This is my second deer mount and my first large shoulder mount. (My first deer was a neck mount) I am looking for an honest critique, I really want to know what I'm doing wrong so I can improve.
First off, here are some things about the mount. I tanned the cape with Van Dykes' Syn Oil, and I used Ear liners. The ears on this deer drummed up a little, eben though I used an adhesive and carded them. (next time I'm trying Ear Magic) I also used lots of reference pics.
Copy and paste this link to your address bar and hit Go. You will see the pics of this mount at the top of the page. Thanks,
Nina
http://www.countrywayenterprises.com/gallery.html
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Well it is hard to cratique your pictures.. But from what I seen you are doing a fantastic job for a beginner.. Your ear placement was off a little bit and the nose.. I realy couldn't tell but something was not right.. The one thing I can say is you will make alot more money with computors than you will in taxidermy..
I sent you an e-mail. BP
Hard to see much from those photos.
Here is what I did notice...
1. The ears are placed too far back. They should not project from the back of the head.
2. Slide the ear butts forward and up higher towards the base of the horns.
3. Looks like the nostrils are not opened up enough. (could be the photo). Get a good nose reference cast from McKenzie etc.
It is a nice clean looking mount though. Keep at it.
as above mentioned, it can be tough to critique a pic, a good ear butt cast is an invaluable tool to have, if your not working with good quality reference photos, get some. expensive but a must have.
likewise a nose cast and an eye cast would be good, one thing that jumps out at me is the hair patterns around your nostrils, you will want to get those white hairs around your nostril openings, inside. and if your nosrils are not detailed correctly it will be hard to keep the hair patterns correct, same goes with the eyes and ear butts, your reference materials do not come cheap for someone just beginning or on a limited budget, but nore is it cheap to mount deer heads that will some day wind up in a corner or closet, sorry i know you asked for a critique, just wanted to pass on some advise i think will help you a bit, your mount is nice clean and symetrical, which means alot, very nice for #2, fine tune it using good reference and you will be on your way to creating some very nice work. good luck
stick to computers
This is only my second deer mount and everyone needs to start somewhere. I have four years to wait until I can go through my PA taxidermy exam. I think I have plenty enough time to improve. Sure my mounts aren't perfect, but taxidermy really interests me and I'm practicing to prepare myself for the exam when I'm 18. If I pass, I'm going to try to pursue a part-time career in taxidermy.
I think what they're trying to say is that you have the possibility of making more money in the computer industry. I don't think they were taking shots at your work. Sure the mount has a little sweaking that's needed but that comes with time and experience. I think that you have a great base to start from. The mount has a good overall look to it. Studying pictures and study casts etc. and I think you will make a fine taxidermist. I highly recommend joining your state association also. You will have your mounts critiqued by some of the experts in the field. You will also be able to sit in on seminars that will teach you many tricks of the trade. To sum it up. Stick with it. Your doing great! Ryan
the crack head that said stick to computers. I am sure your second mount was just perfect! Why don't you grow a pair and at least leave a name so we can tell if you are really the idiot you appear to be. She is only 14 and I think it is exceptional. Most 14 year olds can't even color between the lines and have an attention span of about 3 minutes. Nina, at 14 you are doing a great job. Keep at it and don't let slammers get to you. Ryan, that's not what they were saying at all, I am assuming it is someone that has done a dozen or so mounts and they still look like crap. He's just jealous that she has the capability of doing very good work if she sticks with it.
I'm new to this also but I'm 39 not 14. Your work is realy good. Keep it up and don't let any one put you down , they had to start somewhere to!
I think it looks great for a second deer! the ears are a bit too far back and the nose could use a bit of a darker tone. but other wise it looks great! Joseph R Osborn (Hunter's Dream Taxidermy)