Last years mount

B

boneaddict

Guest
I finally finished with last years deer. Let me know what you guys think of the taxidermy work. Please be honest and don't worry about hurting my feelings. I'm trying to get better with practice. I would really love to hear from you taxidermists, such as NMTAXI, etc, if you have any hints. I'm not doing this commercial so I promise no trade secrets will be lost.
Thanks
Doug
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LAST EDITED ON Dec-04-04 AT 11:37AM (MST)[p]I am not a taxidermist but I think your mount looks great! Too many times you see mounts that are so artifical looking. Perhaps the ears could have been tilted a bit more level? It looks like he is listening downward howards the floor , especially on the right ear. I really like all the features and the hair in the closeup though, looks great!
 
How many mounts have you done. I think it looks very good especially for a novice. I'm thinking about starting some mounts for myself and family. I Found a book not long ago that really interested me. How did you learn and whats the best instuctional video out there for big game?
 
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.
 
Doug,
The ears are off a little in shape and position. Try using a little more clay on the top portion of the eye creating a fuller eye lid. Also adjust the upper eye such that the eye lashes point slightly down. Avoid painting the eyes and tear ducts with black. It should be more of a dark brown. Keep practicing with the airbrush as this will be easier to blend the colors.
Did you use varnish on the antlers? They seem to have a red tint to them. It could be the lighting but if you did try using WD40 next time or 50/50 Linseed oil and turpintine, just lightly rub on and you are done.
All in all not a bad looking mount.

Stalker
 
I'm looking for mounting blocks and Van Dykes and a few other sellers don't offer a very good selection. Does anyone know who has more deer mounting blocks. And is there any other way to mold the top part without haveing to use clay or mache?
 
Thanks stalker for the advice. Nope those antlers are all natural, it just happens that they are that color tint. You're right about blending colors. That sucks with a paint brush.
 
Looks good for effort. I'd want the ears more balanced vertically. Kinda like stalker says. Add a bit here and there etc... Angling forward and back is cool and I do it a lot. But the ear butts should be the same mass and elevation(if that makes sense)

Since you have done a bird or two you need to learn with that airbrush. Get a fish manual and learn to paint. I learned on white paper outlines of fish. Just keep playing and you'll learn.

The colors on the nose and around the eyes are just too dark and bold. The eyes are more the brown and a tint of red. With cream leading into the tear ducts.

The nose is not totally black. There is usually an underlaying of gray and even tints of red(blood flow causes a bit of flesh color under gray and black.

Learn to detail the nose into a texture would be great.

Other than that as mentioned, work more on the eyes. I think McKenzie has a good video on eye sets. Get lots of reference and you'll learn more about the eyes. And look at different age classes of bucks eyes-- some are more muscle above the brows that can be worked in and adds character.-- eyelashes both pointed down a bit and you are pretty set.

Good start on it though!

Jeff
 
Thanks Rost, and thanks NM for the PM. I really do appreciate the input.
 
hey, that dont look too bad! I claim to be a novice taxidermist myself. I did the same as you,learn by trial and error, and good input from other people. the one thing I saw that caught my eye was in the nose. notice the white colored hair in the nostrill, this should be more inside the hole instead of the front of the opening. this would allow for the pad only to be showing> and man get a air brush. they are pretty easy to use, other than figuring out what color to use, I have had one for three years and still dont know the correct colors>
in january Im taking a class on mule deer frombill lancaster who sells his mannikins in REASEARCH supply. he is one of the best, I cant wait!!!
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Oh my gosh, how did you get a class from him? I use his forms, he's the master for muledeer forms.
 
IT WAS PRETTY COOL,,, I MET HIM ABOUT 10 YEARS AGO AT A CONVENTION IN BEND OREGON, THEN IN 2000, HE MOVED TO IDAHO AND HAD A DODGE PICKUP, WELL I WORK IN A DODGE DEALERSHIP IN THE SERVICE DEPT, AND ONE DAY HE SHOWED UP NEEDING HIS TRUCK SRVICED. I HAD TO TAKE A DOUBLE LOOK, LIKE HE WAS A CELEBRITY FROM HOLLYWOOD. HE SAID "HELLO MY NAME IS---" AND I SAID BILL LANCASTER. HE SAID HOW DO YOU KNOW ME? AFTER EXPLAINING HOW I HAD MET HIM IN THE PAST AND USE HIS FORMS ECT. HE HAS BECOME ONE OF MY BEST CUSTOMERS, AND GOOD FREIND! I HAD HIM MOUNT MY BIG 231 MULE DEER BECAUSE I DIDNT WANT TO SCREW IT UP, AND IT WAS PERFECT! SO NOW I HAVE HIM TALKED INTO A ONE ON ONE CLINIC IN JANUARY. HERE IS A PHOTO OF THE MOUNT HE DONE FOR ME.

 
That is one nice buck 231!!!

Hey guys, I have a little whitetail that I just chopped the horns off this morning and I'm going to make a shed mount out of him. The taxi that did the first mount put the ears pretty high and tight to the "little" horns and the big horns dont fit. How can I move those ears? Can I soak them with water for a couple days and soften that clay up or what??

Thanks

PS...my goal is to make him so that I can interchange shed antlers on him as often as I like.... that would be cool...hehehehe
 
HORNSEEKER.
THANKS FOR THE GOOD COMMENT!,AS FAR AS MOVING THE EARS? THATS A GOOD QUESTION! I REALLY DONT THINK YOU WILL BE ABLE TO MOVE THEM, USUALLY THE CLAY USED TO SET THE EARS DRIES LIKE CONCRETE> AND IT WONT RE-HYDRATE AT ALL.
YOU MIGHT BE ALBLE TO OPEN UP THE CAPE AND CHIZZLE SOME OF THE DRIED CLAY OUT AND RESET THEM, BUT IT WOULD BE HARD TO DO, AND WOULD PROBLY LOOK LIKE CRAP! THATS MY BEST GUESS.
231
 
Yeah, I messed with it off and on all day today and it was apparent they would not move, so I just pushed on them and drilled the hole in the skull cap that I needed to do, then I wedged the horn in there. It looks fine, and the bucks size has improved dramatically. After the epoxy sets up I'll take a pic.

Thanks,

ERnie
 
Here's one with a little more than 100 inches less bone than yours 231! Whitetail to boot!

The sheds I just mounted today.

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By the way, the dark stripe you see down the neck in the one pic is the wet hair from when I was trying to soak the ear.
 
It looks good. You can't tell you even messed with it. Did you make it so that you can change horns out on it? I thought about doing that with an elk. They have those removable horn things, and I thought about using those with my sheds. Then you could just change them out for whatever reason.
 
Here is the last mount I have been working on. Unfortunately I was mostly done with it before I got some great advice from some other MM members. This is a friend of mines' deer. I thought I would mount it up for him. He short caped it, about four inches behind the ears, and wondered if I could do anything with it. I ended up using my dads cape for him from a small valley buck. I was going to use the cape to remount one of my first deer, but this helps out a friend.
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