What would be the best way to practice mounting a fish. Doing a repo? And do you have to have a airbrush when doing this?
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I meant to abbreviate it "repro." as in reproduction
Grizzly, I would recomend starting with a real fish- something commonly mounted in your area such as a bass. Get a book on it or a video so you know how to start. Replicas are more challenging to paint, I think. Air brushing is almost a requirement for getting a decent result with the paint. I say "almost" as it is possible to brush paint but again more of a challenge. In finishing fish you try to paint so the fish does not look painted- airbrushing makes this easier though it takes lots of practise. Enjoy, Aaron H.
Only if your learning to paint. Mounting takes work and you'll need plenty of fish to learn on. So I would say both. Real fish to learn the anotomy and how to fit them on your fish bodies. Repro's to learn on how to paint. You can wash off the paint and start over and over. It's less costly for this part. If you keep trying to paint a real fish over and over it will be damaged quicker. Also don't attach the pecs or pelvic fins when painting the repro. No need to damage them while your learning to paint.
Personally I would go with the air brush thou you could use a paint brush on them. That also takes time and can be even harder to do.