I just taught myself. I have studied deer and animals my whole life, so much of the realism is just from that. A long time ago, I was such a finatic about deer and animals I created my own reference. Before purging old magazines I cut out all of the photos. I tan my own stuff using a tan out of a taxidermy catalog. I have kind of been practicing on all species. I just finished my elk from last year, which I can post pictures if anybody wants to see, and I'm working on two raccoons and a beaver rug. I have done a few birds including ducks, pheasants, and turkeys. I raise pheasants, so I again just try to watch them. I bought one bird book, and most of the techniqes apply to all birds. I've done my moose, and about a dozen deer heads I think. The first couple didn't turn out so great, so I just try to get better with each head. I bought a moose video by Elzner productions from Research Manniquins, and one on how to do a bear rug. Most of my stuff I get from RM and Mckenzie. Painting is the hardest part for me. I haven't gotten a grip on airbrushes yet, so hand paint everything.
The ears: Thanks for the input. I wanted a more relaxed look. Kind of like radar. One here and one there, not fully attentive, like many forward sneaks are. I was just trying to mix it up.