I have been teaching my self how to do taxidermy. But I am having alot of trouble with feather placement. They do not show how to do this on any of the videosthat I have. Does any one know of any good videos that cover this. Thank you, Frank
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Get a good set of reference photos of the birds your going to mount.
There invaluable,and you should'nt be without them.
Feather tracts(groups) have specific areas that they cover on a bird, once you learn what they are and what their function is you should have little problem with placement.
.....Give the bird a shake when you are done skinning,all feathers should fall into place...Lloyd
No big secret, a good clean skin and it must fit the forms loosly to allow you to adjust it. Lloyds got it right if the skin is clean and the body right a good shake and it pretty much falls where it should be.
Frank, 2 things about birds I can say that are common mistakes when learning this stuff. Feathers must be absolutly dry before mounting to get the best results. If they are clean and dry it becomes much easier to tell where they go. Secondly, get the position right under the wing. It's a little like our arm pit area and if not anchored with a pin that loosness can move and throw the whole thing off. Also the skin has to fit loosly overall on the form so that the feathers don't look stressed when the skin dries. Enjoy, Aaron H.