Since I have some time I thought I would just like to thank everyone on this forum. I have gained a lot of insight in the do's and dont's of taxidermy. And sometimes I am left with more questions than I began with. There are so many varying opinions about products, methods etc. that I don't always know who to listen to. Do I tan or do I DP. And so the debate continues. Sometimes they can get quite nasty. But I think we can for the most part all agree with the fact that we love taxidermy. Clearly there is no right or wrong answer. To each his/her own. What works for one may not work for another. Not all taxidermists are created equal. I think if we had an opportunity to see each others work, some questions might be answered. What one considers great work, another may find--well poor work. But we will probably never know each others work. Which is unfortunate. Taxidermy is so visual, yet we are left with only words. Though the products may change, promising better results and the like we must remember what we learned when we started out. To remember the fundamentals we continually strived to "perfect". We often blame a products poor performance over the performance of the individual. We often think the old ways are outdated (some are). But I feel the basics are often overlooked. How one does their work is important. How did you learn? A product is only so good as the person who uses it. Just because a product is $50 dollars more expensive doesn't mean I will get it right this time. Practise! I think often times we look to this forum for a savior, when perhaps it's best to sit back and think. Yes sometimes we need some advise, but like many teachers they will tell you to not only do your homework, but also study. We often blame each other for the type of advice we give. As with everything we should take things with a grain of salt. It is ok to make mistakes, even a lot. As long as you love what you do. That is what seperate the masters from the beginners. Practise, practise, practise.
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Just try to work from the heart, it will show in the mount!
beat. I know there are many out there that will say B.S. but the fact remains few taxidermist have a given ability to do things right, without the help of shows and competitions.
Remember what looks good to you like Christian said may not look good to anyone else.
For a few years now I have watched on shop do this, wild eye movement on deerheads. Finally the customers learned they thought it was good work until the looked at a live deer and realized that the deer did not have the psycho-look of a killer crazed killer on meth. Now they know the difference, simple show and tell with a mount and a live deer. Difference in price of $275.00 to $455.00 sure a few still use the cheaper taxidermist but people are learning what to look for in a mount. The taxidermist should be learning how to do it better.
Whats really funny to quote a taxidermist just last Friday "MY customers know I do good work." the tax never had a some score a mount, but is still using 22 year old prices. God bless him, I know where I will send the price shopper!