PLZ HELP! penguin carving

[1 Lucky Shot]

Hi! Im in need of some help, anyone have any tips for carving a magellanic penguin form?  Or any ideas where I could go online to find any tips or anything? I've looked everywhere so far and not getting any farther.

Thanks

[pdmd2911]

Did you get one of those skins that were on Ebay?

[Nancy C]

Go online and look at reference photos from every possible angle.
Penguins are weird. Their body shape is pretty similar to their surface shape - just minus the thickness of their plumage. They are similar to mammals in that way. They have short, thick necks, too, unlike most other birds.
I would say to get the dimensions from the skin and then shape the anatomy so that it reflects the inner structure. They are more or less goose-shaped as far as their basic body structure is concerned, but the leg attachment is different.

You can find pictures of penguin skeletons online and those might prove helpful in determining the leg structure. You also might get lucky and hear from someone who saved a contact sketch.
Good luck with it.
I had several sketches from some Adelie penguins that I mounted ages ago, but I lost them in a fire. I still have one of the mounts, though.

[alan webfoot]

are they as greasy and fatty as they look? sure would have to have a lot of blubber to stay warm!

[Nancy C]

They can be awfully fat but they can also be very emaciated.  I would rather have the fatty ones! I almost burned out the motor on my wire wheel trying to flesh those blasted penguins.
Mine were wild and had been found dead. Every one of them looked liked it had starved to death. They were feather-perfect and amazingly heavy for their size, with plenty of muscle, but they had almost no fat. Instead they had the toughest, tightest membraney skin that I have ever had to deal with. I thought I was never going to get that stuff off!

And stink!!  OMG.  It made my eyes burn worse than peeling onions!  I'm not kidding or exagerating.  Maybe it was severe ketosis? Dunno ... just that it was very, very bad and they weren't spoiled at all.

[1 Lucky Shot]

thanks for the pointers, ill get researching!