First Mount EVER....young coyote....

[M Rosenbeck]

Here he is. Finally. Still drying. I know the eye looks weird, I really need to get a better camera

[George Roof]

I'm assuming you're "Michele".  I'm not going to critique your mount but you need to delete the links to your pictures.  If you go to Photobucket, scroll down the list of "copy" items and copy the "IMG" link here instead.  You've posted a link that allows anyone access to your account and opened yourself to the possibility of being compromised.  Post the "IMG" link here and the picture will automatically appear in these boxes.

[M Rosenbeck]

Thanks George i am going to update the pics. i did fix the eye, so its not so large and shows that much clay. The manikin was to big for it in the first place, so i had to "shrink" it down. Still thinking about the platform its going to sit on. Personally, i have never seen i coyote sitting like that, but husband thought it would look cool hanging on the wall like that. Thinking some tall grass, and maybe a rock or two around him. Very challenging first mount. Learned alot just by reading, and when i went to do it, it was like a light bulb going off in my head "ahhh, that's what he meant". Still, far from perfect, but for a first mount....hope its not too bad. Ears and eyes were the worse thing i noticed.

[WillinghamsTaxidermy]

The eyes and ears are way off, in terms of shape and position. The ears are too tall and too narrow. They need to be pushed down into the head (carve out holes in the head of the form, to push the earbutts down into). Work on sculpting your eyelids, and adjust the pupils so they are looking in the same direction. Also, the eyelashes should face downward, not out. It really helps to study reference pictures of live animals before you even start on a mount. Also, back-brush and blow dry the hair so it stands out and looks fluffier.
That said, it looks better than my first mount, so keep at it, keep learning, and you'll only improve!

[George Roof]

I think your eye problems would be minimized if the ear butts were corrected.  The ear canal should be in a close line from the nostril through the eye.  Moving the butt down a bit will free up more skin to work your eye shapes.  The nose and mouth look good in the picture though the picture quality is poor. You also need to back-brush and blow dry the hair to give it a "full" appearance.  "Soft and cuddly" is a big selling point in young animals.

[gavinm95]

His ears are HUGE! If the ear butts were corrected, then I think it would improve the mount A LOT. Also, I agree with George and Willingham on brushing and blow drying the fur.

Other than that, I think the overall mount looks great.

[John Helm]

Here's a link to a tutorial on setting coyote ears by my buddy Bill Motzer.  It should help you tremendously on your next mount: http://www.taxidermy.net/forum/index.php/topic,243306.0.html

[M Rosenbeck]

Thank you all for the help I have bookmarked that post you gave me that bill did. I cant believe with all the searching, i never found that. I did Bondo for the ears....that was interesting. You all are great Next mount is simple....got a few squirrels tonight, so they will be next. Hopefully alot easier on me than the coyote Next purchase is going to be a good camera. my camcorder just doesnt take the best photos, as you can see. *sigh* oh well. Thats why i havent quit my day job, i guess, lol. Since the little coyote is still drying I am going to see if i can take a towel and work on the ears.

Thanks again everyone