This is my first full body mount - Grey Fox - Please critique

[chris_kreiner]

Hello everyone,

This is my first full body mount.  The only other practice that I have had is two whitetail shoulder mounts that I did this last winter.  This is my first year in taxidermy.  I was wondering if you all could be so kind and give me a few pointers that I so that I can work on my detail.  For the eyes I used the reference photos as best I could.  I am sure that I will get better as time goes on.  It  took me 6 1/2 hours to mount this Grey Fox.  I don't know how long it really should have taken me but I do feel that I took my time to get the detail as close as possible.  But any help would be greatly appriciated for any of my future mounts.  Thanks.

[KevinH]

Just from what I can see and Im no expert but, They eyes look to be too open, the ears might be a little too far back, the face itself looks a little disoriented Im not sure what it is, the body looks good from what I can see, just the face looks a little off, keep looking at those reference.  Not bad for yur first full body mount.  Did you have any training or did you got at this by yurself?  Good luck, Kevin

[chris_kreiner]

I had a guy teach me on my whitetail shoulder mounts but he didn't teach me anything on fox. 

[Skywalker]

I agree with Kevin,very good for a1st mount.The usual mistake for a beginner is to pull the skin too tight on the head.Cut your ear notches a little more forward and concentrate on back combing through the process,and the drying phase.This will make your eyes not pull so much and the whiskers and lip-line will be much more managable.Actually this principal can be applied to the whole mount and should improve your work greatly.Again,good job,now go do another!

[James Parrish]

Wish my first one looked like that.

[rgswildlife]

Hello everyone,

This is my first full body mount.  The only other practice that I have had is two whitetail shoulder mounts that I did this last winter.  This is my first year in taxidermy.  I was wondering if you all could be so kind and give me a few pointers that I so that I can work on my detail.  For the eyes I used the reference photos as best I could.  I am sure that I will get better as time goes on.  It  took me 6 1/2 hours to mount this Grey Fox.  I don't know how long it really should have taken me but I do feel that I took my time to get the detail as close as possible.  But any help would be greatly appriciated for any of my future mounts.  Thanks.

Chris
You did a great job for your first life size mount. The ears are too far back and the shape of the eye opening is wrong, when you are skinning out the next fox look where the ears come out of the skull and mark your form or reference form at that spot. As said by others brush your mammals forward and dry with a hair dryer till it is dry, a lot of people have the ears so far down the head that it looks like they come out of there neck not head. Keep practicing it will come to you, always use good references.

Rich

[Leaf-art]

Chris,
Firsts are always the hardest, especially on your own! The problem with the eye and ear placement, mentioned in other posts, may be that the manikin nose is too long. In smaller mammals, a quarter inch can make a big difference. I make very accurate measurements before I skin, then check my manikin carefully. There are some good articles out there about altering manikins. Maybe someone can suggest one of them. JS

[RLDilworth]

As this is your first fox, it is a great mount. Try to find a good fox cape and mount only the head. The head can be a real show winner if it's done correct. Eyes ears and nose, keep up the good work. If you charge for your work let your customers see what you produce.

[George Roof]

Chris, maybe some of the others touched on this, but I think your only problem stems from taxiing the face too far rearward.  When you allowed that, your ears ended up too far back.  Look at the expression.  It's almost "oriental" with slanted eyes.  The white patch shouldn't go that far up the face.  You also got a little off with adjusting the front leg skins.  If you look at the fox, there should be a subtle vertical line down the top center of each leg. Yours is swirled a bit.  And lastly, it looks as if you have the tail too long.  A grey has a luxuriously bushy tail that can be back brushed to enhance it.  The eyes are a bit too open.

I agree with a few others.  I wish my first fox would have looked that good.  I had funky feet on mine with the toenails sticking straight out and I know about the vertical line because one of my legs spiraled completely around the leg.  I'd installed the foot without checking to see if the "tube" was twisted.  It was.  One of my last isn't the greatest, but you can see what that tail does.  And THIS tail had been cut off or bitten off by something.  It was only12 inches long.

[AndyO]

George, I like the fox. Your habitat is not the typical grass and moss scene. Is that stuff from autograph foliages?

BTW, I believe gray fox tails (skinned bone) range from 12 - 13 1/2 inches.


Sorry, not trying to hijack the thread. The fox looks good for your first. Use the tips these guys gave you and your next will be great.

[George Roof]

Andy, that foliage came from Sullivans, but Autograph sells the same stuff according to what I see in the catalog.  This fox looked like his tail might have been about 14 before something gave him a stub. Looked a bit goofy as it was that short.

[George Roof]

NICE fox, WA.  I love the sleepy/relaxed look.

[chris_kreiner]

Thanks all for the info.  When I originally purchased this fox I thought that it was a prime winter coat but from the looks of it to me it is an early spring coat.  So I couldn't get the fluff out of it that I was hoping for.  Also it was shipped to me green and in the summer heat it thawed during shipping.  I had one spot on the visable side of the fox that was bald.  So I had to remove the bald spot.  But anyway I am not going to ramble on here but thanks again for all the help I will be sure to put my next one on here when I get it finished but with deer season around the corner here in Michigan I should probably concentrate on whitetail deer. 

[elkhunter1313]

Very nice work...an open mouthed expression might have allivated the wideness of the eyes...would give the animals little "surprise" look of expression...nice job overall though