Teeth using feather quills

Kevin Roach

I need to make some slender, pointed teeth, inspired by the deep, deep sea fish with the dangling light on his forehead, shown in Finding Nemo. Any suggestions? I've seen people use feather quills but this sees TOO slender and fragile.

Chris Ellerby

Stripped feather quills would be one option for creating deep sea anglerfish like teeth.    As you mentioned they can be too thin in some cases.  How thick they are depends on the type of bird they are sourced from, and where on the body the feather came from.  Wing and tail feathers will have a thicker quill.

One challenge there is that anglerfish (and other similar fish) often have slightly curved teeth.  There might be a few ways to get that bend.  Here are a few theoretical options (some testing required)

1. Inserting a thin wire into the quill to help it hold a slight bend.
2. Bending the quill while it is in a jig and spraying it with a few layers of clear coat and removing it once dry.
3. Bending the quill in a jig and heating it with a heat gun or hair dryer, and see if the bend is held once cooled and removed from the jig.

Another option would be to use clear PETG 3d printer filament for the teeth and then sand that down to shape and bend it with a bit of heat.  You could then paint it to get the coloring you want while keeping some of the translucency.  1.75mm and 3mm are the most common filament diameters, and would determine the size of the tooth you could create.

You could also sculpt the teeth in a firm clay and then mold and cast them.  For this option I would try and cast them in a semi-flexible material so they are less prone to snapping.

/Chris

Jeffrey Warren Park

I think one important question that needs to be asked is, "What size is the creature you are trying to make?" This, in itself would help us in how best to answer your question.

Say, for example, you needed these "teeth", for a small, scale model, then feather quills, or as just previously suggested, 3d modeling fillament would work just fine. But, if your creature's size were the size of a grown elephant, well... then it [might] be a bit too small for what you want. Knowing how big or small a creation the teeth need to be, will help everyone be better able to help you out with better suggestions.

-Jeffrey Warren Park

David Boccabella

What about Porcupine Quills   If your in the US then they are easier to get (no - purchase online..  Not severely annoying said herbivore  )

Freddy Hennevelt

I made ceramic angler fish and used fish bone for teeth. They are strong, flexible and are curved.