your dimensions to full-scale on paper, using the height, width and centerline measurements for all the sections. I taped pieces of computer paper together, and then using my measurements sketched out what I wanted each of the cross sections to look like. I only drew one HALF of each, so that when I transferred to cardboard I knew each half would be symmetrical (see photo). I then transfer from paper to cardboard, and then cut each section out. As you can see, some of my sections are not perfect ovals. The lumps on the top represent the body where it meets the dorsal fin; I wanted my body to follow closer to the shape of the actual fish, but feel free to just draw ovals. It would have DEFINITELY been easier for me that way.
As you make your sections, be sure to mark where the center is from your sheet above, and also divide the pieces from top to bottom. Do this on both sides of each piece; This helps a lot in the next step of ASSEMBLING THE SPINE.
After you have your 'grid fish', find a center line down the length of the body. I chose a line that followed at about the center of the tail cuz that made sense for me.
Once your grid is drawn on, label your different vertical sections (in my picture I used alphabet letters, a through o). For simplicity, we will assume your grids will end up equaling 10" square, so the fish stretches slightly over a scaled 140" (in the photo you'll see the bill reaches over my last line a little bit.)
Get yourself a sheet of paper, and write down the section letters down the left side of the paper. For each section, you need to figure out how tall the fish (just the body not fins)) is at this point, and where the center line is. Keep in mind in the example, 1 square equals 10". Here is an example of two sections:
C section (front of tail) : Height 4", Center 2" from top 2" from bottom
G section (near center): Height 17", Center 6" from top 11" from bottom
Repeat this for all of your sections. Try to get close on your measurements, but fudging a little is OK. Remember that these dimensions are BODY ONLY, not the big top fin, lower fins, or even the tail. The exterior parts will be taken care of later; you are making essentially the fuselage of the fish, without anything else. For the mouth and bill section, you can estimate the dimensions with closed mouth if you want it closed. For an open mouth, I would read ahead and look at pictures before pattern making.
SO..... You have a sheet describing the dimensions of each body section now. How thick is your fish? I estimated width of the fish is about 2/3 of height through most of the fish. Around the head area it approaches 1 to 1 (just as wide as tall). I just guessed what would look good, and went with it. Take your section sheet and plug in the width #'s you want next to each one. Here are the two from above with what I picked:
C section (front of tail) : Height 4", Center 2" from top 2" from bottom Width 2.75"
G section (near center): Height 17", Center 6" from top 11" from bottom Width 11.5"
Time to transfer your dimensions to full-scale on paper, using the height, width and centerline measurements for all the sections. I taped pieces of computer paper together, and then using my measurements sketched out what I wanted each of the cross sections to look like. I only drew one HALF of each, so that when I transferred to cardboard I knew each half would be symmetrical (see photo). I then transfer from paper to cardboard, and then cut each section out. As you can see, some of my sections are not perfect ovals. The lumps on the top represent the body where it meets the dorsal fin; I wanted my body to follow closer to the shape of the actual fish, but feel free to just draw ovals. It would have DEFINITELY been easier for me that way.
As you make your sections, be sure to mark where the center is from your sheet above, and also divide the pieces from top to bottom. Do this on both sides of each piece; This helps a lot in the next step of ASSEMBLING THE SPINE.
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http://artformfunction.com/newfish/index.html
The biggest one I did was nearly 7' long and was a Marlin as well.
To caitlinsdad, I agree on the paper towels. If I were to do it again, I would also cover the body lengthwise more like the hull of ship, hiding the bulkheads better and giving it a more streamline look. Those changes, along with airbrushing and a homemade scale stencil could up the game a lot.
What I would like to do is try making a prop plane (like a piper cub) using the same method, and see if I can get it off the ground, so to speak. Flying or not, a 12' wingspan airplane that is spot-on would be sweet to have, flying or not lol.
Thanks for the comments too, I am brand-spanking new to instructables :)
A couple of more layers of cardboard and papier mache would have smoothed out the fuselage. I recommend experimenting with papier maching with scraps of fabric or even paper towels to achieve a textured look of scales on the skin. I guess you would really have to use a spray gun to paint that realistically. Maybe some rows of pointy teeth and glass eyes would be good.
Totally cool. and fun.
...but...
There's something fishy about this instructable.... =D