# Betta Fish Sculptures



## ArrowheadShark

So I fell in love a long time ago with a product by Crayola; it's called Model Magic. A bit pricey, at least to miss sale-hunter here, but it's become one of my favorite sculpting mediums. I use it to make cat/fox ears to glue to headbands/hats/etc, crafting useful misc items or giving something a grip, etc, etc. It is water soluble, so don't get it wet unless it's on purpose for re-moistening the clay or something.

Anyways... aside from all that stuff, my bettafish Shark inspired a little art project that quickly developed into a new occasional-past time. I made my first bettafish sculpture;























Here's some different angles and a scale-shot with a quarter. I gave the sculpture to Mama as a Christmas gift.

I painted him with acrylic paint, one of only two sculptures I painted. It's a pain in the but to paint them, since the wetness of the paint re-softens the clay enough to make it malleable to an extent I didn't want. The second fish (a crowntail red and black) I gave to a German foreign exchange student who came with a relative to a family gathering. I didn't get a picture... oh well ;P Hopefully she got it back without breaking!

My very favorite fish I made (colored with Copic markers, as all the fish are, now) I also didn't get a picture of, but it was a short-finned red and black betta. I think he may also have been flarring.... that, or the crowntail was flaring.

Here are the other fish I've done;
















This blue and white one was given to family in Ohio; it arrived unbroken *happy dance*
It was the only one to arrive unbroken *deflated happy dance* The two others that I shipped only had minor breaks, though.









This one was suspended by thread in a glass fish bowl, and was another Christmas gift to a school friend. He's shown before I glued his pectoral fins on, as his bowl wasn't ready yet, and I had to lay him on his side to store him.

Unfortunately, the night before I was gifting him, I accidentally broke the bowl. I had to instead give him to my friend in a chinsey plastic container and let her know about the bowl, and that she'd probablly want to put it in something less... gross looking. 

THIS ONE IS ONE OF MY FAVORITES:








It was a gift for my sister (not blood-related sister, just sister-by-closeness-of-friendship ;P). I told her to find me a picture of a bettafish she liked, and she found one pictured in a similar pose to that which I sculpted. It was a shimmery, grayscaled fishy, but looked nothing like what I crafted for my sis.








































I went absolutely photo-happy with this guy. He's just so photogenic!

and just for fun, here's an unfinished drawing of a friend as a mermaid, inspired by my pleco named Pleco;









I plan on selling the bettafish sculptures after I graduate from my Arts Highschool, and can open up an Etsy shop. I'm nervous about them being so fragile, but my recent edit to making them I think will help wonders; I bought a whole bunch of tiny glass fishbowls (which are not actually fish bowls, fishwater's forbid! Waaaaaaay too small!) in two different sizes from a dollarstore. I have three bettas-in-bowls made up now! One looks meh to me, since I rushed it too much (and I'm not overlly fond of pink, and this fish is a rosey-pink and deep peony red[which I do like]), one looks cute (the first one I did; a green and dark green fishy), and one looks gorgeous (a white and... sable? No, not sable. Uuuuhhhh, this grayish brown faint color? And a maize-yellow-color)

I do not have pictures yet of the bowl fish, but when I do, I will post!

Also, please note: I think keeping a fake bettafish in a cute little bowl is absolutely appropriate and acceptable. I despair over the fact some people keep living creatures in such small containers. A bettafish can _survive_ in an unheated small cup or bowl, but they thrive and prosper in a properly maintained, heated tank. I personally think three gallons is the absolute minimum for one betta. Ten is perfect, anything more is absolutely supurb!


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## haveyouhadyourteayet

So cute!!! I would LOVE one when you're ready to sell em!!! 

Would you do commissions, or just go with what moves you, fish wise?


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## ArrowheadShark

haveyouhadyourteayet said:


> So cute!!! I would LOVE one when you're ready to sell em!!!
> 
> Would you do commissions, or just go with what moves you, fish wise?


Both; I'd definitely do commissions, I'll just have to be careful for fear of potentially getting swamped in them. Other than avoiding a huge workload, I love the idea of making sculptures of peoples fishies or other ideas they have >w<


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## haveyouhadyourteayet

I cannot get over how cute they are!!

I was hoping you'd be able to take one soon, my bf is leaving for basic in 11 days (QQ) and obv not for boot camp, but if he has some personal space in advanced training, I think he would love to have a little reminder of 'his' fish to keep him company without having to actually care for the fish, which he doesn't do lol. Thus the quotation XD

If you're swamped, I super understand :3 I might even try my (oh god awfully unartistic) hand at making one!!


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## ArrowheadShark

haveyouhadyourteayet said:


> I cannot get over how cute they are!!
> 
> I was hoping you'd be able to take one soon, my bf is leaving for basic in 11 days (QQ) and obv not for boot camp, but if he has some personal space in advanced training, I think he would love to have a little reminder of 'his' fish to keep him company without having to actually care for the fish, which he doesn't do lol. Thus the quotation XD
> 
> If you're swamped, I super understand :3 I might even try my (oh god awfully unartistic) hand at making one!!


Oh, no, I'm not swamped yet! I just meant that when I set up the etsy shop, I _will_ be wary of commissions, because I don't want to _become_ swamped xD I don't know if I will or not, but I don't want my life to suddenly become; 'wake up, make fish, eat, restroom, make fish, sleep, wake up...' because that would be boring as heck, even if I love making the fis ._.

I will say that the price I'm looking at for the fishies in the bowls is around twenty-thirty dollars. It takes a lot of time to make one fish, several hours. There's also a lot of waiting time for the clay to harden and dry enough to color/glue all the fins together. I'm talking with my parents about how to ship them and what I need to do to set up and organize the shop business.

A fish on a stand minus the bowl would probably go for 15-20. That said, I've always loved haggling ;D so the price isn't concrete.


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## haveyouhadyourteayet

I think that's a really fair price already. They look really labor intensive, plus there's lots of things going into making them. The bowl, the clay, the pens, glue, fishing line... all small costs, but they add up!!


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## ricepattyfish5

Gorgeous work!!! I am totally in love!!! I have no artistic talent and I admire those who do!! I can't wait to see more!!


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## Neecy

These are great! beautiful! Very impressive! :-D


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## Blue Fish

These are lovely, and I definitely think the small bowl decorative is acceptable.  

Have you ever used a product called Fimo? Similar to the model magic, but can be baked to hardness. Might be be as fragile? I've used the model magic years and years ago, and I recall it being hard to get small pieces to stick to one another really well. But, the formula may have changed. 

These are lovely, and I think you could definitely do well selling them on Etsy.


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## peachii

These are just awesome. I would SOOO love to have one of my beloved Princess George and Stone's beloved Elvis, both as a memorial for the most loved fishies ever on earth.


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## ArrowheadShark

Thank you for the wonderful feedback, guys, truly! When I get photos of my bowl fishies, I'll upload them for you guys. 



Blue Fish said:


> These are lovely, and I definitely think the small bowl decorative is acceptable.
> 
> Have you ever used a product called Fimo? Similar to the model magic, but can be baked to hardness. Might be be as fragile? I've used the model magic years and years ago, and I recall it being hard to get small pieces to stick to one another really well. But, the formula may have changed.
> 
> These are lovely, and I think you could definitely do well selling them on Etsy.


Fimo Clay? I think I've used it before... As far as getting the Model magic lay to stick together, I have this wonderful, magical thing called super glue > It gives a way stronger bond. The only thing I'm worried about is the fins themselves breaking; they are very delicate, and I don't want someone to get all excited and buy a fish, and then it shows up broken at their doorstep. I'm working out ways of packing them to ship that will minimize and (hopefuly!) eliminate breaking of the fishies. So far I'm thinking of suspending the fish separate from the bowl? I was thinking to pinch the body gently with two packing peanuts, inside the fish's own little box. This will hold the fish secure in place while the fins are surrounded by air, with nothing touching them. I would include illustrated instructions on how to handle the fish/and slide it's toothpick into the pre-made hole in the sand for it. People can superglue the fish in if they want (I'd include instructions on that, too. It's really easy.)

What kinds of things would you guys want to see in the packaging of the fish? I personally want to limit how much the customer would handle the fish itself as possible, to lessen the risk they accidentally pop a fin off or something. Only half my challenge is shipping the fish without breaking them. My dad and I had a long conversation about what, exactly, happens to things when they get shipped. Tossed around, vibrated in the back of a semi or freight train or something, dropped, put in upside down perhaps... all these wonderful things ._.

Edit: I've also considered making alterations to how I make the fish itself. The part of the fish that breaks the easiest is the pectoral and ventrail fins, because they have such a small attachment area to the fish's body. In my very first few sculptures, I made them really delicate and tiny, almost a pinpoint, just like a real fish. Then I went; 'Oh no that is NOT working.' and started making them thicker. The former works great if I hand-deliver the fishy, not-so-good for shipping it.

I'm thinking now I may make just the pectoral and Ventral fins a little thicker. The Anal, Dorsal, and... and... I always forget one. The thingy-at-the-belly-of-the-fish xD --anyways, those I think can stay their nice thinness, but the more fragile fins I'll make a notch thicker. 

(Fun tool: Pasta maker. *o* IT. IS. AWESOME. My mom found it for three bucks at a goodwill! It's now what I use to roll the clay out for cutting the fins... so much more efficent than using a smooth-sided ballpoint pen as my roller XD'')


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## cheekysquirrel

They are absolutely beautiful! Well done! You've made me want to do some fishy crafts now, but that has to wait until I catch up on all my other crafts ;-)


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## Tree

I LOVE Model magic! even though its not the same as clay, you do an amazing job with it! 8D


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## ArrowheadShark

Thank you, guys, for the positive feedback! It's really nice to hear. If any of you live near the highschool Perpich Center for Arts Education, on April 3rd (this Thursday) the Visual Art Department is having a huge gallery show for the graduating seniors. My work will be displayed in it, and included will be three of the bowl-fishies and a free-standing one, the very first one I made (the irridesent one with the rocks and seaweed stand)

If you can make it, there will be free food and refreshments for all at the show ;P


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## givemethatfish

Put me down for four of these when you open your Etsy shop. I love it. I don't have an artistic bone in my body.


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## ArrowheadShark

givemethatfish said:


> Put me down for four of these when you open your Etsy shop. I love it. I don't have an artistic bone in my body.


Will do! I'm looking at opening it late June, after I'm out of school and have some time to pre-make some fishies up to fill my shop with color and variety.


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## Sabina88

Those are amazing, I love how you design the fins on them


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## ArrowheadShark

Sabina88 said:


> Those are amazing, I love how you design the fins on them


Thank-you! It can actually be a bit stressful, trying to decide what pattern to draw. If I'm near a computer, sometimes I'll look up photos of betta fish. I want to make some more naturalistic bettas, instead of the rather geometric designs. But... it's so much fun! Besides, I don't want to do the same thing all the time!  I'll do geometric-y ones and more natural ones, probably.

I'm really proud of the ones I just recently made, which I have yet to get pictures of. I actually already gave one away; no picture, oh well. The studio teacher Karen visited our gallery opening, and I gave her the first Bowl-fishy I made, he was a little bright green fish with darker-green, and yellow accents.


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## alisha221

I sent a PM. I would love to have one of my little guy


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## cathayvet

Just a thought, you could also produce unpainted versions for people to paint on their own. Paint Your Own Betta Kit


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## ArrowheadShark

cathayvet said:


> Just a thought, you could also produce unpainted versions for people to paint on their own. Paint Your Own Betta Kit


I've thought about this, actually! The only thing is that they aren't really easy to paint at all. If someone wanted to give it a go I'm more than happy to let them, but I don't think I'd make it a main-stay in my Etsy shop, certainly not without letting them know before-hand what it entails ._. 

I use my copic markers to color them, since painting didn't work very well. It can be done, it's just really difficult.

If I made them out of a white polymer clay, I think it would work far better; then, painting would be easy. I've also thought about aside from them decorating their own betta, that I could do little kits on making a little diorama like how I do my bowl-fishies. Of course they could always find the things to make their own around the house, too.


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## rubinthebetta

ArrowheadShark said:


> Will do! I'm looking at opening it late June, after I'm out of school and have some time to pre-make some fishies up to fill my shop with color and variety.


If you need a logo or anything for your shop, let me know. The fish are so cute! :yourock:


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## ArrowheadShark

rubinthebetta said:


> If you need a logo or anything for your shop, let me know. The fish are so cute! :yourock:


I've actually been sketching logo ideas and shop-name ideas. I'm leaning towards 'Mira's Hatchery,' since I'll mainly be doing animal-related things such as the fish sculptures, dragons, horses, etc. I also do some painting, but my main medium typically is marker/pencil/pen/ink.

I think the hardest part is choosing the name, since it represents so much of the content in the shop, even if it can be vague and still be successful... once you've established yourself in the market, at least.

Arrowhead's hatchery, too, but that sounds less appealing to me, I think. I'm not sure xD'' Arrowhead's Hatchery... well, it makes sense deriving it from my forum name here, but hrrrmmm.

Do you have any suggestions?


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## rubinthebetta

ArrowheadShark said:


> I've actually been sketching logo ideas and shop-name ideas. I'm leaning towards 'Mira's Hatchery,' since I'll mainly be doing animal-related things such as the fish sculptures, dragons, horses, etc. I also do some painting, but my main medium typically is marker/pencil/pen/ink.
> 
> I think the hardest part is choosing the name, since it represents so much of the content in the shop, even if it can be vague and still be successful... once you've established yourself in the market, at least.
> 
> Arrowhead's hatchery, too, but that sounds less appealing to me, I think. I'm not sure xD'' Arrowhead's Hatchery... well, it makes sense deriving it from my forum name here, but hrrrmmm.
> 
> Do you have any suggestions?


Maybe Mira's Zoo? Or Mira's Menagerie?


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## haveyouhadyourteayet

Everyone loves alliteration.


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## Pippin

THey are beautiful If you do sell them, I might have to save up and get one.


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## SerenasFishys

wow! amazing


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## ArrowheadShark

Well, I have been getting progress on what I need to do to ship these guys. I haven't checked out all of the shipping services yet, but I don't fancy shipping USPS... too many issues in the past with them for comfort ^~^'' Eh heh.

For those wanting to save up and get a fishy; I'm shooting for late June to be when I open my Etsy shop for business.


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## ArrowheadShark

Hey guys! Just a quick update for all of ya; I plan on opening the Etsy shop within the end of the month! I'm thinking next week or so... I'm working on making some items to put in the shop so it's stocked with some items. I'll have bracelets and several finished betta fish sculptures. Commissions will be available on a first come, first serve basis.

I will say that shipping and handling will be a little more than what the shipping price is, because I have to spend careful time making a shipping package for each individual fish. I think I spent about an hour packaging Alisha221's fish, I can't wait to hear what she thinks of her fishy!

As mentioned before, I will make a new post in the sale's section with more details on pricing and such.


Ah, almost forgot to add!: The name of the shop is BubblyBettaHatchery ;P So it'll show up in Etsy's search from that once it's open!


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## CasGer

These are really beautiful, I can't wait to see your shop once it opens! I've dabbled in sculpting a bit in the past and very recently I've started again, so perhaps the two of us can share tips and tricks! :-D Keep on keepin' on.


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## ArrowheadShark

Ooohhh, I'd be more than happy to swap info and ideas ;P I think I've got a pretty nice system going... PM me if you want to know anything!

(forgot to add) Shop is going to be opening by the end of this week! I've got all the materials to make plenty to stock it, and there will be not only the more expensive sculptures, but affordable one of a kind drawings in marker.


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## ArrowheadShark

http://www.bettafish.com/showthread.php?p=4668186#post4668186
The custom commissions thread is up and open!


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